At St. Thomas School, the Middle School prepares our young men and women for the next stage
of their journey through rigorous academic achievement, ethical leadership, a powerful
understanding of themselves and others, and engaged global citizenship.
Student Name:_____________________
Student signature:________________
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Please return by Friday, January 18th
Proposed 7 /8 Master Classes 2013-14
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6th/7th Grade selection
Master Classes (Electives)
Our 7th and 8th Graders will get to experience specially designed MS Master Classes, reflecting the young
adolescent’s need to exercise choice. These classes offer our students a unique experience of expertise in a chosen
field. They will be given by a teacher either from within STS faculty or from the external community. Classes will be
offered in a variety of subject areas such as but not limited to art, music, science, math, technology, social studies,
literature, writing, and drama. Our electives program will grow as our school grows. STS faculty will lead these, as
well as community experts who will also be invited to lead these experiences.
Master Class Program Goals
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To give students an opportunity to stretch themselves, take initiative, and offer new possibilities for selfdefinition
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To pursue a special interest on an individual or small group basis
3.
To interact with other members of the community and create new friendships
4.
To explore potential careers
5.
To experience expertise in a special field
6.
To participate in ongoing efforts to support our students’ understanding of themselves as “global citizens”
Students will select a series of trimester courses from at least two different blocks across 7th
and 8th Grades. One compulsory course for 8th Graders is Curiosita and the Imagination: The
Renaissance Mind, which launches the 8th Grade theme for the year.
Please check off each selection below that you would be interested in. You may select as
many as you like! Good luck!
At St. Thomas School, the Middle School prepares our young men and women for the next stage
of their journey through rigorous academic achievement, ethical leadership, a powerful
understanding of themselves and others, and engaged global citizenship.
ART & DESIGN
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ARCHITECTURE: [AC] This course is designed
to introduce students to key architectural
ideas and innovations from the ancient
world to the modern. Building models will
be critical. Understanding buildings within
their urban contexts will be important.
ART: CURISITA AND THE IMAGINATION B
[HS]: What do you have in common with
Leonardo Da Vinci? Does our modern life
have anything in common with the ideas
from the Renaissance 600 years ago?
Curiosity, creativity, and the willingness to
try new things are just some of the
connections you'll find in the 8th Grade
Master Class "Curiosita". Explore new
ideas, see what we have inherited from the
Renaissance that informs the very way we
think in our daily lives, and learn about
connections between language, art, music,
and science that influence how we think
about these subjects.
ART: ABOUT FACE: IDENTITY AND THE SELFPORTAIT [HS] students finding all kinds of
connections between the real and the
virtual visual worlds! Students explore the
art of the self-portrait through the lens of
many different artists across time. Learn
how to draw the face from all angles, mix it
up with different kinds of artistic techniques
(think collage, paint, mixed media), and
bring your inner personality out!
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MUSIC & PERFORMANCE/PRODUCTION
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ENGLISH: IMPROVISATION/DRAMA: [Bell]
Do you enjoy games that ask you to think
fast or ask you to be a little goofy
sometimes? In this class you will start and
end each lesson with dramatic theater
games known to help actors think on their
feet and respond to changing situations.
Improvising a scene will become second
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nature as we work together. The group will
perform at least once during this course.
DRAMA: Play/Production/Theatre: [Bell]
Creating a polished performance from start
to finish: Auditions to show time! We will
not only create a top-notch performance,
but we will all study the many layers of the
process, learning to create audition sheets,
sets, working lights, sound, blocking,
acquiring/constructing sets and props, to
publicity and creating a performance space
that works for the actors and the audience.
This is sure to be an unforgettable class!
SHOW CHOIR: [Bell] Do you enjoy singing,
but don’t always want to just stand still?
Show Choir is all about singing with
choreography, really making the music
come to life with dance moves, props, and
athleticism.
MUSIC: MUSIC AND THEATRE [MT]: This
course will study 20th Century Broadway
music and will include a musical dramatic
performance during the Spring concert
MUSIC: ALL THAT JAZZ (MT): This course will
be an in-depth look at jazz music as an
American art form. This will include a
historical study of composers, performers,
works, and styles. Students will compose
and improvise on instruments and voice.
MUSIC: EXPRESSING YOUR VOICE:
SONGWRITING AND YOU [MT]: This course
will study popular music (blues, folk, rock)
and creative songwriting as a means of
personal expression. Students will compose
songs of their own for their final project.
ADVANCED ORFF INSTRUMENTARIUM:
[Bell]
Have you heard the Orff instruments being
played Caribbean or African style? In this
At St. Thomas School, the Middle School prepares our young men and women for the next stage
of their journey through rigorous academic achievement, ethical leadership, a powerful
understanding of themselves and others, and engaged global citizenship.
class we will jam and really learn to play
advanced music that will impress anyone!
It’s fabulous fun!
GLOBAL ISSUES
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SOCIAL STUDIES: ARCHAELOGY: [AC]: This
course will involve a hands-on approach to
archaeology, exploring key archaeological
techniques, and experiencing challenging
innovations.
