this class is for graduating seniors who need to finish bits and bobs of credit

This class can be taken for AGE (American Government & Economics) credit.

CBA REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION

The 2020 election was arguably the most important election in recent history. We observed record breaking turnout in the middle of a once in a century pandemic. However, the pandemic wasn’t the only problem voters faced. This year saw an uptick in the amount of disinformation around the pandemic. Disinformation in the media has always existed, however with the power of the internet, it can spread quickly and embed itself in the public thought.

The answer to combat this growing problem is Media Literacy. Media Literacy begins with skills and strategies to think critically about the news stories, images, and videos we see online. In our interconnected world, we encounter new information all the time, and there is no greater power than the ability to filter, discern, and wield that information.

In this class we will use these skills to break down major news stories/current events and see firsthand how dominant narratives get created and spread. We will explore a number of topics around politics and the media including: What are politics and media? & What are their roles? Important questions to ask when facing new media Addressing Bias and confirmation Bias Modern political ideologies and movement How to research and avoid conspiracy theories.

"Fight fire with fire" "Heart of Gold "

Without Shakespeare, we wouldn't have those phrases. Without Shakespeare, we wouldn't have the words bump, gloomy, or even obscene! Shakespeare wrote in rap rhymes. He was funny and sexy and loved to make bad potty jokes. He wasn't this bastion of whiteness or even this grandiose artist that people imagined him. He remixed plays from the ancient Greeks and told stories about gender swaps. We can have whole competitions about the way that he insulted people. “Away, you starvelling, you elf-skin, you dried neat’s-tongue, bull’s-pizzle, you stock-fish!”

Come explore the stories of the Bard. Let's look at the mystery of who he really was. Let's dive deep into his language and look at modern interpretations. Let's write our own scenes. Let's teach social justice with a Shakespearian lens.

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

How can we compare and contrast the plots of Shakespeare’s plays with texts both historical and contemporary to understand the universality of his work?

How do we read Shakespearean verse and translate it to modern-day colloquial languages?

Can we contextualize the works of Shakespeare both historically and contemporarily?

Can we examine Shakespeare’s plays through a decolonial lens and imagine how his works can live in modern society?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of plays, poetry, and current events;
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning through writing and presenting scenes;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

** This is a Tuesday /Thursday class. One day will be focused on writing and the other will be on performance

This semester we are honored to work with an amazing teaching artist from Writers in the Schools

Oliver Brickman

Ollie Brickman is a writer, performer, and community organizer from Ann Arbor, MI. The winner of the 2015 Split This Rock Poetry Prize and a five-time member of Seattle slam teams, Oliver has received grants and scholarships from the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Yiddish Book Center, 4Culture, and more. A BOAAT Writers Fellow and a Ken Warfel Fellow for Poetry in Community, Ollie’s poems and prose appear in Narrative, Adriot, BOAAT, The Indiana Review, Muzzle, and the anthologies Ghosts of Seattle Past, The Dead Animal Handbook and Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls. Oliver holds an MFA from the University of Virginia and lives in Seattle, where they teach writing to youth and adults, and parents a cat named Latke.

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

• What is the relationship between performance poetry and social or political activism? How can poetry be a tool for social change?

• What is the impact of performance poetry on the performer, the audience, and the wider community?

• How can constructive feedback contribute to the growth and development of a performance poet?

• What is the essence of performance poetry, and how does it differ from written poetry?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills

1. Writing and performing poetry
2. Critical analysis of poems and performances.
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning through writing and presentations;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

Come to class and write and write and write. Don't forget to read a little too!

THIS CLASS IS FOR JUNIORS AND SENIORS ONLY.

NO CELL PHONES IN THIS CLASS. IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS.

You are the experience.

Expect to work toward understanding your life. Expect to speak a great deal in this class.
Expect to move. Expect to read. Expect to be there. Expect to write.

Requirements:

1. No more than 6 absences. Beyond that will require extensive Content and Community Projects to make up for the competencies missed.
2. No cell phones. Pull out a cell phone without permission and you will receive an absence. Please take calls or send texts outside the room.
3. Complete all competencies.
4. Take responsibility for your education. If you miss a class, check in with me. Make sure you have access to Schoology and check it.

Competencies

Students will demonstrate: a process oriented approach to observation the ability to analyze various texts and movies for understanding and relevance to their lives, create products to demonstrate the understanding gained from these various mediums, communicate with each other and the instructor what they are learning, value a question, value seeing "what is" as opposed to so much "what might/could be", engage in the skills needed to be a part of a community, be available to experience the various content of the subject matter relevant to this course.

Evaluation methods

Each student will be evaluated on whether they do or don't finish the assignments given in class to the degree of quality specified and agreed upon by both the instructor and the students. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. Students may only have 6 unexcused absences. After 6 absences students will have to do both a community and as many content projects needed to make up the time missed practicing and being in a community.

PLEASE READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS BELOW. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE SUICIDAL, HAVE INTENSE PROBLEMS WITH DISSOCIATION, DEPRESSION, OR OTHER MENTAL DISORDERS THAT COULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY TALKING ABOUT DEATH, CANNOT HAVE COMPASSION FOR OTHER HUMANS, CANNOT ALLOW OTHERS TO EITHER BE OR NOT BE RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL OR ATHEISTIC OR AGNOSTIC, OR STRUGGLE TO PROVIDE PEOPLE SPACE TO EXPLORE WHAT THEY BELIEVE OR DON'T UNDERSTAND.

TRIGGER WARNINGS (Please read): Clearly, we will be talking about death. Death comes in many forms so we will be discussing those as well as suicide, violence, etc. We will be talking about different types of reality, meaning, and belief systems. We will explore the physical manifestation in the body of death and the burial/death rituals of many different cultures. This will involve in some cases visuals of the dead and perhaps blood or other viscera.

CELL PHONES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THIS CLASS. IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT DO NOT TAKE THE CLASS. YOU WILL BE MARKED ABSENT IF YOU TAKE IT OUT. AFTER TEN ABSENCES YOUR POSSIBLE CREDIT WILL BE CUT IN HALF. AT THAT POINT YOU WILL HAVE TO DO BOTH A CONTENT AND A COMMUNITY PROJECT TO MEET COMPETENCY FOR THE CLASS.

Okay, now for the description. This class is important. You live in a country that has a very overt fear of death. So much so that it is both trivialized, exploited, and not spoken of all at the same time. So, I want to boldly start a conversation and an exploration into death. We will explore what this fear has created in both this culture and you (if anything). You will deeply explore what you think/feel about death while you hear from your peers what they think and feel as well. You will research other cultures so you can get an idea of how these cultures treat death and the dead. We will hear from doctors about what happens to the body when it dies. We will look at poetry, stories, art, film, and so much more on the subject of death. We will examine grief as much as we examine love. Your responsibility will be to try and be there while all this happens. Your responsibility will be to work hard to discover what you believe. You also have the responsibility to engage in the work of trying to discover what it means to you to have a good death and then take on the grail quest to deliver these revelations back to your classmates through a presented project. You will do multiple projects throughout the course of this class. This class does have presentations. There are many ways to present material but since we are creating knowledge as a class, it is important that you share what you learn with your peers. If you are anxious about presenting I have multiple ways you can go about presenting, but again, you will have to share a lot of your work. Your responsibility is to listen to your peers and do everything you can to learn from them and be compassionate. Your ultimate responsibility is to become human and perhaps this is a good start.

Evaluation Methods The teacher and the students will evaluate the products created through a joint process of creating assessments for those competencies.

Instructional Materials Speakers, books, poems, films, each other.

NO CELL PHONE WILL BE ALLOWED IN THIS CLASS. IF THAT IS TOO TROUBLING FOR YOU, FOR SOME REASON, THEN DO NOT TAKE THE CLASS.

THERE IS ALSO AN ATTENDANCE POLICY IN THE CLASS. IF THAT IS TOO TROUBLING FOR YOU, FOR SOME REASON, THEN DO NOT TAKE THE CLASS.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Violence with swords and sometimes guns, existential crises, the mention of rape (in the film, Rashomon), death, ritual suicide, some, but very little blood.

Akira Kurosawa is thought of as one of the greatest filmmakers in history. He was a Japanese filmmaker who was obsessed with detail, beauty, and story. Many of his films have been remade in America, but don't really hold a candle to the originals. In this class, we will watch as many of his films as we can in one semester. We will explore filmmaking techniques, some Japanese history, symbolism in film, theme, and composition.

Since we are trying to watch as many films as we can during the semester, all projects needed to meet competencies in the class will need to be done OUTSIDE of the class. However, there are multiple ways to do these projects and between the two of us we can figure something out.

Kurosawa's films are in Japanese. We will be using subtitles as we watch the films. Please keep this in mind.

I am hoping we get to watch the following films: The Seven Samurai Throne of Blood Rashomon High and Low Ikiru Yojimbo The Hidden Fortress Dreams There may be more but this is a great start.

This ethnic studies class can count as US or world history credit. It is also a College In the High School class (i.e. students registered for both Fall & Spring semesters of this year-long class can earn free college credit through Edmonds College). Students do not need to have taken the first semester's class to enroll in this one.

There is SO much "world music" in "American" music! A major focus of the class (but not its only one) is exploring modern American music's evolution and influences through the art and lived experiences of James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Prince. We will search historical perspectives (e.g. economic, cultural, social) on American and world music, and engage with West African epistemologies, "musics," and aesthetics that deeply influenced music and creative practices in the world, and figure strongly in the artists' work. Cass and Melissa are excited to build this experimental class with students and what learning experiences you communicate are meaningful and worthwhile.

We will watch, discuss, analyze, and explore the films of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the founders of Studio Ghibli. Students will be expected to engage in class activities for each film. Activities will include note-taking, reflections, and more. 

For each of four films, students will produce a project. Three of the four projects need to be non-fiction, fiction, and a project. The fourth project is the student's choice.

I hope to show ten movies this semester. Let's get watching!

Summer Rolls, Lumpia, and Egg Rolls: Stories from the Asian Diaspora

** Because we meet only 2 days a week, some reading, writing, and movie/series watching may be required outside of class***

A walk in the ID shows the diversity of Seattle's Asian population. There are Pho shops next to Dim Sum palaces, next to Japanese bakeries, next to the Korean BBQ. There are cafes whose history tells us of the Japanese Internment. Some museums tell us about our famous Asian Americans. Beacon Hill has a history of Asian culture. What stories do they tell? What are the things that make them a part of the Asian Diaspora? What is the Asian Diaspora and what does it have to do with me?

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

• How can we examine texts by artists from the Asian Diaspora and explore how our identity and its intersectionality connect to theirs?

• How do we analyze texts for themes, symbols, and author’s craft, and explain our reasoning?

• How do the contexts and histories of the countries and cultures that the texts were created about relate to US history and culture?

• How can we critique and compare the texts to have a more well-rounded understanding of the APIA community and its place in the US?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts including graphic novels, film, television, and essays.
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning through writing and presentations;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

Summer Rolls, Lumpia, and Egg Rolls: Stories from the Asian Diaspora

** Because we meet only 2 days a week, some reading, writing, and movie/series watching may be required outside of class***

A walk in the ID shows the diversity of Seattle's Asian population. There are Pho shops next to Dim Sum palaces, next to Japanese bakeries, next to the Korean BBQ. There are cafes whose history tells us of the Japanese Internment. Some museums tell us about our famous Asian Americans. Beacon Hill has a history of Asian culture. What stories do they tell? What are the things that make them a part of the Asian Diaspora? What is the Asian Diaspora and what does it have to do with me?

