Westover Curriculum Guide

2012-2013 Curriculum Guide

WESTOVER SCHOOL Middlebury, CT

CURRICULUM GUIDE 2012-2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Graduation Requirements and Scheduling

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English

3

Mathematics

11

Languages

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19

English as a Second Language

History

20

Science

27

30

Women in Science and Engineering (WISE)

Arts

32

Short Courses for New Girls

43

Independent Senior Project (ISP)

43

Online School for Girls Courses for Westover Credit

44

Sports

47

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS AND SCHEDULING A student must complete a minimum of 18 credits and must complete her Senior year in attendance at Westover (except in cases of school-sponsored exchanges) in order to receive a Westover School diploma.

Subject and credit minimum requirements for graduation are as follows: SUBJECT CREDIT English 4 Mathematics 3 Foreign Language 3 History 21/3 Laboratory Science 21/3 Arts and Music 2 Participation in sports is required throughout a student’s years at Westover. Health and Wellness and Foundations: Computer Literacy, Library Research and Finding Your Voice are required of all Freshmen and new Sophomores. Please see page 43 for course description.

When requesting elective courses, students should realize that registration must be limited in such courses, and they are not guaranteed enrollment. In some courses seniors will be given priority. In some courses selection will be made on the basis of academic strength.

In general, Westover does not award credit for courses taken at other institutions. Exceptions are: • high school level courses taken at previous schools, with approval of Westover department head.

• courses required for advancement in a discipline, with prior approval of the department head and the Director of Studies.

• courses offered by the Online School for Girls, with approval of the enrollment committee.

ACADEMIC COURSE LOAD A student will normally take 5 courses per term and may take no more than 6 courses.

• An academic program consisting of 5 academic courses and one studio art course is allowed with no additional permission required.

• A more rigorous course load, such as one consisting of 6 academic courses, should only be undertaken by a student who has demonstrated strong and consistent academic achievement, as evidenced by the attainment of High Honors with Distinction, for example, and must be approved by the Director of Studies.

• A 4 course load, the minimum, must have the permission of the advisor and the Director of Studies.

• Students who elect to take 3 full-length AP courses in one year may take at most 2 other academic courses.

• Students who wish to take 4 full-length AP courses in one year must secure the permission of the Director of Studies.

•N o student may take 5 full-length AP Courses over one academic year.

NOTE: Any student enrolled in an AP course is expected to take the AP exam in that course.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS In addition to the traditional curriculum, Westover offers a variety of special programs including Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), and participation in art history, music, dance and drama programs outside the school.

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ENGLISH ■ NINTH GRADE - ENGLISH I (1 credit, full year) Readings in English I provide an introduction to the interrelated themes of self-discovery, identity, the journey, and the return along with the Homeric values of intelligence, versatility, and patience through drama, epic and lyric poetry, and fiction. In addition to the texts discussed in class, students are required to read in every trimester one book that is selected by them from a list of approximately two hundred titles. In addition, students learn vocabulary through their reading and are introduced to etymology. s a beginning English course, English I emphasizes basic skills. The study of grammar, spelling, and A punctuation is combined with the mnemonic and listening skills necessary for academic competence.

Through both expository and narrative written work, students are taught to write a unified, orderly, and well developed paragraph.

Texts used in English I include the following:

• 20th & 21st century lyric poetry • Hamilton, Mythology • Homer, The Odyssey • Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God • Shakespeare, Sonnets and Macbeth

■ TENTH GRADE - ENGLISH II (1 credit, full year) English II provides an introductory study of literary form. Separate units contrast poetry, drama, and short stories from various periods of English and American literature. Students are taught how to think about and how to write on the characteristic elements of each literary genre.

In English II, intensive study of grammar and punctuation during the Fall and Winter terms culminates in a study of Common Errors in sentence structure and composition. Continued work on paragraph construction and development is integrated with instruction in the techniques of essay writing. Though critical writing is emphasized, students also have opportunities to write personal essays and poetry.

Texts used in English II include the following: • Perrine, Sound and Sense • Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales • Shakespeare, Othello • Cather, My Antonia OR Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio ■ ELEVENTH & TWELFTH GRADE - ENGLISH ELECTIVES (3 trimester electives; 1/3 credit each) Eleventh grade students at Westover are required to take three English electives. Along with the literature studied and papers written in these courses, grammar previously learned is reviewed by means of brief instruction and regular Common Errors quizzes. Additionally, students are required to write poems for The Lantern, the school’s literary magazine.

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ENGLISH (CONTINUED) FALL ENGLISH ELECTIVES ■ ENGLISH MECHANICS (1/3 credit, one trimester, students recommended by department) This course is specifically designed for newly matriculated Juniors and old girl Juniors who have not gained appropriate mastery of basic grammar, mechanics, and Common Errors. Along with a detailed review of grammar and mechanics, students will write one short paper each week, will read one or two contemporary essays each week, and will take weekly quizzes on both the grammar and the reading.

Students should NOT register for this course; instead, members of the English Department will recommend placement in this course ■ TOLSTOY’S WAR AND PEACE (1/3 credit, one trimester) A course designed to acquaint students with one of the world’s most careful and generous observers of people, events, and culture. We will investigate Tolstoy’s great novel War and Peace both literarily and philosophically. Of particular interest to us will be the remarkable, extended portraits of people which give us a picture of 19th Century Russian life, but we will also spend some time with Tolstoy’s philosophy of history.

Regular quizzes and critical papers will encourage careful and thoughtful reading.

Note Bene: Students’ reading of the first 500 pages of this novel will count for their Summer Reading. They will be tested on this section of the novel during the first week of class. Readings for the remainder of the trimester will therefore be reasonable.

■ ANCIENT GREEK THEATER (1/3 credit, one trimester) During the fifth century BCE, three poets gave new shape to mythological stories well known to their audiences and produced for performance at the Theater of Dionysos in Athens a series of dramatic masterpieces that resonate powerfully twenty-five hundred years later. In this course we will read several of these ancient Greek tragedies, including Sophocles’ Antigone and Oedipus the King, and Euripides’ Alcestis, Heracles, and Medea. We will pay close attention to the ways in which the playwrights responded to the theatrical conventions and to the political and cultural context of fifth-century Athens. For dessert we will read The Frogs, a comic extravaganza by Aristophanes, which features Dionysus and Heracles (not to mention Euripides!) in its cast of characters.

■ GREAT SCOT: THE NOVELS OF ROBIN JENKINS (1/3 credit, one trimester) Though little known in this country, Scottish novelist Robin Jenkins [1912-2005] is widely studied in Britain, where he continues to gather acclaim as one of Scotland’s greatest writers and as one of the greatest post-war novelists of any country. This course will study three of his shorter novels, Poverty Castle, The Changeling, and Just Duffy, in order to explore the interesting duality, or “double vision”, that Jenkins employs, though to different effect, in nearly every one of his works.

Though Jenkins is in most ways a realist and characterized himself as a severely moral novelist, careful study of Jenkins’ works suggests that the seemingly obvious oppositions required by that moral view of the world, of good and evil, innocence and corruption, tragedy and hope, damnation and redemption, refuse to stay put. Jenkins challenges the reader in every novel by forcing us to reflect on the categories of judgement by which we determine meaning, both in our reading and in our lives.

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■ VOICE LESSONS: REGION AND WRITING IN MODERNIST WORKS (1/3 credit, one trimester) By privileging the act of narration, modernist authors not only devised narrative innovations that challenged and disrupted prior conventions but also highlighted the various obstacles faced by their protagonists in developing his or her unique voice. How does a potential writer develop an individual voice despite the pressures to conform from family, region, country and gender?

Thus Joyce’s Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man struggles to develop his artistic voice despite being both poor and Irish before Ireland gained its independence. Similarly, Faulkner’s Darl Bundren in As I Lay Dying both inherits and explodes the voicelessness of his mother’s rural poverty and discontent. Finally, Mary Webb’s Prue Sarn in Precious Bane learns to speak a colloquial, natural tongue through writing, overcoming through her virtual voice the prejudices that, attending her gender and her physical anomaly (a harelip), threaten to rob her of both voice and life.

■ HAUNTINGS (1/3 credit, one trimester) Emily Dickinson wrote, “One need not be a chamber to be haunted.” Whether a specter besets a person or a place, what does the nature of this haunting reveal about the grip of the past on the present? What is the relation between the dead and our memories of them? In this class we’ll investigate the figure of the ghost as a metaphor for the lingering effects of past histories, both personal and social. We’ll begin with Sigmund Freud’s dissection of the “uncanny” as that experience of the disturbing and supernatural which is paradoxically rooted in what is familiar and close to home as a way to discuss some classic short ghost stories by M. R. James, Elizabeth Bowen, and Sheridan LeFanu. We will then turn to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw,” Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and Toni Morrison’s Beloved to investigate the variety of ways literary apparitions reveal the depths of characters’ motives and memories.

■ THE CRAFT OF POETRY (1/3 credit, one trimester) A course for students who are interested in poetry and for those who have had some success in the writing of poetry. To strengthen and diversify poetry writing skills, we will consult the testimony of a number of poets and make use of exercises designed and effectively used by poets in writing workshops. Because the surest means to writing effective poetry is to read poetry, we will also give critical attention to a great deal of lyric poetry past and present with a view to understanding how it is made and how it achieves its effects. Creative writing assignments will be supplemented by some critical writing. Sources on the writing of poetry will include works by Tony Hoagland, Ted Kooser, Richard Hugo, and Mary Oliver. Students must be willing to commit themselves to frequent writing and revision.

■ MODERNIST POETRY AND POETICS (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course will focus on an extraordinary moment in literary history: the years between the two world wars. We will survey the work of some major poets of the time alongside their notable efforts to construct a new theory of poetry, or poetics. What else can poetry do?, the modernists seemed always to be asking. Our primary aim will be to investigate how these poets came to re-imagine “traditional” forms of art, religion, and social organization, which they found inadequate to the spiritual and political travails of their age. Because of the density and difficulty of much modernist poetry, our syllabus will emphasize depth, not coverage. Readings will be chosen from among the work of the following authors: the World War I poets, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, W.C. Williams, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, Robert Frost, W.H. Auden, Elizabeth 5

ENGLISH (CONTINUED) Bishop, Marianne Moore, Amy Lowell, Hart Crane, Basil Bunting, and Robinson Jeffers. Student requirements include annotation, identification quizzes, memorization, and two critical papers.

WINTER ENGLISH ELECTIVES ■ SONNETS (1/3 credit, one trimester) A course designed to acquaint students with the sonnets, “little songs” or “little sounds.” A poetic form that explores ideas, impulses, feelings, or events set in opposition to one another, the sonnet was given greatest expression in English by William Shakespeare. We will consider a number of his sonnets, supplementing our study with sonnets by other poets, including Edmund Spenser, John Dunn, Robert Frost, E.E. Cummings, Jorge Luis Borges, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pablo Neruda, Joan Brossa, Rainer Maria Rilke, Vikram Seth, and Seamus Heaney.

■ HOW ARE WE TO LIVE? (1/3 credit, one trimester) An examination of key works of four essential and profoundly influential writers who lived and worked in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century: Martin Buber, Rainer Maria Rilke, Franz Kafka, and Albert Camus. We will read stories, essays, parables, poems, a novel and a play, exploring the ways in which these writers struggled with and responded to the questions and contradictions of human existence in modern times.

Our readings will include Buber’s I and Thou and The Way of Man; selections from Rilke’s poems and from his Letters To a Young Poet; selected stories and Parables and Paradoxes by Kafka; and The Plague, The Just Assassins, and an assortment of essays by Camus.

■ STEINBECK’S CALIFORNIA (1/3 credit, one trimester) “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream,” John Steinbeck wrote. “Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, ‘whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,’ by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, ‘Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,’ and he would have meant the same thing.” This course will explore Steinbeck’s insight that events of greatest human significance play out in the most ordinary of places and circumstances.

We will pay particular attention to the role of geographical place in the novelist’s imagination.

How, for example, might a given regional setting become re-envisioned (“through another peephole”?) in grander moral terms? Although Steinbeck is justly acclaimed for his weighty tomes, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, some of his most inspired writing appears in a series of shorter novellas, from which our readings will be drawn: Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, To a God Unknown, and The Log from the Sea of Cortez.

■ FOXY LADIES: PURSUING THE FEMININE SPIRIT (1/3 credit, one trimester) With the increase of women’s rights and freedoms throughout the Victorian era and into the twentieth century, a certain type of novel began to imagine and explore the ‘new woman’ as a modern figure of neither fear, scorn, or praise but primarily of mystery. What would this woman of the future look like? What might women prove capable of, once they were freed to explore their wn potential? One form this imagining took was of a wild, undomesticated spirit as foreign and mysterious to a woman herself as to the men around her. Though these days such a spirit is often imagined as a wolf (as in “women who run with...”), the literature of the time is marked more 6

frequently by a fox or vixen. This course will investigate this theme through three works primarily: Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady, Mary Webb’s Gone to Earth, and D. H. Lawrence’s The Fox. Students should be prepared to study these novels intensively, perform well on reading quizzes, write two or three critical essays, perhaps view a film or two, and most of all be open to exploring a mysterious symbol that can be both baffling and dreamlike.

■ FAULKNER (1/3 credit, one trimester) An examination of a master of American Modernism. William Faulkner’s experimentation with point of view presents the reader with multi-faceted narratives that are difficult to unravel yet provide rewarding explorations of the psychology of passionate characters who are trapped in their own self-deceptions. These characters are metaphorically haunted by their pasts, both private and historical; as Gavin Stevens says in Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” As they detail the “little postage stamp of native soil” that Faulkner named Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, the novels yoke together the most intimate of family conflicts with the overarching social and racial tensions of the American South as it moved out of the Civil War and into the Twentieth Century. This course will focus on two of Faulkner’s tragic masterpieces, The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom!, supplemented with relevant examples of his shorter fiction.

