Ethel Walker SchoolGrade 12
As a way of helping students become more knowledgeable and confident with finances, seniors learn about investment strategies, how the market works, political effects on the market, and the role of women investors. Thanks to a generous donor, each senior actually invests $1,000 in the market and follows that investment, along with the aggregate investment of the class, for the course of the year, when the investments are sold and the profits are shared as a charitable contribution.
After starting by studying plays from classic and contemporary playwrights, this course culminates in an open performance of students’ original plays. Students learn how to write in the voice and style of those plays. Students then develop their own voice and style and create an original 15-minute play that will be staged with other students in the class (or from beyond the class). Students will learn how technical aspects of the theater can inform storytelling, such as devising their own lighting to reflect the mood of the piece/characters’ journeys, costume creation/choosing, period prop acquisition, and research, etc. Class will also include interactive theater exercises amongst students so playwrights can become empathetic towards the writers they are writing for. Activities may include analyzing dialogue and character relationships through video clips from movies, TV shows, and creating a short play from current events using interviews, news stories, and videos as source material.
Offered Spring 2024
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Biology
This course is an introduction to the biology of women and their specific health concerns. This class will also address social and economic factors that specifically affect women’s health and well-being. The first half of the course will be directed at learning about female anatomy and physiology, growth and development, and reproduction. This part of the course will focus on female ontogeny, puberty, pregnancy, abortion, and contraceptives. The latter part of the course will deal with disease and aging, and the cross-section of women’s health in history, society, economy, politics, and culture. Here we will focus on gender identity, reproductive rights, the Cliteracy Movement, representation, nutrition, and more. In both portions of the course, we will address ethical concerns for women that will range from the manipulation of embryos to healthcare access. Through labs and other major assignments, students will examine biological differences between men and women, develop an understanding of their own hormone cycle, and analyze societal expectations and pressures placed on women.
Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Biology
Open to Grades 10-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Physics and departmental approval
What makes some internet videos more popular than others? Where do gender inequities pop up in the music industry? What are the demographics of police stops in the United States? Did you know that you can explore and analyze real-world questions like these using code? In this semester-long elective, you will develop the ability to use the Python coding language to create interactive programs, simulations, and data visualizations with the goal of using code to dive deep into questions that you are interested in exploring. This is a largely project-based course; our projects will include creating 3D models and animations using the VPython programming environment, using code to analyze and visualize social justice issues through public datasets, and building your own machine learning models that you can use to make real-world predictions in fields of your choice. We will use the engineering design process to develop each project, including research, brainstorming, iterative prototyping, peer feedback, and communication. You will come away with skills to critically analyze and evaluate trends in science, technology, and society. No previous coding experience is needed. Students should be comfortable with mathematical thinking, troubleshooting, and sometimes feeling confused!
Prerequisite: Physics and departmental approval
Open to Grades 10-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Physics and/or departmental approval
Let’s play with electricity! In this highly hands-on, semester-long elective, we will learn about electrical concepts through labs and circuit-building. Our learning will come from a series of experiments with wires, batteries, light bulbs, and capacitors, and we will put it all together through class discussion, argumentation, and collaborative problem-solving in our classroom scientific community. We will start by using circuits to develop conceptual models of electric charge and the flow of charge through a closed loop, and we will build upon these experiments to discover electrical concepts such as resistance, voltage, power, electromagnetism, motors, and more. Along the way, you will build lots of circuits, play with computer simulations, and engage in electrical engineering projects.
Prerequisite: Physics and/or departmental approval
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Precalculus; must be taken alongside or after Advanced Statistics
This course is for students who would like to apply the study of statistics to a sports psychology context. In each unit, students will be introduced to a topic in sports psychology, review the existing literature behind that topic or collect their own data, and learn the statistical analyses needed to interpret and understand the findings. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis will be discussed. Other skills that this course will develop include writing lab reports, critical analysis of methodology, and research skills. We hope to have guest lecturers in the field to talk about their research and the methods that they are using. Studies that focus on female athletes and female coaches will be emphasized.
Prerequisite: Precalculus; must be taken alongside or after Advanced Statistics
What is Ancient Rome, and why do we care? In this first-year course, students will learn about the ancient world through geography, mythology, history, archaeology, and, of course, language. Through short readings, plays, and cartoons, students will become comfortable interacting with Latin prose. Special attention will also be given to the context of the ancient world.
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
This course is an advanced social studies course that focuses on the movement of people and broad geopolitical changes. This course will rely heavily on current events to help students understand modern day migration patterns, the reasons for movement, and the challenges that arise when people move from one place to another. Students will use case studies to investigate the ways in which migration has political, economic, and social effects on countries, and will learn both the positives and negatives associated with global migration.
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
This course is an advanced social studies course that introduces students to the patterns and processes that have shaped our understanding and use of Earth. With a focus on agricultural and urban land use, and global economic development, students will gain an understanding of how people adjust to the land around them. The class will investigate how geopolitical policies are formed and how they affect our world today. Students will be expected to understand and analyze maps and spatial data, recognize the different regions of the world, and understand how events and processes influence one another.
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
Modern microeconomics studies how society’s needs can be met when consumption and production decisions are made by individuals seeking their own benefit. This course will teach foundational concepts in microeconomics including incentives, supply and demand, the law of diminishing returns, marginal analysis and equilibrium prices. We will also examine behavioral economics which criticizes the dominant microeconomic school of neoclassical economics. Finally, students will examine and debate the proper role of government in regulating the economy by considering how governments should shape markets in order to lessen such problems as affordable housing shortages, pollution, global warming and widespread obesity. Modern economics has a foundation in mathematical analysis and, while this course will not involve any calculus or advanced mathematics, students will need to create and interpret graphs of economic situations.