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

• How can we examine texts by artists from the Asian Diaspora and explore how our identity and its intersectionality connect to theirs?

• How do we analyze texts for themes, symbols, and author’s craft, and explain our reasoning?

• How do the contexts and histories of the countries and cultures that the texts were created about relate to US history and culture?

• How can we critique and compare the texts to have a more well-rounded understanding of the APIA community and its place in the US?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts including graphic novels, film, television, and essays.
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning through writing and presentations;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

TW : These books will be dealing with extreme violence, SA, and drug use. We will be talking about all the big isms, including but not limited to racism, capitalism, and sexism

When the end of the world comes, do you know what to do ?

How will you survive?

What do you need to know?

 What skills do you have that will be useful? 

Octavia Butler predicted so much of our world today. Climate change, the fires, the wealth gap. She even predicted the fascist running for president using the slogan "Make America Great Again" As one of the first Black Science Fiction writers, she is prophetic and prescient.

This class will examine her books Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, and Kindred in depth.  We will talk about what we need to know to survive the world that she built and that she predicted. We will look to indigenous peoples to teach us what they know about the land and how we are tied to it. We will look at how Octavia Butler has inspired others to create actions and organizational structures.

Phones will be collected as you enter the class  You will be able to see them, and You will be able to charge them. You can even answer them in an emergency. We may even be able to use them as tools in class. But they will be collected at the beginning of each class and placed within sight, but out of reach.  (We may have an opportunity to create our phone policy as the year progresses) 

Come play with us. In this committee we dance, we scheme, we socialize.

Committee time on Thursday for seniors to work on their SSJIP. 10-10:45 Debbie's Room 220

What is critical pedagogy?

What does education have to do with revolution?

What does play have to do with revolution?

 How can theater lead to liberation?

 How can we create solutions for problems we face as a society?

Get ready to play! Be prepared to move and be on stage. This class requires active participation. We will learn how to “play”  using techniques and games from Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed, which shows us ways to participate in an art form meant and applied as an empowering and liberating practice that inspires individual and collective transformation.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is one of the foundational texts in critical pedagogy, which attempts to help students question and challenge domination and the beliefs and practices that dominate. Augusto Boal used Friere to inform and inspire his work. 

We will read Pedagogy of the Oppressed and look at other liberational movements all around the world.

Phones will be collected as you enter the class  You will be able to see them, and You will be able to charge them. You can even answer them in an emergency. We may even be able to use them as tools in class. But they will be collected at the beginning of each class and placed within sight, but out of reach.  (We may have an opportunity to create our phone policy as the year progresses)

This class can be taken for AGE (American Government & Economics) credit.

The 2020 election was arguably the most important election in recent history. We observed record breaking turnout in the middle of a once in a century pandemic. However, the pandemic wasn’t the only problem voters faced. This year saw an uptick in the amount of disinformation around the pandemic. Disinformation in the media has always existed, however with the power of the internet, it can spread quickly and embed itself in the public thought.

The answer to combat this growing problem is Media Literacy. Media Literacy begins with skills and strategies to think critically about the news stories, images, and videos we see online. In our interconnected world, we encounter new information all the time, and there is no greater power than the ability to filter, discern, and wield that information.

In this class we will use these skills to break down major news stories/current events and see firsthand how dominant narratives get created and spread. We will explore a number of topics around politics and the media including: What are politics and media? & What are their roles? Important questions to ask when facing new media Addressing Bias and confirmation Bias Modern political ideologies and movement How to research and avoid conspiracy theories.

TW : These books will be dealing with extreme violence, SA, and drug use. We will be talking about all the big isms, including but not limited to racism, capitalism, and sexism

When the end of the world comes, do you know what to do ?

How will you survive?

What do you need to know?

 What skills do you have that will be useful? 

Octavia Butler predicted so much of our world today. Climate change, the fires, the wealth gap. She even predicted the fascist running for president using the slogan "Make America Great Again" As one of the first Black Science Fiction writers, she is prophetic and prescient.

This class will examine her books Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, and Kindred in depth.  We will talk about what we need to know to survive the world that she built and that she predicted. We will look to indigenous peoples to teach us what they know about the land and how we are tied to it. We will look at how Octavia Butler has inspired others to create actions and organizational structures.

Phones will be collected as you enter the class  You will be able to see them, and You will be able to charge them. You can even answer them in an emergency. We may even be able to use them as tools in class. But they will be collected at the beginning of each class and placed within sight, but out of reach.  (We may have an opportunity to create our phone policy as the year progresses) 

Credit pathways include ELA, Ethnic Studies, and/or Spanish 3.

The Naked Truth On Stereotypes is a language arts ethnic studies class focused on exercising voice, play, movement, growing confidence as writers, and creating and sustaining an art-based community space. This LA class is for students who are the most frequently "invisibilized," marginalized, and/or vulnerable to harmful stereotyping in mainstream culture, media, public policy and/or at school. No poetry writing experience is necessary. Students will share their poems in a culminating performance for an audience! This semester we are lucky to have two additional teachers/poets -- Ms. A and Cypress M co-leading the class!

"To claim a public voice is to summon our collective power, belly-deep and then bitter in our throats, a willful insistence that we matter--and we do matter, especially now--we write to drown out the silence." Felicia Rose Chavez

Our class goals are:

REFLECTION: deepen understanding of self & "other" EXPLORATION: expose and debunk socially constructed myths of identity & stereotypes CREATION: practice art to expand & amplify the collective creative power of community CELEBRATION: celebrate our stories, all of them ACTION: inspire & incite radical action to uproot systems of domination & dehumanization

Students will practice:

• co-creating and sustaining a writing community; learning actively from each other
• movement-based Theater of the Oppressed activities, games
• active listening; processes of reflection, action; mindfulness
• daily writing; writing to create one's best work
• learning/using poetry tools in writing; exploring writing in different forms
• connecting our individual experiences to systemic issues; developing critical consciousness of historical forces on our present and the multilayered historical contexts of people “creating a way out of no way, creating art, healing, and community, then and now.
• critically reading and responding to various texts/media on intersectional identities, kinship, indigeneity, and the role of the artist in society.
• challenging ourselves and others to think deeply and critically on class topics
• completing and sharing an individual inquiry project
• teaching/facilitating a lesson/seminar in class

Because so much of our competencies learning and practice takes place during in-person classes and through assignments grounded in activities from classes, a student missing more than 9 classes will need to complete makeup work for missed content and/or community scholarship comps -- see Melissa for details/help with that.

No screens out during class unless it is a research/work time. (Talk with Melissa about exceptions.)

This ethnic studies class can count as US or world history credit. It is also a College In High School class, meaning: students who take both semesters of this year-long class can earn free college credit.

There is SO much "world music" in "American" music! West African epistemologies and creative practices--e.g. song, "music," sculpture, aesthetics--have continued through music and art in the Caribbean and the Americas. In the US especially, they blended with of those of indigenous peoples and settlers from Europe, Asia, and the world. This class takes the approach that exploring the intersections of music and historical forces can reveal more about ourselves as creators and our shared histories and entanglements than traditional "book"-based history study.

The course aims to help each of us develop and practice critical readings of the past in order to help make sense of our present and future. Strong emphasis is placed on developing/practicing historical scholarship skills, including researching and evaluating primary and secondary resources for bias and utility, and developing critical and supported arguments. All students are eligible to earn honors credit. Cass and Melissa are excited to build this class with students - we have a lot of ideas for creative projects and field trips so far!

Want to find out about a bunch of rad artists from around the World? Want to look at some phenomenal art? Want to use your creativity and imagination to make art and/or write? Want to have a bunch of different ways to learn about and teach others about those cool artists? Take Eye of the Beholder. This class can be all LA and/or all Art, OR some LA and some Art. Depends on the competencies you want to explore.

Please, no cell phones in class unless we are doing research.

Competencies

LA competencies to come

Art Competencies

Embodied Curiosity

• Generate ideas for a visual art project

Growth/Transformation

• Organize and develop a project plan
• Refine and improve the work
• Use artistic techniques to present artwork effectively

Community/Context

• Demonstrate responsibilities that come along with the freedom to create
• Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
• Interpret meaning and intent in artistic work
• Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical contexts

Action/Application

• Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation
• Use criteria to critique work

Evaluation methods

Students will reflect on and discuss progress toward competencies throughout the semester. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their growth in particular skill areas in each project reflection.

Instructional Materials

• Documentaries
• Videos
• Art 
• People

In this class we will be exploring Video Essays as a new age medium. As we explore and work with modern technology, we find new ways to share information and tell stories. This class will run like a book club but for the modern age of information sharing with students sharing video essays with the class for us to explore the medium. We will be applying a literary analysis framework we would normally employ with written media but with the new medium for information sharing, video essays and see how well they accomplish their message.

We will explore different types of video essays spanning a plethora of topics and interests. All the work we do is help students gain the information and skills to create their own individual video essay which you will construct and present to the class before the end of the semester.

What is Choose Your Own Curriculum Adventure?

Simply put, we’ll be designing and reimaging curriculum—accessible curriculum!

We will look to texts and nonprint media from previous classes, current class, and future classes to design curriculum for current and future classes. What does it mean to design curriculum? Well, we start by considering the competencies and learning objectives. In other words, what do we want students to learn, and why? Then we think about the how and what—What will students do to engage with these competencies and learning objectives? How will they do this, and how will we know when learning has happened? What will lessons, activities, content, and assessment look like (sound like, smell like, taste like, feel like)?

The class will follow the I-Do/We-Do/You-Do model. Julia and Debbie will model how to design and enact curriculum. Then, we will go through the process as a class. Finally, you will go through the process on your own, Julia’s support.

Coming to a classroom near you—YOUR CURRICULUM!

Specially Designed Instruction in ELA and Study/Org available.

Ethnic Studies credit/pathway available.

Option to complete a Social Justice Inquiry Project available.

This course draws from land-based approaches to education and Indigenous worldviews to analyze literature and our relationships with ourselves, each other, the land, and our nonhuman kin. We will experience and learn from the land together through urban adventures, community advocates, and a variety of texts (memoir, essay, art, film, fiction). Together, we will read Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land and welcome local author Noe Alvarez into our classroom (virtually) to hear more about his journey and relationship to the land. Students will then explore our collective and personal relationships to land and nonhuman kin through texts of their choosing. We will analyze the texts we read through the complimentary lenses of the land and land-based scholarship from Chicana feminist and Indigenous scholars and scientists and nature writers. Our analysis will cultivate in various forms of Summative Assessment Pathways, from essays to creative writing to art pieces to community action.

This playwriting class will equip you with tools for creative self-expression, endowing self-confidence and the proof that ideas—about yourself, the world, and the challenges you face—matter. Your voice will be heard! 

All aspects of writing for the theater will be explored, including character, story, conflict, genre, driving action, and the power of the unspoken word. This class is focused on dialogue and monologue writing, culminating in the completion of two short plays. 

We will write quickly and fearlessly in an atmosphere of risk taking, with positive and constructive feedback. It's also a theater class, so there will be lots of interactive activities and improvisation. 