■ LOVE IN THE SHADOW OF TROY: THE ROMANCE OF TROILUS AND CRISEYDE (1/3 credit, one trimester) A study of the most famous tragic lovers before Romeo and Juliet. Both Chaucer and Shakespeare were drawn to the tale of these two Trojan lovers caught up in the devastating effects of war and love. In their different versions of Troilus and Criseyde, Chaucer and Shakespeare each provide astonishingly modern psychological insights into the pains and pleasures of love. When does love establish a sacred bond, and when does it slide into narcissism? Students will become familiar with some of the Medieval and Renaissance philosophical attitudes toward love as articulated by Boethius, Petrarch, and the troubadour poets. We’ll also discuss the treatment of women in the person of Criseyde/Cressida, who will become the archetype of the faithless woman and femme fatale. When love falls apart, whom do we blame — or, more specifically, whom do the men blame?

Our reading of Chaucer will be in modern English translation but will be supplemented with some study of the original Middle English.

■ GROWING UP IN AMERICA: STEINBECK AND HEMINGWAY

(1/3 credit, one trimester) A study of growing up in America during the trauma of World War I and during its postwar consequences in the new American West and Midwest, regions that have fostered two of America’s most notable modern writers. The primary activity of this class will be a careful reading of East of Eden.

Published for the first time in 1952, ten years before Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, East of Eden draws inspiration for its story from the Book of Genesis. Consequently, we will also examine the fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis, the story of Cain and Abel, and how that seminal narrative has influenced Steinbeck’s novel with its themes of good and evil, development and adaptation, and social, familial responsibility. Additionally, we will analyze the influence of World War I on both writing style and literature through a close reading of collected short stories in Hemingway’s In Our Time.

S tudents should expect to write two critical papers, a final examination, and weekly quizzes on the reading.

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ENGLISH (CONTINUED) ■ AP ENGLISH LITERATURE (1/3 credit, one trimester, students recommended by department) This intensive literature and writing skills trimester elective for seniors is designed to give training for the Composition and Literature Examination in Advanced Placement English in the spring.

The course aims to strengthen understanding of literary and rhetorical terms and to hone critical reading and writing skills through further exposure to acknowledged classics of drama, fiction, and lyric poetry. The syllabus, centered on a single text well suited to the kinds of essay questions favored by the AP exam, will demand careful reading in addition to extensive writing from students. All students in the course are required to take the AP examination; an exam fee of approximately $90 is charged.

SPRING ENGLISH ELECTIVES ■ TRUTH, BEAUTY, JUSTICE (1/3 credit, one trimester) A course designed to acquaint students with several of our enduring questions through a variety of philosophical and religious texts. Among the issues of the course will be the idea and practice of questioning. Why do some ideas stubbornly maintain the form of questions: e.g., Why am I here?

What ought I to do? What can I know? Is there a God? What is love, truth, honor, virtue, beauty, justice? What sort of questioning does the investigation of these ideas require? Where do I begin?

Among the readings for the course will include the following: • Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno and Phaedo • Aristotle’s Ethics • Descartes’ Meditations • Tolstoy’s A Confession • Camus’ The Fall

Course requirements will include study questions, quizzes, in-class writing, papers, a journal, and class participation.

■ GENESIS, JOB, AND GOSPELS (1/3 credit, one trimester)

A course directed at both acquainting students with the varied writings of the Bible and providing students with tools for reflecting on those writings. We will pay strict attention to the different literary genres of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Our reading will be supplemented with readings from Greek, Babylonian, Hindu and other mythologies. This year’s course will concentrate on the New Testament Gospels.

Course requirements will include study questions, quizzes, in-class writing, papers, and class participation.

■ ONLY CONNECT: PERILS OF MODERNITY IN E. M. FORSTER’S FICTION (1/3 credit, one trimester)

Often linked in spirit and tone with the work of Jane Austen, E. M. Forster’s novels are in truth more troubled and troubling than those of Austen, haunted as they are by an ongoing meditation on the uncountable ways individuals in particular but also families and nations are themselves changing in the wake of modernity’s upheavals. Though Forster, like Austen, focuses on the mores and foibles in the interpersonal interactions of what can appear to be quite limited social circles, in fact Forster aims to spread these circles outward to capture a larger, more comprehensive portrait of the way they intersect and ripple through the various strata of the society (or societies) he depicts.

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This course will focus primarily on two such novels, Howards End and A Passage to India, supplementing our study of these longer works either with short stories and perhaps an essay or two as well as the viewing of one of the many Forster film adaptations. Course work will include frequent reading quizzes as well as two or three critical essays.

■ MOBY-DICK (1/3 credit, one trimester)

Published in 1851, Herman Melville’s great whale of a novel is less a monolith than a motley quilt of many books all sewn into one. This course will concentrate on piecing out some of these patches as we seek to make sense of Ishmael, Ahab, Moby Dick, and Melville himself, this author who seems to aspire to the titles of naturalist, playwright, religious prophet, and national poet all at once.

Along with the novel, we will read critical, literary, biblical, historical, and philosophical secondary sources.

In keeping with the composite nature of the novel we are exploring, assignments will range from the creative to the critical, with the occasional viewing of films and one required field trip to Mystic Seaport thrown in for good measure.

■ FROST’S POETRY (1/3 credit, one trimester) A careful reading of the work of one of the greatest American poets, Robert Frost. We will read deeply in the body of Frost’s poetic works to appreciate the complexity of Frost’s perspective on the natural world. Not simply a nature poet, Frost grapples with the nature of thought and the imagination, and we will attempt to situate his reflections among the contradictions and uncertainties of modern consciousness. Our reading of the poetry will be supplemented by some of Frost’s prose writings and notebook meditations, as well as some excerpts from Jay Parini’s biography of Frost. In addition to critical writing, students should expect to write some imitations of Frost’s poetry as a way to gain appreciation for his achievements in voice and form.

■ ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN SHORT STORY (1/3 credit, one trimester)

This course will explore the origins and evolution of the short story genre in 19th-century American literature. Topics will include Washington Irving’s distinctive “American style”; Edgar Allan Poe’s innovative detective stories and science fiction; Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical romances; Herman Melville’s grappling with the problem of evil and the God of Calvinism; Charles Chesnutt’s and Mark Twain’s elevation of regional fiction; and Kate Chopin’s early feminist aesthetic. The bulk of our time and energy will be devoted to closely reading the stories themselves. We will attend to the texts’ formal and aesthetic dimensions – narrative structure, character development, unity of effect, tone, voice, pacing, and so forth – in order to reflect responsibly on the meaning they held for readers in the 19th century and continue to hold for us today. Secondarily, we will have occasion to consider the relationship between literature and social and moral change, especially concerning the institution of slavery in the United States; the cause of women’s rights; developments in the sciences, politics, and theology; and the absence of an international copyright law in the U.S. until 1891.

■ THE DEMOCRATIC SELF: SELECTED AMERICAN LITERATURE OF THE 1850’S (1/3 credit, one trimester) When President Abraham Lincoln met author Harriet Beecher Stowe in the White House during the dark days of the Civil War in the early 1860’s, he is said to have greeted her by saying: “so here is the little woman who started this great war.” In the 1850’s Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin had helped to turn the conscience of America against its founding sin, the institution of slavery. The decade before the Civil War also saw a never-equalled flowering of American literature. Along with 9

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, this course will explore several other influential works of this decade: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables and Walt Whitman’s great poem “Song of Myself”, along with selected writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

■ AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION (1/3 credit, one trimester, students recommended by department) As preparation for selected juniors to take the Advanced Placement Language and Composition examination at the end of their junior year, this course builds in students an understanding and appreciation of the variety of different prose styles and rhetorical techniques used by writers. We will read essays from a variety of historical periods and rhetorical contexts to develop sensitivity to style, tone, and devices. Students will also hone their composition skills by writing prose to address a variety of purposes. Students must be prepared for frequent short writing assignments and regular quizzes on vocabulary and terms. All students in the course are required to take the AP exam; an exam fee of approximately $90 is charged.

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MATHEMATICS REQUIREMENTS The mathematics program at Westover is a five-level sequence from Algebra I through Calculus. In all courses, modern methods of presenting concepts are blended with traditional training in basic skills. The emphasis is on student involvement in reading, discussion, and the development of problem solving strategies.

Technology is an important element in all courses. Entering students will quickly be introduced to the operation of the graphing calculator. All mathematics courses require the TI-84 Plus or the TI-84 Silver Edition calculator.

All students in Geometry need to have a compass, straightedge and a protractor.

Three units of math — two units of algebra and one unit of geometry — are required for graduation. Talented math students who enter Westover without having taken Algebra I can be accelerated through a combination of independent study and summer work which will enable them to take calculus in their senior year. Departmental approval is required for such a program.

Students with strong ability and interest in math and science may be invited to participate in the co-curricular enrichment program (Women in Science and Engineering) described on pages 28-29.

INTRODUCTORY COURSES ■ ALGEBRA PLUS GEOMETRY (1 credit, full year) This course covers all the major topics included in a typical Algebra I class as well as essential geometry concepts. The algebra and geometry topics are introduced independently but are regularly integrated in problem solving. Students completing this course will advance to either Algebra II or Honors Algebra II. ■ GEOMETRY PLUS ALGEBRA (1 credit, full year) This course covers all the major topics included in a typical Geometry class while extending the student’s Algebra skills with an intensive review that is integrated throughout the year. Students completing this course will advance to either Algebra II or Honors Algebra II.

■ HONORS GEOMETRY PLUS ALGEBRA (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: by department assignment in November) This course covers all the major topics included in a typical honors level Geometry class while extending the student’s grasp of Algebra by solving challenging exercises throughout the year.

Students completing this course will advance to either Algebra II or Honors Algebra II.

THIRD YEAR COURSES ■ ALGEBRA II (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Geometry) A course in advanced algebra which leads towards Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry. Topics covered include variations and graphs, linear relations, systems of equations, inequalities, powers, roots, parabolas and quadratic equations, polynomial and rational functions, logarithms, introductory trigonometry, matrices, and sequences and series. Reading and problem solving are emphasized, and real-life situations are used to motivate algebraic ideas throughout this course.

■ HONORS ALGEBRA II (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Geometry and permission of the department) A third year course in mathematics covering standard second year algebraic topics at an accelerated pace. In addition, advanced topics of algebra are studied and an introduction to functional trigonometry is given.

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MATHEMATICS (CONTINUED) ■ HONORS PRE-CALCULUS/CALCULUS (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Honors Algebra II and permission of the department) A full year course which leads towards the study of AP Calculus BC. It covers trigonometry and all precalculus topics, and includes an introduction to calculus. It is assumed that students in this course will be able to move at a faster pace and that they will take AP Calculus BC at Westover in the following year.

FALL & WINTER ELECTIVE ■ PRE-CALCULUS AND TRIGONOMETRY (2/3 credit, two trimesters, prerequisite: Honors Algebra II, Algebra II or permission of the department) This course will review all elementary functions and introduce advanced properties of specific functions essential to calculus. Special attention will be given to polynomial functions, rational functions, logarithmic functions, exponential functions, and trigonometric functions.

■ HONORS PRE-CALCULUS AND TRIGONOMETRY (2/3 credit, two trimesters, prerequisite: Honors Algebra II, Algebra II or permission of the department) An intensive study of polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions and graphs. Introductory trigonometric identities, proofs and linear programming are also covered.

This course requires students to solve problems algebraically and to use their graphing calculator to analyze problem situations both graphically and numerically. Students in this course are expected to apply and to build upon the previously learned skill of reading mathematical texts.

WINTER ELECTIVE

■ ETHICS, DRUGS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ETHICS, ECONOMY, HISTORY AND BIOLOGY OF DRUGS (ELEVENTH & TWELFTH GRADES) (1/3 credit, one trimester, may be taken for history, science or math credit.)

Please see page 22 for course description.

SPRING ELECTIVE ■ ADVANCED PRE-CALCULUS (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry, or permission of the department) Through problem solving and curve sketching this course will extend and connect the major topics covered in the Pre-Calculus course. Topics in discrete mathematics, matrix algebra, statistics and probability will be added as time permits.

■ HONORS ADVANCED PRE-CALCULUS (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Honors Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry, or permission of the department) This course is designed to reinforce and connect all the concepts introduced in Honors Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry. Additional topics in trigonometry, conic sections, linear and nonlinear systems of equations, and systems of inequalities, are covered. The concept of the derivative is introduced through limits. Students in this course are expected to apply and to build upon the previously learned skill of reading mathematical texts.

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FOURTH YEAR COURSES ■ CALCULUS (1 credit, full year; prerequisite: Pre-Calculus & Advanced Pre-Calculus) A full year course of calculus designed to cover all the major topics of AP Calculus AB but with less rigor. Students enrolled in this course are not expected to take the Advanced Placement exam.

■ AP CALCULUS (AB) (1 credit, full year; prerequisite: Honors Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry & Honors Advanced Pre-Calculus) A full year course designed to represent first semester college-level calculus, including the theory of limits, as well as differentiation and integration. Emphasis is placed on a multi-representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results, and problems being expressed geometrically, numerically, analytically, and verbally. This course has one additional class meeting per week.

Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of the exam is approximately $90.

■ AP CALCULUS (BC) (1 credit, full year; prerequisite: Honors Pre-Calculus/Calculus or AB Calculus) A full year course designed to represent second semester college-level calculus. Emphasis is placed on a multi-representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results, and problems being expressed geometrically, numerically, analytically, and verbally. Topics beyond the scope of AP Calculus AB are explored. Students may take this course as a sequel to AP Calculus AB or after taking Honors Pre-Calculus/Calculus. Because the A, B, and C syllabi for calculus will be covered, the pace of this course is extremely fast, and the course has one additional class meeting per week.

Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of the exam is approximately $90.

■ AP STATISTICS (1 credit, full year; prerequisite: Honors Algebra II; may be taken concurrently with another math course) A course equivalent to a one-semester, introductory, college level course. The goal of the AP Statistics course is to introduce students to the major concepts of collecting and analyzing data, and for drawing conclusions from their analysis. Active learning and communication are high priorities.