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
Macroeconomics examines a country’s economy as a whole and seeks to discover how an economy can maintain high growth, keep unemployment rates and inflation low, and improve the circumstances of the poor in society. The topics in this course may include historical debates between capitalism’s proponents and its critics; competing proposals for how best to measure whether an economy is doing well; the nature of money and how government can affect the money supply; the role of interest rates in determining growth, inflation and unemployment rates; how the government can best avoid the boom and bust cycles of capitalism; and an examination of recent economic crises in the United States.
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
In this course, students will explore the role of media in shaping contemporary society. Students will learn to evaluate the credibility of news content and consider how the media can counter or reinforce social biases and political actions. Students will investigate topics such as media theory, the ethics of journalism, and free speech in an age of disinformation. This course is designed for students to explore complex topics within the media landscape, and also for students to create their own media content.
Continuing from the 10th grade U.S. History class, this course will focus on the United States since World War II, examining the ways in which both the United States and its role in the world changed. The once-isolationist United States had emerged from World War II as a global superpower with a military and economic presence across the globe and a sense of responsibility for leading and assisting countries committed to democracy and capitalism. While taking on this global role, the United States experienced tremendous change and significant turmoil as citizens struggled to realize their competing visions of American society, politics, economy, and culture. Potential topics include the Cold War; civil rights movements; the Vietnam War; the Reagan Revolution; interventionist foreign policy; 9/11 and the War on Terror; the polarization of U.S. politics, society, and culture; and demographic shifts in American society. Through examining primary sources and secondary sources in various media, students will better understand the shifts that occurred during this tumultuous period in U.S. history and be better prepared to navigate the world in which they live.
USH Elective
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by the New York Police Department. This was hardly the first time that police had raided the popular gay bar, and yet the riots that ensued were both historic and unprecedented. While extremely significant, the Stonewall Riots are just one moment in the much longer history of LGBTQIA+ activism that came both before and after 1969. In this course, students will explore the broader presence of queer activism with the goal of charting a more equitable narrative of American history – one that highlights the often understudied, yet vital roles of people who were marginalized both within and outside of the queer community. Students will finish this course by completing a research paper on a topic of their choosing that clearly centers and restores agency to the lived experiences of the people and communities that it studies.
USH Elective
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
This advanced Feminist and Women’s History course challenges students to delve deeply into the powerful and often overlooked stories of women in United States history. Through close examination of a wide variety of primary sources and intersectional social theory, students will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and successes of women’s rights and activism throughout the years. This course is designed to challenge and inspire students to think critically about traditional historical narratives and highlight the centrality of women in American history. In this advanced course, students are expected to engage extensively with challenging source material, including primary sources and academic articles. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
USH Elective
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
In this course, students will examine the profound contributions of women throughout American history. Students will identify systemic challenges for women and cultivate an understanding of the individual and collective efforts to create change in the 20th century. Students will examine historical events and ideologies to better contextualize contemporary issues. Students will read a variety of primary and secondary sources, engage in deep personal reflections, and participate in collaborative dialogue, to explore the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
USH Elective
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Only open to the Class of 2026
This course will explore a range of texts written during or about the time period sometimes dubbed, “The Roaring Twenties.” We will move from glittering Long Island parties to the Nebraska prairie, from the fashionable streets of Chicago and Harlem to the floor of a Tampa cigar factory to learn how some of the celebrated novels and dramas in that era converse with one another about place, identity, and responsibility. Where do the characters in these stories find worth or meaning? How does the notion of progress fit with values based on tradition? What do we notice in the passions, limits, and possibilities of stories written and dreamed during this era? Texts may include My Antonia, The Great Gatsby, Anna in the Tropics, and Passing, among others.
This course is only open to students in the Class of 2026.
Offered Spring 2024
This course will explore some of the ways that writers with disabilities view, imagine, and narrate their experiences. As society pushes people with disabilities towards the margins, how does their written work help them to claim a fuller, more empowered self? How do they disrupt traditional notions of “abled” and “disabled” bodies? What new and old forms and sub-genres of writing are particularly effective in doing so? As poet Jennifer Bartlett put it, how does one use writing as “a way of being in the world that wasn’t made for us”? Through our engagement with the texts and subjects in this emerging field of literature, we will also consider the intersection of disability with the other aspects of an individual’s identity in society. In this work, perhaps we, too, might engage the world differently and reframe the way we think about our lives and differences. Texts may include Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability, ed. Sheila Black, Jennifer Bartlett, and Michael Northern; Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg by Emily Rapp Black, Places I’ve Taken My Body by Molly McCully Brown; Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection by Anne Finger; Cost of Living by Martoj Martek; Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky; and Wound from the Mouth of a Wound by Torrin A. Greathouse.
Offered Spring 2024
The focus will be on North American indigenous mythology. Students will study various tropes, among them the trickster and the preponderance of anthropomorphic characters. Looking at the cosmology of the Iroquois, Algonquin, Zuñi, Inuit, and Navaho, students will examine how different environments influence their stories. The role of shamans and medicine men in transmitting these stories will also be studied. Students will read essays by Bobby Lake-Thom, known as Medicine Grizzly Bear, who was of Karuk and Seneca descent and a native healer. Students will also read sections of Braided Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Offered Spring 2024
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
In print and in movies, science fiction has long been dominated by visions of the future that center whiteness and replicate contemporary racial hierarchies. Outside of the mainstream, meanwhile, science fiction writers of color crafted their own visions of the future, drawing upon diverse cultural heritages and traditions, and in recent decades they have regularly garnered much-deserved attention and the most prestigious awards in the genre. In this class we will study science fiction as imagined by writers of marginalized identities, and in the process we will widen the possible futures we might imagine. Authors may include N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Ted Chiang, Lisa M. Bradley, Stephen Graham Jones, Tobias S. Buckell, Octavia Butler, Nnedi Okorafor, and others.