Students in this class can receive 0.5 credit in LA – Creative Writing (HLA0275) or ART – Theatre Playwriting (HFA7879) 

There is an art to writing for yourself. Some call it narrative essay, some call it blogging, or journalling or sometimes it's just about getting your ideas out there onto the interwebs and sharing your thoughts about music, movies, books, video games, politics, art, etc. In this class, students will learn how to communicate via the written word. There will be opportunities for writing reviews, interviews, research, narratives. short stories, novels, poetry, and more. There will be prompts to work from, structure when needed, feedback, and lots of time to write and explore on your own. Once a month, you will be asked to participate in a class slideshow that highlights what you've done via summary, example, or sharing it all. Come, write your heart out!

AND this semester, students will read as well. Since we are only meeting 2x per week, there will be an expectation for work done outside of the classroom each week via reading and submitting projects on those readings.

In this class we will be exploring Video Essays as a new age medium. As we explore and work with modern technology, we find new ways to share information and tell stories. This class will run like a book club but for the modern age of information sharing with students sharing video essays with the class for us to explore the medium. We will be applying a literary analysis framework we would normally employ with written media but with the new medium for information sharing, video essays and see how well they accomplish their message.

We will explore different types of video essays spanning a plethora of topics and interests. All the work we do is help students gain the information and skills to create their own individual video essay which you will construct and present to the class before the end of the semester.

Don't forget to submit a letter to the editor EVERY time you submit something. Also, let Debbie know if you are waiting for edits.

Before there was overt LGBTQIA+ representation in popular culture, many storylines and characters in film, television and literature would hint at queerness without actually stating it. In this class we will explore some of the LGBTQIA+ tropes, plots and imagery that LGBTQIA+ viewers and readers identified with and where they found representation from within the closet. Later in the semester we will see how these representations transitioned from inside the closet to coming out of the closet.

This LA Composition/Writer’s Workshop class will give students the opportunity to learn about coded LGBTQIA+ representation in film, television and literature. As a class we will analyze and discuss these themes. Students will work on their writing skills through journals and essays throughout the first half of the semester, and then focus on a culminating writing project for the second half of the semester.

Content/trigger warning: In this class we will be discussing and reviewing material that portrays LGBTQ+ themes from an outdated and antiquated perspective, which may be hard and/or strange to hear in 2023. We will work to make this a safe space where we can discuss and process these themes in a way that feels relevant.

Disclaimers - There is an attendance and no phone policy in this course. Also, and IMPORTANTLY, this is a class where you will collaborate with the other students in order to create. This will look like ALL of the following - working with one other student, working with a small group, a large group, the whole group. If you want to challenge yourself to work with others then this is a great class for you.

My great hope for this class is that it is full of joy and curiosity. We will, as a class, decide how we will "do" language arts from class to class. Maybe this looks like a puppet show that is an opera in space. Maybe we are writing one word poems. The possibilities are endless. However, it will be important for you to be there and grow your ability to be a curious learner. To challenge yourself to be a curious learner whether that be with academic or social emotional skills. We get to make this class AMAZING!!!

This is an ethnic studies class.

CONTENT WARNINGS:  THIS CLASS WILL DISCUSS ISSUES OF RACE, POWER, PRIVILEGE, GENDER, EQUALITY, DEATH, LIFE, FREEDOM, CONTROL, BEAUTY, AND REALITY.  DO NOT TAKE THE CLASS IF ANY OF THESE ISSUES WILL BE TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO MANAGE.

There is an attendance and no phone policy for this class.

This class is about decentering the whiteness of film as much as possible.  We will be watching films directed, written, and/or about BIPOC.
As we do so, we will look at who we are as humans, what we believe, how we came to believe it, and what actions we manifest or can manifest to both understand who we are as well as the perspectives of other humans.
We will study different types of story arcs and archetypes through viewing and discussion different films and documentaries.  Each film will have a project that will be due for it, and will be created within the context of the film and discussion in class.  Some of the films we MIGHT watch are:

"Get Out"
"Black Klansman"
"Everything Everywhere All at Once"
"I Am Not Your Negro"
"Moonlight"
"Fences"
"The Big Sick"
"Smoke Signals"
"Reel Indian"
"Do the Right Thing"
"Set it Off"
"High and Low"
"When We Were Kings"
"I'm No Longer Here"
"Parasite"
"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"

and many others.  If you are interested in films and/or stories this would be a good class to take.

Level: This is open to any one at any level as long as they are willing to engage in thinking, reading, and writing.

There is an attendance and no phone policy for this course.

In this class we will look at the following branches of philosophy: Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Social and Political Philosophies. We will try to do this by engaging in these different ideas by practicing them through different experiments that will be created during the class. There will be reading, watching, thinking, and writing in this class. We will try to explore, discuss, and experience many ideas through the course of this class. If you like working your brain, asking questions, and engaging in the possibility of ideas then this will be a great class for you.

During this class we will be creating a zine that will cover the news and events of Nova, maybe Seattle and the world.  You will learn how to write news articles, reviews, profile pieces, conduct interviews, maybe your own column, and meet deadlines.  You will be responsible for writing each type of "article" and meeting the deadlines we determine in order to get our zine out to the Nova community.  If you have ever wanted to be a journalist, learn how to write well, and/or work with others to create a community based project then this is the class for you.

There is an attendance and no phone policy in this class.  Also, to repeat, there are HARD DEADLINES in this course.  In order to get the zine out we have to have your "article" in on the deadlines we determine.  This also means that by entering this class you are consenting to have others read your work.  You may not write "articles" that are only read by the instructor.  You will publish each of your articles.  Please know this ahead of time.

Credit pathways include ELA, Ethnic Studies, and/or ENG111 college credit.

The focus of this class decenters the conversation about LGBTQIA+ identities from modern Western societies. We will be focusing heavily on the history of LGBTQIA+ identities in pre-colonial/pre-Colombian societies throughout the world. We will look at some of the movements from the last century later in the semester that resisted against Western ideologies that have oppressed LGBTQIA+ people. Here are the main themes and questions we will work with this semester:

Origins and indigeneity: How did LGBTQ identities define themselves in pre-colonial indigenous cultures? What has been claimed? What is being reclaimed? What are the social and legal constructs of the identity?

Identity and agency: How do historical ideas shape my identity? How do we develop identities within these historical and/or social constructs? How do constructs impact how others perceive you? How do constructs impact how you see others?

Power and Oppression: How have those in power attempted to erase identities within a culture?

Action and Reflection: How can individuals and their actions contribute to, but not be the lone agent, of change? How do we recognize our entanglement and solidarity within and across movements?

Resistance and Liberation: What is the role of creativity, love, joy and solidarity within liberation work?

This semester, Anela and I will co-teach this course.

Why are environmental impacts like pollution so unequally distributed across race, gender, class, age, ability, and nationality -- and what can be done to minimize harms for all people? Environmental justice works to combine the inquiries of environmental science and social justice to create community well-being. This pursuit will guide our whole-class inquiry while each student takes on their own inquiry process into particular aspects of environmental justice.

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills:

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts, case scenarios, and current events;
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning in service of climate justice;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

THIS CLASS CAN BE TAKEN FOR US11A or US11B CREDIT!!

Esports is an emerging new field of sports/entertainment which has been sweeping the world by storm. Scholars project that in the United States esports will have more viewers than every professional sports league but the NFL by 2021. They project that there will be 84 million viewers of esports, higher than the 79 million MLB viewers or the 63 million NBA viewers.

BUT WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?!?! Esports stands for electronic sports and is, to put it simply, professional competitive video game playing. In this class we will be tracing the history and growth of esports throughout the history of gaming. We will be exploring and discussing topics around Esports such as: What is Esports and the history of it? What games/communities comprise esports? How did it become so popular? What future possible career opportunities are in esports? Other social justice topics as it pertains to gaming and esports.

THIS CLASS CAN BE TAKEN FOR US11A or US11B CREDIT ~ Inquire for the differences.

The United States presents itself as a land of opportunity where all you need to succeed is to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and work for it, but is this the truth? This idea is the root of the American Dream... but how real is it?

In this class we will be tackling this question head on through the lived experience of those people in history who have braved the journey to immigrate to this country to try their hands at the American experiment. All while comparing their lived reality to what the dominant narratives in this tell us about the American Dream and immigrants/immigration.

In addition to lending an ear to their stories, we will be shifting our eyes and also examine the context from which their stories were created, all to answer the questions; Is the American Dream real? What can we learn about the reality from the American Dream through the lived experiences of those who try to make that dream a reality?

The focus of this class decenters the conversation about LGBTQIA+ identities from modern Western societies. We will be focusing heavily on the history of LGBTQIA+ identities in pre-colonial societies throughout the world. We will look at some of the movements from the last century later in the semester, but Stonewall will not be the central focus of this class. Here are the main themes and questions we will work with this semester:

Origins and indigeneity: How did LGBTQ identities define themselves in pre-colonial indigenous cultures? What has been claimed? What is being reclaimed? What are the social and legal constructs of the identity?

Identity and agency: How do historical ideas shape my identity? How do we develop identities within these historical and/or social constructs? How do constructs impact how others perceive you? How do constructs impact how you see others?

Power and Oppression: How have those in power attempted to erase identities within a culture?

Action and Reflection: How can individuals and their actions contribute to, but not be the lone agent, of change? How do we recognize our entanglement and solidarity within and across movements?

Resistance and Liberation: What is the role of creativity, love, joy and solidarity within liberation work?

THIS CLASS CAN BE TAKEN FOR US11A or US11B CREDIT!!

Esports is an emerging new field of sports/entertainment which has been sweeping the world by storm. Scholars project that in the United States esports will have more viewers than every professional sports league but the NFL by 2021. They project that there will be 84 million viewers of esports, higher than the 79 million MLB viewers or the 63 million NBA viewers.

BUT WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?!?! Esports stands for electronic sports and is, to put it simply, professional competitive video game playing. In this class we will be tracing the history and growth of esports throughout the history of gaming. We will be exploring and discussing topics around Esports such as: What is Esports and the history of it? What games/communities comprise esports? How did it become so popular? What future possible career opportunities are in esports? Other social justice topics as it pertains to gaming and esports.

THIS CLASS CAN BE TAKEN FOR US11A or US11B CREDIT ~ Inquire for the differences.

The United States presents itself as a land of opportunity where all you need to succeed is to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and work for it, but is this the truth? This idea is the root of the American Dream... but how real is it?

In this class we will be tackling this question head on through the lived experience of those people in history who have braved the journey to immigrate to this country to try their hands at the American experiment. All while comparing their lived reality to what the dominant narratives in this tell us about the American Dream and immigrants/immigration.

In addition to lending an ear to their stories, we will be shifting our eyes and also examine the context from which their stories were created, all to answer the questions; Is the American Dream real? What can we learn about the reality from the American Dream through the lived experiences of those who try to make that dream a reality?

The class will be broken down into 4 major sections around the following themes/time periods/

• Explore the Dominant Narratives around the American Dream 
• Colonial Immigration: Irish & African
• 20th Century Immigration: Cuban & Cambodian 
• Immigration Today.

