New Class Round Up

When Upper School students completed their annual course requests in March, there were nearly a dozen new classes among the possible choices.

To be more precise, there are 11 new o erings encompassing four departments in the 2023-2024 course catalog. e revamped Design and Innovation Department leads the list with ve new classes. Close behind is the History Department with four new classes, followed by one new o ering from the English Department and one from the Math Department.

“With all the new classes there’s more opportunity for me to take classes I’m interested in,” said junior Khadija Hussain.

With the new Valdes STEM + Innovation Center set to open in fall 2023, the Computer Science and Engineering program has been preparing to expand into the bigger space by adding new classes, teachers and equipment.

e ve new courses that are being added are Advanced Computer Science, Design inking to Open Entrepreneurship, App Development for Everyone, User Experiment Design and Exploration, and Design of Immersive and Interactive Art.

“We want to broaden the scope of courses from just computer science and robotics,” Director of Design and Innovation Matt Abbondanzio said. “I want every student to be able to take a class they’re interested in and have a passion for.”

Formerly named the Computer Science and Engineering Department, the new entity is being renamed the Design and Innovation Department.

“I wanted to bring innovation in as a central part of the department, because that is where human need, technical feasibility and business viability all overlap,” Abbondanzio said. “It is not just coding but also entrepreneurship.” e Design of Immersive and Interactive Art course is also part of the Fine Arts Department and can be used as a credit for either department. In this class, students will use technology to create art that viewers can interact with.

Aiming to keep the classes accessible to the greatest number of students, the only course with a prerequisite is Advanced Computer Science, which is replacing the Advanced Placement course, said Abbondanzio. In the new advanced course, students will be solving problems through professional code development, something the AP curriculum doesn’t allow for.

In Advanced Computer Science, Design inking to Open Entrepreneurship, and App Development, students will have the chance to work with real companies and real money.

“In the past, the courses have been more basic, skill-focused classes, so I am excited to be able to connect more to the industry and what we will see past high school, and even past college,” junior Aditya Pulipaka said.

In Design inking to Open Entrepreneurship, students will brainstorm, design, create and pitch a product to investors.

“ ese experiences may be embodied in an immersive 2D and 3D art installation, robotics, games or augmented performances using a variety of media and materials,” according to the course catalog.

Alongside the new classes and space, Greenhill is hiring two new teachers, one for User Experience Design and another for lab management, increasing the Design and Innovation Department faculty size to four.

“[Lab management] is extremely important, because [students] are able to come in and work on a project, a class or just tinker and play around,” Abbondanzio said.

Many students look forward to the new opportunities available to them to work in more professional contexts, and to broaden their application of Design and Innovation principles.

“Instead of learning concepts that are abstract and purely academic, we’ll get experience that may help us acquire internships and other opportunities, and prepare us for future challenges,” Pulipaka said.

In the History Department, LGBTQ History, Latin America in the 20th Century, and World War I in the Modern World will now be o ered as electives available to upperclassmen, in addition to a new AP European History class.

AP European History will provide another AP class for students to take in the History Department a er AP Economics

Junior Santiago Lopez, a co-president of the Latinx Student Union, says he looks forward to having a class dedicated to Latin American history.

“Even just hearing about Spanish countries is great,” said Lopez. “I know Mexican history exists, but not everyone makes it to those classes.”

Lopez says he can’t wait for the opportunity to learn more about important gures and events in Latin American history that aren’t typically highlighted.

“No one truly ever knows what individuals existed that really impacted not only Mexico but South America, or even how South Americans impacted North America,” Lopez said. “I’m just really excited for it.”

e only new course in the English Department is Literature of the American Wild, which Upper School English teacher Trey Colvin will teach. is will allow him to bring his knowledge and love of nature as a certi ed master naturalist into the classroom.

“I think we do a ww, really thorough job in our department of bringing up issues of race and gender,” said Colvin. “I think we do an outstanding job, and those things are very important. I think we have room to do that kind of thing with attitudes about the environment and our place in it.” roughout the course, students will analyze characterizations of nature in literature throughout time and from di erent cultural perspectives.

“You examine a work of literature, and you see where those intersections are,” said Colvin. “Where the attitudes and beliefs about nature and human beings being either a part of nature or apart from it.”

In addition to studying prose, Colvin hopes to get students interacting with the nature that surrounds Greenhill’s campus.

“My vision is to incorporate a lot of outdoor learning and just observational writing,” said Colvin.

Senior Charlotte Purcell, a leader of the Green Team, says the course could inspire students to be more active and aware of environmental issues.

“Dr. Colvin is incredibly passionate about the environment and is a fantastic English teacher, so I think that his new class will be a valuable addition to the English courses o ered at Greenhill,” Purcell said.

April 7 School Holiday

This Month

April 10

Upper School Orchestra Concert

April 11

Upper School Singers Concert

April 13 - 15

ISAS Fine Arts Festival

April 17 - 18

SPC Girls Golf Championships

April 20

Improv End of Year Show

April 21

Upper School Conference Day

April 21 - 22

Alumni Weekend

SPC Boys Lacrosse Championships

April 23

Senior Family Dinner

April 24 - 25

SPC Boys Golf Championships

April 26 was dropped from Greenhill’s curriculum.

According to Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie ’96, the new electives will broaden the opportunities students have to explore areas of history that they might not have focused on in their freshman or sophomore year.

“We envision these new classes and the other electives we teach as ways of getting into some of the holes and some of the depth that you don’t do when you’re covering broad swathes of the globe and of time,” said Bresie.

World War I in the Modern World will focus on the cultural e ects of the war, focusing on its in uence on politics, gender roles and art.

“ e premise is that it’s not just a military history class, but World War I as this sort of making of the modern era,” Bresie said.

Upper School history teacher Ron Frankland will teach both LGBTQ History and Latin America in the 20th Century.

Upper School math teacher Jason Zu ranieri will be teaching a new non-AP Statistics class next school year.

“It’s a really good choice for anybody who wants to get into this eld but doesn’t want another AP on their plate, especially as a senior,” Zu ranieri said.

In this class, students will be able to collect data through activities and projects while still gaining a solid understanding of statistics.

“It’ll be more fun,” Zu ranieri said. “You’ll still get the important things without the AP hanging over your head. I’m excited to see what it looks like.”

Overall, the new courses create room for students to further delve into their speci c interests, while also increasing topic coverage in each department.

“I’m glad they’re increasing the variety in courses available to students because we are able to take more classes we are really interested in while still ful lling requirements,” Pulipaka said.

Primer Play

April 27 - 29

SPC Spring Championships

April 28

No Upper School Classes Greenhill Goes Global

May 6

Hornet Hustle Family Run/Walk

May 8

Upper School Chamber Concert

May 10 eater Spotlight Showcase

May 12

Preschool/Lower School Conference Day Jazz Band Concert

May 13 Prom