Students learn to use the statistical capabilities of their graphing calculator to carry out routine computations, create graphical displays and perform some analyses. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of the exam is approximately $90.

■ AP MACROECONOMICS (1 credit, full year; permission of department required) Please see page 44 for course description.

■ INDEPENDENT STUDY (1, 2/3 or 1/3 credit; permission of department required) A course for students who have successfully completed the standard courses offered in the mathematics program at Westover.

■ MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (1/2 credit, prerequisite: AP Calculus BC) Please see page 45 for course description.

■ DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (1/2 credit, prerequisite: Multivariable Calculus) Please see page 46 for course description.

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LANGUAGES The Language Department offers course sequences from the introductory to the Advanced Placement levels in Chinese, French, Latin, and Spanish. The Department determines the level at which a new student is placed in the language program she chooses. Each student is required to successfully complete Westover’s third-level course in one of these languages in order to graduate, though she is encouraged to pursue the study of her chosen language beyond the requirement or to begin the study of a second foreign language. We ask that students do not sign up for courses in languages spoken at home.

CHINESE ■ CHINESE I (1 credit, full year) In this introductory course students learn pronunciation patterns, tones, and the basic grammatical structures of Mandarin Chinese. Chinese is used extensively in class, and students are expected to actively participate in class exercises and discussions. Students are exposed to approximately 500 words for oral practice and conversation. In addition, they are introduced to approximately 400 complex style Chinese characters. Projects and units on Chinese history and culture complement the language portion of the course.

■ CHINESE II (1 credit, full year) Students will continue to hone their tones, pronunciation, and use of grammatical structures in Mandarin Chinese. Students will be exposed to an additional 500 Chinese characters written in the complex style. They will have frequent opportunities to practice both their written and spoken Chinese using a word processing program and recorded exercises. Chinese is used almost exclusively in class, and students are expected to actively participate in class exercises and discussions. Projects and units on Chinese culture and history will expose students to other aspects of China.

■ CHINESE III (1 credit, full year) Students will build upon the skills learned in the introductory courses. They will further develop the ability to use technology and multimedia tools to enhance their experience, allowing them to practice their skills independently. They will be introduced to an additional 400 characters written in the complex style. The class will use the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Standards for Language Learning. Chinese will be used almost exclusively for all means of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Students will learn about Chinese culture through a series of dialogues and narratives. Successful study of the language and culture will give students the confidence to effectively communicate with native speakers of the language.

■ CHINESE IV (1 credit, full year) This advanced course prepares students to further develop their proficiency communicating in all aspects of the Chinese language: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Students will translate articles not only from the textbook, but also from authentic materials that correspond to a variety of themes. Chinese commercials, movies, and news excerpts will give students the opportunity to experience Chinese culture through technology. Students will produce news reports and professional presentations narrating global events. Students will be exposed to an additional 400 characters written in the complex style. The course will follow the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Standards for Language Learning and will provide many opportunities for students to use the language in realistic situations.

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■ AP CHINESE (V) (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) The goal of this college-level course is to prepare its students for the AP Exam in Chinese Language and Culture while building upon material and skills learned in previous years of study.The course will emphasize learning culture through reading, writing, listening to, and speaking the language.

The exam will assess a student’s communication skills, her ability to produce and understand spoken and written language, as well as her familiarity with Chinese culture. The AP Chinese course and examination are based on Mandarin Chinese. Classes are taught solely in Chinese and students are required to reciprocate in their use of the language. Students will gain advanced proficiency and will be able to use the target language in authentic settings. Students in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of this exam is approximately $90.

FRENCH ■ FRENCH I (1 credit, full year) In this introductory course, students will learn the basic communicative functions as well as the basic structures of the French language. Grammar lessons will be reinforced with photos and images, skits, and physical response exercises. Students will also be exposed to cultural aspects of the French-speaking world through activities such as researching and listening to traditional songs and cooking authentic French food. Classes are conducted in French.

■ FRENCH II (1 credit, full year) Students will continue to develop grammatical and speaking skills in this second year course, with an increased emphasis on writing. Some basic grammatical lessons will be supplemented with more advanced material according to the needs and interests of the class. Students will experience French culture through songs, skits, film and use of the Internet. Active participation in class discussions and exercises is essential. Classes are conducted in French.

■ FRENCH III (1 credit, full year) Students will continue to hone skills in grammar, speaking and listening in this third year course, with an increased emphasis on developing advanced reading and writing skills. As in previous courses, students will be expected to apply these skills in communicative activities in the classroom. Basic grammar lessons will be supplemented with images and video, skits, and use of the Internet. Students will be exposed to culture through short stories, periodical articles, and films, thus improving their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. This class will be taught solely in French. Active participation is essential.

■ FRENCH IV (1 credit, full year) This advanced level course offers a survey of French literature and history throughout the centuries.

Students will examine such historical topics as the French Renaissance and the French Revolution, and will study excerpts of works by French poets and writers such as Voltaire, Sartre and Prévert.

Students will learn about relevant current events by reading newspaper and magazine articles and by viewing excerpts from French newscasts. This course also offers an in-depth review of grammatical structures. Classes are taught solely in French; students will be required to speak only French in class and to participate in group discussions with enthusiasm.

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LANGUAGES (CONTINUED) ■ AP FRENCH (V) (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) This course, which requires an advanced degree of proficiency, prepares students for the AP exam offered in May. Students will be exposed to the numerous formats of the exam and will be trained in aural, oral, and written exercises. The course includes an in-depth review of the most complex structures of French grammar. Students will enrich their vocabulary bank. They will also further their understanding of the Francophone world and its cultures through the extensive study of a novel, newspaper articles and films. Classes are taught solely in French; students will be required to speak only French in class and to participate in group discussions with enthusiasm. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of this exam is approximately $90.

LATIN ■ LATIN I (1 credit, full year) This course offers an introduction to the elements of Latin grammar, syntax, and vocabulary as tools for reading the language. Students will also explore the history of Rome, classical mythology, and the Latin roots of English words. Our readings cover a variety of topics including the Trojan War, the comedy of Plautus & Terence, the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, and the Catilinarian conspiracy. Composition and introductory oral communication are used to reinforce the grammatical concepts of the course. Elements of Roman culture and society are presented through Latin passages and supplemented with English readings.

■ LATIN II (1 credit, full year) After reviewing the material learned in Latin I, we continue the study of Latin grammar and syntax. Our Latin readings tell the story of the Roman poet Horace, who lived in the second half of the first century BCE, one of the most exciting periods in Roman history and the golden age of Latin literature. We follow Horace from his school days in Rome to his travels in Greece to his involvement in the Roman civil war to his career as one of the Latin language’s leading poets.

Along the way we encounter such fascinating historical figures as Cicero, Brutus, Augustus, Vergil, Antony and Cleopatra.

As in Latin I, we pay steady attention to the Latin origins of English words, as well as to the structural differences between the two languages, as a way of developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of both. And we continue our exploration of the historical and cultural context in which the Romans wrote, and of the connections between that context and our own.

■ LATIN III (1 credit, full year) This course seeks to enhance the facility, understanding, and enjoyment with which students read a wide variety of Latin poetry and prose. Readings set during the rule of the Emperor Domitian involve such topics as marriage, country life, and Roman law. Selections from the works of writers such as Ovid, Catullus, Horace, Vergil, Cicero and Phaedrus bring an ancient language and culture to life in our modern classroom. Composition is integrated as a significant component of the winter term.

■ LATIN IV (1 credit, full year) This course provides an opportunity to study masterpieces of Latin poetry and the finest of Latin prose. We will read from a variety of authors, such as Catullus, Ovid, Vergil, Plautus, Petronius, and Cicero. In addition to detailed study of meter, rhetoric, grammar, and syntax, we may discuss themes of love, hate, family, friendship, change, hospitality, and destiny.

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■ AP LATIN (V) (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) This college-level course builds on the previous year’s study of masterworks of Latin literature and demands an advanced level of proficiency with the language. In 2012-2013, we will focus on Vergil’s Aeneid and Julius Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico, with close attention to matters of content, style, grammar, and context. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam; the cost of this exam is approximately $90.

SPANISH ■ SPANISH I (1 credit, full year) In this introductory course, students will learn the basic communicative functions as well as the basic structures of the Spanish language Students will perform reading, writing, speaking and aural comprehension exercises. They are also introduced to cultural aspects of Spain and Latin America.

Classes are conducted in Spanish.

■ SPANISH II (1 credit, full year) Students will continue to develop grammatical and speaking skills in this second year course, with an increased emphasis on writing. Increased emphasis is placed on oral-aural skills, along with practice in writing and reading. Students are further exposed to Hispanic culture in reading materials.

Classes are conducted in Spanish.

■ SPANISH III (1 credit, full year) This course extends the study of basic patterns with concentration on the more complex aspects of Spanish grammar in addition to expanding vocabulary. The focus is on the continued improvement of comprehending spoken and written material, and augmenting speaking and writing skills in Spanish. Students practice their listening and speaking skills by speaking with their instructor and classmates in the classroom through varied activities. The complexity of the short readings gradually increases over the course of the year. Various websites are introduced to the students to aid in their preparation and study outside of class as well. As the year progresses, increased emphasis is placed on the student’s proficiency in speaking Spanish. Classes are conducted in Spanish.

■ HONORS SPANISH III (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) Like Spanish III, this course extends the study of basic patterns with concentration on the more complex aspects of Spanish grammar. Concepts are covered in depth and reinforced by a wide range of discussion-based activities. Literary selections in the text, chosen from a wide variety of Hispanic writers, both classic and contemporary, are used for both class discussion and writing assignments, giving students the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge by the active use of the language. The course also offers increased exposure to Hispanic culture and art through frequent use of Internet, film and media resources. As the year progresses, increased emphasis is placed on oral proficiency. Classes are conducted in Spanish.

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LANGUAGES (CONTINUED) ■ ADVANCED ELECTIVES IN SPANISH/SPANISH IV These electives are enrichment courses designed for advanced students of Spanish who wish to increase their knowledge of Hispanic culture and to gain proficiency in communicative skills, especially speaking and reading. Though classes will be discussion based, it is expected that students will be able to use essential structures and vocabulary of Spanish in reading, writing, and conversing.

The instructor will review and test these elements as needed. The student who chooses to take all three electives will earn one full credit in Spanish IV. ◆ FALL: CURRENT EVENTS IN SPANISH (1/3 credit, one trimester; permission of the department required) The fall term elective will include a comprehensive grammar review in order to strengthen the skills needed for reading, writing and speaking Spanish throughout the remainder of the year.

The class will also use newspaper and internet sources to research and present current events in the Hispanic world. Participation in class discussion is essential. ◆ WINTER: CUSTOMS AND HOLIDAYS (1/3 credit, one trimester; permission of the department required) Students will study a variety of Hispanic customs and holidays in order to become more familiar with the cultural practices of Hispanic peoples around the world. Participation in class discussion is essential. ◆ SPRING: HISPANIC FILMS NOTE: To enroll in the spring elective, students must have taken one of the earlier electives or be currently enrolled in another Spanish course of level III Honors or higher.

(1/3 credit, one trimester; permission of the department required.)

Students will view, study, and discuss in depth four or five films from various Hispanic countries.

Participation in class discussion is essential.

■ HONORS SPANISH IV (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) Building on three years prior study of the Spanish language and cultures associated with it, this upper-level course aims to provide a thorough review of all grammar structures, expansion of vocabulary, a general insight to Hispanic literature, as well as an increased proficiency in communicating and understanding Spanish. A wide variety of projects will be assigned throughout the year that help enhance the student’s overall confidence and comfort in using Spanish. The students will be able to make connections and draw comparisons with cultures commonly associated with the Spanish language and those of their own culture through many resources suchas the Internet, film and other media. All students will be expected to use only Spanish at all times in this course. Classes are conducted entirely in Spanish.

■ AP SPANISH (V) (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) An AP Spanish Language course is comparable to an advanced level college Spanish language course.

Emphasizing the use of Spanish for active communication, it encompasses aural/oral skills, reading comprehension, grammar in context, and composition. In this course, special emphasis is placed on the use of authentic source materials and the integration of language skills. There is extensive training in combining listening, reading, and speaking (or listening, reading, and writing) skills in order to demonstrate understanding of authentic Spanish-language source materials.

Classes are conducted entirely in Spanish. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Advanced Placement exam in May; the cost of this exam is approximately $90.

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ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE The English as a Second Language program is designed for students who have already attained a high/intermediate level of competence in both spoken and written English, but may need some additional support to be successful in Westover’s rigorous academic curriculum. The aim of the program is to refine students’ English skills so that these non-native speakers may be fully engaged in the Westover community. A fee is charged for English as a Second Language courses.

■ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE I (1 credit, full year) ESL I is an intensive course in which the new students will hone their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English so as to be able to participate as fully as possible in their academic courses, especially English and History, and in every other aspect of Westover life.

In addition to focusing on the English language, students will learn about United States history and culture. They will be required to do substantial work outside class; in particular, ESL I students will be expected to practice English with native speakers at every opportunity. Careful attention will be paid to individual students and their specific needs.

ESL I meets four times a week. Students in ESL I are also enrolled in English I and receive a combined ESL/English I grade for their work in both courses. This combined grade will be 75% ESL I and 25% English I. ■ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE II (Not for credit) In ESL II, students have tutorial help as necessary for their coursework at Westover. Students will be expected to bring questions to tutoring sessions based on their work in other courses.

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HISTORY The History program at Westover is designed to develop the student’s understanding and appreciation of economic, social, cultural and political changes throughout the world and the United States. To satisfy graduation requirements, each student must complete two trimesters each of World and European History and three trimesters of U.S. History. We encourage students who have an interest in history to take additional electives or Advanced Placement courses. All of these courses emphasize the geography underlying the historical events, the art and literature of the eras discussed, and parallels between current events and the historical record. A variety of historical materials are used, and emphasis is placed on the development of reading, writing and analytical skills. Instruction includes discussions, debates, simulations, use of technology, and trips to sites of historical importance. As historian David McCullough once said, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”

WORLD AND EUROPEAN HISTORY COURSES FOR FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES Students will take a total of four history electives by the end of their sophomore year, two World History electives and two European History electives. We recommend that students take two of the following courses during their freshmen year. They will take an additional two electives their sophomore year. Sophomores who want to be considered for AP World History must have taken two electives their freshman year.