Course Overview: Semester At A Glance This course is appropriate for any students who are interested in taking a class involving overlapping qualities found in painting and scientific methods, and/or would like science and art credits. This class covers introductions to watercolor methods and strategies in tandem with introductory oceanography principles. In addition to investigating the fundamentals of color theory, we’ll be learning about properties of oceanography; student driven inquiry will be leading us into various realms of chemical, physical, biological, and geological oceanographic investigations. The goal is to practice your observational skills and see yourself as an artist AND scientist throughout this course.

Our class will spend time on scientific inquiry skills, mechanical painting, and data interpretation skills, and applying these collectively out in the field.

There could be opportunities to visit and run experiments using the UW Oceanography Puget Sound model, as well as time on the R/V Carson . Depending on class ideas, guest visits by community experts and field trips to collect water samples at various locations will also be an option.

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class.

Python Syllabus- Spring 2024 

Catherine (she/ her) cecougan@seattleschools.org + Dan (he/him) djholman@seattleschools.org 

Class is T/th 10:40-11:55 in the lab-o-ratory (120) 

Extra help time is 12:30-2 everyday (and by appointment)  

Course Description 

This course is an experiential journey through the essential themes, concepts, models, computer skills, mathematics and thinking processes to gain a better understanding of computer programming basics practiced by using Python! Python is a widely used general-purpose programming language and is freely available to the public; one can use it for projects ranging from mobile and online apps, tolls, data analytics, machine learning, and so on. Skills practiced and grown in this class can be transferred into all fields and applied to any interest at Nova and beyond. Expect logic-y puzzles, activities, programming, and more! We will also discuss coding issues and ethics. There is math and writing in this course, you will want to bring your whole brain (and a computer/computer charger). 

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class. 

How do I get credit? 

1.

Demonstrating competencies and reflecting on competency growth. You will have opportunities to set and reflect on personal goals throughout the semester.  

Computer Science and Math Competencies  

Practice and Growth 

(in the context of chemistry this is practicing and growing chemical knowledge)  

1. Practice and grow the skills, math models, coding skills, vocabulary that will support communicating personal questions and understanding of the world to other people who study coding. 

2. Practice and grow understanding of what the larger body of folks doing coding around the globe already know about issues and questions, especially as they relate to personal issues and concerns. 

3. Practice and grow understanding of the major questions and interests currently dominating the global coding discourse. 

4. Practice and grow criticality to analyze the validity of information and sources. 

5. Practice and grow understanding of dominant and counter narratives within computer science and math discourse. 

Community  

(in the context of chemistry this is participate in a computer science/math community) 

1. Learn, explore and share knowledge in ways that don’t cause harm fellow students, the larger world community 

2. Participate in safety agreements, class discourse norms and Nova norms 

3. Understand computer science’s impact and participation in larger systems of harm and its potential for harm reduction. 

4. Investigate how we all participate in larger systems of harm and how to participate in changing those larger systems. 

5. Understand the personal growth needed as a member of a community to support emotional safety and growth for self and others? 

6. Practice making choices that reduce harmful impact on other members of this learning community? 

Inquiry  

(in the context of this is scientific and mathematical inquiry) 

Engage in cycles of the following (note: there is not a starting and end point this is a cyclic process with many points of entry) 

• ask questions 

• gather information (from sources, experts, experience, observation, etc.) 

• evaluate that information 

• use that information to act (create, make change, optimize, experiment, etc.)  

• analyze what happened 

• review your process 

Communication 

(science is a process of communication with the natural world and with other humans interacting and communicating with the natural world) 

1. actively listen to other humans and the natural world, especially when they are sharing their creations, learning and growth 

2. practice consent with other humans and the natural world 

3. challenge yourself to try new ways to communicate, specifically utilizing the language and communication tools of science. Examples include notebook documentation, lab reports, interviewing experts, research-based papers and presentations, reading and analyzing peer reviewed journals  

4. share your experiments, thinking, reflections, creations, learning and growth 

Application/Action (Synthesis) 

(In the context of science, action/application is part of scientific inquiry and will be practiced continuously throughout the course. This competency is focusing on the synthesis part and in science is often thought of as a meta-analysis or meta-application) 

There will be a capstone project where you will apply your learning from the whole semester and reflect on your growth in each of these competencies. 

2.

Projects & Classwork 

Group discussion and communication, participation (mainly through attendance) 

Self-Assessments are at the end of each theme.  

Applied Learning Projects: each theme will set you up to apply concepts that connect to “real life”  

3.

Show Up! (Attendance + Participation Policy) 

If you come and participate you will get 0.5 credit related to the competencies where you demonstrate growth. That could be Computer Science A, B or C and/or Honors Computer Science or the level of math you want to earn. When you miss class there are materials on Moodle that you are responsible for engaging with to stay caught up on the course, but you will miss precious lab time and hands on opportunities that can’t be recreated so you limit the number of opportunities you will have to demonstrate growth. You can make up these times and/or meet with me during the last block of each day or a different scheduled time. 

Missing more than 8 classes (3.5 weeks), additional projects to make up for the competencies you missed in class will be required to obtain full credit. Missing more than 16 classes (6.4 weeks), you are eligible for half credit, even if you complete all of the work, and we may suggest switching to an independent contract if you are unable to regularly attend.  Classroom community and demonstrating participation competencies means that you are present during class discussions; that is why we will mark you absent if you are looking at your phone during class discussion time. 

Devices: Devices that support your learning and growth are welcome in this space if you can maintain a healthy relationship to them. If your devices become a distraction, they will cease to be welcome during class time and can set the whole class back. Sitting on devices killing time will not earn you any credit and will take away from your opportunities to make cool stuff, learn interesting things and share that learning. When we are talking together as a group, devices should be stored and away. Please make use of the fidget bin or paper/writing devices to doodle with located at the front if you need.   

Access 

We are always working to make things as accessible as possible so if you have suggestions in general or specific access needs, please let Catherine and Dan know so we can make sure you have what you need! 

This course will be cotaught with Rea. We will focus on marine life and the environments they live in. We will be learning about specific organisms and how they work, gather food, evolve, survive harsh conditions, and the types of symbiotic relationships they form. There will be an anatomy and physiology portion in each ecosystem we learn about. We may dissect some organisms (not mandatory). We will use Inquiry to discover things about marine life and the ocean, create explorations and put our learning to use. We will explore how scientists create studies to investigate the marine environment.

Conservation will be a focus in this class, looking at what is happening in our oceans and figuring out what we can do about it. We will look at water and it's life from a social justice stance, how are people and organisms affected by the greed of others? You will be expected to participate in conservation actions this semester (Service Learning hours will be available).

We will be looking at Biology and Ecology through organisms like our Nova isopods. We will work with genetics and try to breed variation lines of isopod species. Be prepared to use inquiry to learn about their needs and requirements so they can live their best lives. We will do lots of observations and comparisons to learn about these creatures. We will look at how all of this knowledge can be applied to other organisms? We will explore how ecosystems work and the importance of the organisms them. Let's figure out what we need to do to keep organisms surviving in their habitats? No isopods shall be harmed in this class.

Chemistry Syllabus- Spring 2024 

Catherine (she/ her) cecougan@seattleschools.org 

Class is MWF 10:40-11:55 in the lab-o-ratory (120) 

Extra help time is 12:30-2 everyday (and by appointment)  

Course Description 

This course is an experiential journey through the essential themes, concepts, models, laboratory skills, mathematics and thinking processes that characterize a molecular understanding of the world. Chemistry is a study of atomic theory, the structure of matter, bonding, nuclear chemistry, fuel chemistry, the periodic table, stoichiometry, reaction chemistry, equilibrium, kinetics, oxidation-reduction chemistry and more. These reactions and concepts explain and control the environment, product manufacturing, the human body, scientific arts like photography and ceramics, food, fermentation and combustion! Expect labs, color changes, burning stuff, and fun! We will also discuss pressing chemical issues and chemical ethics. There is math and writing in this course so get ready to use your whole brain. 

Chemistry Competencies  

Practice and Growth 

(in the context of chemistry this is practicing and growing chemical knowledge)  

1. Practice and grow the skills, math models, chemical processes, lab skills, vocabulary(nomenclature) that will support communicating personal questions and understanding of the world to other people who study chemistry. 

2. Practice and grow understanding of what the larger body of folks doing chemistry around the globe already know about issues and questions, especially as they relate to personal issues and concerns. 

3. Practice and grow understanding of the major questions and interests currently dominating the global chemistry discourse. 

4. Practice and grow criticality to analyze the validity of chemical information, sources. 

5. Practice and grow understanding of dominant and counter narratives within chemical discourse. 

Community  

(in the context of chemistry this is participate in a chemistry community) 

1. Learn, explore and share chemical knowledge in ways that don’t cause harm fellow students, the larger world community and/or harbor seals in Puget Sound. 

2. Participate in safety agreements and protocols and waste reduction and management to keep self and others physically safe? 

3. Understand chemistry’s impact and participation in larger systems of harm and its potential for harm reduction. 

4. Investigate how we all participate in larger systems of harm and how to participate in changing those larger systems. 

5. Understand the personal growth needed as a member of a community to support emotional safety and growth for self and others? 

6. Practice making choices that reduce harmful impact on other members of this learning community? 

Inquiry  

(in the context of chemistry this is scientific inquiry) 

Engage in cycles of the following (note: there is not a starting and end point this is a cyclic process with many points of entry) 

• ask questions 

• gather information (from sources, experts, experience, observation, etc.) 

• evaluate that information 

• use that information to act (create, make change, optimize, experiment, etc.)  

• analyze what happened 

• review your process 

Communication 

(science is a process of communication with the natural world and with other humans interacting and communicating with the natural world) 

1. actively listen to other humans and the natural world, especially when they are sharing their creations, learning and growth 

2. practice consent with other humans and the natural world 

3. challenge yourself to try new ways to communicate, specifically utilizing the language and communication tools of science. Examples include: lab notebook documentation, lab reports, interviewing experts, research based papers and presentations, reading and analyzing peer reviewed journals  

4. share your experiments, thinking, reflections, creations, learning and growth 

Application/Action (Synthesis) 

(in the context of science, action/application is part of scientific inquiry and will be practiced continuously throughout the course. This competency is focusing on the synthesis part and in science is often thought of as a meta-analysis or meta-application) 

There will be a capstone project where you will apply your learning from the whole semester and reflect on your growth in each of these competencies. 

Attendance and Participation Policy: If you come and participate you will get 0.5 credit related to the competencies where you demonstrate growth. That could be Chemistry A, B or C and/or Honors Chemistry. When you miss class there are materials on Moodle that you are responsible for engaging with to stay caught up on the course, but you will miss precious lab time and hands on opportunities that can’t be recreated so you limit the number of opportunities you will have to demonstrate growth. You can make up these times and/or meet with me during the last block of each day or a different scheduled time. 

Devices: Devices that support your learning and growth are welcome in this space if you can maintain a healthy relationship to them. If your devices become a distraction, they will cease to be welcome during class time and can set the whole class back. Sitting on devices killing time will not earn you any credit and will take away from your opportunities to make cool stuff, learn interesting things and share that learning. When we are talking together as a group, devices should be stored and away. Please make use of the fidget bin or paper/writing devices to doodle with located at the front if you need.   

Access 

We are always working to make things as accessible as possible so if you have suggestions in general or specific access needs, please let Catherine know so we can make sure you have what you need! 