Offered Spring 2024
Over the last decade, poetry has resurged into daily life across the country. We turn to poetry in times of celebration and consolation, to give voice to community and identity, to post some bit of inspiration on social media and as a rallying cry. Poetry right now is more diverse than it has ever been — both in terms of who gets to write it and the styles in which it is written. This class is a deep dive into that diversity. We will study five books by poets representing diverging and coalescing trends and movements across the poetry landscape, plus a collection chosen by students. We will seek to answer one guiding question: what are the ways that poetry speaks to our particular moment? Coursework will include both creative and analytical projects.
Offered Spring 2024
Hamlet is the character in Shakespeare whose experience most aligns with being a teenager in the 21st century. He is uncertain, full of angst, has a strained relationship with his parents, an on-again-off-again romantic partner, a loyal best friend, and a lot of yet to be realized potential. We will try to get a better understanding of this character and how he might be relevant 400 years later. Students will take a deep dive into Hamlet, reading and viewing several different productions. We will also look at texts that are inspired by or that draw on Hamlet including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard and To Be or Not to Be by Ryan North as well as a viewing of The Lion King.
Offered Spring 2024
What does it mean to be a writer? How does an author find her style? The Visiting Writer Seminar is a semester-long course in which students have the special opportunity to immerse themselves in a study of one writer’s works. Throughout the semester, students read a critical mass of texts by that writer before the course culminates with the author’s visit to Walker’s. During this visit, the writer will teach master classes, conduct writing workshops, and participate in class discussion.
The Spring 2024 Visiting Writer is Carmen Giménez. Carmen Giménez is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Milk and Filth, a finalist for the NBCC Award in Poetry and Be Recorder (Graywolf Press, 2019), which was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award in Poetry, the PEN Open Book Award, the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She was awarded the Academy of American Poets Fellowship Prize in 2020. A 2019 Guggenheim fellow, she served as the publisher of Noemi Press for 20 years. She is Publisher and Executive Director of Graywolf Press.
Offered Spring 2024
This course will explore a range of Asian American voices and stories in texts published since the eighties. We will learn from an array of experiences and identities, and we will do so through a variety of literary forms and genres, including fantasy, short fiction, personal essay, and poetry, as well as a longer work of fiction or memoir. Much of our work will involve careful attention to craft; as a result, we will produce both analytical and creative pieces in conversation with the pieces we read. Possible texts include Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, and work by Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston.
Offered Fall 2023
This elective is part anthropology, part philosophy, and part literature. Students will examine different tropes in myths as well as read scholarly work about myth, ritual, and symbol. The focus will be on Greek and Roman mythology. Texts will include The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and a series of well-known stories like Pandora’s Box, Prometheus, Oedipus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Demeter and Persephone, Narcissus and Echo.
Offered Fall 2023
Questions about the relationship between humans and the natural world have been some of the most essential throughout all of literature, from Tang Dynasty poetry to contemporary climate fiction. In our current, pivotal moment, those questions have become increasingly urgent as ecological systems continue to be affected and remade by human-caused climate change. Global problems require global imaginations, and a wide array of writers are lending their voices and cultural traditions to explore how humans have and might develop different relationships to the environments in which they are enmeshed. In this class we will study stories, poems, and creative nonfiction. Possible texts may include Orion Magazine and works by Camille Dungy, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ursula K. Leguin, Ross Gay, and many others.
Offered Fall 2023
Music will be both the theme and the subject for our course of study, and for some of the texts we read, music will in fact be part of the very process of their creation. At times it will be a central metaphor, and at times this will radiate out to ideas about performance itself. One other question posed by many of these texts is the question of practice. What are the processes by which we can pay more careful attention to the world around us, and how might this enhance our ways of being in the world? Texts under consideration include A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, Olio by Tyehimba Jess, and Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo.
Offered Fall 2023
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 0.5
Octavia Butler is a pioneer of modern science fiction. She was creating and making space for herself in the genre at a time when it was deeply unwelcoming to Black writers. Despite this, her works and ideas have exerted massive influence on a host of writers as well as social justice organizers — that is, on our ability to imagine alternative futures. In this class we will study her novels and short stories, engage with the literary and social organizing theories that her works have spawned, and check out a few writers and thinkers she has influenced. Texts by Butler may include Blood Child and Other Stories, Parable of the Sower, Wild Seed, and Kindred.
Offered Fall 2023
Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is a classic. It has been translated, adapted for film and television, and reimagined by many different authors. Adaptations of it have included modern retellings, graphic novels, zombie stories, different narrators, and much more. We will explore the question of why Pride and Prejudice has inspired so many retellings and what those retellings bring to the conversation. Texts may include Pride by our visiting writer Ibi Zoboi, Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, and Longbourn by Jo Baker.
Offered Fall 2023
What does it mean to be a writer? How does an author find her style? The Visiting Writer Seminar is a semester-long course in which students have the special opportunity to immerse themselves in a study of one writer’s works. Throughout the semester, students read a critical mass of texts by that writer before the course culminates with the author’s visit to Walker’s. During this visit, the writer will teach master classes, conduct writing workshops, and participate in class discussion.
