NMH Advanced Program

Education for the Head, Heart, and Hand

The Advanced Program at NMH is designed to offer an immersive learning experience that challenges, captivates, and empowers independent learners. NMH made the decision to replace AP courses so our curriculum — at all levels — serves our mission to engage our student’s intellect, compassion, and talents, empowering them to act with humanity and purpose. The intentional curriculum we developed equips students with advanced knowledge to achieve excellence while igniting their curiosity and passion for learning, broadening their view of the world, and refining their image of themselves. With updated prerequisite requirements, we are also providing the important benefit of ensuring that a greater number of our students have access to advanced offerings.

Advances Knowledge to Achieve Excellence

Like AP courses, the NMH Advanced Program gives students the opportunity to develop skills needed to tackle and complete college-level work, and stand out to colleges as they compete for placement and scholarships.

Our Advanced Program courses are taught at or beyond the AP level and emphasize the values of interdisciplinary studies, equity and inclusion, and student-centered learning. Designated by a course number of 500 or 600, these courses allow students to complete rigorous, college-level coursework with an inquiry- and project-based approach, in addition to preparing them for the AP exam.

Engages Curiosity and Ignites the Passion for Learning with Meaning

The NMH Advanced Program takes an advanced curriculum beyond a test-prep model and centers learning around the student and their development as insightful researchers and informed problem solvers.

Program Benefits

Reformulates Rigor and Emphasizes the Acquisition of Skills

The Advanced Program prioritizes mastery of relevant skills, understanding of subject-specific content, and examination of issues from multiple perspectives, which students then apply to real-world situations. This divergence from the AP program expectations for content coverage and focus on the ability to test well allows for review or reflections on learning. The long-block academic model allows for deeper and more focused learning each day. The pace is more humane for students, and as a result fosters richer understanding and long-term retention.

Requires Students to Apply their Learning

Courses focus on more flexible and relevant modes of instruction that ask students to apply their learning using relevant, real-world skills and project-based assessments. Unlike AP courses that require teachers to teach toward a test, emphasizing a “right/wrong” test model, there is more flexibility to allow for open-ended responses and divergent thinking.

Incorporates more Diverse Voices and Perspectives into the Curriculum

NMH faculty are scholars who have the flexibility to update their curriculum or tailor their instruction in response to current events or advances in their respective field. Teachers are not confined to a prescribed and often static AP curriculum. They can be more creative both in the content they teach and the ways they assess – making the curriculum more responsive to challenges students encounter each semester. The ability to be dynamic also increases the relevance of the content for students and gives them the opportunity to incorporate their own perspectives and ideas.

Offers Unique Advanced-Level Courses

By leaving the AP program, NMH has been able to develop unique, advanced-level courses, such as Biotechnology, Environmental Applications of Advanced Chemistry, or Advanced Latin Literature: Republic to Empire, which are taught at or beyond the AP level. The program also extends beyond traditional disciplines to include more tailored learning experiences including the Rhodes Fellowship Course in Social Entrepreneurship and Capstone programs. Now students have greater flexibility to select courses which align with their long-term academic goals, rather than feeling pressure to take only those courses labeled “AP.”

English Department

At NMH, we want you to fall in love with the written word. We want you to be hungry for reading and passionate about writing. So our English courses serve up an incredibly broad range of voices, styles, and assignments.

Whether you are reading ancient epics or a graphic novel or the tale of the 1934 murder of Elliott Speer (former headmaster of NMH), you’ll learn to interpret texts skillfully through discussion and written analysis. The texts you read and the assignments you write help you hone your technical, critical, and creative skills.

Your English classes will develop you as a thinker and as a community member. You’ll be asked to articulate your thoughts and reactions to readings. And, perhaps most importantly, you’ll be asked to listen thoughtfully. That’s because we believe it’s vital to learn to think about and respond to a variety of opinions and perspectives, whether they come from a world-famous author or the student sitting next to you.

Our English teachers are highly experienced. Many have lived and taught in other countries. Some are published writers themselves. We offer international and domestic travel options that are unique experiential learning opportunities for our students. Our faculty simply love what they teach, and hope that you’ll join them in their passion for reading . . . everything.