This class is designed for you to be able to work on at your own pace!

Want to learn about non dominant math and physics narratives and get a basic understanding of mechanical physics? Do you like working with others to understand large and small systems, designing and conducting your own labs, applying math concepts to your own data, and looking and the universes' vast complexities? This is the class for you!

This is the first of two semesters of physics. This course is appropriate for any students interested in taking it, would like a science credit, and have taken one year of algebra 1 (both a and b). You are also able to earn algebra 2 credit. This class focuses on relationships present in the natural world around us and modeling observations.

Our class will spend time on scientific inquiry skills, mechanical skills, conducting and evaluating lab experiments, and how to apply these ideas to real life problems in engineering, science, and student-driven areas of interest.

In this class, we will be looking at how people and materials spatially and temporally have shaped music as we know and love it. Our class will explore how music intersects with history and science as well as what competencies are and how understanding them can help you progress through any space at Nova.

Coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your skills and collaborate on projects during class time. We will also follow the 10 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class. We will be posting everything to the shared class Moodle and you are expected to look there for updates and projects if you miss class.

Semester Roadmap Theme 1: Intro + Welcome to Nova! Theme 2: What are the properties of sound? Theme 3: What is Music? Who makes it? Who listens? Theme 4: Make and Share Music!

This is a semester-long course all about coffee science and careers in coffee. This course is appropriate for any students interested in taking it, would like science or CTE credit, likes hands-on projects, and coffee! FYI, if you like math and labs, there will be plenty of both these things.

Our class will spend time on scientific inquiry skills, mechanical skills, conducting and evaluating lab experiments, and student-driven areas of interest.

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class.

Semester Roadmap By the end of the semester you should be able to: *Understand the process of coffee from growing, harvesting, roasting, and brewing *Understand economical impacts and differences in growing and selling practices *Able to create and brew coffee recipes *Roast coffees and understand the chemical changes occurring *Use and maintain coffee equipment responsibly *Consider different career paths in the coffee industry

Try Your Best • Be Yourself • Grow Your Brain!

Want to learn about non dominant math and physics narratives and get a basic understanding of mechanical physics? Do you like working with others to understand large and small systems, designing and conducting your own labs, applying math concepts to your own data, and looking and the universes' vast complexities? This is the class for you!

This is the first of two semesters of physics. This course is appropriate for any students interested in taking it, would like a science credit, and have taken one year of algebra 1 (both a and b). Recommended that you feel comfortable graphing + calculating every once in a while. You are also able to earn algebra 2 credit if you are interested in a more applied math class! This semester, we will focus on relationships present in the natural world around us and modeling observations.

Our class will spend time on scientific inquiry skills, mechanical skills, conducting and evaluating lab experiments, and how to apply these ideas to real life problems in engineering, science, and student-driven areas of interest.

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class.

Learning objectives

This class will focus on handbuilding, beginning wheel skills, and building foundational skills and techniques for working with clay. Each week a specific technique/skill/theme will be presented. Students will have the opportunity to plan and develop projects based on the topic presented. We will also address safety in the art room.

Students should plan to make things, talk about their work, ask questions, reflect about their process, practice clay skills consistently, collaborate with peers, learn new techniques, engage with community outside of Nova, think about their growth, learn about clay artists, and lots more.

The class will be limited to 24 students. Thinking/talking/sharing about your work is part of this class.

Competencies

Embodied Curiosity

• Generate ideas for a visual art project

Growth/Transformation

• Organize and develop a project plan
• Refine and improve the work
• Use artistic techniques to present artwork effectively

Community/Context

• Demonstrate responsibilities that come along with the freedom to create
• Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
• Interpret meaning and intent in artistic work
• Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical contexts

Action/Application

• Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation
• Use criteria to critique work

Evaluation methods

Students will reflect on and discuss progress towards competencies throughout the semester. Students willl have the opportunity to reflect on their growth in particular skill areas in each project reflection.

Learning objectives

This class will focus on handbuilding, beginning wheel skills, and building foundational skills and techniques for working with clay. Each week a specific technique/skill/theme will be presented. Students will have the opportunity to plan and develop projects based on the topic presented. We will also address safety in the art room.

Students should plan to make things, talk about their work, ask questions, reflect about their process, practice clay skills consistently, collaborate with peers, learn new techniques, engage with community outside of Nova, think about their growth, learn about clay artists, and lots more.

The class will be limited to 24 students. Thinking/talking/sharing about your work is part of this class.

Competencies

Embodied Curiosity

• Generate ideas for a visual art project

Growth/Transformation

• Organize and develop a project plan
• Refine and improve the work
• Use artistic techniques to present artwork effectively

Community/Context

• Demonstrate responsibilities that come along with the freedom to create
• Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
• Interpret meaning and intent in artistic work
• Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical contexts

Action/Application

• Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation
• Use criteria to critique work

Evaluation methods

Students will reflect on and discuss progress towards competencies throughout the semester. Students willl have the opportunity to reflect on their growth in particular skill areas in each project reflection.

Some things we will likely cover in class:

• Papermaking
• Collage
• Bookbinding
• Printmaking
• Sculpture/paper mache
• Watercolor
• Other stuff that we decide together

Also will talk about:

• Elements of Art (color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value)
• Principles of Design (balance, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, contrast, unity, and movement)

We will create a daily routine that might include:

• Welcome & share creative practice and set intention for the day/week
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Check-in (small groups or individual support)
• Community share out and feedback
• Closing circle/round

Competencies

Embodied Curiosity

• Generate ideas for a visual art project

Growth/Transformation

• Organize and develop a project plan
• Refine and improve the work
• Use artistic techniques to present artwork effectively

Community/Context

• Demonstrate responsibilities that come along with the freedom to create
• Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
• Interpret meaning and intent in artistic work
• Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical contexts

Action/Application

• Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation
• Use criteria to critique work

Evaluation methods

Students will reflect on and discuss progress towards competencies throughout the semester. Students willl have the opportunity to reflect on their growth in particular skill areas in each project reflection.

MAKE BEAUTIFUL SHIT TOGETHER! -- Ross Gay

Yes, this is a class where you can learn how to and/or practice crochet to make cute and/or wearable and/or unique creations! It is another foray into learning and teaching about symbiotic life forms, and human relations to / impacts on places. The class will be organized around interdisciplinary inquiry research, study, writing, seminars, and (individual and collective) experiments with yarn and handcrafting focused on specific biomes: e.g. Seattle's temperate rainforest / conifer biome, and others, e.g. ocean, marine, and/or other sorts of forests. This semester the class is designed with more opportunities and expectations for group learning and collaboration. I'm hoping to also host this space as one for creating crochet art for Nova's annual Craft Fair in early December.

Materials will be provided. And, donated yarn and crochet materials are always very, very appreciated and put to good use!

Because so much of our competencies learning and practice takes place during in-person classes and through assignments grounded in activities from classes, a student missing more than 8 classes will need to complete makeup work for missed content and/or community scholarship comps--see me for details/help with that.

***** No screens out during class unless it is a research/work time. (Talk with me about exceptions.) *****

MAKE BEAUTIFUL SHIT TOGETHER! -- Ross Gay

Yes, this is a class where you can learn how to and/or practice crochet to make cute and/or wearable and/or unique creations! It is another foray into learning and teaching about symbiotic life forms, and human relations to / impacts on places. The class will be organized around interdisciplinary inquiry research, study, writing, seminars, and (individual and collective) experiments with yarn and handcrafting focused on specific biomes: e.g. Seattle's temperate rainforest / conifer biome, and others, e.g. ocean, marine, and/or other sorts of forests. This semester the class is designed with more opportunities and expectations for group learning and collaboration. I'm hoping to also host this space as one for creating crochet art for Nova's annual Craft Fair in early December.

Materials will be provided. And, donated yarn and crochet materials are always very, very appreciated and put to good use!

Because so much of our competencies learning and practice takes place during in-person classes and through assignments grounded in activities from classes, a student missing more than 8 classes will need to complete makeup work for missed content and/or community scholarship comps--see me for details/help with that.

***** No screens out during class unless it is a research/work time. (Talk with me about exceptions.) *****

This class will be paper focused and cocreated with students! Units might include: papermaking, collage, bookbinding, printmaking, sculpture, paper mache, and other paper centered topics.

Also will address:

• Elements of Art (color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value)
• Principles of Design (balance, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, contrast, unity, and movement)

We will create a daily routine that might include:

• Welcome & share creative practice and set intention for the day/week
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Check-in (small groups or individual support)
• Community share out and feedback
• Closing circle/round

Looking for a quiet creative way to start your day? Interested in working on your artistic skills? In this class we will focus on building foundational art skills. Each morning/week we will set up a still-life and spend time focusing on a particular technique/topic in our sketchbooks.

Areas of focus will be co-created with students and may include:

• Elements of Art (color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value)
• Principles of Design (balance, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, contrast, unity, and movement)

We will create a daily routine that might include:

• Welcome & share creative practice and set intention for the day/week
• Demonstration
• Practice
• Check-in (small groups or individual support)
• Community share out and feedback
• Closing circle/round

Students who have taken CLAY I (or equivalent, come talk with me?) and are interested in growing their clay skills are welcome to join CLAY II. Students should have practice with foundational skills and be comfortable with tools and equipment in the pottery studio/art room. Students will develop individual plans throughout the semester that will support exploration and depth of learning in particular areas. Students should plan to make things, talk about their work, ask questions, reflect about their process, practice clay skills consistently, collaborate with peers, learn new techniques, engage with community outside of Nova, think about their growth, learn about clay artists, and lots more.

The class will be limited to 24 students. Thinking/talking/sharing about your work is part of this class.

PLEASE ENROLL IN THIS CLASS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH CLAY. This class will focus on handbuilding (not the pottery wheel) and building foundational skills and techniques for working with clay. Each week a specific technique/skill/theme will be presented. Students will have the opportunity to plan and develop projects based on the topic presented. We will also address safety in the art room.

Students should plan to make things, talk about their work, ask questions, reflect about their process, practice clay skills consistently, collaborate with peers, learn new techniques, engage with community outside of Nova, think about their growth, learn about clay artists, and lots more.

The class will be limited to 24 students. Thinking/talking/sharing about your work is part of this class.

MAKE BEAUTIFUL SHIT TOGETHER! -- Ross Gay

Yes, this is a class where you can learn how to and/or practice crochet to make cute and/or wearable and/or unique creations! It is another foray into learning and teaching about symbiotic life forms, and human relations to / impacts on places. The class will be organized around interdisciplinary inquiry research, study, writing, seminars, and (individual and collective) experiments with yarn and handcrafting focused on specific biomes: e.g. Seattle's temperate rainforest / conifer biome, and others, e.g. ocean, marine, and/or other sorts of forests. This semester the class is designed with more opportunities and expectations for group learning and collaboration. I'm hoping to also host this space as one for creating crochet art for Nova's annual Craft Fair in early December.

Materials will be provided. And, donated yarn and crochet materials are always very, very appreciated and put to good use!

Because so much of our competencies learning and practice takes place during in-person classes and through assignments grounded in activities from classes, a student missing more than 8 classes will need to complete makeup work for missed content and/or community scholarship comps--see me for details/help with that.