The Fall 2023 visiting writer is Ibi Zoboi. Zoboi is the author of numerous titles including American Street (2017), which was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award in Young Adult’s Literature, a Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year; Pride (2018), a contemporary remix of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; and My Life As An Ice Cream Sandwich (2020), a moving middle-grade debut of a girl finding her place in a world that’s changing at warp speed. Zoboi is also the co-author of the Walter Award and L.A. Times Book Prize-winning Punching the Air (2021) with prison reform activist Dr. Yusef Salaam, an Exonerated Five member, which was also shortlisted for the U.K.’s Yoto Carnegie Medal. She is the editor of Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America (2020), an essential collection of captivating stories about what it is like to be young and Black in America. Her debut picture book, The People Remember (2021), received a Coretta Scott King Book Honor Award. Her other recent titles include Star Child: A biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler (2022), and Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel (2022) for Marvel.
Offered Fall 2023
Grade 12
Seniors have the privilege of addressing the entire school on a subject of their choice to exhibit their mastery of public speaking and reflect on their development and learning while at Walker’s. They will use seminar time to draft, rewrite, and rehearse their senior speech, which will be offered at a Morning Meeting or assembly during the school year.
Grade 12
Learning a self-selected capability is the capstone experience of the Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program. This seminar highlights students’ ability to show how they have mastered their own learning by choosing something they want to learn, developing a learning plan, learning it, and then teaching it to others, all in a structured context. Once they have mastered their capability, they will then teach it to other students in the Lacuna program in February. This experience will provide students with a clear understanding of both their newfound capability and the complex cognitive processes they engaged in to learn it, positioning them well to continue their lifelong quest for learning.
This is a semester-long course designed to cover the two separate but related areas of:
1. All facets of movie production, including script writing, working with talent, camera work, sound, directing, locations, costume, props, and post-production editing. Genres studied include shorts, feature films, documentaries, and music videos. The course will involve hands-on, small team experience developing production timelines and filming with DSLR cameras after review of best practice examples of each motion picture type. Instruction in post-production editing techniques will be taught to allow finished products to be shown to the local community and/or entered into film showcases and festivals.
2. Work designed to create a live-streaming channel dedicated to live and recorded content centered on the Walker’s student experience. It includes aspects of studio work, live interviews, field recording, content production, show hosting, script writing, and all in front of camera and behind camera functions. The goal is to produce shows that air routinely in a published schedule that reflect the interests of the participating students and that mimic an in-house television station broadcast on a streaming platform.
Open to Grades 9-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Studio Art or other relevant Visual Arts course and department approval
This is a one-year college-level course with heavy emphasis on portfolio production and review. Advanced Art students will produce a series of sequential visual forms while exploring in greater depth a particular visual concern or inquiry, through practice, experimentation and revision. Emphasis will be placed on the elements of art, the principles of design, materials, processes and ideas, and skill development. Students will study and discuss historical and contemporary artists to aid in their own creations and development. Students may choose to submit portfolios to the Advanced Placement program in the spring in Advanced Placement Drawing, Advanced Placement 2D Art and Design, or Advanced Placement 3D Art and Design. The course is taught in the same physical space and time block as the Studio Art course.
Prerequisite: Studio Art or other relevant Visual Arts course and department approval
This is a one-semester course for the higher-level ceramics student who has already completed Ceramics 1 and has mastered the basics of throwing pottery on the wheel. In this course, students will explore the act of combining hand-built elements with wheel-thrown pieces. Projects will include teapots, nesting bowls, water pitchers, vegetable steamers, ring holders, and citrus juicers. Students will also be tasked with using the principles of design to create an effective and attractive composition for an independently produced original piece of art, which may be either decorative or utilitarian.
Prerequisite: Ceramics 1
In this course, students will review advanced concepts they studied in Algebra 2, explore basic statistics and probability, and be introduced to trigonometry. These topics will challenge students to solve real-world problems, apply skills, and work collaboratively with peers. The course is best suited for students who need further review of topics covered in previous math courses before considering higher-level courses, such as Calculus.
Prerequisite: Algebra 2
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: French 4 or Honors French 4
ECE Course: FREN 3250: Global Culture I
In this course, students will hone their listening and speaking skills by engaging with the diverse cultures of the French-speaking world. Students will enrich their vocabulary and develop their ability to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate in French with greater accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Speaking practice will include class discussions, debates, and oral presentations. At the same time, students will learn about the richness and diversity of the French-speaking world through written texts (e.g., fiction, articles, poetry), oral texts (e.g., interviews, podcasts), radio and television segments, cinema, music, and art. The course will be conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisite: French 4 or Honors French 4
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Spanish 4 or Honors Spanish 4
ECE Course: SPAN 3178: Intermediate Composition
This course provides a thorough review of grammar and methodical practice in composition leading to command of practical idioms and vocabulary. Additionally, students in this course will develop an understanding and awareness of the Spanish-speaking world’s diverse cultures through the study of journalistic and literary works and other works of art created by authors and artists from Spain and Latin America. Students will continue the development of the four language skills: listening, writing, speaking, and reading. Authentic materials are often used to practice these skills in the classroom. Group discussions, songs, movies, magazines, newspapers, and the internet are all used to help students broaden their vocabulary, increase fluency, and deepen their knowledge of Spanish grammar.
Prerequisite: Spanish 4 or Honors Spanish 4
In order to be a culturally competent global citizen, one must understand the motivations, traditions, and cultural forces that influence the globe, including religion. Though the United States is an increasingly secular state, other parts of the world are strongly influenced by their religious traditions, informing international relations, social values, and the global marketplace. This class will address the religious practices of the major world religions and the vast spectrum of beliefs within each that makes it difficult to generalize about them. To honor the living traditions that we are studying, we will not only examine but will also find ways to experience the Hindu Traditions and various Yogas, Buddhism and Meditation (or the interpretation of a Koan), Taoism and Tai Chi, Islam and Prayer, Christianity and Worship, Judaism and the study of the Torah, and native Aboriginal and American relationships to the Earth. In the midst of this quest, we will consider the way astrology, cults, New Age practices, and mindfulness function as derivatives of religious intent.