■ AP WORLD HISTORY (TENTH GRADE) (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required. While this is a sophomore course, seniors and juniors will be allowed to take it if there is room.)

This course provides a grand sweep of world history, beginning with ancient cultures and examining the gradual growth of modern civilizations. Familiar events such as European navigation, the industrial revolution and World War Two will make their appearance, but students will also gain exposure to areas of history not covered in other courses. While we will focus on larger patterns and trends there will be time to delve into the interesting facts that make history come alive: How did the Aztecs build an empire without wheels? In a world of polytheistic societies, how did the Jews turn to worship only one God? Why have India and China always been the most populous nations? There will be strong emphasis on the development of historical skills: detection of patterns, exploration of cause and effect, discussion of continuity and change over time. Yet, we will take an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating geography, archeology, anthropolgy and sociology into our study of the past.

Ultimately, our challenge will be to find new ways of telling the story of humanity and perhaps discover a single narrative that encompasses the entire globe. All students are required to take the AP exam and pay the exam fee of approximately $90.

FALL WORLD AND EUROPEAN HISTORY ELECTIVES - NINTH AND TENTH GRADES ■ GOLD, GLORY AND GOSPEL (World History) (1/3 credit, one trimester) Portuguese missionaries looked for Christian converts along the Amazon River. English industrialists filled their bank accounts with the profits made off of Indian cotton. The Japanese flag flying over the rice paddies of Korea brought glory to the Empire of the Sun. King Leopold of Belgium tried to drain every last bit of wealth from the Congo River basin before he was forced to turn over custody to the Belgian government that continued his exploitation of the Congolese people. Seizing gold, spreading the gospel, enhancing national glory; these are the reasons why one country would take over and dominate a group of people.

As soon as Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa and Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic, Europeans felt it was their right and their duty to explore the world and conquer new lands. In this class we will examine how Belgium, England and Japan forever altered the course of life in three 20

dynamic regions with rich and varied histories. What impact did the colonizing powers have on the conquered and vice versa? What struggles did people go through in order to keep their cultures alive? Come and see how the drive for wealth, notoriety and the desire to spread religion came together to alter the history of the world.

■ A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND ST. PETERSBURG (European History) (1/3 credit, one trimester) Paris, France 1789. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1917. These two cosmopolitan cities served as the backdrop for two of the most influential revolutions in European history. In this course we will study the cultures of each of these cities and the economic, political and social factors that contributed to the French and Russian Revolutions. We will explore some intriguing parallels between these two epic events as we study the major figures involved, the goals they held, and the tragic outcomes of these tumultuous eras. By examining the artwork and literature of each era we will consider the various perspectives held by both the revolutionaries and their opponents and gain an appreciation for the impact these important events have had on Europeans from France to Russia and all points in between.

■ LET FREEDOM RING! (World History) (1/3 credit, one trimester) All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke, 18th century British Philosopher At the close of World War Two, the world learned that 11 million people had been killed in the Holocaust, and the cry rang out around the world for a clear statement of and commitment to the rights all people have no matter their race, gender, age, ethnic background or religion. Yet today, women in Afghanistan, the Karen people of Burma and the citizens of Darfur and Tibet continue to be deprived of their basic human rights. Can humanity ever live up to the ideals we have set for ourselves? This course will start with the Enlightenment – the era in which these ideals were born.

We will learn about the many good people throughout history who have taken action against the mistreatment of others. Our study of various human rights movements will take us around the globe and introduce us to some intrepid activists: Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi who is fighting for the political freedom of her people; Tibetan poet Woeser, who, at great personal risk, blogs daily about the plight of Tibetans from her home in Beijing; and teacher-activist Safia Ama Jan, who was assassinated by the Taliban for educating Afghani girls.

WINTER WORLD AND EUROPEAN HISTORY ELECTIVES - NINTH AND TENTH GRADES ■ A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND ST. PETERSBURG (European History) Please see above for course description.

■ LET FREEDOM RING! (World History) Please see above for course description.

■ A TALE OF TWO EMPIRES: GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY (European History) (1/3 credit, one trimester) February 10, 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin, Albert. This was not the first German/British union, though it was the most romantic. Since the 17th century Germans had come to England to rule as kings (George I) or, like Albert, to marry into the royal family. Victoria’s daughter, in turn, married the German Emperor Frederick III, and it wasn’t uncommon for young Englishmen to spend a few years at a Heidleburg University dangling after German maidens and drinking beer at Octoberfest. Yet, on July 28, 1914, these two friends faced each other across No Man’s Land and fought a brutal war for over 4 years. What made them turn from friends to mortal enemies? This course will look at the development of Victorian England and newly unified Germany against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, Imperialism and growing Nationalism.

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HISTORY (CONTINUED) ■ A HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA (World History) (1/3 credit, one trimester) The Apartheid system condemned nearly 90% of the population of South Africa to a life of silent poverty for decades in the 20th century. Who were the Afrikaner minority who held control of the nation for so many years? How did the traditional African cultures survive despite this systematic suppression? How does this nation of eleven languages, three races and numerous religious traditions fare on the world stage today? In this course we will study the legacy of European colonization in the southern section of the African continent and the tenacity of the native Africans in keeping their cultures alive throughout the modern era. In addition, we will examine the influence Nazi racial doctrines had on Apartheid and the great lengths the government went to in keeping this system in place. We will also study the role of internal and external protest in toppling Apartheid and the process by which South Africa moved beyond its historical tragedy to become the most cosmopolitan nation in Africa today.

SPRING WORLD AND EUROPEAN HISTORY ELECTIVES - NINTH & TENTH GRADES ■ A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND ST. PETERSBURG (European History) Please see page 21 for course description.

■ A TALE OF TWO EMPIRES: GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY (European History) Please see page 21 for course description.

■ LET FREEDOM RING! (World History) Please see page 21 for course description.

WINTER TERM UPPER LEVEL WORLD HISTORY ELECTIVE ■ E THICS, DRUGS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ETHICS, ECONOMY, HISTORY AND BIOLOGY OF DRUGS (ELEVENTH & TWELFTH GRADES) (1/3 credit, one trimester, may be taken for history, science or math credit.)

By seeking to provide a deeper look at the ethical forces at play within students and within our world, this course aims to develop a rich background of information for “drugs”, with particular consideration for how closely interwoven drugs are with concepts of human rights. Examples of topics of discussion include: What determines whether a drug is legal? Who else makes money off of the drug trade besides the dealer? What does the sale of heroin in the U.S. have to do with the war in Afghanistan? Should the use of drugs in religious ceremonies be considered legal? Through a seminar format the course will explore the biology, history, economics and ethics of drugs. The course will include oral presentations and a final research paper.

UNITED STATES HISTORY (Three trimesters required by the end of the Senior year. Prerequisite: two each of Ninth and Tenth grade World and European History courses.)

Westover’s United States History requirement is fulfilled by the completion of three trimester courses. Several courses will be offered each term, and course offerings will vary somewhat from year to year. This year’s offerings include the following: FALL U.S. HISTORY ELECTIVES ■ WORLD WAR II (1/3 credit, one trimester) Before America’s victory in World War II, no nation had ever won such an extensive two-front war. We had been an isolated and peaceful nation until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. How was our nation able to respond so quickly in both Europe and Asia to defeat the Fascist powers?

Sixty-five years after the fighting ceased questions still linger about America’s role in the Second 22

World War. Why did we side with the Communists in order to win the war in Europe? How much did the American population know about the Holocaust and the Bhutan Death March while the global conflict raged? In this course we will use both primary and secondary sources to examine several aspects of the war. We will pay close attention to the role of the First World War, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Great Depression in hastening the conflict. Also to be considered are the various ideologies and leaders governing the powerful nations in both Europe and Asia in 1940. Our treatment of the war will include the military engagements as well as circumstances on the home front. Finally, we will examine the legacy of the Second World War: the atomic age, the Cold War, and the creation of the United Nations with a new role for America in international relations.

■ NEW YORK, NEW YORK: THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF NEW YORK CITY (1/3 credit, one trimester) New York City has been at the center of the major historical and cultural events that have shaped our nation since colonial times. The streets and buildings between the battery and Harlem are monuments to the vibrant challenging history of the city. We’ll witness the initial Dutch settlement and then follow the wealthy up 5th Avenue and watch new immigrants settle into tenements on the lower east side. The American Revolution, the Civil War, the anti-war movements of the 60’s and the attack of 9-11 will all be studied. We will use Edward Rutherford’s, New York: The Novel as our textbook. Since this book is 880 pages, the student choosing this course should enjoy reading!

■ ELECTION 2012: THE CONSTITUTION IN ACTION (1/3 credit, one trimester) Why is the average American frustrated with politics today? Perhaps it is because the current political dialogue is beholden to the media and special interests. Rarely does a public political discussion center on constitutional literacy and consider whether the plans and policies of our leaders on the local, state and federal levels align with the ideals on which our nation was founded.

To study the 2012 presidential election, we will begin with an exploration of the Constitution and the context in which it was written and then discuss a range of current issues from a constitutional perspective. In addition, we will evaluate the candidates’ plans from this perspective. Our class will also organize a school-wide election complete with campaigns and an electoral college with the ultimate goals of predicting the outcome of the election and engaging the community in a greater appreciation for the Constitution and the system it was designed to support.

WINTER U.S. HISTORY ELECTIVES ■ THE COLD WAR (1/3 credit, one trimester) What do 1950s television sitcoms and the United Nations Security Council have in common?

How about MTV videos and President Ronald Reagan? Teen movies of the 1980s and NATO? All of these responded in some way to America’s fear of the spread of Communism and the possibility of a nuclear war. American domestic policy and culture has always been intertwined with our foreign policy, so as Communism crept westward from the USSR and China, American leaders and civilians alike responded to the dual catastrophe of the ideology and the possibility of World War Three. Children learned to “duck and cover” while their parents built bomb shelters “in case of an emergency” and even the Warriner’s English Grammar textbook got into the act of helping Americans to learn to navigate life in the shadow of the Cold War. In this course we will use primary sources including films and music to study this crucial and frightening era in American history.

■ “THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN’ ”: AMERICA IN THE 1960s (1/3 credit, one trimester) Vietnam, Berkeley, Watts, Little Rock…these were just a few of the settings for the political and social turmoil of the 1960s. The voices of protest came through the music of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The 1960s was a

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HISTORY (CONTINUED) decade filled with challenges to the status quo and a call for the people to rise up and make profound and dramatic changes — but how lasting were those changes? This course will look at who was protesting, what they wanted, and how they tried to make their voices heard. We will place these events within the larger historical context so that we can understand the causes as well as the effects of this tumultuous decade.

■ BOOM AND BUST: SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN THE 1920s, 1930s and 1940s (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course will begin by looking at the euphoria of the years following World War I: short skirts, women voting, bath tub gin; the roaring twenties was a time of dramatic social and cultural change.

But on October 24, 1929 it all suddenly crashed to a halt; the stock market fell, dance marathons were replaced by bread lines, and the country faced the worst depression in its history. The course will also look at the economic factors that played into the stock market crash and contributed to the severity of the Depression. Literature, art, music and film will be emphasized. We will end with a consideration of the United States’ emergence from isolationism, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and our entry into the European war.

■ N ATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, THE TRAIL OF TEARS: THE DEVELOPMENT, DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH OF NATIVE AMERICAN SOCIETIES (1/3 credit, one trimester) Did you know that the eagle seal on the back of the dollar bill is taken from a centuries old seal of the Iroquois? Did you know that the Mayas taught the world the concept of “zero”? Did you know that the Great Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico is, by volume, larger than any of the pyramids of Egypt?

Did you know that in 1827 the Cherokee Nation drafted a constitution based on the United States Constitution? Did you know that Native Americans can go to college for free?

The purpose of this course is to help us all better understand the Native American experience and how that experience has shaped and impacted the lives of all Americans. In this course we will explore the history and culture of Native American peoples from ancient times through the present. We will acquire an appreciation for the variety of Indian Nations and how their history is interwoven into the larger picture of U.S. history. While we will have a broad overview of the Native American experience, we will also focus our study on specific indigenous groups. Throughout our study, we will observe the development of Native American society, politics, culture and religion and how contact with whites altered these. Events of major importance to Native Americans in the context of American history will also be discussed. For instance we will study first contacts with Europeans, Cherokee Removal, the creation of the reservation system, forced acculturation and its reversal.

SPRING U.S. HISTORY ELECTIVES ■ WESTOVER GOES TO WAR (1/3 credit, one trimester) “Nothing interesting ever happens here,” is the current Westover student’s lament. Because our school was founded to be a quiet and contemplative place for young women, ever since its founding in 1910 those seeking more excitement have sometimes met with frustration. The students of 1914 - 1920 were much like students today, but as the Great War consumed the world, they found their formerly quiet school community was engulfed in the story. In this course, we will study the major events of war and their impact on life at Westover. From the sinking of the Lusitania to the tradition of marching practice to the heroic efforts of Westover students to rescue Russia from the Bolsheviks, we will embrace history on an international, national and personal level and discover that important and exciting things do happen here all the time.

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n A NEW CONSTELLATION: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE CREATION OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (1/3 credit, one trimester) The first flag of the United States of America featured a circle of thirteen stars, representing a new constellation, a new way of governing a nation. In this course we will study the events leading to the Revolution and how Americans determined to break away from England, something no colony had ever tried before. We will discuss the events of the Revolution and its aftermath and how the Founders strove to put into practice the ideals for which they had sacrificed so much during the war. Our study will include examination of primary sources and artwork from the period to animate our study of historical figures whose names are very familiar but whose accomplishments are sometimes taken for granted. This course will also include a close study of the Constitution and the development of the political party system. n FREEDOM’S DAUGHTERS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN WHO CHANGED HISTORY (1/3 credit, one trimester) …I had a right to liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other, for no man should take me alive. I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted. Sojourner Truth - 1850s If I go to jail now, it may help hasten the day when my child and all children will be free.

