Wheeler's Aerie Enrichment Spring Semester Course Book 20-21

Second Semester 2020-21

Upper School Aerie Enrichment Courses The Wheeler School

Introduction — What is the Aerie Approach?

It’s Wheeler’s unique way (and, in fact, our ethos) of being a school that adapts to your child’s natural strengths and interests. Aerie is enrichment individualized to a student’s passion — whether that’s to learn Turkish in Middle School, start an internet radio program as a 4th grader, dig into multivariable calculus with a Brown doctoral student or sequence DNA for national publication while still in high school.

Each example illustrates the breadth of resources and connection Wheeler’s Aerie Approach finds for your child.

Second-semester Enrichment offerings for Wheeler Upper School students include courses in Neuroscience, Stop Motion Animation and Humanitarian Disaster Relief.

There are clubs and competitions — such as Envirothon (photo above) and Mock Trial.

Included in this coursebook are also bios of instructors, who hail from across the country (Maryland! Colorado! NYC! New Mexico!) and globe (Germany! Italy! Israel!), one of remote learning's blessings.

Upper School students sign up for 0, 1, 2 , 3, 4, or 5 Enrichment classes. On days when they are not signed up for an Enrichment, they go to study hall. Upper School Aerie Enrichment is coordinated by English Teacher/Aerie Faculty Michael Himelfarb.

Enjoy his entertaining course descriptions (new ones are added often) for each day’s offerings below.

Introduction — What is the Aerie Approach?

Monday CHESS COSTUME DESIGN DEBATE CLUB DESIGN CLUB EQUINE STUDIES FILMMAKING INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA INTRO TO ASL INTRO TO BOTANY INTRO TO IMMUNOBIOLOGY INTRO TO ITALIAN 2 MUSIC PRODUCTION SO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT… STOP MOTION ANIMATION THEATRE TREE-THINKING AND PHYLOGENETIC BIOLOGY TUESDAY ANCIENT GREEK ANIMATION

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BARRE FITNESS COOKING WITH COLIN EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE HUMANITARIAN DISASTER RELIEF INTRO TO ITALIAN 1 INTRO TO NEUROSCIENCE 1 IRISH/ GAELIC MAHJONG PALEONTOLOGY PRODUCTION CONCEPTUALIZATION PUBLIC HEALTH ROBOTICS SCIENCE OLYMPIAD THE SPOKE STRANGE FICTION UNDERSTANDING URBAN PLANNING ZEN AND THE ART OF PERSONAL FINANCE WEDNESDAY CIVIL WAR CRIME DOESN’T PAY… OR DOES IT? DIGITAL DESIGN and CAD 1 THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY, ASTROLOGY, AND MAGIC HOW DOES THAT WORK? INTRO TO LAW INTRO TO PYTHON INTRO TO RUSSIAN INTRO TO TURKISH MAPS AND APPS: GIS AND THE SCIENCE OF WHERE MARINE BIOLOGY MASK MAKING MATH TEAM MODEL UN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY PG-13: WHEELER IMPROV SOCCER 101 SONG WRITING YEARBOOK - WEDNESDAYS THURSDAY 3

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ASL 2 CHAMBER MUSIC COLONIAL SHANGHAI DIGITAL DESIGN AND CAD 2 ENTREPRENEURSHIP ENVIROTHON FILM STUDIES GENDER STUDIES INTRO TO GERMAN INTRO TO NEUROSCIENCE 2 INTRO TO OPERA ISRAEL-PALESTINE LIGHT UP BROADWAY: LIGHTING DESIGN FOR PLAYS AND MUSICALS MARINE BIOLOGY MEDIATION NONFICTION WRITING POLITICAL SCIENCE RADIO BROADCASTING/ PODCASTING SIT-COM: THE WRITERS’ ROOM SOCIOLOGY FRIDAY ADVANCED NEUROSCIENCE CHARACTER DESIGN CREATIVE WRITING FASHION DESIGN FOOTBALL 101 INTRO TO JAPANESE INTRO TO SCREENWRITING KOREAN MATH TEAM MOCK TRIAL MODEL UN PG-13: WHEELER IMPROV PRIVATE EQUITY ROBOTICS VIROLOGY WEST AFRICAN DANCE ZINES: SELF-PUBLISHING MULTIPLE DAY OFFERINGS 4

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INTRO TO ARABIC (Monday and Wednesday) PEER SUPPORT (Monday and Wednesday) P.E. (Monday and Wednesday OR Tuesday and Thursday) YOGA (Monday and Wednesday)

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Monday CHESS Each class starts with review of basic moves and rules (in case there are “newbies” in the group). Then we look at general strategies and tactics, for goals in the opening stage (learning how to play openings rather than learning particular ones), then the middle game, and then the endgame. Chess notation (recording moves) will be covered so players can learn from their own and others’ mistakes, and we will study grandmaster games in order to develop better tactical and strategic skills . A class competition will usually be held the last few weeks, and we'll hopefully be playing in the Providence chess league second semester Instructors: Phil Hirons has been playing chess for about 66 years and has taught at least 1,000 youngsters (and quite a few adults) to play. He was also active in several positions in the RI Chess Association when it existed - directing tournaments and publishing its newsletter. Jen McTeague teaches math in the Upper School “naq yvxrf chggvat pbqrq zrffntrf va ure ovb.” (If Mr. Himelfarb could figure it out, you can definitely figure it out.)

COSTUME DESIGN Pick your favorite show! A play, musical, movie, or TV show will be the foundation for your work. Give it your own twist - dress Shakespeare’s characters in modern clothes or set High School Musical in the 1800s. You will collect images, draw your ideas, and photograph outfits you put together from the costume closet. You can even choose a piece to make!

Instructor: Andrea DeMayo has worked on costumes for Wheeler Upper and Middle School theater and musicals since 2016. She quilts and sews at home and is a certified mediator in Massachusetts. She is the mother of three Wheeler alums, several dogs, and seven chickens.

DEBATE CLUB

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If you have an interest in improving your speaking skills, learning about moral and political philosophy or general debating strategies, talking about current events, and beginning or continuing your debating career, this class is for you! We welcome novice and varsity debaters to join us for this enrichment to create a space for anyone interested in keeping debate a part of their lives second semester.

Instructor: Dora Iyigun is a senior at Brown University finishing up her Political Science degree This is her fourth year teaching at Wheeler, She grew up in Boulder, Colorado and is a first-generation American from Turkey.

DESIGN CLUB Do you love making things or dreaming up inventions? Do you ever see things in the world around you that you think could operate a little better? Do you enjoy daydreaming about how our future might look? Then join Design Club, a new club this year dedicated to helping you make your creative ideas a reality! Design is the intersection between creativity and technology, the link between what can be imagined and what can be made.

In Design Club, invited guests will share their work and career journeys to expose students to the diverse fields of design, and students will hone their own design skills through design challenges. During challenges, students will explore design through play and interactive exercises in order to clearly identify problems within our community and everyday lives, work individually and as a group to brainstorm ideas that are both practical and fantastical, and bring these ideas to life through drawings, animations, writing, and physical objects. The course will take advantage of digital tools as well as the NuVuX space’s woodshop, laser cutter, and 3D printers.

Instructor: Molly Mason is a designer, maker, and researcher. She received a Masters of Science from the Design and Computation Group at MIT, where she was a researcher at the Self-Assembly Lab. Her research on robotic fabrication and transformable structures has been published as a part of the International Journal of Architectural Computing, as well as in recent conferences such as Fabricate and the International Association for Shell Structures. Prior to MIT, she practiced architecture and digital fabrication in NYC and has helped create buildings and installations in multiple cities across the U.S. as well as in China and Israel.

EQUINE STUDIES An exploration of all things equine starting with the biomechanics of riding and the nature of horses, this course looks at how we interact with these amazing creatures using illustrations and photography, as well as short videos to enliven discussions. Equine Studies culminates with an overview of equine disciplines such as jumping, racing, dressage, reining, and natural horsemanship.

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Instructor: Holly Mason is an international expert on the biomechanics of horse and rider and the author of Riding from Head to Toe and It's Never Too Late.

FILMMAKING Do you have a script or screenplay that you have never had the chance to film or make happen? Our hope is to get you further along on your short film projects and possibly finished! Don't have a script or idea? No worries, we will work together as a group to collaborate and come up with fun short film ideas. We also will have access to equipment from the Digital Production studio to help move your film project along.