Margaret Eisenhauer Department Chair

meisenhauer@nmhschool.org

413-270-5545

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/3ZqXnd9) for complete course descriptions. Elective courses for Juniors, Seniors, and Postgraduates

• Advanced Studies in Rhetoric: A Digital Portfolio Class

• Advanced Studies in Literary Theory and Analysis

• Ancient Epic

• Big Books: Authors You Should Meet

• Coming of Age: Reading the Bildungsroman

• Creative Nonfiction

• Creative Writing

• Empowering the Powerless

• Get Free: Literature of U.S. Social Movements

• Global Women’s Literature: Mothers, Sisters, Daughters Speak

• Literature and the Environment

• Multimedia Storytelling

• Outlaws, Outcasts, and Castaways

• Postgraduate English I and II

• Queer Lives and Literature

• Reading and Writing the Landscape

• Shakespeare

Ninth-Grade English

• Humanities I

Sophomore English

• World Literature (includes international travel option)

Junior English

• American Literature (includes domestic travel option)

• Shared Voices, Interdisciplinary U.S. History and American Literature

• A choice of elective courses

• The Bible as Literature

• Tracing Asian American Literature

Half-Credit Electives

• Creative Writing

• Film

• Journalism

Tim Relyea Department Chair

trelyea@nmhschool.org

413-498-3453

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/3ZqXnd9) for complete course descriptions.

History and Social Science Department

In NMH’s History and Social Science Department, our goal is to help you develop skills to better see and interpret the world.

Our courses, which cover everything from FDR’s New Deal to the Green New Deal, Amazon warriors to Confucian scholars, help you analyze historical events and individuals’ roles within them. You’ll look at the nature of historical and cultural change and what it means for us today.

The department offers a wide variety of courses, looking backward and forward at the same time. We try to make sense of the economy, current events, government, culture, and politics around the world, even your very psyche. As you progress through the curriculum, the range of course offerings expands, including a number of college-level classes open to juniors, seniors, and PGs. Many of our classes integrate literary, religious, and artistic perspectives, which provide context for what we study and increase your appreciation of varied perspectives as you develop your own analyses and interpretations.

In addition to our dedicated faculty, we bring in a wide variety of guest speakers. Sometimes we bring in visiting groups of international students to share experiences and ideas. We also offer study-abroad opportunities. You might travel to Brazil with a sophomore humanities class and explore the culture and history there, or join Model United Nations and travel to a conference in Boston or even Qatar.

As you become a stronger critical thinker, you’ll learn to express your ideas about history and society more clearly. As you write research papers, you’ll discover where to find data and how to seek answers. You’ll become a sleuth, a theorist, an interpreter, and an agent for change in the world — in other words, a historian and social scientist.

Academic Courses

NMH History in Context (9th-grade elective)

World History (sophomore year)

• HUM II: Topics in World History (Travel option offered: Brazil, Spain/ Morocco, South Africa, and other destinations)

U.S. History (junior year)

• U.S. History Survey

• Shared Voices: Interdisciplinary U.S. History and American Literature

• Government and Civil Liberties

• For the People: Advanced Topics in United States History

History Electives

• Foreign Policy

• In Their Footsteps: Rethinking Women’s History

• The Ancient Mediterranean World: Kings, Oligarchs, and the Oppressed

• The Islamic Middle East

• Warfare, Humanity, and Society

• Advanced Studies in World History: East Asia

• Advanced Studies in U.S. History: Lifting as We Climb

Social Sciences Electives

• Economics

• Advanced Topics in Economics

• Psychology

• Advanced Psychology

• The Islamic Middle East

• Global Ethics and Climate Change

• The Rhodes Fellowship Course in Social Entrepreneurship

Mathematics Department

Mathematics at NMH means developing a solid foundation in theory and mechanics, and applying these mechanics in real-world situations. This year, students engaged in art projects using Desmos graphing software, examined the mathematics behind the dairy industry, designed roller coasters, constructed student-life polls and interpreted the results, analyzed news articles about racial disparity in police forces, and wrote computer programs for transmitting messages in secret code.