***** No screens out during class unless it is a research/work time. (Talk with me about exceptions.) *****

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

• How can our understanding of our rapidly heating climate help us to address the causes and consequences of our climate crisis?
• What actions are accessible for individuals?
• What can we do together in community?
• How can we confront unjust power structures/processes that contribute to climate injustice?
• How can we know if our actions have made a constructive difference?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills:

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts, case scenarios, and current events;
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning in service of climate justice;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

Why are environmental impacts like pollution so unequally distributed across race, gender, class, age, ability, and nationality -- and what can be done to minimize harms for all people? Environmental justice works to combine the inquiries of environmental science and social justice to create community well-being. This pursuit will guide our whole-class inquiry while each student takes on their own inquiry process into particular aspects of environmental justice.

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills:

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts, case scenarios, and current events;
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning in service of climate justice;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

Students will work in collaboration and independently to explore the following questions, in addition to the many others that we will generate together:

• How can better understanding of the science of the Earth's climate help us to better address our rapidly changing climate?
• What would climate justice look like and how do we as a society get there?

By semester's end, each student will have practiced and demonstrated the following skills:

1. Research and investigation;
2. Critical analysis of texts, case scenarios, and current events;
3. Collaboration with peers in projects and other pursuits;
4. Communication through written work, presentations, discussions, and other modalities;
5. Application of learning in service of climate justice;
6. Reflection upon personal, communal, and other relations to course topics.

Welcome to Math in Motion! 

This is a Mathematics/PE fusion class where we will be exploring the mathematics of motion in our bodies and using mathematics to help us strengthen our understanding of the outside variables that impact our physical and mental wellness. 

In this space we will be uncovering the mathematics that is embodied in ourselves as humans. Rather than being told how you should do math, you will get to uncover what math looks like for you.

We will be focusing on Algebra 1 and Geometry concepts as we explore how our brains process quantities, shape and structure, patterns, movement, and manipulation.

This is a great space if you need a new way to think about math and would like an opportunity to see how math works for you.

Learning about math in real life scenarios. Focusing on functions involving tax, budget, cooking, life skills and other skills for adult life.

Learning objectives

25 STUDENT MAXIMUM

Competencies

Use of tools:

Measuring angles with a protractor to within 2 degrees of accuracy
Measuring line segments with a ruler to within 1/16"
Measuring line segments with a ruler to within 2 mm
Copying line segments and angles with compass and straightedge
Bisecting angles and line segments with compass and straightedge
Constructing perpendicular lines with compass and straightedge
Constructing parallel lines with compass and straightedge
Constructing isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles with compass and straightedge

Use of Geometer’s Sketchpad

Can create a sketch with explanatory text
Can create a sketch which employs measurements which change dynamically
Can create a sketch using animation
Can create a sketch using Show/Hide
Can upload a finished sketch to http://docs.novafolios.com

Vocabulary and Notation

Can produce and recognize geometric terminology for a variety of angles, lines, circles, and polygons.
Can recognize and produce the symbols for geometric figures and relations.

Logic

Can identify the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of a logical proposition (conditional statement).
Can distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning.
Can analyze an argument and find its logical flaws (the weakness in the argument.)
Can write a geometric proof.

Triangles

Can recognize and apply the Triangle Sum Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Isosceles Triangle Conjecture & its Converse.
Can recognize and apply the Triangle Inequality Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Side-Angle Inequality Conjecture
Can recognize and aply the Triangle Exterior Angle Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Shortcuts to Triangle Congruence.
Can recognize and apply the C.P.C.T.C. (Corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent.)

Polygons

Can recognize and apply the Polygon Sum Conjecture.
Can recognize and apply the Exterior Angle Sum Conjecture.
Can recognize and apply the properties of quadrilaterals

Your attendance and participation will be a factor in the assessment of your competency.

25 STUDENT MAXIMUM

This is the first semester of Algebra I. This course is appropriate for any students who are interested in taking it, regardless of whether they feel confident in math or not. In addition to learning the fundamentals of algebra, we'll be devoting weekly class time to developing number sense, mathematical inquiry skills, and pattern recognition. Additional support time is available outside of class for students who would like additional help or more advanced challenges.

*COORDINATE PLANE

1 Coordinate plane review 2 Midpoint formula: find the midpoint 3 Midpoint formula: find the endpoint 4 Distance between two points

*PROPERTIES. 1 Properties of addition and multiplication 2 Distributive property 3 Simplify variable expressions using properties 4 Properties of equality 5 Identify equivalent equations

*VARIABLE EXPRESSIONS AND EQUATIONS

1 Write variable expressions 2 Sort factors of variable expressions 3 Simplify variable expressions involving like terms and the distributive property 4 Identify equivalent linear expressions 5 Write variable equations 6 Does x satisfy the equation? 7 Which x satisfies an equation? report 8 Solve equations using order of operations 9 Does (x, y) satisfy the equation? 10 Relate the graph of an equation to its solutions 11 Rearrange multi-variable equations

*SOLVE EQUATIONS

1 Model and solve equations using algebra tiles 2 Write and solve equations that represent diagrams 3 Solve one-step linear equations 4 Solve two-step linear equations 5 Solve advanced linear equations 6 Solve equations with variables on both sides 7 Solve equations: complete the solution 8 Find the number of solutions 9 Create equations with no solutions or infinitely many solutions 10 Solve one-step and two-step equations: word problems 11 Solve linear equations: mixed review

*SINGLE-VARIABLE INEQUALITIES

1 Graph inequalities 2 Write inequalities from graphs 3 Identify solutions to inequalities 4 Solve one-step linear inequalities: addition and subtraction 5 Solve one-step linear inequalities: multiplication and division 6 Solve one-step linear inequalities 7 Graph solutions to one-step linear inequalities 8 Solve two-step linear inequalities 9 Graph solutions to two-step linear inequalities 10 Solve advanced linear inequalities 11 Graph solutions to advanced linear inequalities 12 Graph compound inequalities 13 Write compound inequalities from graphs 14 Solve compound inequalities 15 Graph solutions to compound inequalities Checkpoint skill Checkpoint: Solve linear equations and inequalities

In addition to the mathematics content, students are expected to

• listen with respect to another person's explanation;
• provide help when asked;
• ask for help when needed;
• play an active role in sustaining a safe and encouraging learning space for one another; and
• treat all materials gently so that they may be reused.

Learning objectives

25 STUDENT MAXIMUM

Competencies

Use of tools:

Measuring angles with a protractor to within 2 degrees of accuracy
Measuring line segments with a ruler to within 1/16"
Measuring line segments with a ruler to within 2 mm
Copying line segments and angles with compass and straightedge
Bisecting angles and line segments with compass and straightedge
Constructing perpendicular lines with compass and straightedge
Constructing parallel lines with compass and straightedge
Constructing isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles with compass and straightedge

Use of Geometer’s Sketchpad

Can create a sketch with explanatory text
Can create a sketch which employs measurements which change dynamically
Can create a sketch using animation
Can create a sketch using Show/Hide
Can upload a finished sketch to http://docs.novafolios.com

Vocabulary and Notation

Can produce and recognize geometric terminology for a variety of angles, lines, circles, and polygons.
Can recognize and produce the symbols for geometric figures and relations.

Logic

Can identify the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of a logical proposition (conditional statement).
Can distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning.
Can analyze an argument and find its logical flaws (the weakness in the argument.)
Can write a geometric proof.

Triangles

Can recognize and apply the Triangle Sum Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Isosceles Triangle Conjecture & its Converse.
Can recognize and apply the Triangle Inequality Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Side-Angle Inequality Conjecture
Can recognize and aply the Triangle Exterior Angle Conjecture
Can recognize and apply the Shortcuts to Triangle Congruence.
Can recognize and apply the C.P.C.T.C. (Corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent.)

Polygons

Can recognize and apply the Polygon Sum Conjecture.
Can recognize and apply the Exterior Angle Sum Conjecture.
Can recognize and apply the properties of quadrilaterals

A space for anyone to come experience the potential and joy that Calculus can bring to our understanding of ourselves in this world. 

Learning objectives

Max for Class 25

We will learn the everyday skills adults need to establish a budget, bank, save and borrow money, and pay local and national taxes. At the same time, we will be exploring the finances of the country. Just as we look at our own budgets, we will explore the topic of balancing the federal budget and learn about the issues that surround the federal deficit. As we explore the distinction between "wants" and "needs" in our own budgets, we will examine the choices our own country makes in its military spending. As we explore the way taxes are taken out of paychecks (FICA) we will look at the structure and sustainability of Social Security and Medicare. We will explore income tax models comparing fixed-amount taxation to flat/proportional taxes, to the progressive tax model. We will be using VR headsets for some of our work.

This is a math course for students who learn best by doing. It has been designed for those who “think with their hands” and who like to use math in real situations from the get go. We will do many labs and short term projects in this course. In addition to the math, we will be working throughout on problem solving skills, communication skills, and the ability to work on a team, the three attributes employers say are the most important to them.

Financial Algebra 1 is the first semester of a year-long course for students who have completed Algebra I and Geometry. This course can serve as the third credit of math for students who elect to take an alternative for the third year requirement through a counselor supported approval process. This course is also appropriate for students who have completed Algebra 2 and want to take a course specifically focusing on the mathematics of personal finance. The objectives of this course are not equivalent to the objectives for Algebra 2. Financial Algebra combines algebraic and graphical approaches with practical business and personal finance applications. Students explore algebraic thinking patterns and functions in a financial context. Students achieve success by offering an applications based learning approach incorporating Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry topics, and by connecting math to the real world. This course is designed to build upon prior knowledge of math concepts from other courses. This algebra-based course features real-world algebra concepts found in banking, credit, income taxes, insurance, and household budgeting. Step-by-step strategies will help students learn the time value of money, how to evaluate the purchases and consumer contracts, and how to build a business plan by knowing costs, profits, and break even points

This is the first of two semesters of Algebra 2. This course is appropriate for any students who are interested in taking it, and have taken geometry; it is the 3rd course in the math series at Nova. In addition to reviewing the fundamentals of algebra, we’ll be learning about a host of new functions. The main focus will be how to use functions in real-life situations! (Also FYI **It is recommended that if you are interested in applying to a 4 year university after high school to continue on after Algebra 2 with Pre calculus).

Our class will spend time on mathematical inquiry skills, mechanical skills, and how to apply these ideas to real life problems in engineering, science, and student-driven areas of interest.

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your math skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class.

“Math Support” time is available (time TBD) for any student who would like additional help or more advanced challenges.

Semester Roadmap

 Unit 1: Intro and History of Math

Unit 2: Functions and Notation

Unit 3: Linear Functions

Unit 4: Polynomial Functions

Unit 5: Quadratic Functions

This is the first of two semesters of Algebra 2. This course is appropriate for any students who are interested in taking it, and have taken geometry; it is the 3rd course in the math series at Nova. In addition to reviewing the fundamentals of algebra, we’ll be learning about a host of new functions. The main focus will be how to use functions in real-life situations! (Also FYI **It is recommended that if you are interested in applying to a 4 year university after high school to continue on after Algebra 2 with Pre calculus).

Our class will spend time on mathematical inquiry skills, mechanical skills, and how to apply these ideas to real life problems in engineering, science, and student-driven areas of interest.

Most of the coursework is designed for you to be able to complete during class time. Be prepared to practice your math skills and collaborate on projects. We will also follow the 8 absence attendance policy, which will help keep you on top of things in this class.