SOCIAL STUDIES: DEBATE: [AC]: Taking
some of life’s and society’s critical
questions, we will practice the art and
debate, exploring great speeches of the
past and contemporary times, examining
successful techniques
PHILOSOPHY: LIFE’S BIG QUESTIONS: [AC]
Why are we here? Are we truly free? We
will study great questions that humankind
has always asked, looking at answers from
different thinkers, and generating our own
ideas about the world.
ENGLISH: STUDENT NEWSPAPER [AC]: We
will create STS’s first actual newspaper,
exploring layout and design, incorporating
selected features of newspapers from
different cities and countries.
SCIENCE/SOLUTIONS: GREEN SOLUTIONS
[AC]: We will examine some of the greatest
environmental challenges of our times, and
explore different solutions. Along the way,
students will select an issue of their own for
advocacy.
SPANISH: LATIN AMERICAN NOVEL [JF]: We
will read two Latin American novels and
learn about authors from S. America and
the Caribbean. Students will write short
fiction stories based on Latin American
authors.
MATH/SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/
ENGINEERING
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MATH: HISTORY OF MATH [TamA]: Many
mathematicians were radical thinkers reseeing the world. We will explore the
amazing history of mathematical ideas that
has changed our way of seeing ourselves,
the planet, and the universe.
MATH: PROJECT MATH [TamA]: Without
math, many of life’s projects could not
happen. We will embark on hands-on
projects with measurement, geometry,
budgeting, designing, planning, with their
real life consequences.
MATH/SCIENCE: CONSTRUCTION ZONE
[AC]: Who can build the longest bridge?
Who can build the highest tower? We will
take the most important structures of the
real world and make them ourselves.
SCIENCE: KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: [AM]:
Chemistry is the study of the way materials
are put together and how they act under
various conditions. Chemistry uses all of
one's senses-what one sees, tastes,
touches, smells, hears, and feels. Many or
most of the experiments in this Master class
will be performed in the kitchen and
Science Lab settings using items found in an
ordinary household kitchen. This class
encourages a student's natural curiosity and
introduces them to the fun of chemistry.
SCIENCE: CHILD DEVELOPMENT [AC]: Just
what is going on in a child’s brain? What
makes them tick? This will explore all the
stages of development from babyhood to
18!
SCIENCE: BRAIN RESEARCH [AC]: What
happens when we dream? What is the
secret of happiness? The recent results of
brain research revealed!
TECH: PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTOSHOP
[TrAs, AD]: Students focus in on digital
imaging and manipulation with an emphasis
on media literacy and advertising. Outside
At St. Thomas School, the Middle School prepares our young men and women for the next stage
of their journey through rigorous academic achievement, ethical leadership, a powerful
understanding of themselves and others, and engaged global citizenship.
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guests could be invited to discuss “real life”
scenarios.”
TECH: GAME DESIGN AND PROGRAMMING
[TraA/DM]: We will explore various aspects
of computer game design and learn how to
construct basic scripts to define characters
and scoring.
TECH: WEB DESIGN AND PROGRAMMING:
[TraA/DM]: Students will use web design
tools, adding JavaScript programming, style
sheets, forms, and basic database use.
TECH: VIDEO PRODUCTION: [TraA]: Using
Adobe Premiere Elements 11, students will
focus on comprehensive video projects,
focusing on the advanced elements of
lighting, sound, and the green screen.
Script-writing and storyboarding will also be
stressed.
TECH: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF
ANIMATION: [TraA]: Using CrazyTalk, the
students will focus on character creation,
movement, and the nuances of expression
to create 2D Animation in a variety of
scenarios.
TECH: ADVANCED ROBOTICS: [TraA/DM]:
Based on the Lego NXT kits, students will
focus on the problem-solving skills to get
robots to complete challenges.
TECH: BUDGET STUDY: [TraA]: Students will
take on the challenge of budgeting a
fictitious family over the course of 5 years,
using a back-end spreadsheet. Real life
scenarios and challenges will be presented
while students learn the basics of finance
and money managements.
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ENGINEERING: BOAT BUILDING [DP]: We will
learn the fundamentals of boat design and
carpentry by building model pond boats to
use in Medina Park. Later we’ll apply these
skills to full-size projects—a kayak and a
skiff—and try them out in Lake Washington.
LIBRARY/TECH/HUM/SOCSCI: [Dr. D]:
WRITING YOUR LIFE STORY. Using primary
and secondary sources, print and webbased, images and text, we will read books
on writing practice as well as
autobiographies and draft and refine our
own life stories to be self-published as an
on-demand e-book.
SCIENCE/ART: [Outside teacher, JD]:
DRAWING AS FIELDWORD. Honing one’s
visual language, this class will focus on
developing and refining one’s observations
of the natural world through drawing
practice. The class will be conducted as a
studio seminar and take place both in
school and in wild spaces in the Puget
Sound area.