We offer a wide spectrum of coursework to fit students’ varied needs, from introductory algebra and geometry to advanced explorations of typically collegiate topics. So whether you want a basic understanding of equations, graphs, and theorems or you are hungry for collegiate electives such as Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Number Theory, we have courses for you. We offer Advanced Calculus I, Advanced Calculus I and II, Advanced Statistics, and Advanced Topics in Computer Science. See the math flowchart for possible progressions through the curriculum. Technology is integrated into all classes. In some courses beyond geometry, you’ll use a TI-Nspire CX-CAS graphing calculator. Students also use Desmos, Wolfram Alpha, and other online technologies, and learn basic coding in Python. You can also participate in the “Hour of Code,” a nationwide initiative encouraging students to begin writing code early in their education.

Kai Robinson ’05 Department Chair krobinson@nmhschool.org

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/3ZqXnd9) for complete course descriptions.

The math department recognizes that students differ in ability, background, interest, and rate of learning. Teacher recommendations, transcripts, aptitude records, and placement tests will ensure that you land in the most appropriate math course.

Math Outside the Classroom

The math faculty at NMH are innovative instructors who are involved in all areas of school life. They offer drop-in homework help every school nights, and tutoring is available as part of the Center for Academic Strategies and Achievement (CASA).

If you enjoy playing with numbers, you can join our thriving and diverse Math Team. Every team member can find success in problem solving, and we make sure that no one runs out of challenges. Collaborative work is emphasized, and explaining how a solution is achieved is as important as finding it in the first place. There are no grades or tests on Math Team; it’s where you can focus mathematics for the sheer joy of it.

Basic Courses for students needing more review and support

Basic Algebra 1, 101

Course Flowchart

Basic Geometry, 201

Basic Algebra 2, 301

Regular Courses Algebra 1, 111 Geometry, 211 Algebra 2, 311

Algebra Survey, 401

Topics in Trigonometry, 402

Precalculus, 411 or Statistics, 413 Calculus, 431 or Advanced Statistics, 522

Note: Students may not take 522 after 413.

Honors Courses for students with a strong background in math and high motivation

Honors Algebra 1, 121

Honors Geometry, 221

Honors Algebra 2, 321

Honors Precalculus, 421

Advanced or Advanced Calculus 1, 515 Calculus 1 and 2, 525

Multivariable Calculus, 611

Linear Algebra, 612 or Number Theory, 613 (alt. years)

COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSES

• Programming in Java

• Web Development I

• Web Development II

• Discrete Math with Python

• Advanced Topics in Computer Science

Gretel Schatz Department Chair

gschatz@nmhschool.org

413-498-3341

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/3ZqXnd9) for complete course descriptions.

Performing Arts Department

The performing arts teach us new ways to see and think about the world and allow us to communicate with our fellow human beings in ways that transcend — and sometimes critique — language, history, religion, and politics. They also foster empathy for others by allowing us an entry into different cultures.

Performing arts courses at NMH will nurture your appreciation and understanding of a wide variety of expressive media while developing your own creative skills and deepening your confidence in your talent. Whether it’s learning about sight reading in music, movement in dance, or lighting and set design in theater, when you leave NMH, you’ll have the skill set to make art for the rest of your life.

You’ll learn the vocabulary of the performing arts and how to discuss and critique it articulately. You’ll also learn the importance of crossing boundaries, by collaborating with artists from other disciplines and even incorporating ideas from science or economics into the way you think about art.

Perhaps you’ll join our many alumni who have gone on to careers in theater, music, or dance. We are certain you’ll become one of the thousands who have developed a lifelong passion for making — or just simply loving and supporting — art.

Come explore our beautiful Rhodes Arts Center. You’ll see just how serious we are about art . . . and how much we celebrate it.

Academic Courses

Arts Foundations in the Performing Arts — The Power of Art (9th-graders are required to take a Foundation course.)

