Elective Courses Offered

Exploring Computer Science

This course provides a rigorous, but accessible, introduction to computer science. No previous computer science course is required to take this course. The goals of Exploring Computer Science are to develop the computer science skills of algorithm development, problem solving and programming. Students will also be introduced to topics such as interface design, limits of computers and societal and ethical issues of software engineering.

Topics to be covered include: Introduction to computers, Human/computer interaction, Web design, Introduction to programming, and hopefully robotics. 

Web Development

This course is an introduction to publishing on the Internet’s World Wide Web (WWW). Students will be designing aesthetically pleasing websites using Textbook New Perspectives, HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. This course makes extensive use of the computer tools necessary to insert HTML tags, create images, and view web documents. Topics include the separation of content from presentation, dynamic user interaction and designing for alternative devices, using Cascading Style Sheets. This course prepares apprentice web designers and publishers to identify the information needed for a website, design an appropriate World Wide Web solution, and implement it. Students will also learn about current trends and technologies in the field of Web Page Design, including designing responsive websites for mobile devices.

Film Analysis

Film analysis is a class for anyone who loves watching and talking about movies.  Students who are interested in a career in entertainment or want to get a job doing creative writing will benefit from this course.  In Film Analysis you will learn about how movies are made, including how films create emotions in the audience through editing, cinematography, plot structure, and more! 

Journalism 

Journalism is a class that focuses on writing journalistic articles for the school newspaper. Students will learn how to write newspaper articles, conduct interviews, edit, and refine news articles, and their work will be published online.

Creative Writing

Creative Writing is a class that focuses on writing poetry, short stories, and other creative pieces. The class will include development of creative writing skills, and will include exercises in poetry, exploration and understanding of the story arc, drafting of short stories, and poetry readings. This is a class for anyone who has ever thought about being a writer, wants to break away from writing essays and explore other types of writing, loves journaling, or just enjoys creativity.

Food & Nutrition

The Food and Nutrition course is a vegetarian cooking class that focuses on healthy eating. Students will learn cooking skills, kitchen hygiene, and various cuisines. Please sign up for this class if you are interested in expanding your culinary skills and palate.

Culinary Arts (Food & Nutrition 2)

The Culinary Arts course is for students who took Food and Nutrition the previous year. Students in this class will take on leadership roles, which could include leading the Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser, teaching students in the Food and Nutrition class particular dishes and learning how to make more complicated dishes. This class is also a vegetarian course. 

Psychology

Psychology is a college prep elective that offers students the opportunity to explore the vast field of Psychology. Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology is a science that seeks to describe, predict, understand and influence maladaptive, [patterns that can hurt self and others], thoughts and behavior. There are multiple theories and approaches in Psychology, some successful for one type of disorder but not for another. Motivation, moods, memory, reactions, attitudes, perceptions, attraction, talent, what you enjoy – or despise – all of these things have their roots in your Psychology. While Psychology is in the Social Science curriculum; it is in reality a Behavioral Science that often overlaps with the Natural Sciences. 

AP Psychology

AP Psychology introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals in preparation to take the AP Psychology Exam. The course will cover psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with the following topics within psychology: History and Approaches, Research Methods, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, States of Consciousness, Learning, Cognition, Motivation and Emotion, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Testing and Individual Differences, Abnormal Behavior, Treatment of Abnormal Behavior, and Social Psychology.  It is a rigorous, college-level course, requiring copious amounts of reading and writing assignments, as well as frequent multiple-choice quizzes and in-class Free Response Questions. 

Fitness and Resistance Training

This course is intended for students who wish to remain active after completing the required PE classes. This course incorporates the CA PE Standards for Aerobic Activities and Weight Training and Fitness to present a holistic fitness-focused curriculum. Students will be introduced to proper weightlifting techniques, as well as other modalities of exercise. Students will also learn how to assess and train for the five components of fitness (muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and body composition). Using this information, they will create and implement a training program that addresses their personal fitness goals. Students will track their progress and adjust their program for continued growth.

Teacher Assistant

Being a Teacher Assistant is an opportunity for students to gain job skills while performing valuable service to the school. Experience acquired through this elective can be cited as legitimate work experience on a resume when applying for a job. Students are entrusted to work as teaching assistants, tutors, and clerical aides. Students will be required to apply to a T.A. position at the start of the school year and commit to the position for the entire school year.

Senior Ex Seminar

Senior Ex seminar is a period of time set aside during the school day for students to work independently in the library. This course is intended for students taking three or more AP courses in order to give them time during the day to work on their senior exhibition project and other homework.

Early Childhood Education Pathway: a Dual Enrollment Elective

The classes that are part of the Early Childhood Education Pathway Program involve understanding children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical domains and improving developmental outcomes. Students are given multiple opportunities to explore the various environmental factors affecting children's well-being and how to design practical activities to improve children’s cognitive, language, social/emotional, and physical skills. In addition, students are provided with tools to work with all types of families and be mindful of the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the education of young children. This is a hybrid course: instruction is virtual and in-person.

The Early Childhood Education Pathway Program is a dual enrollment course that allows high school students to earn 12 college credits while earning high school credits simultaneously. Completing the course qualifies students with an entry-level license to be a Preschool Teacher Assistant for the California Teacher Credentialing (ctc.ca.org). While enrolled in the Pathway program, students become eligible to work in a childcare center and may advance their career to be fully credentialed Early Childhood Education teachers.