Diane Nash - 1960s African-American women are often considered to be the most oppressed and the most powerless members of our society; yet these women defied the system that oppressed them, raised their voices in the struggle for equality, and took to the streets to fight against bigotry and injustice. This course will look at the women who, with unflinching courage and honesty, changed the face of America.

They fought for their freedom and their rights, and they fought for the freedom and rights of their black brothers and white sisters.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES NOTE: Students electing to take an AP History course are required to take at least one history elective during the previous year. All students are required to take the AP exam and pay the exam fee of approximately $90.

■ AP EUROPEAN HISTORY (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) What did more to shape the nature of European society: the pomp and magnificence of the court of Louis XIV or the price of pepper? The political theories of the philosophers or the childbearing practices of peasants? If history is a telescope through which we see the past, this is a course which proposes to look through both ends. Through readings of a variety of sources, such as political documents, novels, plays, letters, paintings and philosophical tracts, we will examine both the great and the small in an attempt to answer the question, “What really makes things change?”

This challenging course provides a survey of European History from the Renaissance to the post-World War II period. It is intended to prepare students for the nationally administered Advanced Placement examination in European History.

■ AP UNITED STATES HISTORY: THE STORY OF AMERICA (1 credit, full year; permission of the department required) Colonization. The Revolution. Westward Expansion. Immigration. The World Wars. The Great Depression. The Civil Rights Movement. In this full year course we recount the story of America 25

HISTORY (CONTINUED) from the beginning to the present. Students work extensively with primary sources and analytical texts to determine the motives behind and the consequences of major events. We will examine the contributions of presidents and poets, senators and slaves, workers and writers in creating our diverse nation. We will read novels and view films that celebrate American culture and history, and our curriculum will be a blend of social, economic, political, cultural and military history.

All assignments will focus on improving skills of analysis and understanding of factual material.

Students will write frequent essays and complete multiple-choice tests in preparation for the format of the Advanced Placement Exam in May. The student who completes this course will have a solid foundation in American History. â– AP WORLD HISTORY (TENTH GRADE) ( 1 credit, full year; permission of the department required. While this is a sophomore course, seniors and juniors will be allowed to take it if there is room.)

Please see page 20 for course description. â– A MERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AND AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (1 credit, corequisite: U.S. History.)

NOTE: students can not take this class while simultaneously taking another AP History course.

Please see page 44 for course description.

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SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS The Science Department offers a balanced and varied curriculum of biological and physical sciences. These include year long surveys of the major disciplines as well as trimester electives devoted to more specialized topics. To satisfy graduation requirements, each student must complete at least two full years of laboratory science, one biological and one physical, in addition to at least one of the trimester electives. Most students, however, opt for at least three full years of science, a program considered as a minimum by most competitive colleges. When possible, two full years of science should be completed by the end of the Junior year. AP Chemistry and AP Environmental Science will be offered in years alternating with AP Biology. AP Physics will be offered every year.

BIOLOGY ■ BIOLOGY (1 credit, full year) An introduction to the study of life, tracing its evolution from organic molecules through singlecelled organisms to more complex plant and animal forms and their interrelationships in and with their environment. The course emphasizes structure and functional adaptations to the pressures of survival found in diverse environments. Topics of current interest, such as infectious disease, genetic engineering, and environmental pollution, are included in the curriculum. In the lab and in the field both quantitative and observational skills are developed.

■ AP BIOLOGY (offered this year, 2012-2013) (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and permission of the department) A course designed for the highly motivated student with a special interest in biology. Since this is the second biology course the students will take, the course moves at a rigorous pace. Reading from a college text, weekly laboratory work with extensive written reports, and weekly study questions will demand serious attention and organization from the successful student. Each week, students will attend an additional lab/class period. Students will be required to take the AP Biology exam; a fee of approximately $90 is charged.

Expected Order of Topics: Fall — Cellular Biology and Biochemistry (Energetics and Genetics); Winter — Evolution and the Diversity of Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Fungi, Protista, and Plantae Kingdom (anatomy and physiology); Spring — Animal Diversity (anatomy and physiology) and Ecology.

CHEMISTRY ■ CHEMISTRY (1 credit, full year) This course will emphasize chemistry’s influence on society. Students will learn what important roles chemistry plays in their lives as well as its effect on the environment around them. They will learn to use chemistry to think through and make informed decisions about issues involving science and technology, and they will consider both the potential and limitations of science. Laboratory experiments and group discussions are essential to topics which include water, air, pollution, petroleum, food, health, nuclear chemistry and industrial chemistry.

In addition, the course is meant to expose students to the scientific method in addressing some of the impacts of our chosen sources of energy, natural vs. man-made materials, and the overall quality of our air and water as a result of the industrialization of society. Lab exercises and classroom activities are meant to stimulate conversation about the pros and cons of both existing and emerging technologies.

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SCIENCE (CONTINUED) ■ HONORS CHEMISTRY (This course is a prerequisite for all AP Science options) (1 credit, full year) An introduction to the study of chemical systems. The structure and properties of atoms, the periodic table, and fundamental chemical reactions are introduced early in the course and are followed by more detailed and specialized topics including the behavior and properties of gases, solutions, and acids and bases. Biological, industrial and nuclear chemistry are considered in addition to environmental issues. Frequent labs reinforce principles encountered in class and teach a variety of laboratory and experimental skills. Twenty percent of the lab exercises are student designed. Group lab work encourages collaborative, communication, and thinking skills.

■ AP CHEMISTRY (offered again in 2013-2014) (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and permission of the department) This course is designed for the highly motivated science student with a special interest in chemistry and/or engineering. An emphasis on chemical calculations, the mathematical formulation of principles, and more complex laboratory experiments drawn from college texts differentiate this course from its prerequisite. Each week students will attend an additional laboratory/class period.

Students enrolled in this course are required to take to take the AP Chemistry exam; a fee of approximately $90 is charged.

Topics: Fall – The Structure of Matter and Stoichiometry; Winter – Periodicity and the Control of Chemical Reactions; Spring – Thermochemistry, Electrochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry.

PHYSICS ■ PHYSICS (1 credit, full year; concurrent Algebra II desirable) This conceptual course begins with an introduction to the history and to the basic principles and topics of Newtonian physics. We then move onward, using these basic ideas, to study and apply the phenomena and concepts of physics, including gravitation, waves and wave mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and light. Time permitting, we will also look at some aspects of modern physical theory, including the foundations of relativity and quantum mechanics. Students will learn, through reading, labs, and demonstrations, how to work and think logically and how to solve basic problems related to the physical world around them.

■ HONORS PHYSICS (1 credit, full year, concurrent Algebra II desirable) This course examines the fundamental laws of nature, laws which govern the behavior of the matter, energy, space and time comprising our universe. Topics include Newtonian mechanics, wave mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, light and some aspects of modern physics including relativity and quantum mechanics. These concepts will be developed thoroughly through mathematical analysis. Emphasis will also be placed on the historical development of scientific thought and on the impact which the study of physics has had on the way we see the world. Labs will explore and extend the concepts introduced in class.

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■ AP PHYSICS (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics [or AP Chemistry or AP Environmental Science with permission of the instructor], concurrent Calculus desirable but not required, and permission of the department) This course meets the requirements of the AP Physics B curriculum and is designed to provide a foundation for advanced college courses in physical sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Topics covered will include those of the Honors Physics course, but with greater emphasis placed on derivation of equations, problem-solving, experimental design, and analysis of laboratory data. In addition, the course will address certain advanced topics not covered in the regular course. As in

other AP courses, there will be one extra class meeting per week. Students in this course are required to take the AP Physics B exam in May; a fee of approximately $90 is charged.

Expected Order of Topics: Fall — Forces and Motion, Gravitation; Winter — Momentum, Energy, Thermodynamics, Wave Mechanics; Spring — Electricity, Magnetism, Light and Topics in Modern Physics.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ■ AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (offered again in 2013-2014) (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: at least two years of science, one of Biology and one of either Honors Chemistry or Honors Physics, and permission of the department) As the subtle and delicate balance of our planet’s interwoven physical and biological systems becomes better appreciated and understood, so do we humans become more aware of how crucial this balance is to our continued existence. In this interdisciplinary science course we will address and analyze some of the most pressing issues of our time. Though global warming is arguably the “hottest” environmental topic of the century, many others deserve and will receive our attention, including management of depleting resources such as land, water, minerals, and fossil fuels, the steady growth of human population, the increasing demand for decreasing reserves of energy and nutrition, decreasing biological diversity, and increasing pollution of air and water. The weekly labs will be diverse, some in the field, others in the lab, some physical, and others with a focus on biology and organisms. Each week students will attend an additional laboratory/class period.

Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP Environmental Science exam in May; a fee of approximately $90 is charged.

SCIENCE ELECTIVES

■ F ALL: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (1/3 credit, one trimester) NOTE: This course may be taken for WISE or science credit. WISE students will be given preference.

Please see page 31 for course description.

■ W INTER: ETHICS, DRUGS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ETHICS, ECONOMY, HISTORY AND BIOLOGY OF DRUGS (ELEVENTH & TWELFTH GRADES) (1/3 credit, one trimester, may be taken for history, science or math credit.)

Please see page 22 for course description.

■ S PRING: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course is designed to provide an introduction to the field of psychology. We will study the fundamentals of this subject and learn to think critically and creatively about psychological concepts.

Our primary focus will be on the study of how biological, cognitive, and social factors influence human experience and behavior. Among the specific topics that we will cover are theories of personality, development over lifespan, psychological disorders, and behavior in social and cultural contexts.

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WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (WISE) WISE is open to freshmen and sophomores by application. Program requirements include:

• two terms of WISE I, one of which must be Introduction to Computer Programming. (all three terms are recommended)

• four advanced electives or AP Computer Science and two advanced electives.

• Engineering Design Project completed in the Junior or Senior year. Students may substitute an Independent Research Project with a formal proposal and approval by the department.

College level summer programs may, with permission, be substituted for an advanced elective.

WISE I — FIRST YEAR COURSES ■ FALL: PHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING (1/3 credit, one trimester, pass/fail) Physical & Structural Engineering draws on hands-on projects to explore the world of structural engineering. The course requires students to make observations about how the physical world behaves and use this information to design projects that perform optimally. Past projects have included building mid- to large- scale structural elements, constructing scale model houses, and bridge manufacturing. Exploration of structural materials, forces acting on structures, and historical significance of structures are discussed. This course is recommended as an introduction to the WISE program for all WISE I students.

■ WINTER: ROBOTICS (1/3 credit, one trimester, pass/fail) This course is designed to introduce students to the cutting-edge field of robotics by allowing them to build structures and bring them to “life” through programming. By finding a greater understanding of the functions associated with a variety of materials, students will work collaboratively to construct machines designed to complete engineering challenges. They will then work to teach their creations how to perform various tasks. In this way, students will apply concepts from mechanical and structural engineering while gaining valuable experience in computer programming.

■ SPRING: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER PROGRAMMING)

(1/3 credit, one trimester, required for students in WISE I, pass/fail) Introduction to Computer Programming uses the Alice program and command-line utilities to bring to life the Java programming language. Students will explore computer systems, the history of computing, and basic control structures. This course also introduces the basics of object-oriented program design and develops the abstract thinking skills necessary to tackle AP Computer Science.

This course is required for all WISE I students.

ADVANCED ELECTIVES (TENTH THROUGH TWELFTH GRADES) NOTE: Students not in the WISE program who are interested in any of these electives should speak to the Director of the WISE program.

■ AP COMPUTER SCIENCE (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: Introduction to Computer Programming or permission of the department) This course introduces computer science concepts including basic program form, development of algorithms, data types, control structures, and object-oriented design using the Java programming language. The course culminates with the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam; an exam fee of approximately $90 is charged.

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■ FALL: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (1/3 credit, one trimester, no prerequisite) NOTE: This course may be taken for WISE or science credit. WISE students will be given preference.

Electrical components, devices and systems are unavoidable in our everyday lives. This survey course will look at the history, development and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism in our society. Students will construct circuits, dismantle electronics, and discuss the uses and implementation of electricity. By investigating different aspects of circuitry, students will gain a better understanding of electrical systems, from the wiring in their houses to the circuit boards in their smart phones and computers.

■ WINTER: CRADLE TO GRAVE: AN ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF CONSUMERISM (1/3 credit, one trimester, no prerequisite) You got a new (insert product here) for your birthday! But where did it come from? What did it take to produce it? How long will you use it? And what will happen to it when it’s no longer useful? When you buy a product, whether it’s vegetables to have with dinner or a high tech device, a lot has already gone into its production and it can continue to impact the environment throughout its use and ultimate disposal. We will be examining the lifecycle of products with respect to the environment, including the draw on resources to produce and dispose of (even if by recycling) products and the impact of use during the product’s life. Along with an environmental impact analysis, we will consider the social and moral issues that are associated with consumerism.

■ SPRING: E NGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT (REQUIRED IN ELEVENTH OR TWELFTH GRADE) (1/3 credit, one trimester) Serving as the capstone project of the WISE Program, the Engineering Design Project is undertaken during the Junior or Senior year. The students will work together to design and build a physical structure or machine. This course is as varied as the imagination of its students, but will incorporate design principles and formal design documents. The final product may be entered into a competition. The Engineering Design Project or an alternative Independent Research Project is required for graduation from the WISE Program.

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ARTS REQUIREMENTS The Arts, both visual and performing, are essential to life and to learning. Art courses encourage a student to become more aware of the world around her, to appreciate beauty, and to make use of thoroughly taught skills to express herself with confidence.

