Electives

6th Grade Arts:

Art – Full Year

Students will be exploring and comparing art throughout history and analyzing past and present cultures of the world as they relate to art. The students will be creating original work from these periods, using a variety of media. The course also reinforces the elements of art and principles of design as they relate to the aesthetic value of art. Students will be drawing weekly in their own sketchbook. The drawing exercises that they learn will then be incorporated into their original art throughout the year.

Students will be introduced to the following:

  • Drawing – figure, human proportion, observational
  • Weekly sketchbook exercises – form, still life, contour
  • Discuss and re-create the role of visual arts as it relates to select periods of history
  • Discuss and re-create works of art from past and present cultures throughout the world
  • Learn about balance in art through composition and symmetry
  • Review Elements of Design- color, shape, line, texture, space and value
  • Use new technology to design art history project
  • Two-point perspective
  • Students will work with a large variety of media to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art
  • Students will work on mixed media, painting, collage, cooperative art and sculptural projects

6th Grade Music – Full Year

_DSC9419The 6th grade will explore all aspects of music, with an emphasis on music history and appreciation. They will study and listen to major composers in their historical context. They will also be learning music theory – how to read and notate music, look at music analytically, and develop aural skills. Whenever possible, students’ individual creativity will be encouraged, and they will be given basic building blocks of musical composition. Students will also be studying basic piano, which is used as a tool to achieve all of the above goals, however this is not the main goal of the course. They will be exposed to many styles and periods of music, including Classical, Baroque, Romantic, Jazz, Rock, Pop and traditional Jewish music.

7th & 8th Grade Electives

Some of the Electives Offered May Include:

Photoshop Elements and Digital Imaging (Technology)

This elective will include an introduction to the basic features of the program, learning as many skills and techniques as possible throughout the course. Some practical exercises will include retouching and correcting images, merging and captioning them, and preparing them for print or the computer environment. More advanced projects will be assigned once the basics are mastered.

Some of the projects may include: how to repair an old photo, design custom greeting cards, create a heartwarming photo collage, construct an awe-inspiring panoramic photo, develop and illustrate your own newsletter, build graphics for the Web, and much more!

Students may bring and use their own digital camera (recommended but not required) for this elective course. Digital cameras owned by the school will be available for students who do not bring their own. Any student enrolled in the elective will have Photoshop Elements software installed on their laptop.

Podcast Pro

In this elective, studentsd searn how to create a Podcast. They will decide on an educational topic to Podcast weekly, create a format, write scripts, create intro music using GarageBand, etc. Podcasts will be supported with a website created by each student and each student will keep an ongoing blog of their experience in the class.

Robotics (Technology)

Will students have the LAST ROBOT STANDING? By joining this elective , students will exercise their math, science, engineering, technology and teamwork skills by learning how to build and program robots using the Lego Mindstorms kit. Each student will work with an assigned partner. Together, the team of two will be responsible to care for their kit, keeping it organized and safe during the duration of the class.

Following step-by-step instructions, each team will carefully build a variety of robots. Teams will then write a computer program using the proprietary Lego programming language to bring their robots to life! Fine motor and problem solving skills are put to the test as you find a way to assemble the small pieces included in the kit. This is a hands-on class that includes a variety of exciting activities as well as follow up assignments and quizzes to ensure each team understands the process and the programming language The culminating project for each team will be to build and program a robot believed to be capable of being the Last Robot Standing.

Two-Dimensional Art (Arts)

The course is designed to explore a variety of two-dimensional mediums with a strong emphasis in drawing, painting and color theory. Students will explore and experiment in a variety of art media including pencil, charcoal, oil pastel, acrylic, and watercolor. Artwork from different artists, historical periods and cultures will be studied in order to promote art appreciation and understanding. In this course we will be emphasizing American Art and Artists.

Piano 101 (Arts)

Students are guided each lesson in playing piano. Topics covered include keyboard geography, music notation, theory of a major scale, intervals, chords, basic composition, listening and playing various styles of music, reading music, scales, basic improvisation. The goal of the course is not only to introduce the students to the keyboard, but also to give the students a deeper understanding of the building blocks of music which will enable them to understand and appreciate music better, and perhaps also encourage them to compose their own music. This course is a great starting point for piano students, but if they wish to continue studying an instrument at a more serious level – individual lessons are advised. This course is also excellent for any musical students who may not play piano, but already play other instruments, as it will give them a solid grounding in musical theory.

Spanish 1A (World Languages – Full Year Course)

Spanish 1A is designed for beginning Spanish students. This is the first year of a two-year program. Emphasis is on communication. Students will learn basic vocabulary in topics related to their immediate environment (Family, friends, home, etc.). Students will learn to speak, read, and write using simple sentence patterns. Testing is both oral and written. Students will have an exposure to Hispanic culture. This is a full-year elective and is a highly academic class including homework and tests. The completion of this two-year course should enable students to enter Spanish 2 when they begin High School.

Spanish 1B – (World Languages – FULL YEAR COURSE)

Spanish 1B is designed for beginning Spanish students. This is the second year of a two-year program. Emphasis is on communication. Students will learn basic vocabulary in topics related to their immediate environment (Family, friends, home, etc.). Students will learn to speak, read, and write using simple sentence patterns. Testing is both oral and written. Students will have an exposure to Hispanic culture. This is a full-year elective and is a highly academic class including homework and tests. The completion of this two-year course should enable students to enter Spanish 2 when they begin High School.

Course offerings may change every semester. For additional information regarding middle school electives, contact the School Principal, Yuri Hronsky at 818/346-0849.