Instructor: Jesse Yip is an alum from the class of 2008 and has been teaching at Wheeler for six years. If he is not working on a theater project in Wheeler Hall, he is down in the Digital Production Studio creating videos for the school.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA Irish writer Bram Stoker's 1807 novel Dracula has something for everyone, so much so that the metaphor of the vampire has become problematically over-signified, standing in for every phobia imaginable. In this class, we'll explore the brilliance of Stoker's Gothic masterpiece, define the vampire as he exists among us in modern culture, and examine why the character commands our attention to this very day. In the process, we'll consider artwork, music, film, and literature. In keeping with the epistolary structure of the novel, this class will assume a heavy reading and/or writing schedule outside of our weekly meetings.

Instructor: Colin Nagle is the founder of Winston Springer Capital Management and a member of the performing arts faculty at Wheeler. He also plays a mean handbell.

INTRO TO ASL Although American Sign Language (ASL) is natively spoken by more than 500,000 people in Deaf communities across America (and much of Anglophone Canada), it often holds a certain air of mystery - How close is it to English? Does it have a direct translation for every word? Is there a way to be sarcastic, to whisper, or to yell? Intro to ASL is structured around unlocking the beauty of sign language and Deaf culture, with a goal to bridge the gap of accessibility between communities through games, discussion, and videos. Students can expect to learn common phrases as well as basic syntax, grammar, and a vocabulary bank of around 100 signs. (Please note: This class is ‘voice-off’ - a full-immersion experience following the first spoken English class. Beginner students are able to communicate with Mr. Penrose via the Zoom chat feature.)

Instructor: Avé Penrose has a true passion for learning! Over the past eight years, it’s been a great pleasure of his to help educate others in a wide array of subjects, including American Sign Language (ASL), Esperanto, Irish (Gaeilge), Greek Mythology, and more.

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As a proud Deaf man, he has a keen focus on transparency as well as accessibility; it’s important to him that students feel comfortable asking hard questions and can trust him to give them a well-researched, well-rounded point of view.

INTRO TO BOTANY In Intro to Botany, students will explore the many wonderful topics related to plants and fungi, including plant structure, agriculture, paleobotany, wild edible and medicinal plants, and more! Instructor: Camille Tulloss is a senior at Brown University studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She is currently researching the diet and gut bacteria of bison in Yellowstone National Park.

INTRO TO IMMUNOBIOLOGY We will be covering the basics of Immunology (the study of the immune system). We will be touching on topics on everything that can go right with the immune system and everything that can go wrong. Some of the topics that we will go over include innate immunity, adaptive immunity, virology, etc. This is a great course for those considering going into medicine.

Instructor: Alison Veintimilla has a Bachelors of Science in Immunobiology from Brown University and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Biotechnology. Her previous work centered on transmission networks for HIV/AIDs in Rhode Island, and her current research is helping create biomaterials to circumvent the growing issue of antibiotic resistance.

INTRO TO ITALIAN 2 This course builds on the fundamentals taught in Intro to Italian 1, with greater emphasis on writing and reading skills. Students will be expected to have had rudimentary exposure to Italian. Students will learn the basics of speaking, reading, and writing in the present and past tenses. We will incorporate films and music into our textual resources as well. Prerequisites: Intro to Italian 1 or instructor permission.

Instructor: Isabel Vazquez is a senior undergraduate student at Brown University studying Music and Education. She has several years of experience working in the music industry as a vocalist, producer, and songwriter, as well as working as a teacher /tutor with a focus on languages and writing. She was born and raised in New York and currently resides between New York and London.

MUSIC PRODUCTION Ever hear a sick beat and think, "Wow, I wish I could have made that." Well, with this elective you can turn that wish into a reality. In Intro to Music Production, we'll go over the basics of beatmaking, sound production, editing, mixing, and more so that in no 8

time flat, people will be listening to your track, saying, "Wow, I wish I could have made that!"

Instructor: Travis Dumais has spent the past nine years researching neuroscience, moral decision making, religious belief, and mindfulness meditation. He was going to pursue a PhD in brain machine interfaces, but after reading some books about the meaning of life, he realized that his life would have more meaning if he spent his time making art (videos/music) and teaching youth about the promises and perils of brain-machine technology, embodying his mentors’ philosophy of treating students as intellectual equals.

SO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT… This class is a play on the Instagram account that dissects progressive politics and social issues in graphic slideshow form. Each week we will prepare to discuss a new topic related to popular culture, social justice, the RI community, or a regular-degular event in our everyday lives. It is a space for us to have fun, expand our knowledge about the world around us, share our experiences, learn to sit with discomfort, and hold each other accountable.

INSTRUCTOR: Ella Satish is a recent graduate from Brown University (class of 2020) where she majored in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Since graduating she has been working with the COVID-19 response unit at the Rhode Island Department of Health. This August, she will be matriculating to Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, where she plans to become an OB-GYN. Ella started with the Aerie Program at Wheeler in January 2018, primarily tutoring Spanish and assisting in the DIB Lab.

STOP MOTION ANIMATION THEATRE In this class, we will create short films using stop-motion animation. Using Stop Motion software for Macs, students will learn basic and essential theater skills, such as blocking and movement. This class will be part playwriting, part design, and part production.

Instructor: Matt Ferraro studied theatre at Princeton University, Commedia and mask performance at The Dell’Arte School of Physical Theater, and ballet dancer in New York City. He has danced, choreographed, directed, and designed theatre and opera across the country and in Germany, where his production of Evita received rave reviews and where he will return in 2021 to direct Sweeney Todd.

TREE-THINKING AND PHYLOGENETIC BIOLOGY Since Darwin, scientists have used branching trees (phylogenies) to illustrate the evolutionary histories of organisms. Phylogenetics has become vital to discovering 9

features present in ancestral organisms, tracking the sources of infectious diseases or invasive species, and identifying close living (and extinct) relatives. In this class, you'll be introduced to the basics of tree-thinking and we'll discuss how phylogenetic trees are constructed and interpreted. We'll also cover recent biological breakthroughs facilitated by phylogenetic biology as well as open questions in the field.

Instructor: Leann Biancani is a research scientist with a master's degree in evolutionary biology and a bachelor's degree in marine biology. She studies the evolutionary history of adaptations in deep sea marine animals.

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TUESDAY ANCIENT GREEK αβγδεζηθικλμνξοπρσςτυφχψω γνῶθι σαυτόν ZeusPallasAthenaPhoebusApolloArtemisHeraHephaestusPlutoPoseidonHermesAresDem eterPersephoneDionysusHeraklesPerseusParisAgamemnonMenelausAchillesHectorPriam IphigeneiaClytemnestraCassandraJasonMedeaAjaxOdysseusTroyIliadOdysseyTrojanHorse ScyllaCharybdisCyclopsPegasusMedusaGorgonsOracleofDelphiSpartaAthensThebesCorin thCreteTheParthenonThePeloponesianWarMarathonPersianEmpireHerodotusThucydidesD emosthenesLysiasAeschylusEuripidesSophoklesMtHeliconParnassusTheMusesMountOly mpusAegisofZeusColossusofRhodes Come learn how to read Ancient Greek, the language of Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Alexander the Great! The Glory that was Greece - yours for the taking!

Instructor: Doc Gilder runs Latin, lunch, and boys varsity lacrosse at Wheeler. For fun he teaches Ancient Greek during summers and Enrichment.

ANIMATION This course will explore the broad landscape of animation. We will challenge what we think we know about animation and consider infinite approaches and possibilities by watching a global breadth of animation and explore some fun, quick exercises in animating ourselves.

Instructor: Cohan Lin is a junior at the Rhode Island School of Design concentrating in animation. He has experience as a traditional and stop motion animator, storyboard artist, pre-production artist, graphic designer, editor, and sound designer.

BARRE FITNESS Barre fitness is a fun, high energy workout that targets and strengthens muscles through small and isometric movements. You can expect fun music, positive energy, and always leaving the studio with a smile and a good sweat. No previous dance experience is necessary!

Instructor: Erin Gildea is the dance teacher at Wheeler. She has over three years of certified training in Barre along with her lifelong experience in dance.