Two credits in the Arts are required for graduation. Freshmen and new Sophomores are required to take Introduction to Visual Art, and those planning to take Advanced Studio courses should take Elements of Art. The basic Arts requirements are: • 1/3 credit: Introduction to Visual Art

• 1/3 credit in music and

• 1/3 credit in Art History or Humanities* OR for Performance Emphasis: (please see page 35) The remaining credits may be taken in Advanced Studio courses, Art History, Humanities, or in Performing Arts (music, theatre and dance.) *NOTE: When choosing a Humanities course, the student must decide whether it will be used for music or Art History credit; it may not be used for both.

STUDIO ARTS **NOTE: Students who may hesitate to take an art course because of materials fees should speak to their advisor and the Dean of Students about the possibility of receiving support from the faculty fund.

■ FALL OR WINTER: INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL ART This course is a prerequisite for Basic Photo, Ceramics I, Needle Arts and Elements of Art. A student may pass out of this course for full credit with approval of the Art Department. In order to do so, she must present a portfolio or disk of her most recent work to Sara Poskas.

(1/3 credit, one trimester; Requirement for all Freshmen and new Sophomores) This one-term required course provides both the novice and experienced student the opportunity to create works of art, while promoting visual perception and literacy. Girls will learn the basic principles of art and design through a series of hands-on projects, using various 2D and 3D media.

Assignments will be based on the following concepts: line, value, pattern, form, shape, positive and negative space. Collaborative thinking and risk taking will be encouraged as girls learn to group and individually critique work, which is a skill that is carried over in other Westover studio art courses. As students are introduced to essential art vocabulary terms, they will learn to convey their thoughts and ideas about art more effectively to others. Both abstract and representational imagery will be explored as subject matter. A field trip to a local art gallery or museum will enable students to see acclaimed works of art in a formal setting. Additionally, students will take a Westover art walk to increase awareness of – and promote interest in – the plethora of studio art and art history electives offered here on campus. (materials fee: $45.00**) ■ WINTER OR SPRING: ELEMENTS OF ART (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Introduction to Visual Art or approved portfolio) This one term intermediate level studio art course is designed for those girls who have successfully completed Introduction to Visual Art. In this class students will expand their perceptual, conceptual and technical skills as they continue to develop the visual language needed to express their experiences and ideas. Students will be encouraged to think critically and creatively as they create abstract and representational images. Ideas and thoughts will be articulated during individual and group critique sessions. Self evaluation and peer evaluation will foster a sense of empowerment and motivation. Students will develop their art vocabulary as essential art terms will be taught through handson studio projects. Projects will stem off skills learned in Introduction to Visual Art, but will provide a new level of challenge. Periodically students will view digital images of the work of artists, both past and present, to enhance their own projects. Students, through the making and viewing of art, 32

will gain skills to become confident visual investigators and critical thinkers in our media-saturated world. (materials fee: $50.00**) ■ FALL OR SPRING: CERAMICS I: HANDBUILDING FOR BEGINNERS (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Introduction to Visual Art) One of the most satisfying materials to work with is ceramics clay. It is difficult to hold a lump of wet clay in your hands and not form something with it. This introductory level handbuilding course for beginners will introduce students to methods used to create forms with clay. Students in this class will learn the following: kneading, wedging, recycling, firing, pinching, slab making, coiling and glazing. Students will make develop these skills and improve their craftsmanship throughout the term. Ideas and thoughts will be articulated during individual and group critique sessions. Some drawing will be required as girls work out their ideas in their sketch books. Students who complete this course will be well prepared for Westover’s more intermediate level clay course, Ceramics II: Advanced Handbuilding. (materials fee: $60.00**) ADVANCED STUDIO COURSES Two terms of drawing are required as a prerequisite for painting, or the student must receive special permission of the department.

The same advanced studio course may be taken more than once; as students build on their level of experience, more demanding assignments are given, and a gradual increase of independence is expected. Trips to galleries, art museums, and studios are made when appropriate, and occasionally a visiting artist will talk with a class.

FALL ELECTIVES ■ ART AND DESIGN: SPIDERMAN (1/2 credit, no prerequisite.)

Please see page 45 for description.

■ DRAWING I (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Elements of Art) In this course students will be refining their language of Art by describing experiences in a three dimensional world on two dimensional surfaces. Students will explore the nuance of line in various media and learn how to more carefully observe and record the subject(s) under study, using methods of measurement and comparison which will help them both to find correct proportion and value and to approximate the effects of perspective. Students will expand their visual vocabulary by participating in oral and written critiques. Each student will maintain a sketchbook with drawing homework. The final project will be a culmination experience. This course will lay the foundation for accurate observational drawing for which students will find applications in many fields. (materials fee: $60.00**) ■ CERAMICS I: HANDBUILDING FOR BEGINNERS Please see course description above.

■ CERAMICS II: ADVANCED HANDBUILDING (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisites: Ceramics I) This intermediate course will develop and enhance skills taught in Ceramics I. This course will foster more sophisticated approaches to creating clay forms, but the fundamental basics (slab, pinching, coiling, glazing) will serve as a foundation. Teacher assigned ansd self-directed projects will encourage creative thinking. Students will effectively and creatively express their ideas through technique, critique and problem solving. Some drawing will be expected as students work out their 33

ARTS (CONTINUED) ideas in sketch books that will also be presented to the class. Weekly critique sessions will encourage collaborative thinking and promote risk-taking, as students develop their ideas in a supportive environment. A class trip to the Yale Art Gallery to view ceramic pieces from around the world will serve as a source of inspiration to students as they create their own art pieces. All projects will stress mastery of skill, aesthetic awareness, and good craftsmanship in addition to critical, creative and collaborative thinking. (materials fee: $60.00**) WINTER ELECTIVES ■ DRAWING II: DRAWING SPACE, LIGHT AND FORM (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisites: Elements of Art, Drawing I) Drawing II will build upon and refine the skills and understanding gained in Drawing I, and allow students to create drawings which are more convincing, intuitive and personally expressive.

Students will be given greater freedom in the choice of subject matter and materials, including drawing from the model. Greater attention will be paid to the way in which students conceive of and plan their drawings. They will study pictorial composition, light composition (the proportion of light to dark areas in a drawing), soft and hard edges, a variety of mark making techniques, and will use these skills to explore and to discover “intentional” picture-making. Visual vocabulary will increase by participating in oral and written critiques. Later in the term, students will begin to draw with brush and colored media. Each student will maintain a sketchbook with drawing homework.

The final project will be a culminating experience. (materials fee: $60.00**) ■ C ERAMICS COMBINATION COURSE: ADVANCED HANDBUILDING AND BEGINNING THROWING ON THE WHEEL (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Ceramics II or permission of Sara Poskas) This course is a combination of assigned and self-directed projects, as well as a further exploration of shaping clay. Basic throwing on the potter’s wheel and advanced hand-building are explored to create a series of pieces.

Mastery of skills introduced, pride in craftsmanship, time spent outside of class working in the studio as well as an exploration of personal vision are integral for success. The culmination of pieces created will evolve from the student’s choices throughout the process: concept, construction, technique (wheel, hand-building/modeling), surface decoration, glazing, and firing. (materials fee: $60.00**) SPRING ELECTIVES ■ PAGE TO STAGE: WICKED (1/2 credit, prerequisite: one year of high school English) Please see page 46 for description.

■ OIL PAINTING (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Drawing I & II, or permission of the department) This course is an introduction to the use of oil-based painting media in which the student will learn proper craft and methods. Students will learn to use oil paint and brush, applying the media to various surfaces. They will be creating Form through Value, exploring the effect of Light to Hue, be introduced to Color Theory, study additive and subtractive methods of creating color (physical vs. optical color mixing, etc.) and will very quickly begin to apply these skills to color mixing and painting. Each student will focus on composing paintings that they will execute with correct color/ value relationships from their observed subject matter using the medium of paint to convincingly depict the physical, visible world. The visual vocabulary will increase by participating in oral and written critiques. Each student will complete a final project. (materials fee: $70.00**) 34

■ CERAMICS I: HANDBUILDING FOR BEGINNERS Please see description on page 33.

■ NEEDLE ARTS (1/3 credit, one trimester, prerequisite: Introduction to Visual Art) Knitting offers the artisan a unique opportunity to design and create fabric from scratch with nothing more than sticks, string, and imagination. This course will focus in depth on the applications of knitting in fashion and in the visual and performing arts. Students will learn basic and advanced hand-knitting techniques, how to interpret standard knitting instructions, and how to design their own work. In addition to working with yarns of various fibers, we will also explore knitting with nontraditional materials — wire, plastic, paper, and others. We also will look at the many ways that artists are employing knitting in their works. Students will apply what they have learned to a final project of their choice. (materials fee: $60.00**) ADVANCED PLACEMENT ■ AP STUDIO ART: DRAWING (1 credit, full year, prerequisite: see below) Students in this course must have successfully completed Drawing I, II, and Painting or presented an extensive portfolio, and must receive the approval of the AP Studio Art instructor prior to enrollment in the course. The student will meet with the Drawing I class, where she and the teacher will design an Independent Study Program, and will also be enrolled in Drawing II and Painting, courses that vary from year to year.

PHOTOGRAPHY Photography at Westover provides the opportunity to study in excellent modern darkrooms and studios. Excellence is encouraged through building confidence in technical skills based on understanding photographic principles, and developing those skills through hands-on experience.

Personal expression flourishes through structured assignments stressing sensitivity and involvement.

Students’ progress will lead them to explore a wide range of experimental techniques and ways of seeing. Museum and gallery visits to nearby New York City are offered to expose students to the richness and eloquence of the photographic print in the works of the great photographers.

Westover has cameras available for student use, however, if a student is considering buying a camera, the teacher will provide recommendations. Any student may take Basic Photography; which is required for the advanced photography electives.

The Emily Christopher Photography Scholarship, which covers the photography lab fee for three trimesters, is awarded each year to four students. See Mr. Gallagher for more information. (materials fee per course: $140.00**) BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY ELECTIVES ■ FALL OR WINTER: BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Introduction to Visual Art)

This course covers basic black and white photographic technique, including camera control, film exposure and development, lighting, printing methods, composition, and presentation display.

Personal expression, and communication are encouraged through individual critique.

■ SPRING: BASIC FILMMAKING (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Introduction to Visual Art) Digital Video is designed to introduce time based analog and digital video production. We will make four videos, each being progressively more complex than the prior. Each project will start with developing a concept, to script writing, through cast, location and camera angle selection and finishes with editing, either in camera or on the computer. Apple Final Cut will be used to make video capture, edit, create transitions, introduce filter effects, generate rolling credits, impose superimposition tracks

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ARTS (CONTINUED) and capture, filter and enhance sound files and to output digital video DVD disk or as a QuickTime movie for direct computer access. Students learn how to use the modern hybrid digital/ analog video camera as well as the conventional consumer videocassette camera. Students wanting to learn how to master their families’ cameras are encouraged to bring them.

ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY ELECTIVES Advanced Photography courses are structured to build unified portfolios that may be used for the Advanced Placement in the Studio Arts, as part of a college application package and for Scholastic Art Award Scholarships. Students will be asked to look within to discover self-awareness, and to look about to develop skills of intensified observation. Students interested in taking the AP in Studio Art in their senior year are encouraged to take two advanced photography courses in their junior year.

■ FALL: PERMANENT PIGMENT PRINTING (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Basic Photography) Recent advancements in permanent pigment ink jet printers enable us to make photographs that will last for 150 years. What the implications and issues involved when taking a long view of what has been a very short-lived platform for personal expression will inform our enquiries. We will examine image capture, interactive enhancements, manipulations, and presentation. The emphasis of the course will be an exchange of ideas and experiments leading to a personalized visual image.

The nature of the media and the direction and interests of the students will guide us. The objective of this course will be to stretch the limits of photography. This course is, also, recommended for juniors interested in taking the AP in Studio Art in their senior year. Work from this course will be considered for submission to the Connecticut Scholastic Art Awards competition.

■ WINTER: LARGE FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Basic Photography) This course will introduce you to the exquisite detail and control offered with the large format camera. The large format camera permits adjustments to increase focus and regulate perspective.

Large format negatives produce prints that are sharp, with great detail and little grain. The object of this course is to create a sequenced portfolio of high quality photographs. Westover has five 4x5 view-cameras for student use.

■ SPRING: COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY I & II & III (1/3 credit, one trimester; prerequisite: Basic Photography) This course covers color photography, including color printing, shooting, vision, design, composition, theory, filtration, and manipulation. The course is structured so the student may gain skills needed to make color images, understand history and current trends in color photography, and extend her abilities to communicate.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ■ AP STUDIO ART: TWO DIMENSIONAL DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY (1 credit, full year, prerequisites: see below) This course guides the student in identifying strengths and weaknesses in her work, developing her editing skills, and preparing materials for presenting her portfolio to the College Board. Students are required to be enrolled in an advanced photography course each trimester during her AP year.

The majority of the student’s portfolio will be prepared in these photography courses. The works presented for evaluation may have been produced in other photography classes and summer programs, and may cover a period of time longer than a single school year.

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Prerequisites: Basic Photography, two upper level photography courses and/or a summer pre-college photography or art program and/or the acceptance of a portfolio submitted to the art department for review. If a student enrolled in the fall advanced photography course has completed the Concentration section of the AP she may elect to convert the course to be AP Art. It is recommended to have an external hard drive to facilitate workflow and archive work.

PERFORMING ARTS Students with an interest in drama who wish to do more than one play or musical a year should elect a PERFORMANCE EMPHASIS. ■ PERFORMANCE EMPHASIS REQUIREMENTS NEW GIRLS: • New Performance Emphasis students will be required to take Dance in any trimester as a team sport.

• The Fall Musical OR the Spring Shakespeare Production can count as one of their two team sports.

• Please note that all new girls must take two team sports and one of those must be in the Fall, unless they choose to participate in the Fall Musical.

RETURNING TENTH AND ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS: • Returning girls who wish to become Performance Emphasis students will be required to take Dance in any trimester as a team sport.