In this course, students will learn how to analyze the visual medium of graphic novels and explore how graphic novels have emerged as a robust literary genre since the publication of Maus in 1980. We will pay particular attention to historically marginalized voices including transgender, queer, Jewish, and Asian authors and illustrators and how they have used this genre to amplify their voices. Students will have opportunities for creative projects, formal presentations, and analytical writing over the course of the semester. Texts may include Understanding Comics, Maus, Home, On a Sunbeam, Nimona, One Summer, and Monstress.
Offered Spring 2024
This class moves at the pace of the Advanced Placement Music Theory course with the intent to prepare the student to participate in the Advanced Placement testing program. This course includes fundamentals of music theory and related aural skills, score analysis, sight-singing, and harmonic and melodic comprehension. The student’s eligibility will be determined by the instructor.
Prerequisite: Departmental approval
Students will learn about public health through a multidisciplinary approach that includes biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, history, English literature, language and culture, economics, anthropology, geography, statistics, communication, film, and visual arts. This course will center around leading health indicators that include access to health services; clinical preventive services; maternal, infant, and child health; mental health; nutrition; physical activity; obesity; reproductive and sexual health; social determinants of health; and substance abuse. Course topics will include environmental health, biostatistics, epidemiology, public health policy, problem-solving in public health, population dynamics, social and behavioral sciences, health literacy, community assessment, health informatics, global health, and women’s health and human rights.
Visual Arts courses are offered at several different levels. Students with a passion for a particular field may register for the same course over multiple semesters.
This course is designed to accommodate students with a desire to learn about art or to continue evolving in their artistic pursuits. Students will work on a variety of media, tools, and techniques through open-ended assignments that challenge them and encourage creativity and originality. Through studio practice, application of the fundamentals of art, and informed decision-making, students will create a body of work that demonstrates a high level of quality and growth over time in content, technique, and process.
This course is designed to follow the prerequisite Photography 1 and includes elements of studio photography, fashion photography, staged photography, modern photography, street photography, drone photography, photojournalism, and the study of contemporary artists. DSLR cameras are supplied for the duration of the course. The course incorporates field trips for photography assignments. It will also include an emphasis on independent studies as students focus on their own interests, all while creating an online portfolio of their best work.
Prerequisite: Photography 1
This semester-long course is designed to cover a broad range of digital photography techniques, principles, equipment, and image subjects. A Nikon DSLR camera is supplied for the duration of the course. The course also covers areas of post-production and image manipulation. It includes principles of exposure, portrait photography, landscape photography, macro photography, sports photography, food photography, black and white photography, low light photography, light painting, wildlife photography, in-class challenges, and more than 20 other topics. Over the course of the semester, independent shooting, collaborative peer critiques, and historical research will contribute to each student’s final portfolio that exhibits her individual photographic style.
In this class, students will experiment with different media, fabrics, papers, and techniques. Students will discover their own personal artistic voice while focusing on composition, textures, and layers. This exploration of mixed media and collaging uses background treatments and transfer of images, including the use of photographs and found objects to add meaning to their works. An overview of historical and contemporary collage will also be explored. The course also offers students an opportunity to design and build 3D structures. Additive and subtractive (carving) sculpture, construction, mobile, assemblage, molding/casting, and model making will be studied.
Students may take this course for either semester but are encouraged to stay in the course for the whole year to help bring the yearbook to publication.
This course allows students to develop the design, writing and photography skills needed to create a thorough, interesting, and dynamic documentation of the life of the School: the official school yearbook, the Pepperpot. This course includes elements of art, image manipulation, design, layout, article writing, research, editing, marketing, publishing, and sales. Students will have additional responsibilities and take greater leadership roles each time the course is taken.
Visual Arts courses are offered at several different levels. Students with a passion for a particular field may register for the same course over multiple semesters.
Drawing is the foundation from which we develop our visual vocabulary as we hone our observational skills. Drawing from observation or from life is a critical skill to develop for anyone wanting to quickly and visually express ideas, as it trains the eye, hand, and brain to translate the 3D form into a 2D illusion. In this multilevel class, whether taken for the first time or as continuation to further develop one’s visual skills, students will be exposed to a variety of “dry media” (graphite, oil and soft pastels, charcoal, etc.) and “wet media” (transparent and opaque painting, including watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and oil), learning the necessary technical skills to communicate their ideas, while continuing to strengthen their knowledge of the elements and principles of design. Students will also discover the expressiveness of color and media application techniques while learning color theory. They may take this class as a repeated course in order to prepare their art portfolios for college admission and to fully develop their visual and unique language. There will be opportunities for students to work on public art projects that enhance our school community.
Visual Arts courses are offered at several different levels. Students with a passion for a particular field may register for the same course over multiple semesters.
The Ceramics class will provide an opportunity for students to develop a body of work that is both conceptually valid and reflective of their artistic style. Sculpture techniques, the science of glazing, and wheel skills are taught to all levels of students, and they will be encouraged to experiment at all times. In addition to developing technique, students will design their own multi-part construction based on exploration of pottery around the world. Each student will be expected to produce work that portrays her creative powers and technical abilities.
Open to Grades 9-12
African Drumming is an essential part of Walker’s music program. The group utilizes a variety of drums, some of which were constructed from trees on the school property in Simsbury. Students study a wide array of styles and develop an appreciation for the intricate musical sounds, and variety of moods the different drumming disciplines convey and express. The tones of the instruments as well as the use of a particular rhythm open the mind to the rich world of music and enhance the capacity of each drummer. Students are encouraged to both read and hear patterns so that they engage the better part of themselves when they play together. The group often performs on campus and continues to create a moving presence at Walker’s.