COOKING WITH COLIN The pandemic has been brutal to restaurateurs, and even grocery stores have been subject to raids and panic-buying. How can you eat well during a time of limited product availability? By honing your culinary skills! Learn techniques that will help you transform ordinary ingredients into flavorful creations. To cook is to nurture, and anyone can learn 11

to do it well! No experience or fancy equipment necessary. In this course, you'll master basic knife skills, learn how to bake bread and make handmade pasta and sauce, and whip up some tasty recipes using commonly-available ingredients. We'll borrow from the best and learn from each other. Tuesdays have never tasted better!

Instructor: Colin Nagle is the founder of Winston Springer Capital Management and a member of the performing arts faculty at Wheeler. He also plays a mean handbell.

EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY This class is an experiential based learning experience. After learning the theory and principles of Expressive Arts therapy, you will experience and practice them through meditation, drawing/ collaging, writing activities, and potentially some movement activities. This class is also tailored to the students’ preferences, creating art versus movement activities, etc.

Instructor: Olivea Martin, a Wheeler alum and teacher of Foundation Art, is a Registered Somatic Therapist who specializes in Expressive Arts therapy. They first found a love of dance in college and quickly found dance and the arts as a powerful healing modality and have been studying and practicing Expressive Arts ever since. Their passion in life is to practice and teach healing modalities.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE From Ancient Egyptian pyramids and the mysterious Moʻai heads on Easter Island to the world’s tallest building (Burj Khalifa) and Sagrada Familia (a church built by robots), the human race has gone to great lengths to shape and construct their physical environments. The study of architecture - buildings, cities, and everything in between reflects what people and societies prized and valued at different moments in time… if you know how to read it. This course will introduce students to different architectural styles from antiquity to the 21st century. Students will learn to identify stylistic features, understand how structures were constructed, and discuss the history and power of the buildings they encounter in their everyday lives.

Instructor: Molly Mason is a designer, maker, and researcher. She received a Masters of Science from the Design and Computation Group at MIT, where she was a researcher at the Self-Assembly Lab. Her research on robotic fabrication and transformable structures has been published as a part of the International Journal of Architectural Computing, as well as in recent conferences such as Fabricate and the International Association for Shell Structures. Prior to MIT, she practiced architecture and digital fabrication in NYC and has helped create buildings and installations in multiple cities across the U.S. as well as in China and Israel.

HUMANITARIAN DISASTER RELIEF 12

This course is for anyone interested in public health in times of conflict or natural disaster. The class will employ digital cases focusing on crises such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster, stampedes and protests in Hong Kong, or the Tianjin explosion, exploring the difference between risk communication for public health and crisis communication to advance a political agenda. Students will also study international events' relevance to US media and the impact of Covid-19, culminating in an urban outbreak simulation.

Instructor: Benjamin Davies has spent the last decade teaching humanitarian response and designing war games at the US Naval War College and Harvard while also consulting for several non-profit organizations and serving as the deputy director of the Satellite Sentinel Project, studying tank movement to identify war crimes in the Sudan. He will be speaking to the entire Upper School later this year.

INTRO TO ITALIAN 1 This course offers an introduction to complete beginners in spoken and written Italian.

We will use a conversational class model to build basic vocabulary and pronunciation skills.

Instructor: Isabel Vazquez is a senior undergraduate student at Brown University studying Music and Education. She has several years of experience working in the music industry as a vocalist, producer, and songwriter, as well as working as a teacher /tutor with a focus on languages and writing. She was born and raised in New York and currently resides between New York and London.

INTRO TO NEUROSCIENCE 1 Did you know that the most complicated object known to exist in the entire universe sits between your two ears? It allows you to dance at parties, cry at funerals, play video games at 4 in the morning, and eat burritos while having conversations with good friends. That thing is your brain, a squishy series of electrical impulses and molecules that communicate at speeds faster than a bullet train! And in this class, we'll go over how it works, why it works, and how, in the not so distant future, people will send signals from their brains to computers in order to do things that were never thought possible.

Instructor: Travis Dumais has spent the past nine years researching neuroscience, moral decision making, religious belief, and mindfulness meditation. He was going to pursue a PhD in brain machine interfaces, but after reading some books about the meaning of life, he realized that his life would have more meaning if he spent his time making art (videos/music) and teaching youth about the promises and perils of brain-machine technology, embodying his mentors’ philosophy of treating students as intellectual equals.

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IRISH/ GAELIC The phrase ‘I speak Irish’ is generally met with confusion here in America, if it ever comes up in conversation at all. But with such a vibrant, ancient history, how could it be that the Irish language (Gaeilge) is both the official language of Ireland and officially endangered? The goal of this course is to breathe life back into a tentatively rising dialect and for students to gain a flow of understanding about the ins and outs of phrases that look (to the untrained eye) a bit like alphabet soup! Students can expect to learn everyday phrases as well as basic grammar, syntax, and a vocabulary bank of the 100 most commonly-used terms.

Instructor: Avé Penrose has a true passion for learning! Over the past eight years, it’s been a great pleasure of his to help educate others in a wide array of subjects, including American Sign Language (ASL), Esperanto, Irish (Gaeilge), Greek Mythology, and more.

As a proud Deaf man, he has a keen focus on transparency as well as accessibility; it’s important to him that students feel comfortable asking hard questions and can trust him to give them a well-researched, well-rounded point of view.

MAHJONG Intrigued by the final battle scene between Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick’s mom (Michelle Yeoh)? Come to Mahjong class to learn about the history of this amazing game that has captivated many people all around the world and try your hand at playing yourself! We will start by honing our skills at Rummikub and transition into playing with actual Mahjong tiles. Trust me, you can conquer the intricate patterns and Chinese characters and enjoy the game like a skilled local. You don't need any prior experience in Mahjong or Chinese to play.

INSTRUCTOR: Corrine Bai is a junior at Brown University studying Applied Mathematics, History, and Art History. She grew up in the former French Concession of Shanghai and attended boarding school in Connecticut before coming to Brown. During her free time, she likes to cook, read, and play poker with friends.

PALEONTOLOGY Learn about the intricate history of life on our planet, from its proposed origins over three billion years ago to the evolution of the human lineage. Students will be introduced to fundamental concepts in paleontology such as evolution and fossil preservation, and will learn about the geological history of the earth, the development and varied stages of life on it, and our own origins as a species.

Instructor: Grayson Hoover teaches both Japanese and paleontology courses at Wheeler.

He has degrees in Japanese and Chinese languages, with over ten years of experience in both, as well as anthropology, with a focus on human evolution. He also has an extensive background in vertebrate paleontology.

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PRODUCTION CONCEPTUALIZATION This class will investigate the journey from the page or score to a production concept for the stage. This will involve a brief history of theater with an emphasis on employing commedia dell’arte archetypes, finding contemporary analogues to classical situations and characters, and using storytelling and recognition to create a successful, modern production concept. We will also discuss thematic and symbolic storytelling elements and patterns, with an emphasis on textual analysis, and discuss ways of doing research for production design. This class will also include a discussion of “regietheater,” German for “director’s theatre.”

Instructor: Matt Ferraro studied theatre at Princeton University, Commedia and mask performance at The Dell’Arte School of Physical Theater, and ballet dancer in New York City. He has danced, choreographed, directed, and designed theatre and opera across the country and in Germany, where his production of Evita received rave reviews and where he will return in 2021 to direct Sweeney Todd.

PUBLIC HEALTH This course focuses on the various intricacies of how public health is affected in the US and globally. We will compare healthcare systems in the US to other countries while paying particular attention to environmental, social, and cultural factors. This class is a great way to understand how personal and societal health is affected and approached.

Instructor: Bianca Martineau is a junior at Brown University studying public health. This is her second year teaching at Wheeler, and she also participates in various extracurricular activities such as Brown Global Brigades, COVID-19 research, and BEAM (Brown Elementary After School Mentoring). She plans on getting a PhD in psychology in hopes of becoming a talk therapist. She is from Syracuse, NY and loves skiing, yoga, and horseback riding.