• The Fall Musical and the Spring Shakespeare Production will NOT count as a team sport.

However, the Spring Shakespeare Production may count as an individual sport.

• Please note that all returning girls must take one team sport per year. Dance Team may count as the one team sport.

SENIORS: • Any senior Performance Emphasis student may petition to do three plays in her senior year.

• The Spring Shakespeare Production may count as an individual sport.

• Please note that seniors are not required to take a team sport.

Performance Emphasis students are exempt from the Art History graduation requirement.

Students who attend the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Program are also entitled to sports and Art History exemptions.

Please see page 47 for information on the Sports Requirements.

DANCE ■ FALL, WINTER, SPRING: DANCE ENSEMBLE (1/3 credit per trimester; minimum of 2 trimesters required; fulfills team sports requirement) Dance Ensemble and Dance Team members take technique classes at the beginner, intermediate and advanced level. The core curriculum is ballet and modern with additional classes in composition, jazz, contemporary, broadway dance, world dance (African, Indian) and tap. Cross training opportunities are also available in aerobics, physio-ball, Zumba and various workshops offered during the school year. Each student’s dance schedule is determined by a placement/audition class given in the first week of school and by a conference with the Dance Director the following day.

Several dance performances are scheduled throughout the year, both at Westover and in the community, as well as trips to various dance performances in New York City and other surrounding venues. Dance Ensemble and Dance Team members are encouraged to develop their own choreographic abilities and are invited to show their works in our annual Spring Concert.

■ FALL, WINTER, SPRING: DANCE TEAM (no academic credit; fulfills team sports requirement) Please see above for course description.

■ FALL, WINTER, SPRING: DANCE CLASS (no academic credit; fulfills individual sports requirement) This class is an introduction to a variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, Zumba, world dance, physio-ball and improvisation. Classes focus on the fundamentals of dance where students can explore the joy of moving.

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ARTS (CONTINUED) DRAMA

■ TECHNICAL THEATRE APPRENTICESHIP (RETURNING GIRLS) (1/3 credit for the first year; full year) Technical Theatre Apprentices receive “on the job training” during the productions in which they are enrolled, and on an as-needed basis. Students enrolled in this program have a Performance Emphasis. (Exemption from the Art History requirement; all sports requirements still apply. Please see page 47.). Credit will be given only once for each student; partial credit is not available. There is a limit of four Technical Apprentices per year although students may continue in this program in subsequent years. Interested students should speak to the Director of Drama.

■ FALL, WINTER, SPRING: TECHNICAL THEATRE (1/3 credit, one trimester) Taught in conjunction with the production each term, this course will offer students invaluable hands-on experience in theatre production. Students will learn how to use Westover’s state-ofthe-art lighting and sound systems, and create sets, costumes and props. This course is a prerequisite for any student interested in Directing or Stage Management.

■ FALL MUSICAL PRODUCTION (1/3 credit, one trimester) Singers, Dancers and Actresses Needed! Come join the fun! Productions under consideration are: Little Women, Pajama Game, Seussical the Musical pending availability. ALL STUDENTS, REGARDLESS OF EXPERIENCE ARE ENCOURAGED TO AUDITION. This full-length musical will be rehearsed and then performed in early November. Auditions for specific roles, understudy parts and ensemble roles will be held in the first week of classes. Technical theatre students will also be needed. Please see above for course description.

■ WINTER PRODUCTION: MACHINAL (1/3 credit, one trimester) Machinal, written by American playwright and journalist Sophie Treadwell, was inspired by the real-life case of Ruth Snyder, convicted as a murderer and put to death in 1928. It tells a compelling story of a woman who is powerless in a male-dominated world and its expressionistic style is as exciting as it is challenging. ALL STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO AUDITION REGARDLESS OF EXPERIENCE. Auditions are open to all students for the lead roles and understudy parts. Technical theatre students will also be needed.

Please see above for course description.

■ SPRING PRODUCTION: SHAKESPEARE’S MEASURE FOR MEASURE

(1/3 credit, one trimester) This comedy examines the themes of mercy, justice, corruption and truth and tells an engaging story full of plot twists and disguises. Training in voice, movement, stage fighting and text analysis will be provided in conjunction with the rehearsal process. ALL STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO AUDITION REGARDLESS OF EXPERIENCE. A crew of technical theatre students will also be needed. Please see above for course description.

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MUSIC Students must take at least one of the following to meet graduation requirements: • Glee Club* • Humanities course • Opera and Literature • Handbells* • Instrument Consort*

• Private lessons (which includes two performances in student recitals. Performers must remain at recitals for at least one hour.)* *NOTE: Partial credit will not be given for an incomplete year in a performing ensemble.

■ GLEE CLUB (1/2 credit, full year) Singing a wide range of music, including folk, popular, and classical music, the Glee Club sings several concerts each year at the school, and sings one or two concerts with a choir from a boy’s school. A European concert tour is taken once every three years.

■ CHAMBER CHORUS (No credit, full year, entrance by audition, available to Glee Club members) Music from the 16th-20th century sung by a small group of singers experienced in part singing.

■ HANDBELLS (1/3 credit, full year) Ensembles which ring music on handbells; one ensemble is for beginners, one for intermediate ringers and one for advanced ringers. Students learn to read rhythmic and pitch notation, techniques of bell ringing and ensemble playing. Performances include student recitals and the Candlelight Services. Two rehearsals are held per week.

■ INSTRUMENT CONSORT (Open only to those students who are taking private music lessons.)

(1/3 credit, full year) Instrument Consort is an ensemble of string and wind instrumentalists who rehearse together two times per week. It is expected that members of the ensemble will be able to play an instrument when they join and will practice their part between group rehearsals. Instrument Consort is not intended to take the place of private lessons. Performances will include two student recitals and one or two other performances during the year.

■ PIANO (1/2 credit, full year, two recitals required, a fee is charged) Individual instruction in piano. Each piano student has one lesson weekly.

■ ORGAN (1/2 credit, full year, two recitals required, a fee is charged) Organ instruction for a limited number of students to be given separately or in conjunction with piano instruction.

■ OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND VOICE (1/2 credit, full year, two recitals required, a fee is charged) Individual instruction in other musical instruments and in voice can be arranged by the school.

MUSIC ELECTIVES

■ WINTER: OPERA AND LITERATURE (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course is a study of two operas and the literature on which they are based. We will read the novel or play and compare it to an opera that uses its story. This will give the students insight into the creative process of both genres, and a fuller understanding of the goals of each of these Art forms. One of the operas studied will be seen in performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

Some examples of literature and related opera are: The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais and Mozart, Faust by Goethe and Gounod, Lady of the Camillas by Dumas and La Traviata by Verdi, Othello by Shakespeare and Otello by Verdi.

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ARTS (CONTINUED) ADVANCED PLACEMENT ■ AP MUSIC THEORY (1 credit, full year) Designed to supplement music theory and ear training courses taken by Westover students at Manhattan School of Music or Juilliard, or for students who have studied the fundamentals of music theory, this course offers a preparation for the AP Exam in Music Theory. Entering students should have a knowledge of all key signatures and basic chords. Students are required to take the AP Exam in Music Theory; there will be an AP exam fee of approximately $90.

HISTORY OF ART Three trimester courses in History of Art will be presented. The aim of the courses will be to develop in students an aesthetic appreciation applicable to many art forms and to do so by a critical study of various significant periods in which art has flourished. Emphasis will be not only on understanding of the works themselves but on the development of a critical sense which can help students to approach works of art knowledgeably. At all times there is a close study of the interaction between the work of art and the historical and cultural trends which have shaped it and been shaped by it.

Museum trips are an important part of these courses, and oral presentations are given by students throughout the term. The following courses are recommended for prospective AP Art History students.

■ FALL: LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY ART (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course will examine the post-modernist period beginning with the culmination of the modernist tradition in Pollock’s abstract expressionist drip paintings. Then through a framework that addresses the notion and problems of the late avant-garde, the changing relationship between the artist and society, as well as the role of art critics in shaping modernist and post-modernist ideas, we’ll continue to investigate these influences through Newman’s “zips”, Warhol’s soup cans, Judd’s minimalist cubes, Serra’s elipses, Christo’s wrapped buildings, Beuys’s performance art, and Close’s superrealist portraits, among others. A trip to the Museum of Modern Art and Dia: Beacon will broaden our investigation of the period.

■ WINTER: ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART (1/3 credit, one trimester) The Renaissance, extending roughly from the 14th through the 16th centuries, marks a period of “rebirth” in Italian art and culture. The course will explore this notion of “rebirth” as it relates to a growing interest in the individual, the natural world, and humanity’s worldly existence. Within a framework that continually addresses the development of humanism, the civic role of art and public patronage, as well as the stylistic development of naturalism and linear perspective to underscore religious and secular subjects, we’ll investigate the art, architecture, politics, and social life that comprise the renaissance. Giotto’s frescoes, Donatello’s David, Brunelleschi’s dome, Michelangelo’s ceiling, Botticelli’s goddesses, Mona Lisa’s smile, and Alberti’s window will, among others, comprise our investigation. A trip to the Metropolitan Museum of art will deepen our exploration of the art.

■ S PRING: F IGURING WOMEN: GENDER, REPRESENTATION, AND THE FEMALE BODY IN ART (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course will investigate the representation of women in art. In considering the female figure as a body re-formed by social and cultural influences, we will investigate how the construction of the female body manifests the cultural values, politics, and beliefs of a period. What is the role of the female nude, as icon, symbol, motif, etc.? How does the figure convey ideas of femininity and 40

female sexuality through the idealized nude or the unruly naked body? How has the female body been formed and re-formed through the ages to reflect or disrupt changing ideals? How might we consider the history of western aesthetics in the often controlled construction of the female body?

In considering these questions, the course will begin with an investigation of the conflicting medieval and renaissance images of Eve and Mary, and the role and representation of the goddess.

We will then investigate imagery that portrays the roles of women, from the virtuous mother or wife, to the fallen woman. Finally, we’ll consider case studies of artistic portrayals of women from Botticelli’s Venus, to Manet’s Olympia, to Degas’s ballerinas. We’ll end the course considering more contemporary art including the performing female body.

This course will be conducted as a seminar with focused readings from art historical scholarship or articles. A field trip to a museum will broaden our exploration.

■ S OMSI INTERNSHIP (1/3 credit, one trimester) The Sonja Osborn Museum Studies Internship is a term-long program wherein through weekly or biweekly visits to Hill-Stead Museum the intern gains practical experience in museum work. A student may apply for this internship as a rising junior or senior, must be planning on taking or is enrolled in AP Art History, and must be accepted by Hill-Stead Museum and Westover School to engage in this program. The intern may receive academic credit for her internship through the work she completes at Westover, namely through two projects that investigate Hill-Stead’s collection and consider the shared histories of the school and museum. Though it is preferred that the credit not count towards the elective courses the student is required to take in conjunction with the AP Art History course, a student who has taken more art history elective courses in her junior year may be in a better position to substitute the internship credit for an art history elective in her senior year.

Through funding for the program, transportation will be provided for the intern’s visits to Hill-Stead, and she will receive a stipend for her time spent at the museum. The internship will culminate in a public symposium at the end of the term.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ■ AP ART HISTORY (1 credit, full year) This year long course surveys the history of art from the prehistoric period to contemporary art in both western and non-western cultures. The course is offered to students who have already taken at least one art history and/or humanities elective, and have received a B or better in that course. To cover the material, students must take at least two art history or humanities courses in addition to the AP Art History course. Please note that it is preferable that those additional courses be art history electives taken during the fall and winter terms. A considerable amount of reading and writing will be expected of the students, and tests will be drawn from previous AP exams. While frequent trips to museums and exhibitions will be a regular part of this course, the course will culminate in a review in preparation for the exam conducted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Students are required to take the AP Art History Exam in the spring; there will be a fee charged of approximately $90.

HUMANITIES These are trimester electives taught by members of the Art, Music and other departments. Each Humanities elective may be used as either a Music or an Art History credit towards graduation requirements; the student must declare which it will be.

These courses are a study of the Arts in relation to their historical background. Each trimester an era will be studied, blending an understanding of the art, music, literature, and history into a living whole. The object of the course will be to overcome the tendency to fragment knowledge

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ARTS (CONTINUED) into brittle pieces and thereby to give the student an understanding of how the arts express humanity’s highest experience of life in each period. Concerts and museum trips are part of these courses.

There will be a charge for concert tickets. The three following courses may be taken by prospective AP Art History students when scheduling prevents them from taking the term’s Art History course.

■ FALL: THE ART AND MUSIC OF SPAIN (1/3 credit, one trimester) The diverse and passionate arts of Spain will be the subject of this course. Beginning with a history of the Moorish conquest of Spain in the 8th century, we will study the magnificent architecture of the Alhambra in Granada and the Mezquita in Cordoba. The course will continue with an overview of the arts in Spain up to the 20th century, covering Medieval Spanish Art, El Greco, Velásquez, Goya, Picasso, Dalí and Miró. Music will include Sephardic songs, Spanish guitar music, Vittoria, Soler, Scarlatti, deFalla and Roderigo. Carol Saura’s dance film Carmen will be compared to Bizet’s original music for this story.

A class visit and concert by Sephardic musician Gerard Edery as well as a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will accompany our exploration.

■ WINTER: THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ENGLAND

(1/3 credit, one trimester) This course is an introduction to the splendors of the art, music and poetry of Great Britain.

Beginning with Elizabethan portraits, poetry and madrigals, the course moves to the 18th century artists Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds and Stubbs, along with the composers Purcell and Handel and John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Next we will study the 19th century artists Blake, Turner and Constable and the composer Elgar. A look at Victorian painting is followed by the 20th century composers Vaughan, Williams, Britten and Lloyd Webber, and 20th and 21st century artists Henry Moore, Bacon, Hepworth and Hockney and Goldsworthy.

A field trip to the Yale Center for British Art will accompany our exploration.