Open to Grades 9-12
Orchestra is open to instrumentalists who are capable of individual preparation and working toward a standard of musical excellence in a group setting. This is a wonderful environment in which to develop technique and broaden the musical experience.
Open to Grades 9-12
The Bell Choir performs for many events on campus and can be taken as a music discipline for Music Majors. This course teaches a basic understanding of rhythm and note reading and allows students of all levels to perform in an ensemble. All musicians are welcome.
Open to Grades 9-12
Each year, our campus rock band, Sundial Sound, morphs and evolves as new students join the group. Students who sing and play drum set, keyboard, guitar, bass, percussion, and other instruments collaborate as an ensemble to play classic rock and more contemporary covers, learning how to exchange musical ideas and work together as a group towards a rock concert performance at the end of the school year.
This vocal ensemble is an a cappella singing group. Only members of the Choir may audition. This ensemble performs music from a wide range of genres. Auditions take place at the beginning of the school year and include a simple sight-singing exercise, presentation of a piece that best shows the singer’s voice, and a group piece that determines vocal blend and intonation.
By audition
The Chamber Ensembles afford the serious musician the opportunity to perform fine works. Students must be proficient on their instrument and enjoy working in a focused, musical environment. These ensembles are called upon to perform at many functions throughout the school year.
By audition
Credit is given to students who wish to take two private lessons a week or two music disciplines, not including Choir. A half credit is given along with grades and comments for each semester. Music majors are expected to perform during the school year.
A two-semester course that involves the study of the laws, forms, and language of music with a focus on assimilating these skills and demonstrating them in compositional forms. The course is taught at the level of the student and progresses according to her capacity. It presents the basics of music theory, dictation and notation, and ear training before composition is introduced. The advanced student may study composition and harmony and musical analysis.
A full Arts credit is given for this course. It fulfills the arts graduation requirement but is not figured into the GPA. Walker’s Choir performs regularly at many school functions and presents two major choral concerts. This ensemble enjoys meeting a varied repertoire and honing musical skills such as sight-reading and vocal production. Students interested in Grapes must be part of this ensemble.
Open to Grades 6-12
This course provides students with an opportunity to learn and improve vocal technique and to experience a repertoire of various styles. Enrollment in Choir is not required. Voce Felice, a fine vocal ensemble, is formed from members of this class. Individual singers have the opportunity to perform as soloists at the end of the school year concert. All singers are welcome.
Open to Grades 7-12
The Gospel Choir is a lively vocal ensemble that incorporates musical styles from the spiritual, blues, and gospel genres. This ensemble demands a willingness to participate in the appropriate style that this music commands. All singers are welcome.
Private lessons are offered for many instruments. Numerous recitals and assemblies involve the music program, and public performance opportunities continue to expand the musical experience here on campus.
Financial Commitment: Private lessons are billed through the Business Office. The Music Instruction Agreement must be signed by a parent/guardian and returned before lessons can begin. Please contact the Business Office for additional details.
The goal of this course is to develop self-awareness, master acting guideposts, and build on previous knowledge of stage acting through the use of scenes, improvisation, and monologues. This one-semester class introduces students to basic acting techniques rooted in Stanislavski and Meisner, incorporating effective use of the voice, principles of stage movement, building a character, playwriting, story creation, and improvisation. The course is designed for students interested in exploring theater as a means of personal development and expression, as well as for those who wish to begin to study the craft of acting and/or playwriting. Students are expected to memorize lines, write journals, and be evaluated on their performances. This course may be taken more than once, so the course will be tailored to the students’ interests and needs.
Offered Fall 2023
This course is designed to give students an overview of dance technique, improvisation, composition, and history. We will focus on several techniques and history to build strength and knowledge in the art form. The study of dance composition through improvisation and design concepts will also be a focal point of the course. Recommended for students with little to no experience in dance.
Offered Fall 2023
This course focuses on the process of choreographing original dance pieces. Students will learn composition through experimenting with the elements of movement: time, space, weight, and flow. This course is recommended for students with some dance experience through the advanced level.
Offered Spring 2024
Grade 12
Workshops, speakers, and panel discussions cover topics such as personal health and safety, decision making, developing and maintaining healthy relationships, and adjusting to newfound independence, as well as an understanding of the resources that are available to students at the college level. Students will reflect on how social media and mobile devices have changed since they began high school and explore ways that these technologies can impact their lives in college. This course is designed to prepare students for the transition from Walker’s into a college or university setting where much more independence is expected.
Grade 12
Senior-year College Counseling is a continuation of the work begun in junior year. This seminar focuses on completing and submitting applications, organizing application deadlines and requirements, connecting with admissions representatives, reviewing types of financial aid, and managing post-application requirements. In addition to actively participating in class, students are evaluated based on completion of the following: creating a final list of colleges, filling out the common application suitable for submission, turning in the deadlines and application requirements worksheet, and meeting with college admission counselors on Walker’s campus.
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Biology
The Human Anatomy and Physiology course is designed to give the student an overview of all of the systems of the human body. Students will study the structure, function, and numerous disorders of each body system as well as the interrelationships among the various systems. Students will be exposed to critical thinking and clinical application questions throughout the course as they delve into actual case studies and work through these cases to reach a diagnosis. In addition, students will experience hands-on learning and develop collaborative skills through various labs, activities, and projects throughout the year.
Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Biology
Physics 11-12 is designed for students who enter Walker’s after 9th grade and who have not yet taken Physics. This is a laboratory science course in which students develop skills in conducting experiments, working collaboratively, and solving problems that allow them to understand and describe the physical phenomena of the world around them. Through this course, students will explore the major themes of causes and effects of motion and the conservation laws of energy and momentum. Students will be introduced to physics concepts through the investigation of phenomena, hands-on activities, lectures, and interpretation of data. Through this course, an emphasis will be placed on students representing their understanding in multiple ways: verbally, diagrammatically, graphically, and mathematically.