ROBOTICS Wheeler's US Robotics Team competes locally in FIRST Tech Challenge events. We design, build, and program large, custom robots to play a new "robot game" each year against other neighboring high schools (think robot soccer, not Battle Bots). Of course, we are seeking teammates interested in computer science and engineering, but our team also needs writers, artists, gamers, and more! We welcome all experience levels and build training into practice. We meet twice a week during the enrichment period (Tuesday/Friday), but members are only required to attend one practice per week if they have a conflict.

Instructor: Dylan Ryder is the US Robotics advisor and Director of the DIB Lab at Wheeler. He enjoys using robots to make art in addition to "fake sports for robots."

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SCIENCE OLYMPIAD “Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division... Each year, a portion of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology… Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on group participation” (https://www.soinc.org/info/about-science-olympiad). The 2021 Event Table includes Life, Personal, and Social Science; Earth and Space Science; Physical Science and Chemistry; Technology and Engineering; and Inquiry and Nature of Science.

INSTRUCTOR: Kush Patel is a junior at Brown University concentrating in Neuroscience and planning to apply to medical school after taking some time after graduation to work in the Pharma field. He plays cricket for St.Columba's Cricket Club in Newport, is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati, and has taken multiple years of classes in Sanskrit, Marathi, and Spanish. His name is in the Guinness World Records for being part of the largest sitar ensemble, which took place in Noida, India in 2008.

THE SPOKE The Spoke is the official and online student newspaper for Wheeler. Our goal and drive is to be a meaningful outlet for student voices at Wheeler to be heard. We sincerely hope that all Upper School students of all grade levels can feel they have the chance and right to publish their writing, photography, and art through The Spoke, even if their schedules prevent them from being able to attend meetings. The publishing cycle and frequency varies with the editorial board each year, and this year the student cohort is determined to publish a robust, substantial issue each quarter with articles organized by four central columns: Uniquely Wheeler, Reviews, Lifestyle & Current Events, and Original Pieces.

Instructor: Marco Rodarte has been the faculty advisor for The Spoke since he began teaching at Wheeler in the fall of 2015. He is a member of the Upper School English Department, teaching sophomores and juniors along with seniors through spring-semester elective offerings. Originally from Arizona, Mr. Rodarte now loves being a denizen of Pawtucket with his wife.

STRANGE FICTION This class will experiment with the horror genre, asking students to write a short piece of fiction (story or chapter) that manipulates and elevates the everyday into the bizarre and heart pounding. Students will be asked to generate new work every class with the intent of workshopping a more finished piece in the latter half of the class. Be prepared to create, critique, and discuss! We will find inspiration for our work in each other, and we will discover the possibility that the genre is the perfect fit for exploring our real lives.

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Instructor: Rachel Eve Moulton earned her B.A. from Antioch College and her M.F.A from Emerson College. Her work has appeared in Beacon Street Review, Bellowing Ark, Chicago Quarterly Review, Cream City Review, Bryant Literary Review, and New Ohio Review among other publications. Her debut novel Tinfoil Butterfly was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She currently lives with her family in New Mexico.

UNDERSTANDING URBAN PLANNING One of the reasons our cities and towns look, feel, and function the way they do is because of a process called urban planning. We’ll start with a few basics including what urban planning means; why it matters; who’s involved (hint: SO many professions); tools of the trade (zoning codes, comprehensive plans, population projections, etc.); and how the process works. Then we’ll pick topics of greatest interest to the class and explore them in greater depth through case studies, videos, and hands-on activities.

Instructor: Britt Page has more than two decades of experience in the fields of economic development, urban planning, social enterprise, and corporate sustainability in New York City, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, and Providence. She’s passionate about all things education-related, anand she loves mentoring and helping young people explore their interests.

ZEN AND THE ART OF PERSONAL FINANCE Money isn’t everything…but it’s not nothing! So how much does happiness cost, and how can you budget for it? Explore personal finance strategies through a lens of cognitive psychology and sociology, and become a master of your financial destiny to support happiness. If you aspire to a future in which you enter retirement with many years left to enjoy it, this class is for you! Learn “how to adult” in a capitalist financial society to make your future financial position support meaning in your life.

Instructor: Annie Witte was born and raised in Providence, and presently works as a Professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a BS and PhD in Accountancy from Bentley University. She balances out her “math brain” with a love for bonsai, yoga, and the violin.

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WEDNESDAY CIVIL WAR Battling personalities and regions are a part of America's story. The seeds of the Civil War were planted 400 years ago with the arrival of the first 19 enslaved persons in 1619 at Point Pleasant, seeds which flourished in the South like the cotton that provided its economic basis. This close look at the war will proceed through bloody battlefields and tensions which impact our lives even now. Arrive ready to question, discuss, and gain a better understanding of the complex forces which continue to animate and test the Republic.

Instructor: Mara Koppel has taught English and creative writing at Wheeler since 2013. A graduate of Brown and Columbia's Teachers College, she has also taught history, Latin, and mythology.

CRIME DOESN’T PAY… OR DOES IT? P.T. Barnum famously said, "There's a sucker born every minute." In this class, we'll explore financial frauds and why people fall for them. Whether you look at Dutch tulips, Ponzi schemes, Enron, cryptomania, or East Greenwich's own Monique Brady's brazen home improvement scheme that defrauded friends and associates out of nearly $5 million, history is rife with examples of too-good-to-be-true deals for which smart people nevertheless fell. We'll explore why the intellingent make dumb choices and what happens when they do!

Instructor: Colin Nagle is the founder of Winston Springer Capital Management and a member of the performing arts faculty at Wheeler. He also plays a mean handbell.

DIGITAL DESIGN and CAD 1 A perfume bottle. A spaceship. An explosion in a movie. A car. A spaceship. Your phone.

The thing all of these items have in common is that they were modeled with a computer.

Computer Aided Design (CAD) uses computation to assist with drawing, animating, and making physical and digital objects. Students will be introduced to a 3D modeling software called Rhino which they will use to make drawings and physical objects with a laser cutter and 3D printer.

Instructor: Molly Mason is a designer, maker, and researcher. She received a Masters of Science from the Design and Computation Group at MIT, where she was a researcher at the Self-Assembly Lab. Her research on robotic fabrication and transformable structures has been published as a part of the International Journal of Architectural Computing, as well as in recent conferences such as Fabricate and the International Association for Shell Structures. Prior to MIT, she practiced architecture and digital fabrication in NYC

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and has helped create buildings and installations in multiple cities across the U.S. as well as in China and Israel.

THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY, ASTROLOGY, AND MAGIC Are you obsessed with your star sign? Curious about what kinds of magic people actually used to use (and still do!)? Wondering about what people actually did in alchemy? This class will explore the European history of astrology, alchemy, and magic and consider the ways in which these arts changed how we, in modern society, perceive and understand nature. We will also explore how 'science' factors into these fields of study and rethink classical knowledge systems challenged during the Early Modern period which created the foundations of our knowledge systems today.

INSTRUCTOR: Eva Carpenter is currently studying history and economics at Brown University. While it's not her college major, Marine Biology has been an interest of hers ever since she was little - her favorite organism to talk about is the octopus! Outside of teaching, she likes to go for walks with her friends, play with her dog, and listen to new music.

HOW DOES THAT WORK? Are you curious about something that’s too complicated for a quick google search? This is your opportunity to dig in and answer the question, how does that work? Whatever random thing you’re wondering about -- port economics, cookie manufacturing, sneaker design, whatever -- we will tackle it together. We'll figure out key questions and best sources of information and then determine which threads to pull in order to develop a fuller understanding of the what, why, and how behind your topic of interest.

Instructor: Britt Page has more than two decades of experience in the fields of economic development, urban planning, social enterprise, and corporate sustainability in New York City, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, and Providence. She’s passionate about all things education-related, and she loves mentoring and helping young people explore their interests.

INTRO TO LAW Intro to Law teaches the foundational principles of our legal system and the many branches of law and context that are typically reviewed in the first year of a law school education. Torts, Contacts, and Criminal Law are usually covered.

Instructor: David Schiano is the director of operations for 88.1 FM, the director of Wheeler School Broadcasting, and the director of Wheeler’s Mock Trial program.

INTRO TO PYTHON 19

In this course you'll begin to learn Python, using the programming language to draw pictures and make a simple game, while gaining a better understanding of how computers work.

Instructor: Alex Weeks was a self taught programmer in high school and took classes in college as he pursued a career in game development. In addition to Python, he is familiar with Ruby, JavaScript, and C#.