“Math Support” time is available during (weekly time TBD) for any student who would like additional help or more advanced challenges.

Semester Roadmap Unit 1: Intro and History of Math Unit 2: Functions and Notation Unit 3: Linear Functions Unit 4: Polynomial Functions Unit 5: Quadratic Functions

The goal of this course is for students to find pesonal liberation by claiming mathematical tools for their own life and use them to strengthen their understanding, comfort, and control within society. 

Through class discussion and democratic decision making, together we will define what a liberatory learning space looks and feels like. Then we will create a pathway for our learning. We will aim to design 1-2 larger class-worked projects that are built up by smaller explorations. 

Students will potentially explore: 

• Problem Solving - through exploring strategies from their own ancestry and from local indigineity, then developing a strategy that aligns with their identity
• Network Science/Theory - understanding the connectedness of different groups and patterns within those connections. 
• Voting Theory - The history and current status of vote tally methods and the impact on results, then exploring voting boundaries and the systemic implications of those boundaries
• Statistics and Probability - How to understand data and patterns of chance to make predictions about natural and human occurances 
• The mathematics of growth

Plan to be outside and get dirty. In this class, will have both indoor and outdoor learning. You will experience botany, horticulture, farming, and social justice around food. You will work on the farm, cultivate crops, learn about environmental issues surrounding agriculture and do projects catered to your interests, including leadership, internships, and career paths. Be prepared to get dirty. This spring we will be waking up the garden, planting crops, grow seed starts, propagating, making terrariums and things for the Spring Thing, creating garden art and building stuff. Come learn how to use power tools. Grow stuff, the bees need you.

This is a CTE class that can cross credit with science. You can also earn college credit through South Seattle College if you take this class for a full year or meet extra competencies in one semester. Please discuss with Susan.

A graduation Social Justice Project could be done in this class.

Build the yearbook.

Come create the Nova Yearbook. We are looking for motivated, organized, creative types (you do not need to have all of those traits together). We want photographers, designers, and tech savvy folks to help us. We will capture the amazingness of our community. No experience necessary, just a strong willingness to contribute. You will learn all aspects of yearbook production regardless of your specialty. This class will be facilitated by Brent, Susan B.

The basic credit is .15 per semester, but you can earn more depending on the amount of work you put in.

Deeper exploration of your career interests, post-secondary options and practice workplace readiness skills and safety in the workplace. 

Try Your Best and Grow towards your career interests!

Animation for advanced students 10-12 grade (prereq Character design or Animation Induction) working on solo directed animation projects

15 min one on one meetings with you and your focused art practice. Designed to only take 1 time in all your Nova years, so only sign up if you are already involved in a 1 hr a day art practice. This can be anything in the arts: dance, animation, theater, clothing design, culinary arts, sketchbooks, collage, sculture, ceramics, comics, streaming, game design, you NAME it. By permission only please do not auto sign up kids for this class. Students will sign up for 1 session on one day: Tues and Thurs 9-9:15, 9:15-9:30, 9:30-9:45 (6 slots available)

Foundational Skills for imagining and bringing your ideas onto the page for charatcers, poses, settings, shading, taught in an open environment where student requests for skills are honored, with classes based on building desired skilsl around character design. Paper, pen, (provided) or iPad with Procreate (not supplied) are ideal, other ways of drawing are also acceptable. 

In here we're exploring a lot of animation techniques, 2/3 or which will be collabroative, and 1/3 of which will be solo animation projects

Plan to be outside and get dirty. In this class, we will have both indoor and outdoor learning. You will experience botany, horticulture, science, farming, building and social justice around food. You will work on the farm, cultivate crops, learn about environmental issues surrounding agriculture and do projects catered to your interests, including leadership, internships, and career paths. This fall, we will work on putting some of the garden to bed, planting hardy winter crops, landscaping and building. Prepare to be outside even when the weather doesn't seem great. Come learn how to use power tools and grow stuff, the bees need you.

This is a CTE class that can cross credit with science. You can also earn college credit through South Seattle College if you take this class for a full year or meet extra competencies in one semester. Please discuss with Susan.

A graduation Social/Environmental Justice Inquiry Project could be done in this class.

This class is designed with attention to the interconnectedness of language, culture, and history, and is open to anyone who wants to learn Korean language and culture. What are your Korean language learning goals? What would you like to be able to do with your Korean language communication abilities? Learning more about cultural practices, customs, and sometimes Korean food/cooking will be parts of this afternoon class.

Students taking the class will earn elective (and/or social studies) credit through active participation in class activities and asynchronous learning. * Additionally, students can opt to take the SPS assessment for Korean language to also earn World Language credit. Ask Melissa and/or Brent for details.

This class is for Spanish students who have some experience with the language.
PHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL NEED TO BE PUT AWAY DURING CLASS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED FOR SPECIFIC CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES.
All world language classes will start with a session of introduction to Language Acquisition, taught in English. The goal of this part of the course is to provide students with an understanding of language acquisition and the learning process, and to empower them in their endeavor of mastering a new language by making them aware of the most effective strategies to be used for reaching that goal.
Throughout the semester participants will explore different aspects of Spanish/Latin American culture, learn vocabulary and linguistic patterns, and apply them in various situations. Teaching strategies are heavily focused on an immersion model. Students must be willing to engage with content and participate in class activities. Students will be expected to practice speaking and writing Spanish in class at their target level on a daily basis.

Second year grammar content will include:

Review of:

·       Definite and indefinite articles

·       Subject pronouns

·       Verbs (present tense conjugation)

o   AR verbs

o   ER verbs

o   IR verbs

·       Adjectives and gender agreement

·       Ir + a expressions

·       Hay and Tener expressions

·       Gustar

·       Ser vs Estar

·       Question formation

New grammar content:

·       Preterite vs imperfect tense

o   AR verbs

o   ER verbs

o   IR verbs

·       Present progressive

·       Hay vs Había/Hubo

·       Reflexive verbs

·       Comparatives/superlatives

·       Por vs Para

·       Introduction to subjunctive mood

Much of the content of the class will relate to culture, which is the vehicle from which students will learn and practice language.  Themes and vocabulary to be introduced and/or reviewed throughout the first year will include:

Review of:

·       Numbers 1-100

·       Spanish alphabet and phonics

·       Greetings

·       At school

·       Descriptions

·       Telling time

·       Weather

·       Days, months, seasons

·       People

·       Clothing

·       Food

·       Places

·       Animals

·       Professions

·       At home

·       Directions

New content:

·       Hobbies and pastimes

·       In the city

·       Holidays and celebrations

·       Nature

·       Travel

·       Shopping

·       Slang

·       music

This class is for beginning Spanish students; no prior experience with the language is required.  
PHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL NEED TO BE PUT AWAY DURING CLASS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED FOR SPECIFIC CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES.
All world language classes will start with a session of introduction to Language Acquisition, taught in English. The goal of this part of the course is to provide students with an understanding of language acquisition and the learning process, and to empower them in their endeavor of mastering a new language by making them aware of the most effective strategies to be used for reaching that goal.
Throughout the semester participants will explore different aspects of Spanish/Latin American culture, learn vocabulary and linguistic patterns, and apply them in various situations. Teaching strategies are heavily focused on an immersion model. Students must be willing to engage with content and participate in class activities. Students will be expected to practice speaking and writing Spanish in class at their target level on a daily basis.

First year grammar content will include:

·       Definite and indefinite articles

·       Subject pronouns

·       Verbs (present tense conjugation)

o   AR verbs

o   ER verbs

o   IR verbs

·       Adjectives and gender agreement

·       Ir + a expressions

·       Hay and Tener expressions

·       Ser vs Estar

·       Question formation

Much of the content of the class will relate to culture, which is the vehicle from which students will learn and practice language.  Themes and vocabulary to be introduced and/or reviewed throughout the first year will include:

·       Numbers 1-100

·       Spanish alphabet and phonics

·       Greetings

·       At school

·       Descriptions

·       Telling time

·       Weather

·       Days, months, seasons

·       People

·       Clothing

·       Food

·       Places

·       Animals

·       Professions

·       At home

·       Directions

This is for the students who are having Independent Contracts.

Students will explore more advanced aspects of Deaf culture and learn advanced American Sign Language concepts. The students will learn basic ASL linguistic patterns and theories and applying them in various situations. The instruction is 100 percent fully immersed in American Sign Language, no writing or typing in the class. Students can ask questions pertaining to the language structure or ask clarifying questions. Teaching strategies are heavily focused on an immersion model. Students must be willing to engage with content and participate in class activities.

PHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL NEED TO BE PUT AWAY DURING CLASS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED FOR SPECIFIC CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES. VOICING IS NOT PERMITTED IN CLASS.

The content of the class will be Deaf culture and learning American Sign Language, which is the vehicle from which students will learn and practice language. In class, students will be introduced to different aspects of Deaf Culture. Students will choose the lens from which they will study the Deaf culture so that they can make comparisons between the cultures and make comparisons with their own culture. Some suggested topics of focus (lens) for independent work may include:

*Deaf LGBTQ+ communities *Deaf music/arts/literature/media *Accessibility *Hearing allies *Deaf Technology *Audism/Linguicism/Phonocentrism *Deaf cultural history *Deaf BIPOC topics *Careers using American Sign Language *Other topics about ASL/Deaf Culture (on more advanced Level from ASL 1 and ASL 2).

New possible research topics that is ideal for the ASL 3 level: ASL depiction, ASL Literature, Deaf-Themed Books, DeafBlind Topics, Deaf Space Theory and Applications, Deaf Gain, Psychology of the Deaf, and other ASL/Deaf Culture-related topics.

The content of the class will relate to culture, which is the vehicle from which students will learn and practice language. Themes to be reviewed and/or introduced may include: Refining on more advanced skills on Introductions, Describing self and others, Stating likes and dislikes, School, Food, Clothing, Hobbies, ASL Music and introducing new concepts such as basic ASL depictions, basic ASL storytelling, Directions in ASL, Deaf Gain, Deaf Space Theory and Applications, ASL Literature (ABC Handshape Story, Same Handshape Story, Visual Vernacular, Number Story, ASL Depiction stories, and Handshape Rhymes Stories).

This independent high school PE credit course is designed to empower students to take control of their personal fitness and well-being. Through a combination of theory and practical application, students will explore various aspects of fitness, goal-setting, progress tracking, and long-term planning. The course will utilize Moodle as a platform for creating a Fit Portfolio.

Credit Patwhay: PE

Learning objectives

25 STUDENT MAXIMUM

Students will participate in Nova Minecraft Project. The students will recreate the Nova building in Minecraft. When complete all students will be welcome to visit the Nova Minecraft Building. This would give us some sense of community again.

Competencies

• Engage in the creation of the Nova Building in Minecraft.
• Serve as a timekeeper, notetaker and facilitator at least once session
• Engage in participation and discussion

We will be exploring deeper meaning and connections within your physical, mental and social well being and how to relate them to yourself, those close to you and your local and global communities. This will include getting CPR certified. You will gain a holistic understanding of how to recognize when aspects of your health are out of balance, how to create safe practices surrounding your health and the choices you make. We will explore what is needed to keep your body, identity and community healthy. We will work on positive goal setting around your health and aspects that may affect it. You will create ways in which you can empower yourself in your own health and take positive action.