Prerequisite: Algebra 2
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Chemistry, Biology, and departmental approval
This course will be run in partnership with the Small World Initiative (SWI) and the Tiny Earth Network (TEN), two innovative programs that encourage students to pursue careers in science while addressing a worldwide health threat: the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics. This course centers around an introductory biochemistry course in which students conduct original hands-on field and laboratory research in the hunt for new antibiotics. Through a series of student-driven experiments, students will collect soil samples, isolate diverse bacteria, test their bacteria against clinically-relevant microorganisms, and characterize those showing inhibitory activity. This is particularly relevant since over two thirds of antibiotics originate from soil bacteria or fungi. SWI and TEN’s approach provides a unique platform to crowdsource medical breakthroughs by tapping into the intellectual power of many people concurrently addressing a global challenge and advancing promising candidates into the drug development pipeline.
Prerequisite: Chemistry, Biology, and departmental approval. Possible concurrent enrollment in Honors or Advanced Biology
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and departmental approval
The Advanced Biology course is our most challenging biology course and parallels a college-level introductory biology class. This course requires strong critical thinking skills and the ability to apply biological concepts to new situations and real-world problems. The class is designed to cover numerous biology topics in an in-depth and hands-on manner using many forms of instruction that include lecture, flipped classroom, problem-based learning, inquiry-based labs, case studies, and field work. This course is for highly motivated students who have a genuine interest in biology, are capable of self-directed and self-paced work, and possess the ability to collaborate with classmates on many different labs and projects. To allow for the completion of college-level laboratory experiments, the course meets for an additional 70-minute block each week. The Advanced Biology course will revolve around the four Big Ideas of evolution, energy, information, and interactions. Students may choose to take the Biology Advanced Placement Test in the spring.
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and departmental approval
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and/or departmental approval
The Honors Biology course is designed to give students an overview of the biological sciences such as biochemistry, cellular biology, genetics, evolution, microbial biology, human anatomy and physiology, plants, animals, and ecology. The Honors Biology course proceeds at a faster pace than the Biology course and requires students to integrate multiple content areas at one time in their analysis of the material. Students will develop laboratory skills that include experimental design, data collection and analysis, proficiency with laboratory equipment, and error analysis through numerous inquiry-based labs throughout the year. Laboratory work in this course is more demanding and allows students to have more independence involving laboratory design.
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and/or departmental approval
The Biology course surveys the field of biology from biochemistry, cells, and genetics to evolution, microbiology, and ecology. Many of the most important topics in biology rely heavily on an understanding of the fundamental concepts from physics and chemistry, which is why this course is offered after the completion of these other disciplines. Generous amounts of laboratory work allow students to develop laboratory skills that include experimental design, data collection and analysis, and proficiency with laboratory equipment. Students will work collaboratively and independently as they learn to research numerous biological topics and engage in argument-driven inquiry. Through field work, students will become familiar with the woodlands and ponds that surround The Ethel Walker School and will come to appreciate the biodiversity of life that exists in our community.
Prerequisite: Chemistry
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and departmental approval
The Advanced Chemistry course is our most challenging chemistry course and parallels a college-level introductory chemistry class. Building on the foundation of Honors Chemistry, this course emphasizes the advanced topics of equilibrium, kinetics, and thermodynamics. Students must be prepared for a significant commitment in both time and the level of challenge. To allow for the completion of college-level laboratory experiments, the course meets for an additional 70-minute block each week. This course fully prepares interested students for the Chemistry Advanced Placement Test in the spring.
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and departmental approval
The Honors Chemistry course covers content similar to the Chemistry course with the addition of stoichiometry and acid-base chemistry. The course is fast paced and requires a sophisticated depth of analysis. As students progress through the year, their work increasingly focuses on the applications of basic concepts and involves complex, multi-step problem-solving. Laboratory work includes a focus on experimental design and requires more involved error analysis. This is a rigorous course with high expectations for student effort and commitment.
Prerequisite: Physics 9 and departmental approval
Recommended: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Honors Algebra 2
Chemistry is a laboratory-based course that allows students to discover basic chemical principles and understand how to use them to make sense of the world around them. The course covers the scientific method, measurement, atomic theory, nomenclature, chemical quantities, chemical reactions, aqueous chemistry, bonding, and gas laws. Students learn how to work both collaboratively and individually. Laboratory work emphasizes making careful observations, learning correct measuring and data collection techniques, analyzing data, and discussing errors. Projects each semester enable students to explore how chemistry is relevant to their daily lives.
Prerequisite: Algebra 1
This yearlong course will introduce students to major statistical concepts including collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. The class will progress through four major units: exploring univariable and bivariable data, sampling and experimentation, probability and simulation, and statistical inferences. Students will build their skills in using technology, creating and testing hypotheses, problem-solving, and scientific and mathematical writing. Students who take this course will have the option to take the Advanced Placement test in the spring.
Prerequisite: Algebra 2 and departmental approval
Open to Grades 11-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Advanced Calculus 1 and departmental approval
This course will build on the skills and topics introduced in Advanced Calculus 1 and introduce students to topics including but not limited to various techniques of integration, sequences and series, polar and parametric functions, and an introduction to college-level Calculus III. Students are expected to develop accurate recall of calculus topics previously covered and use multiple representations and mathematical connections in problem solving. Students will continue to learn new terminology and develop an understanding of new symbols in order to represent, solve, and justify the application of higher level mathematics. Students who take this course will have the option to take the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Test in the spring.