INTRO TO RUSSIAN In this course you’ll gain basic reading skills, learn to describe your studies and hobbies, and learn to ask simple questions, as well as a few facts about Russia and its culture.

After all, what do the inventor of the Periodic Table, the composer of The Nutcracker, and a few famous dancers and tennis players have in common? They all share Russian as their language.

Instructor: Olga Zaslavsky, a native speaker of Russian who holds advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, is an experienced high school and college instructor.

She is the winner of the American Councils Summer Teacher Award (summer 2019) for professional development at the Herzen Institute (St. Petersburg). Olga has been at Wheeler for the past ten years and has enjoyed teaching small groups as well as individual students.

INTRO TO TURKISH This course is designed for anyone with an interest in learning the Turkish language. We will primarily work on reading and listening comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking practice. All levels are welcome!

Instructor: Dora Iyigun is a senior at Brown University finishing up her Political Science degree This is her fourth year teaching at Wheeler, She grew up in Boulder, Colorado and is a first-generation American from Turkey.

MAPS AND APPS: GIS AND THE SCIENCE OF WHERE Geospatial Technology is everywhere: your phone, your car, your computer! This course will introduce you to an online set of websites and apps which will enable you to create maps, add your own data, and analyse that data, technology which could be used in many classes. You will incorporate those maps into storymaps and be able to enter a statewide storymap competition.

Instructor: Peter Stetson is a GSTEd Certified instructor, a Power of Data facilitator, and a 2009 and 2017 T3G graduate. He taught for over 15 years using Geospatial Technology in his classes.

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MARINE BIOLOGY Come learn about the largest habitat on the planet and the unique and incredible plants and animals that live there. We'll discuss interesting environments, diverse organisms, and important ecological interactions. We'll also learn about the impacts humans have on these environments, the steps being taken to protect them, and the cutting edge science being used to understand them.

Instructor: Leann Biancani is a research scientist with a master's degree in evolutionary biology and a bachelor's degree in marine biology. She studies the evolutionary history of adaptations in deep sea marine animals.

MASK MAKING Create your own masks, beginning with simple patterns and then expanding into other design opportunities! No sewing experience is necessary. We will use sewing machines to replicate a favorite mask, tweak one to fit better, or start from scratch. You can make a simple mask in a class period!

Instructor: Andrea DeMayo has worked on costumes for Wheeler Upper and Middle School theater and musicals since 2016. She quilts and sews at home and is a certified mediator in Massachusetts. She is the mother of three Wheeler alums, several dogs, and seven chickens.

MATH TEAM The Wheeler Math Team is an enrichment program for students to explore math while having fun tackling interesting and challenging problems. Practices include solving competition style math problems and training mathletes for competitions throughout the year. Every member of the math team will participate in monthly NEMLs while receiving access to past problem sets to feed their hunger for more math. Our mathletes will also participate in the AMC series competitions in February and potentially other online math competitions.

Instructors: Tom Wharton is an Upper School math teacher and cross country coach. Jen McTeague teaches math in the Upper School “naq yvxrf chggvat pbqrq zrffntrf va ure ovb” (If Mr. Himelfarb could figure it out, you can definitely figure it out.)

MODEL UN Wheeler Model United Nations Club (WMUNC) is one of Wheeler’s oldest and most popular clubs. Each school year starts with the Wheeler MUN Conference held on the Wheeler campus in October, which brings together 80+ high school students from around greater Rhode Island to explore the world of diplomacy, delve into pressing world issues, and find common ground. Entirely student run, the conference is a learning opportunity for both novice and experienced delegates alike to have fun while entering 21

into a new year of Model UN.​The rest of the academic year is devoted to simulations, training, and travel to regional conferences such as the Brown University Model UN Conference, the Boston University Model UN Conference, and the National High School Model UN in New York City.

Instructor: Virginia Laffey teaches history in the Upper School. She has acted as WMUNC’s faculty advisor since 2014.

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY This class is an introduction to the fundamentals of organic chemistry. We will cover the properties and reactions of hydrocarbons and their functional groups, aromatic compounds, and biological molecules. Students will learn how to draw Lewis structures of compounds; write resonance structures and judge their stability; learn the concepts of acid/base and nucleophile/electrophile; draw isomers; learn a few synthetic pathways; and predict reaction mechanisms. Prerequisite: this offering is available to juniors and seniors.

INSTRUCTOR: Kush Patel is a junior at Brown University concentrating in Neuroscience and planning to apply to medical school after taking some time after graduation to work in the Pharma field. He plays cricket for St.Columba's Cricket Club in Newport, is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati, and has taken multiple years of classes in Sanskrit, Marathi, and Spanish. His name is in the Guinness World Records for being part of the largest sitar ensemble, which took place in Noida, India in 2008.

PG-13: WHEELER IMPROV Love watching reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Curious how the casts of Bridesmaids, Waiting for Guffman, and Anchorman learned their craft? Wonder how episodes of The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm come together? Want to learn the basics taught at The Groundlings, ImprovOlympic, and The Second City, where countless stars of Saturday Night Live get their start? Then join the Purple and Gold 13 and learn how to play Four Square, Buzz, Props, Mr. & Ms. Fortune, and other classics. No experience necessary, but do bring a willingness to laugh at yourself and others. Especially others.

Instructor: Michael Himelfarb was one of the first members of Quipfire!, Princeton University’s oldest improv comedy group. From 1998-2008, he taught upper school English and served as the Head of Dramatics at Gilman School in Baltimore, and he spent the next eleven years teaching 7th-12th grade English and directing theatre at Moses Brown, chairing the English Department from 2016-2019. At MB, he founded and directed Improv We Trust, the upper school’s improv comedy troupe. In 2019, he was thrilled to join three of his four sons at Wheeler, where he teaches US and MS English and is the Aerie Enrichment Coordinator.

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SOCCER 101 Any interest in footy, futbol, or soccer? Then this class is the one for you! Covering the history of the game, its modern rules, and its present economic and political dimensions, Soccer 101 will take an exciting, in-depth look at the sport and give students a real feel for the world’s most popular game. So, whether you’ve never touched a ball before or watch the English Premier League every weekend, you have a place in this class—and the game!

INSTRUCTOR: Jaylim Aboneaaj is an avid soccer fan and player. Currently on the Brown Men’s (Club!) Soccer Team (p.s. he’s not that good), he plays the sport regularly, tracks its latest news, and uses his experience competing at the highest levels of the game—here and abroad—to inform his approach to teaching.

SONG WRITING This class is appropriate for songwriters with all levels of experience. The class will be tailored to the styles of student interest and is not restricted to pop. We will cover various strategies for writing lyrics, melodies, chord progressions, and possibly some basic production skills.

Instructor: Isabel Vazquez is a senior undergraduate student at Brown University studying Music and Education. She has several years of experience working in the music industry as a vocalist, producer, and songwriter, as well as working as a teacher /tutor with a focus on languages and writing. She was born and raised in New York and currently resides between New York and London.

YEARBOOK - WEDNESDAYS Yearbook Club is open to anyone interested in graphic design, photography, publishing, or archives or memory making. We are in the final throes of creating this year's book, and will use the time on Wednesdays to build pages, take photos, and make our yearbook masterpiece.

Instructors: Ms. Covintree, Ayoung Lee, Juliana Bruno, and Lilie Young

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THURSDAY ASL 2 American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the fastest-growing languages in the United States - with good reason! Students who have taken Intro to ASL will be well on their way to developing full, intelligent sentences, which are put to excellent use as we expand on our knowledge of Deaf culture in addition to our word bank. ASL 2 is where students examine higher concepts like music, humor, and idioms unique to the Deaf community.

We jump in full-force, using ASL to talk about ASL, as students further their understanding of its history and its future. (Please note: like Intro to ASL, this class is ‘voice-off’; students are encouraged to communicate primarily through sign.)

Prerequisites: ASL 1 or instructor permission.

Instructor: Avé Penrose has a true passion for learning! Over the past eight years, it’s been a great pleasure of his to help educate others in a wide array of subjects, including American Sign Language (ASL), Esperanto, Irish (Gaeilge), Greek Mythology, and more.