Dance

Moving Conversations: Dance Technique and Choreography

Auditioned Class: Honors Ballet I: Technique and Theory

Auditioned Class: Honors Ballet II: Advanced Technique and Theory

Music

Advanced Applied Music I and II

Advanced Musicianship

Honors Auditioned Groups: Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Combo, Select Treble Ensemble, NMH Singers

Electronic Music Studio I and II

The History of Jazz

The Creative Impulse: Religion and the Performing Arts

The Evolution of Hip-Hop and its Role in Documenting

Social Commentary

World Music

Theater

Acting I and II

Costume Design

Directing

Playwriting

Theater Production I and II

Theatrical Design and Technology I and II

Dance

(Dance receives PE credit)

Ballet

Choreography

Jazz

Modern/Contemporary

Tap

Co-Curricular Classes

Music Theater

Intro to Music Theory

Private Music Lessons (fee)

Costuming

Musical Production Role

One-Act Play Festival

(student directed)

Stagecraft

Theater Production Role

Additional Intensive Performing Arts Programs

Music Concentration is for the musician who wants to pursue their music lessons seriously and wants daily practice time to do so. In order to be in music concentration, the student must participate in one of the major music groups (Concert Choir, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble or World Music Percussion Ensemble), and take PE each term. This fulfills the same requirement as playing a team sport.

Music Immersion is for the student who wants to pursue their music lessons seriously, wants daily practice time to do so, and who also wants to play a team sport one of the terms. The student is enrolled in the music immersion program in the terms that they are not playing a team sport or other intensive program.

Theater Immersion is an opportunity for students who wish to take a deeper-thanaverage dive into one or more specific disciplines within the Theater Arts, to receive the mentorship and the protected time to do so. On the technical (backstage) side Immersion Students become the specialist or student leader of their course of study; i.e. as the paint lead or a props designer. Within the rehearsal process an immersion student might become the dance captain, fight captain or dramaturg of a production and handle the bulk of the research around the time period in which the play or musical is set. If the role onstage could be categorized by the director as an exceptional undertaking, the time required for rehearsal, memorization and character study would qualify for Theater

Performing Groups

Immersion. Credit can be received in any area of theater production in which the student is deeply invested, which has been approved by the program director, and meets the appropriate time commitment. Ideally, the student has demonstrated a deep interest and commitment to the study of theater arts (either through taking classes or previous production involvement), before they or their advisor suggests enrollment in Immersion.

Dance

Junior Dance Company

NMH Dance Company

(Dance companies fulfill NMH’s arts and athletic group requirement)

Music Theater

Concert Band

Concert Choir

Jazz Ensemble

NMH World Percussion Ensemble

Stage Band

Student led a cappella groups:

Hogappella

Northfield Mount Harmony

The Nellies

Symphony Orchestra

At least three major productions a year, including a musical

One-Act Play Festival

(student directed)

Student Directed Play

Lee-Ellen Strawn Department Chair

lstrawn@nmhschool.org

413-498-3474

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/3ZqXnd9) for complete course descriptions.

Religious Studies and Philosophy Department

Let’s think about big questions — questions about meaning and purpose, identity and community, ethics, and destiny.

At NMH, you’ll come to better know your world and better know yourself. Our religious studies and philosophy department will help you on this journey. You’ll explore ideas of great thinkers, from Confucius to the existentialists. You’ll learn to analyze the powerful connections between religion and human history. And you’ll examine how the ethical and spiritual dimensions of human experience connect with questions of equity and social justice.

Along the way, you’ll develop your perspective — and your voice. Many of our courses take an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing that human experience is not as neatly divided as conventional academic departments. In fact, NMH’s humanities requirements for 9th- and 10th-graders will introduce you to this collaborative approach. With two teachers and academic credits in two disciplines, you’ll examine the relationship between humans and their environment through literary and philosophical expressions. Then you’ll study the world’s religions and their impact on world history. If you choose the Humanities II travel option, you might even see firsthand how academic concepts play out in the real world. All of this — along with our passionate, caring faculty — will help you grow and begin your quest for truth.

Academic Courses

• Humanities I: Religious Studies and Philosophy

• Humanities II: World Religions

In alternate years we visit one or more of these countries: Brazil, Spain/Morocco, and South Africa

• Bioethics

• Ethics

• Global Ethics and Climate Change

• Philosophy

• Religioin, Power, and Text: Sacred Stories

• The Creative Impulse: Religion and the Performing Arts

• The Islamic Middle East

• Theology of the Oppressed

• World Religions and Contemporary Issues