This class can also be part of a Graduation Pathway. You would be working with Careers and the Wellness Center.

Communicating Ideas in Health Students will be able to share and teach information that they have gathered on issues of importance for their own health. Intro to the Senior Inquiry Project, including Service Learning. The student can create traditional presentations of information. i.e. research posters and/or presentations The student can create non-traditional presentations of information. i.e. artistic responses, games, coloring books, comic books, technology, etc. The student can communicate understanding to peers, experts and laypersons. The student will use technology to communicate, educate and call to action for conservation projects. This will include websites, blogs, social media etc.

This space is an opportunity to learn strategies, note taking skills, organization methods and a space to catch up on work with support. 

This is the space for the committee workgroup to collaborate on ideas for Asynchronous Learning Design committee group that meets on Thursdays from 2:15 - 3:15

Study hall time for extra support with class work (room 201)

Study hall time for extra support with class work

Learning objectives

weekly communication with coordinator (daily sign in or text/call/email excused absence) participate in school decision making through coor set goals for the each semester and modify and update as they change be actively involved in something that builds community @ Nova beyond academic classes be actively involved in something that improves, educates, governs Nova(or produces events that build community) be actively involved in something that prepares student for transition after Nova be actively involved in something that improves, builds or governs a community beyond Nova has a meeting with coordinator at least once a month unless more frequent meetings are necessary has family meetings as needed (when requested by student, family or coordinator) is respectful and supportive to fellow coor members informs coordinator of changes to schedule or goals in a timely fashion

Learning objectives

25 STUDENT MAXIMUM

Students will participate in Nova Minecraft Project. The students will recreate the Nova building in Minecraft. When complete all students will be welcome to visit the Nova Minecraft Building. This would give us some sense of community again.

Competencies

• Engage in the creation of the Nova Building in Minecraft.
• Serve as a timekeeper, notetaker and facilitator at least once session
• Engage in participation and discussion

We invite all participants to share their own ways to reach peace of mind, and Stefan has prepped a mindfullness activity designed to calm all of our senses in a session that aims to leave you feeling more centered and focused.

Quiet Art Space is a weekly gathering space to connect with peers while working on individual art pieces. We will work together to offer weekly optional art prompts and supportive feedback. All skill levels are welcome. Becky and Allison will host.

Student taught music production using FL Studio software. Focuses include production, beatmaking, and rapping. 

sew fun! is a weekly gathering space where students can learn the basics of sewing and/or work on existing art projects related to sewing (loosely defined, includes knitting, crocheting, etc.) We will work together with optional art prompts and supportive feedback.

Meets mondays only. We build your chess skills through rigorous practice, and explore variants of chess such as Capture, Wonderland Chess, Hexagonal Chess etc.

meets 12:35 on mondays in 205

Quiet Art Space is a weekly gathering space to connect with peers while working on individual art pieces. We will work together to offer weekly optional art prompts and supportive feedback. All skill levels are welcome. Becky and Allison will host.

The Radio Committee will participate in planning, decision making, and preparation work to help operate a radio show through Hollow Earth Radio with the aim of providing a show that is both run by, and serves the school community.

The sound committee runs the music space called The Band Room, supports all school events that need sound and music and improves access for all students interested in learning and making music. Sound is responsible for cleaning, organizing, fixing and improving instruments and equipment in the music space and is working to grow music opportunities at Nova.

• Work together to make the art room more accessible and organized
• Learn more about how community cared for spaces are organized
• Work together to bring more visual art to the Nova community

Mutual aid things

This governing committee designs and publishes the annual yearbook for Nova High School.

Action Faction Mission Statement: As an all-inclusive committee, we work to create a safe and respectful community for all genders and sexualities. We combat sexuality and gender identity oppression by creating positive actions in Nova and beyond. Positive actions include maintaining safe spaces for discussions, resources and events. We believe that any social justice movement must work towards inclusion of other social justice goals. We recognize that all oppressions are connected and in no way do we want our actions to propagate other forms of oppression.

Wellness Steering Committee: We will be meeting regularly with the folks running the new Nova Wellness Center to help build, improve and expand their services for Nova students and the community. We have already helped architects design the temporary space but will continue to advise for the permanent space. We have helped hire staff for the space but will also give feedback and support their understanding of Nova and our amazingly diverse students. We agreed to help them get student art and interesting pieces to decorate the space so we need folks who are willing to make or curate art. We will also be working on grant writing to get more services and expand the possibilities of what the wellness center can offer.

Join us! We need your voice to drive this work. Country Doctor is very happy to collaborate and take guidance from students so we need you all to show up and make this center truly work for youth!

There are opportunities to work on culminating inquiry projects, health credit, CTE credit, peer education, grant writing, internships in the health field connected to this committee!

We meet on Thursdays AND Fridays; students can choose to attend one or both days. This governing committee, the People of Color Committee (POCC), is a meeting place for students and staff who identify as people of color to reconnect, affirm, and unapologetically be ourselves. We are especially focused on building community in our shared spaces, developing and growing our leadership skills, and acting and reflecting on issues of race and equity in a safe and open environment.

This year we aim to help students practice sharing facilitation duties of our weekly committee meetings. Our committee also plays important roles in the planning and implementation of big events at Nova, e.g. Consent Day, Racial Justice Day, and All-School Reflection Day, and more. More info posted here soon.

We'll practice circle-keeping in an effort to support Nova's Transformative and Restorative Justice efforts. Join us to learn new skills in listening, sharing, conflict resolution, and other practices to strengthen our school's community.

Susan will co-facilitate this committee with Adam.

Let's tend to our school's relation to the Earth and each other, including through maintaining and strengthening our systems for composting, energy conservation, environmental justice, ecological awareness, and anything else we can do for our living community.

Tend to the safety of our Nova community, including by discussing and supporting:

1. Earthquake, shelter-in-place, lockdown, and other safety drills;
2. Classroom emergency kit updates;
3. Identity safety of students, staff, and families;
4. Other safety issues, as they arise.

Here is a support system for student who are still working on figuring out their place at Nova. 

Mentor students are available to guide/support their peers

Monthly gatherings will be held to help explain or improve the understanding of the school. 

The Radio Committee will participate in planning, decision making, and preparation work to help operate a radio show through Hollow Earth Radio with the aim of providing a show that is both run by, and serves the school community.

Get active and participate in decision-making to offer opportunities for the larger Nova community to be active too!

• Work together to make the art room more accessible and organized
• Learn more about how community cared for spaces are organized
• Work together to bring more visual art to the Nova community

Recruitment is the public face of Nova. We plan orientations, open house for 8th graders. This year's focus is "how do we represent Nova?" to the district, enrollment office, highschool and 8th grade counselors, as well as the option fair, and any other space Nova needs to be represented. As with all committees, recruitment puts an emphasis on not only striving always to be an anti-racist committee, but also how do we maintain and co-create Nova's social justice identity internally and externally.

This is a committee to talk philosophy. Not debate. Talk philosophy. It is also a committee to teach you how to begin to or advance your critical thinking. You will also have the opportunity to participate in the Ethics Bowl if you wish, but it is not required. This committee is different than the Philosophy class in that you don't have to take one to do the other.

we will make art! We will raise the monies to do cool things at Nova!

The sound committee runs the music space called The Band Room, supports all school events that need sound and music and improves access for all students interested in learning and making music. Sound is responsible for cleaning, organizing, fixing and improving instruments and equipment in the music space and is working to grow music opportunities at Nova.

In this governing committee, students will work together to help make Nova class materials and spaces accessible for all learners. Allison and Michael will co-facilitate. We might record audio versions of class texts, find and share the best fidgets, research and share information about useful technology supports, create organizers to help with inquiry projects, gather and share feedback about class accessibility or.....? Bring your ideas for making Nova a welcoming place for everyone to learn!

Help plan events for Nova, like art shares, spirit week, prom and other fun things

Create informational posters for the school, paired with guild and other committees to get the word out for events, activities and other happenings around Nova.

Please join Stefan and Catherine with watercoloring and raising money for Nova. Bring your own projects, learn watercolor techniques, and collaborate with others in the committee to make art as a way of generating funds for Nova.

Students will participate in coor weekly, communicate with coordinator weekly, sign in daily, and meet with their coordinator monthly. Additional meeting and check-in can be arranged.

Student Responibilities:

• Attend and participate weekly coor meetings
• Set goals for each semester and modify and update as they change
• Informs coordinator of changes to schedule or goals in a timely fashion
• Meet with coordinator at least once each month (or more, if needed)
• Be actively involved in something that improves, builds, or governs Nova
• Participates in meetings with family, other teachers, or others (ie. counselor, out-of-school instructor, etc.)
• Provides community service to the larger community
• Contact (call or email) coordinator when you are going to be absent from school or COOR Shows respect to fellow coor members

Room B03

subarth@seattleschools.org

slinky

weekly communication with coordinator (daily sign in or text/call/email excused absence) participate in school decision making through coor set goals for the each semester and modify and update as they change be actively involved in something that builds community @ Nova beyond academic classes be actively involved in something that improves, educates, governs Nova(or produces events that build community) be actively involved in something that prepares student for transition after Nova be actively involved in something that improves, builds or governs a community beyond Nova has a meeting with coordinator at least once a month unless more frequent meetings are necessary has family meetings as needed (when requested by student, family or coordinator) is respectful and supportive to fellow coor members informs coordinator of changes to schedule or goals in a timely fashion

dCoor rocks!! Check it every Monday by coor time, especially if you miss some or all of coor!

Students will check in weekly with Catherine, and attend Coor on Mondays!

Students will participate in coor weekly, communicate with coordinator weekly, sign in daily, and meet with their coordinator monthly. Additional meeting and check-in can be arranged.

Student Responibilities:

• Attend and participate weekly coor meetings
• Set goals for each semester and modify and update as they change
• Informs coordinator of changes to schedule or goals in a timely fashion
• Meet with coordinator at least once each month (or more, if needed)
• Be actively involved in something that improves, builds, or governs Nova
• Participates in meetings with family, other teachers, or others (ie. counselor, out-of-school instructor, etc.)
• Provides community service to the larger community
• Contact (call or email) coordinator when you are going to be absent from school or COOR Shows respect to fellow coor members

Students will participate in coor weekly, communicate with coordinator weekly, sign in daily, and meet with their coordinator monthly. Additional meetings and check-ins can be arranged.

Welcome to Minion Coor! You will find the information that is given in Coor in this page, as well as links for surveys and opportunities. 

This is a study space where you have the opportunity to learn and apply study, organization and time management techniques while being in a chill environment with snacks.

After school time to learn and/or work on fiber arts, sewing, and crafts!

We will provide materials and projects, but also feel free to bring your own projects. 

The production and broadcast of the Dead Rattitude Radio Show as planned by Radio Committee.

We've got rhythm, yes we do, we've got rhythm how 'bout you? 

Facilitated by Lisa in room 209.

Come and play with us...We've got board games, puzzles, card games, and more. Test your skills, learn some more, as you play well with others. 

a period for solo working, drop-ins by approval.

A period for solo working, drop-ins by approval. (room 122)

Cooking lab!

We'll explore the basics of cooking from technique, hygiene, to food science. Members will be encouraged to contribute recipes that, for example, are related to their culture or exploring new ones.