As a proud Deaf man, he has a keen focus on transparency as well as accessibility; it’s important to him that students feel comfortable asking hard questions and can trust him to give them a well-researched, well-rounded point of view.

CHAMBER MUSIC Chamber Music Ensemble is an opportunity for students interested in classical music to play chamber music with their peers. Students are grouped according to instruments and experience, and each group works with a coach to prepare for two recitals per year. In the current 20-21 school year, all of our chamber groups are focusing on music written by composers of African descent. We also have listening lunches together, and we attend concerts and recitals together. All instruments are welcome, and students who don't play instruments are also welcome to participate in listening lunches and concerts.

Instructors: Christine Perkins is a science teacher at Wheeler, and she also plays the cello, regularly performing with local college orchestras, pit orchestras, and chamber groups. Felipe Ferreras is a member of the Modern Languages department and a faculty advisor to Peer Support; he also plays the piano.

COLONIAL SHANGHAI Did you know that Shanghai was dubbed "Paris of the East" at the dawn of the 20th century? At the end of the first opium war, Shanghai was carved into autonomous concessions administered by the British, French, and Americans. With the presence of merchants and visitors from all over the world, Shanghai transformed from a fishing village to a beautiful urban space with art deco architecture and charming country villas.

On the flip side of all that glamor was the Jewish ghetto, rampant gang activity, and many 24

original Chinese residents of the city trying to make a place for themselves. In this class you will learn about an often-forgotten but thrilling period in Chinese history that gave rise to the metropolis that is Shanghai today.

INSTRUCTOR: Corrine Bai is a junior at Brown University studying Applied Mathematics, History, and Art History. She grew up in the former French Concession of Shanghai and attended boarding school in Connecticut before coming to Brown. During her free time, she likes to cook, read, and play poker with friends.

DIGITAL DESIGN AND CAD 2 For students already familiar with a CAD program, this enrichment uses more advanced modeling methods to create projects using digital fabrication. From the mathematical design of M.C. Escher’s repeating tessellation to the folding patterns of transformable origami, students will embark on a series of creative and technical projects using the laser cutter and 3D printer and explore better techniques for making three-dimensional objects. Prerequisites: Digital Design I or experience with a CAD software.

Instructor: Molly Mason is a designer, maker, and researcher. She received a Masters of Science from the Design and Computation Group at MIT, where she was a researcher at the Self-Assembly Lab. Her research on robotic fabrication and transformable structures has been published as a part of the International Journal of Architectural Computing, as well as in recent conferences such as Fabricate and the International Association for Shell Structures. Prior to MIT, she practiced architecture and digital fabrication in NYC and has helped create buildings and installations in multiple cities across the U.S. as well as in China and Israel.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP If you've ever wanted to run your own business, this is the class for you! Using the Shopify platform, we will explore the dropshipping business model. Students will learn about product selection, supply chain management, pricing strategies, and how to advertise via paid search (Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Google Display Ads) and influencer marketing.

Instructor: Colin Nagle is the founder of Winston Springer Capital Management and a member of the performing arts faculty at Wheeler. He also plays a mean handbell.

ENVIROTHON Envirothon is the United States' largest high school environmental science competition.

This hands-on, competitive test has five sections: wildlife, forestry, aquatics, soils, and a special topic. For the past three years, Wheeler has represented Rhode Island nationally.

When we are not preparing for the annual May regional competition, we discuss other issues relating to the environment, such as climate change and environmental justice.

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Instructors: Wassa Bagayoko is a senior at Brown University studying international relations. She has been with Wheeler's Envirothon team for the past four years, teaching forestry and soils and helping curate the Envirothon curriculum. Nicole Burns is a sophomore at Brown studying Environmental Health. This is her second year coaching the Envirothon team, teaching aquatics, soils, and the annual special topic. Teniola Ayeni is a sophomore at Brown studying Environmental Science. Outside of the classroom, she is passionate about music, the French language, travelling, and healthcare.

FILM STUDIES This class will be a gentle introduction to many different film genres with an emphasis on sharing film clips and discussing what we love about movies.

Instructor: Loren Marcus has taught film classes at Wheeler for more than twenty years.

She worked in the film industry in California before moving to Rhode Island and has also taught at RISD. GENDER STUDIES This class is an introduction to historical and contemporary gender issues both nationally and globally. Students will study gender topics such as masculinity, feminism, transgender identity, and LGBTQIA+ issues in historical contexts as well as current culture. We will visit topics such as health, education, trade, work, sexual identity, politics, and the environment.

Instructor: Michael Hendershot is the owner of Greenwich Wood Products, father to a lovely five year old daughter, and an advocate for gender studies and equality apparent when examining historical and modern day socio-economic inequities. He hopes to help young people broaden their understanding of concepts and issues that will make for a better, more tolerant tomorrow.

INTRO TO GERMAN Mark Twain once described the German language as "slippery and elusive to the grasp."

Admittedly that's true, given its tendency for long compound words and complex grammar. But as the most commonly spoken native language in Europe and the official language of an economic powerhouse, German is 100% worth the effort of learning.

Intro to German provides a basic foundation in this beautiful language through stories, videos, dialogues, and lessons on German culture.

INSTRUCTOR: Theo Karanikolas is a junior at Brown studying Health & Human Biology.

INTRO TO NEUROSCIENCE 2 Intro to Neuro 2 is more of what we went over in Intro to Neuro 1 with a special addition: we'll start putting our knowledge into practice by using a state of the art EEG headset 26

that only a few highschools in the world currently own. Using this tech, we will take a glimpse into the activity of our own brains and learn how to move objects with our minds!

Yes, seriously. That and much more awaits. Prerequisites: Intro to Neuro 1 or instructor permission.

Instructor: Travis Dumais has spent the past nine years researching neuroscience, moral decision making, religious belief, and mindfulness meditation. He was going to pursue a PhD in brain machine interfaces, but after reading some books about the meaning of life, he realized that his life would have more meaning if he spent his time making art (videos/music) and teaching youth about the promises and perils of brain-machine technology, embodying his mentors’ philosophy of treating students as intellectual equals.

INTRO TO OPERA This class will offer students an introduction to opera appreciation, a window sorely missing from basic American culture yet prevalent across Europe. We will discuss famous and significant operas, composers and works the students select, and different performers and voices, including a lesson on the soprano voice. Class will overflow with listening to and the history of this gorgeous art form.

Instructor: Jessica Rose Cambio is an opera singer by profession, but she has also spent her life studying Italian alongside her singing. She has a Master of Music from USC and a Master of Arts in Italian Literature from Hunter College. She has lived in Italy (twice), the US, and currently Germany, and she speaks Italian, English, and German fluently. She has been teaching voice, ESL, Italian, and diction for singers since 2006, and in 2020, she started a new podcast for children called "Operina" which teaches opera and language appreciation.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE In this class, we’re going to explore Israel-Palestine through the lens of narratives. We will be discussing conflict, culture, and connection. We will focus on the complex history of the area as it relates to the lived experiences of its residents (and refugees).

Instructor: Alexandra Kohl is a Brown graduate teaching live from Nazareth, Israel. She has a passion for languages and good baklava. In her free time, she loves creating music and trying to learn new languages through international Netflix.

LIGHT UP BROADWAY: LIGHTING DESIGN FOR PLAYS AND MUSICALS Join Tony-award winning lighting designer Bradley King to learn about the ins and outs of lighting design for live theater. We’ll touch on fundamental concepts, best practices, color theory, and control software for how Broadway shows get… lit. We’ll also

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investigate the business side of Broadway and what it takes to take a show from idea to opening night. Previous familiarity with theatrical design is helpful but not required.

Instructor: Bradley King is a two-time Tony award winning lighting designer, most recently for the hit musical Hadestown, for which he also won Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. He is a longtime collaborator of Rachel Chavkin, with whom he has developed five new musicals including The Great Comet, Lempicka, and Moby Dick. He lives in New York with his family and can’t wait until it’s safe to commune with an audience again.

MARINE BIOLOGY This elective provides a brief but expansive overview of freshwater, coastline, and open-ocean ecosystems. We'll learn about ponds, lakes, and ocean zones (intertidal, pelagic, and abyssal) in addition to exploring the types of organisms that can be found in each area. We'll look at ecosystems in coral reefs, mangrove swamps, hydrothermal vents, benthic zones, and tide pools, and also check out some cool fish and marine mammals. Join us if you want to learn about immortal jellyfish, glow-in-the-dark plankton, fish with legs, and more!