■ S PRING: WOMEN IN ART AND MUSIC (1/3 credit, one trimester) This course will examine the various roles of women in music and art: as inspiration, as subject, as creator herself. Beginning with Linda Nochlin’s 1971 article, “Why have there been no great women artists,” we will consider the institutional standards and gender relations that have influenced the art and music produced by women in history. The course will explore questions like during what periods of time and under what circumstances have women been able to create? How do women’s self-image relate to the images produced by male artists, the media, etc.? What stereotypes of women have been perpetuated through visual imagery?

We will examine the contribution of women performers such as Alicia de Larrocha, Midori and Ella Fitzgerald and hear music by composers such as Hildegard von Bingen, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Ellen Zwillich. Artists such as Artemesia Gentileschi, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Barbara Kruger and Judy Chicago will be studied.

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SHORT COURSES ■ HEALTH & WELLNESS (1/6 credit, one trimester; required of Freshmen and new Sophomores; offered to new Juniors) This course is designed to promote an awareness of health and wellness issues. Students are provided with current information on various health topics relating to human development.

These topics include self-esteem, nutrition, drug and alcohol use/abuse, mental health, stress management, decision-making, and sexuality.

Students are given reading assignments from the health textbook Quests and Quandaries, as well as short written assignments to complete each week. The Health Center Director also facilitates group discussions in an open-forum atmosphere appropriate for role playing. Students are asked to actively participate in these activities.

Having taken a health class at a previous school will not exempt a student from this required course.

■ F OUNDATIONS: COMPUTER LITERACY, LIBRARY RESEARCH AND FINDING YOUR VOICE (1/6 credit, one trimester; required of Freshmen and new Sophomores) For our new students, this course introduces essential skills and knowledge necessary to make effective use of technology, to learn to use our library and to find their voice. The three parts of this course are designed to impart particular skills that students will use in our curriculum.

Computer Literacy leads students through basic word processing, spreadsheets and presentations and online sources for research. The theme of research is then picked up in Library Research with an introduction to Westover’s library and its wealth of Internet databases and with instruction in the fundamentals of finding, evaluating, and citing information sources used for research papers and projects. Finally, in Finding Your Voice, students will develop public speaking skills and then learn to apply the skills with confidence in oral presentations. The class will help students to overcome their fear of speaking in public and offer coaching and support throughout the school year to teach them to communicate effectively as presentations arise in class or in more public settings. All of these newly acquired skills will be incorporated into assignments given by various departments throughout a students’ career at Westover.

■ INDEPENDENT SENIOR PROJECT (1/3 credit, one trimester, Spring or, if necessary, Winter) A Senior wishing to pursue a strong interest independently should consider undertaking an ISP during the spring term. Permission for a winter term project will be granted if there is a compelling argument in its favor. An ISP can be scholarly, artistic, or community oriented, but must be considered worthwhile to the overall education of the student and significant enough to take the place of a regularly scheduled course. Ideally, an ISP builds on a base of previously acquired knowledge and experience.

For a Spring Term ISP, the Senior must submit a formal application to the Academic Office by the second week in February. The application for a Winter ISP must be submitted to the Academic Office by the last Friday in October. The application for either term must be reviewed and signed by the faculty project advisor, by the student’s academic advisor and, in the case of a Winter ISP, by the College Counselor. The ISP committee approves each application based on the following criteria: the significance and integrity of the project, its feasibility, and the student’s ability to fulfill all graduation requirements.

NOTE: An ISP cannot be used to fulfill a graduation requirement.

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ONLINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS COURSES FOR WESTOVER CREDIT In addition to other courses, a student may consider taking a course through the Online School for Girls.

OSG courses fall into two categories: sponsored courses, and approved courses. Some courses are sponsored by specific departments and can be used to fulfill departmental requirements for graduation. Other courses, though approved by departments, can only be used to fulfill overall course load requirements. A student taking courses in either of these categories will receive credit (and grade) for the course on her Westover transcript. For college applications an official transcript must be requested from OSG. OSG courses run on a semester system (see Semester Schedule below). This means that OSG courses will overlap two trimesters. This must be taken into account when planning a student’s course load. If a student is interested in taking an OSG course, she must complete an enrollment proposal/application, which is a required process to ensure that we can effectively monitor annd plan a student’s course load and to make sure that students meet the necessary pre-requirements for courses. For more complete information about the process and program, please see the complete FAQ sheet and enrollment proposal form found in the Info for Students section of FirstClass, or on the Parent Portal. The courses listed below have been sponsored or approved by Westover Departments.

SEMESTER SCHEDULE Fall Semester, 2012 Classes start – September 3, 2012 Last day of classes – December 7, 2012 Final day to complete course including exam – December 14, 2012

Spring semester, 2013 Classes start/resume – January 22, 2013 Last day of classes – April 26, 2013 Final day to complete course including exam – May 3, 2013

FULL YEAR COURSES ■ AP MACROECONOMICS (1 credit, prerequisite: Algebra II, recommended for juniors and seniors) This course examines how human beings make decisions about the allocation of scarce resources among alternative uses. The three major components of study are economic fundamentals, including supply and demand, margin decision-making, and economic efficiency; microeconomics, which focuses on how consumers and producers make economic decisions; and macroeconomics, which explores concepts such as unemployment, inflation, and the role of money in the economy. This course, recommended for juniors and seniors, will prepare students for the AP Macroeconomics exam.

■ AP PSYCHOLOGY

(1 credit, no prerequisite) The AP course in Psychology is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. In this course, students will be presented with the psychological facts, principles and phenomena contained within the major branches of psychology. A balanced examination of the following content areas: Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, States of Consciousness, Learning, Cognition, Motivation and Emotion, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Testing and Individual Differences, Abnormal Psychology, Treatment of Psychological Disorders and Social Psychology will provide the student with a thorough understanding of the many subfields contained within psychology and the connections between them. In addition, students will also be exposed to the history, methodology and ethical practices associated with psychological research. Upon completion of this course students will recognize the significance of psychology and its practical applications upon the world around them.

■ A P US GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AND AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (1 credit, corequisite: U.S. History.)

This is a full year course offering that includes both the AP US Government and Politics course and the AP Comparative Government and Politics course. Students should expect to take both AP exams 44

at the end of this full year offering. This course provides an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States and around the world, involving both the study of general concepts used to interpret politics and the analysis of specific case studies. Students will become familiar with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. and global political realities This course begins with a study of the historical and ideological roots of American government, its fundamental institutions and practices, and the political and social landscape within which they now operate. Through a factual study of American government and a philosophical reflection on the nation’s founding documents and analyses–such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and numerous Supreme Court decisions, and many reflective essays on American politics–students will gain a deep understanding and appreciation for the aspirations, strengths and limitations of the American system of government.

■ JAPANESE I (1 credit, no prerequisite, but only students who have completed their Westover School language requirements may apply for approval from the Language Department Head.)

This is an introductory course in Japanese and is intended for students who have no previous study of Japanese. In this course, initial lessons introduce the Japanese writing system – the phonetic Hiragana and Katakana and the character-based Kanji. The content of the course includes pronunciation, speaking skills, listening practice, and reading and writing. Upon completion of this course, students should have acquired essential grammar, a basic vocabulary, Hiragana/ Katakana and 35 basic Kanji and be able to communicate in everyday simple and practical situations. The focus is on situations directly related to the student’s activities and surrounding environment.

FALL SEMESTER COURSES ■ MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (1/2 credit, prerequisite: AP Calculus BC) This Multivariable Calculus course will cover some topics that are not part of the AP Calculus BC curriculum, such as calculating volumes by using shells, surfaces of revolution, and centers of mass and centroids, among others. We will also explore topics that are studied in a typical college level third semester calculus course. These include vectors and vector valued functions, differentiation in several variables, optimization in several variables, multiple integration, and line and surface integrals.

■ GENETICS (1/2 credit, prerequisite: high school level introductory biology course.)

What makes us who we are? Is it our DNA? Our environment? How are the diseases and disorders that affect us connected to the genetic code inside each of our cells? Just because we can modify DNA, should we? How do we approach a world in which the ability to manipulate DNA itself is now a possibility? In our rapidly advancing world of biotechnology and our increased understanding of the genetic code and how it functions, we have questions to consider that were not even a possibility 60 years ago before the discovery of DNA. This course will explore topics from the three main branches of genetic study: Transmission genetics (how traits are passed from one generation to the next), Molecular genetics (the structure, function and operation of the DNA molecule itself) and Population genetics (how traits are expressed in populations, and how those traits change over time). As a vehicle for our discussions we will look at a number of different medical topics ranging from genetic abnormalities to the study of cancer. In addition we will explore new and emerging research in the field and the social and ethical controversies and questions that often accompany these technological advances.

■ ART AND DESIGN: SPIDERMAN (1/2 credit, no prerequisite)

Art & Design: Spiderman explores the fundamental elements of art and design with members of the design team from Broadway’s Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark. The course runs 12 weeks and offers students the unique opportunity to spend a semester working with Broadway’s top professionals and teaching artists toward gaining a richer understanding of the creative process as it applies to all aspects of art, design and creative thinking. Students begin by learning the building blocks of 45

ONLINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (CONTINUED) design – form, color, line, scale and context – through exercises that strengthen creativity and bold thought. They then apply these fundamentals in their own design process of assessing the artistic, thematic and practical needs of a selected scene and drawing from various sources of inspiration to create a unified design scheme for a scenic environment. Students will have the option to share their work in graphic or video formats. At the end of this course, students will have conceptualized and created their own scenic designs and gained a comprehensive technique for solving designs of all varieties.

SPRING SEMESTER COURSES ■ DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (1/2 credit, prerequisite: Multivariable Calculus) This course will provide an introduction to Differential Equations. Topics will include: solving first-order and simple higher order equations with applications to various scientific fields (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.); solving linear differential equations and their applications; and Laplace transform methods.

■ HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND DISEASE (1/2 credit, prerequisite: high school level introductory biology course.)

It can be argued that an understanding of the human body, and how it works, is one of the most important biological disciplines that a person can explore. After all, our bodies are with us no matter where we go or what we do! In the last 200 years our understanding of anatomy and physiology has grown exponentially, and with that understanding, so has our grasp of the causes and treatment of many diseases. This course will explore the structure and functions of the human body from the cells and tissues to the organ system level. With each organ system we will also examine the causes and treatments of diseases from a genetic to infectious level, and current advances in medicine and epidemiology.

■ PAGE TO STAGE: WICKED (1/2 credit, prerequisite: one year of high school English) Wicked takes students through the process of creating theatre using the Broadway musical Wicked and its cast and artistic team to illustrate ideas and methods. Go behind the scenes to learn stagecraft and the central tenets of making theatre in this 12-week course, designed for students interested in all aspects of theatre.

Starting with a chapter from Gregory Maguire’s original book Wicked, we will explore the building blocks of good story telling that make up a Broadway show, focusing on a new discipline each week. Topics covered include; writing and analyzing text, directing, acting, casting, evaluating performances & auditions, inventing designs, staging & choreography, music & song placement, relevant themes, and ultimately creating scenes. Throughout the course, we will visit with various members of the Wicked company, who will add to the discussion with their experiences and, in certain cases, illustrate key points.

This course offers students the unique opportunity to spend a semester working with Broadway’s top professionals and teaching artists toward a richer understanding of the creative process. Students will follow the adaptation of the book Wicked into the Broadway show, while creating their own scenes and breaking them down for acting & directing values, adding music (popular or their own), designing them (by creating an on line catalogue of visual ideas), casting them (from online resoures), and extracting themes that make them relevant to their own lives. Students will have the option to share their work in text, visual or video formats. At the end of this course, students will have created and conceptualized their own scenes, highlighted relevant themes, and gained a comprehensive understanding of the collaborative process of professional theatre.

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SPORTS Sports are an integral part of the curriculum at Westover, and student participation is required in all trimesters. There are a variety of team, individual and non-competitive offerings throughout the year. A “Pass” or “Fail” grade is determined by attendance and attitude. A “Pass” grade each trimester is necessary for graduation.

Students are encouraged to take part in a variety of sports during their years at Westover. New girls in grades 9 and 10 must take two team sports, one of which must be in the fall term. The Drama Department’s Fall musical or Spring Shakespeare may count as one of the required two team sports for 9th graders and new sophomores chosen for the production.

All returning sophomores and all juniors must take one team sport per year; theatre productions will not count as a team sport for these girls. Seniors are not required to take a team sport. Any student may arrange to participate in a drama production in any one of the trimesters. Students with a Performance Emphasis (please see page 37 for description) may be exempted from two trimesters to participate in drama productions and will be required to participate in an appropriate sport during the remaining trimester.

By petition to the head of the Athletic Department and her advisor, a student may be exempted from one trimester of sports her junior and senior years to take AP Studio Art or Community Service. If the student’s project advisor finds the student’s actual work unsatisfactory in biweekly checks, the athletic exemption will be cancelled. Students taking part in the Sonja Osborn Museum Studies Internship (SOMSI. Please see page 41 for course description) or Manhattan School of Music are exempted from sports during that trimester.

SPORTS OFFERED ■ FALL

Team Sports: • Field Hockey, Soccer, Cross Country, Volleyball • Dance Ensemble, Dance Team (please see page 37 for course description) • Fall Musical (team sport for new girls only, please see page 38 for course description) • Outdoor Program

Individual Sports: • Dance Class (please see page 37 for course description) ■ WINTER

Team Sports: • Basketball, Swimming, Squash • Dance Ensemble, Dance Team

Individual Sports: • Dance Class, Rock Climbing, Recreational Skiing and Snowboarding, Fitness and Weight Training.

■ SPRING

Team Sports: • Golf, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis • Dance Ensemble, Dance Team • Outdoor Program

Individual Sports: • Dance Class, Senior Fitness and Weight Training, Spring Shakespeare Production (please see page 38 for course description) Those girls who become full-time managers will be excused from active sports participation during that term. They will receive a “Pass” or “Fail” and a comment for their managerial duties.

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