Instructor: Eva Carpenter is currently studying history and economics at Brown University.

While it's not her college major, Marine Biology has been an interest of hers ever since she was little - her favorite organism to talk about is the octopus! Outside of teaching, she likes to go for walks with her friends, play with her dog, and listen to new music.

MEDIATION Mediation is the practice of bringing two sides together in conversation, and mediators are neutral third parties who facilitate that conversation. The skills we will develop begin with active listening, asking open ended questions, and summarizing and reflecting ideas back to the parties. We will spend time speaking and listening, role playing, and asking good questions.

INSTRUCTOR: Andrea DeMayo is a mediator with Metrowest Mediation Services and with The Plummer Youth Project. She mediates in juvenile and district courts for small claims, evictions, and harassment orders. She also mediates divorce and foster care permanency.

NONFICTION WRITING This class will focus on developing the skills necessary to write engaging and effective essays, articles, reports, speeches, and even emails. We will explore a variety of nonfiction writing styles, strategies, and conventions. Students are encouraged to use this as a workshop for developing personal or academic writing projects. If there is an

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interest, we will also devote some time to workshopping personal essays for college applications.

Instructor: Isabel Vazquez is a senior undergraduate student at Brown University studying Music and Education. She has several years of experience working in the music industry as a vocalist, producer, and songwriter, as well as working as a teacher /tutor with a focus on languages and writing. She was born and raised in New York and currently resides between New York and London.

POLITICAL SCIENCE Are you interested in learning about our democracy in an easy, digestible manner?

Introduction to Political Science is designed to be a crash course on the American political process, even more relevant today due to the new administration transitioning into office and the global crisis we are currently suffering. The course will cover topics including the Constitution, Congress, campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation, news and social media, federalism, civil rights, civil liberties, the presidency, and more! Instructor: Yesenia Puebla (she/her) is a senior studying political science at Brown University. She is passionate about environmental activism and education policy.

RADIO BROADCASTING/ PODCASTING Radio Broadcasting/Podcasting is the preparation and live delivery of a weekly or bi-weekly podcast to be showcased on Wheeler Broadcasting's Soundcloud page or broadcast on 88.1 FM WELH, Wheeler's FM radio station. The class meets in the Digital Production Studio (in the basement of Hamilton).

Instructor: David Schiano is the director of operations for 88.1 FM, the director of Wheeler School Broadcasting, and the director of Wheeler’s Mock Trial program.

SIT-COM: THE WRITERS’ ROOM Parks and Rec, It’s Always Sunny, The Office, Schitt’s Creek, Seinfeld ; we all have a favorite ensemble comedy, and they’re all unhinged in their own special ways. The impact watching a funny group of people has on us as individuals is immeasurable: it seeps into the way we talk, the way we laugh, and the way we see others around us. This is your chance to build your own dysfunctional, chaotic TV family! In this workshop we’ll explore what makes the shows we love so hilarious, and you’ll get to build a quirky cast of your very own.

Instructor: Emily Pinkos is a writer living in New York City. She received her BA in Theatre Arts from Drew University and has spent the last four years writing plays and television scripts, as well as screaming into the void. Her first play, Terminal 5, debuted at the New York Theatre Festival in 2018.

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SOCIOLOGY Why do some groups have more power than others? Why is it that your friends' approval is so important? How do we explain the persistence of inequality? These are just some of the questions that sociologists can help us answer, and in this enrichment we will cover them and much more (the course can be adapted to students' interests).

Instructor: Jon Nelson is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Brown University, where he studies adaptation to flooding and sea level rise in New England. He is fluent in Portuguese and currently lives with his wife in São Paulo, Brazil. His pandemic hobbies include walks on the beach, cooking, and watching Netflix.

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FRIDAY ADVANCED NEUROSCIENCE So you want to join the major leagues? Advanced Neuro will use the foundational knowledge and experience you developed in the Intro class to design and implement studies that answer some of the most interesting questions known to humankind. What is a mind? How does it function? Why do I always seem to put off my homework until the last minute? All of this and more will be answered through first hand inquiry using cutting edge technology, methodology, and design. Prerequisites: Intro to Neuro 1, Advanced Neuro first semester, or instructor permission.

Instructor: Travis Dumais has spent the past nine years researching neuroscience, moral decision making, religious belief, and mindfulness meditation. He was going to pursue a PhD in brain machine interfaces, but after reading some books about the meaning of life, he realized that his life would have more meaning if he spent his time making art (videos/music) and teaching youth about the promises and perils of brain-machine technology, embodying his mentors’ philosophy of treating students as intellectual equals.

CHARACTER DESIGN This course is for anyone who likes to come up with characters and stories and wants to bring them to life and find their voice. We will explore design elements and making characters work within them to express the heart of your story.

INSTRUCTOR: Cohan Lin is a junior at the Rhode Island School of Design concentrating in animation. He has experience as a traditional and stop motion animator, storyboard artist, pre-production artist, graphic designer, editor, and sound designer.

CREATIVE WRITING Creative Writing is designed for students to create original forms of writing: short stories, novels, poetry, and playwriting, with an opportunity to publish their work in Aerie Literary Voices 2021.

Instructor: Bob Koppel is a professional writer and teacher with over a dozen critically acclaimed books to his name.

FASHION DESIGN Donatella Versace, Karl Lagerfield, Anna Wintour - do any of these names sound familiar to you? Come join us to learn about designers, style trends throughout the decades, fashion shows, and more. We are going to study how fashion is influenced by social media, and what fashion means to each of us as individuals.

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Instructor: Lexi Schechter is a third year at Brown University studying biology along a pre-med track. She has always been interested in fashion and took many design classes growing up.

FOOTBALL 101 This course is about the ins and outs of the game from the ground up, from the perspective of a player and coach. Possible topics include the history of the sport, rules and regulations, offensive and defensive plays, special teams, film study, and the development of the cerebral football player, and Coach Raso anticipates guest visits from professional college and NFL coaches and players.

Instructor: A full time Providence firefighter, Coach Raso played seven seasons of Minor League (Semi-Pro) Football after graduating from La Salle (where his team won two Division 1 Varsity State Championships) and URI. He has spent the last seven years coaching football, including the last four years back at La Salle, where he helped his team win the Division 1 State Championship in 2017.

INTRO TO JAPANESE This course includes an integrated introduction to both the language and culture of Japan. Students will learn both spoken and written Japanese, covering the writing systems, conversational speech, and a variety of cultural topics such as folklore and typical customs.

Instructor: Grayson Hoover teaches both Japanese and paleontology courses at Wheeler.

He has degrees in Japanese and Chinese languages, with over ten years of experience in both, as well as anthropology, with a focus on human evolution. He also has an extensive background in vertebrate paleontology.

INTRO TO SCREENWRITING Whether it's a TV show, a video game, or the latest blockbuster movie, everything starts with a script. This course will cover the basics of script format and structure, how to "break" your story, and tips and tricks for telling great stories for the screen.

Instructor: Eric Stirpe, a member of Wheeler’s class of 2007, is a writer of video games, cartoons, and other stories. In 2018 he was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for his work at Telltale Games on franchises like Batman: The Telltale Series, The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderlands, and, most prominently, as the lead writer for Minecraft: Story Mode. After leaving Telltale in 2018 Eric worked on everything from survival/action games (Scavengers) to platformers (Marble Knights), Netflix cartoons (Trash Truck), and puzzle games ( Frozen Adventures) before finally landing at Epic Games as one of the writers for the smash-hit franchise Fortnite.

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KOREAN In this course, we will be diving into studying the Korean language, geared towards building conversational fluency. In addition, we will be learning more about various aspects of Korean culture, including history, food, values, and pop culture. The topics discussed in class are up to you!

Instructor: Hope Davis loves to study languages (6 and counting!), and started learning Korean through the Aerie program when she was a student at Wheeler.

After studying Linguistics/Korean Language & Culture in college, she lived in South Korea for 2 years.

MATH TEAM The Wheeler Math Team is an enrichment program for students to explore math while having fun tackling interesting and challenging problems. Practices include solving competition style math problems and training mathletes for competitions throughout the year. Every member of the math team will participate in monthly NEMLs while receiving access to past problem sets to feed their hunger for more math. Our mathletes will also participate in the AMC series competitions in February and potentially other online math competitions.

Instructors: Tom Wharton is a math teacher and cross country coach at Wheeler. Jen McTeague teaches math in the Upper School “naq yvxrf chggvat pbqrq zrffntrf va ure ovb” (If Mr. Himelfarb could figure it out, you can definitely figure it out.)

MOCK TRIAL Wheeler's Championship Mock Trial team is a great place to learn how to articulate an argument in front of a real jury, advocating for your client. It is a Rhode Island tournament in which each school team works on one assigned fictional case and then squares off in a real courtroom, with a real judge, to conduct a mock trial.

Three rounds of trials then lead to a tournament bracket, where one school is crowned state champion. The season typically runs from late October to early April.

Instructor: David Schiano is the director of operations for 88.1 FM, the director of Wheeler School Broadcasting, and the director of Wheeler’s Mock Trial program.

MODEL UN Wheeler Model United Nations Club (WMUNC) is one of Wheeler’s oldest and most popular clubs. Each school year starts with the Wheeler MUN Conference held on the Wheeler campus in October, which brings together 80+ high school students from around greater Rhode Island to explore the world of diplomacy, delve into pressing world issues, and find common ground. Entirely student run, the conference is a learning opportunity for both novice and experienced delegates alike to have fun while entering 33

into a new year of Model UN.​The rest of the academic year is devoted to simulations, training, and travel to regional conferences such as the Brown University Model UN Conference, the Boston University Model UN Conference, and the National High School Model UN in New York City.

Instructor: Virginia Laffey teaches history in the Upper School. She has acted as WMUNC’s faculty advisor since 2014.

PG-13: WHEELER IMPROV Love watching reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Curious how the casts of Bridesmaids, Waiting for Guffman, and Anchorman learned their craft? Wonder how episodes of The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm come together? Want to learn the basics taught at The Groundlings, ImprovOlympic, and The Second City, where countless stars of Saturday Night Live get their start? Then join the Purple and Gold 13 and learn how to play Four Square, Buzz, Props, Mr. & Ms. Fortune, and other classics. No experience necessary, but do bring a willingness to laugh at yourself and others. Especially others.

Instructor: Michael Himelfarb was one of the first members of Quipfire!, Princeton University’s oldest improv comedy group. From 1998-2008, he taught upper school English and served as the Head of Dramatics at Gilman School in Baltimore, and he spent the next eleven years teaching 7th-12th grade English and directing theatre at Moses Brown, chairing the English Department from 2016-2019. At MB, he founded and directed Improv We Trust, the upper school’s improv comedy troupe. In 2019, he was thrilled to join three of his four sons at Wheeler, where he teaches US and MS English and is the Aerie Enrichment Coordinator.

PRIVATE EQUITY You've probably heard the term before, but what exactly is "private equity," and what makes it so controversial? We'll look at the history of private equity exploring famous deals like Wesray's purchase of Gibson Greeting Cards and KKR's buyout of RJR Nabisco through modern-day transactions involving PE firms, their publicly-traded cousins ( SPACs), and examine the pros and cons of the business model from the perspectives of various stakeholders. With any luck, we'll hear from special guests, make our own buyout valuation models, and analyze current and prospective deals.

Instructor: Colin Nagle is the founder of Winston Springer Capital Management and a member of the performing arts faculty at Wheeler. He also plays a mean handbell.

ROBOTICS

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Wheeler's US Robotics Team competes locally in FIRST Tech Challenge events. We design, build, and program large, custom robots to play a new "robot game" each year against other neighboring high schools (think robot soccer, not Battle Bots). Of course, we are seeking teammates interested in computer science and engineering, but our team also needs writers, artists, gamers, and more! We welcome all experience levels and build training into practice. We meet twice a week during the enrichment period (Tuesday/Friday), but members are only required to attend one practice per week if they have a conflict.

Instructor: Dylan Ryder is the US Robotics advisor and Director of the DIB Lab at Wheeler. He enjoys using robots to make art in addition to "fake sports for robots."

VIROLOGY In this incredibly scary time that we live in, no topic is more currently relevant than Virology. In this class, we will start by covering viruses and their classifications, as well as historical theories surrounding the origins of disease. From there we will move on to cover the many different types of viruses, their pathologies, evasion mechanisms, etc.

This is a great course for those considering studying infectious diseases or who want to work in the Public Health Sector.

Instructor: Alison Veintimilla has a Bachelors of Science in Immunobiology from Brown University and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Biotechnology. Her previous work centered on transmission networks for HIV/AIDs in Rhode Island, and her current research is helping create biomaterials to circumvent the growing issue of antibiotic resistance WEST AFRICAN DANCE West African Dance incorporates traditional Mande culture, language, music, and dance as well as those of neighboring countries (Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal). This class includes vigorous movement with a focus on rhythm, song, and culture as well as dance choreography traditionally performed for rites of passage, courtship, and other cultural occasions. Class materials emphasize community building and individual potential.

Instructor: Joh Camara, who is originally from Mali, teaches dance and drumming at Harvard and Boston University as well as schools across Massachusetts. He has toured West Africa and the United States; he has presented his work at Brown, Brandeis, Berklee, U. Penn, and Princeton; and he collaborates with Boston Ballet and Boston Symphony Youth Orchestra and Choir.

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The “zine” (short for magazine) is a genre of D.I.Y. publishing born out of the punk scene and the feminist movement in the 80’s and 90’s. Now, “zine” refers to an immense range of media, the only defining factor being that it is self-made. In this course, students will learn about this format and work on creating their own publications based on personal interests. Fan zines, comic books, cookbooks, collections of drawings, or short stories are just a few options. Each student will conceptualize, create, and distribute their own zine or book project(s) by the end of the course. This class is ideal for any student who is curious about art, design, or making their own books and motivated to work semi-independently on a project.

Instructor: Ruby Miller is an artist and a BFA candidate at RISD. She has worked with high schoolers at the Cooper Union in New York and the Park School in Baltimore. She specializes in printed material and bookmaking.

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MULTIPLE DAY OFFERINGS INTRO TO ARABIC (Monday and Wednesday) This course covers the foundations of Arabic. By the end of this course, you will be able to read and write in Arabic, and to hold basic conversations about topics such as family, school, and your hobbies.

Instructor: Alexandra Kohl is a Brown graduate teaching live from Nazareth, Israel. She has a passion for languages and good baklava. In her free time, she loves creating music and trying to learn new languages through international Netflix.

PEER SUPPORT (Monday and Wednesday) Peer Support is a student mentorship program in the Upper School that pairs upperclassmen with ninth grade advisory groups in an effort to ease and support the transition into high school through diverse programming. Peer Supporters work weekly in training sessions to develop listening and leadership skills and help plan and facilitate Upper School and Middle School Unity and Diversity Days. (Note: in the spring, Peer Supporters are selected through an application and interview process from the rising eleventh and twelfth grades; decisions are finalized before the end of the academic year.)

Instructors: Sarah Palomo is the chair of the Upper School History Department. Felipe Ferreras is a member of the Modern Languages department and as a Wheeler graduate (’13), he especially enjoys the opportunity to enrich the Peer Support program as an adult.

P.E. (Monday and Wednesday OR Tuesday and Thursday) P.E. class offers a combination of fitness and lifetime activities and games. At times, we have fun playing some elementary PE games. The numbers of students enrolled will dictate our offerings.

Instructors: Eric Delgado joined Wheeler’s Athletic Department in 2019. Eric Stein is Wheeler’s Assistant Athletic Director.

YOGA (Monday and Wednesday) Long for a break during the day to move, stretch, and relax? This course will provide students of any age and any experience with an exploration of asanas, cultivation of breath, and relaxation. Students will gain mobility, learn to deepen their concentration, and enhance self-regulation. Join us and empower your body, heart, and soul in the search for authenticity. (Note: this class provides P.E. credit.)

Instructor: Francisco Cardoso is an international yoga teacher who initiated his training in both yoga and music with fierce dedication at the end of high school. He completed 200

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hours of Levels 1 and 2 of Baptiste Power Yoga teacher training and teaches yoga at PPY Providence Power Yoga.

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