Prerequisite: Advanced Calculus 1 and departmental approval
Learners who are interested in earning honors credit are required to complete independently motivated work. This work encompasses tasks using all appropriate modes of communication: interpretive reading, interpretive listening, presentational writing and speaking, and interpersonal speaking. Additionally, learners who wish to earn honors credit will be held to higher expectations on assessments.
Prerequisite: French 3 and departmental approval
This course is a continuation of French 3. Learners will examine the history, contemporary life, art, and culture of the French-speaking world, while reinforcing and building upon the skills developed in levels 1-3. This course uses authentic literature and film to expose learners to diverse Francophone perspectives. Learners are expected to make cultural comparisons, participate in individual and group analysis, and draw conclusions about historical and current events. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves fully and spontaneously in paragraph-length language on a wide variety of everyday topics as well as topics of personal or general interest. Learners will be able to formulate and support hypotheses, make arguments, and sustain narration in multiple time frames. Students will be able to negotiate meaning in a wide range of unfamiliar contexts with confidence.
Prerequisite: French 3
This course is a continuation of French 2. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in French 2 and engage in the target language with greater ease. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves in increasingly complex sentences on a variety of everyday topics, topics of personal interest, and studied topics. Specific structures that learners will acquire include what they should/could/would have done, what they would/could/should do, as well as expressing counterfactuals, necessity, opinions, and feelings. Learners will be able to comfortably negotiate meaning in a range of unfamiliar contexts.
Prerequisite: French 2
This course is a continuation of French 1. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in French 1 and engage in the target language with greater ease. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves in complete sentences on a variety of familiar topics. Specific structures that learners will acquire include: what they were doing or used to do and what they will do.
Prerequisite: French 1
This course serves as an introduction to the French language through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of the year, learners will be able to talk about very familiar topics: themselves; the weather; their likes, dislikes, and preferences; their families and homes; their favorite pastimes and hobbies; what they did over the past weekend as well as what they are going to do over the next weekend; and what they want to do versus what they can or must do. Learners will develop the ability to negotiate meaning in unfamiliar contexts.
Learners who are interested in earning Honors credit are required to complete independently motivated work. This work encompasses tasks using all appropriate modes of communication: interpretive reading, interpretive listening, presentational writing and speaking, and interpersonal speaking. Additionally, learners who wish to earn Honors credit will be held to higher expectations on assessments.
Prerequisite: Spanish 3 and departmental approval
This course is a continuation of Spanish 3. Learners will examine the history, contemporary life, art, and culture of Spain and Latin America, while reinforcing and building upon the skills developed in levels 1-3. This course uses authentic literature and film to expose students to Spanish and Latin American perspectives as well as the importance of Spanish in the United States. Learners are expected to make cultural comparisons, participate in individual and group analysis, and draw conclusions about historical and current events. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves fully and spontaneously in paragraph-length language on a wide variety of everyday topics as well as topics of personal or general interest. Learners will be able to formulate and support hypotheses, make arguments, and sustain narration in multiple time frames. Students will be able to negotiate meaning in a wide range of unfamiliar contexts with confidence.
Prerequisite: Spanish 3
This course is a continuation of Spanish 2. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in Spanish 2 and engage in the target language with greater ease. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves in increasingly complex sentences on a variety of everyday topics, topics of personal interest, and studied topics. Specific structures that learners will acquire include what they should/could/would have done, what they would/could/should do, necessity, opinions, and feelings. Learners will be able to comfortably negotiate meaning in a wide range of unfamiliar contexts.
Prerequisite: Spanish 2
This course is a continuation of Spanish 1. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in Spanish 1 and engage in the target language with greater ease. By the end of the year, learners will be able to express themselves in complete sentences on a variety of familiar topics. Specific structures that learners will acquire include what they were doing or used to do and what they will do. Learners will continue to develop the ability to negotiate meaning in unfamiliar contexts.
Prerequisite: Spanish 1
This course serves as an introduction to the Spanish language through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of the year, learners will be able to talk about very familiar topics: themselves; the weather; their likes, dislikes, and preferences; their families and homes; their favorite pastimes and hobbies; what they did over the past weekend as well as what they are going to do over the next weekend; what they want to do versus what they can or must do, as well as developing the ability to negotiate meaning in unfamiliar contexts.
Open to Grades 10-12
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Latin 3 or equivalent
ECE Course: CAM 3102: Topics in Advanced Latin
This course will look at historical writings about the science of Ancient Rome spanning from the Roman republic to the late Roman empire. Students will be required to annotate, rather than simply translate, texts to demonstrate their understanding of the material and to ask questions about the material. Topics will include ancient art and mosaics, sundials and the keeping of time, and architecture.
Prerequisite: Latin 3 or equivalent
This course is a continuation of Latin 2. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in Latin 2 and engage in the target language with greater ease. By the end of the year, learners will be able to read and understand increasingly complex sentences and will be able to comfortably negotiate meaning in a wide range of unfamiliar contexts. Novellas will explore topics in mythology and Roman history.
Prerequisite: Latin 2
In Latin 2, students begin to go deeper with their Latin language skills, learning more challenging and sophisticated grammatical concepts. Learners will build upon the structures they acquired in Latin 1 and engage in the target language with greater ease. Students are assessed through reading novellas of increasing length and difficulty, and explore.
Prerequisite: Latin 1
This course will explore the legacies of colonialism using Albert Memmi’s framework from the book The Colonizer and the Colonized. Students will investigate the social, cultural, and economic impact of Colonialism on the present day with a specific focus on Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Students will develop an understanding of colonialism and its lasting impact on a nation politically and economically.
Human society has always looked for answers to big questions: Why am I here? What is my place in society? How should I behave toward others? What is the nature of good and evil? This course introduces students to tracts of moral and political philosophy from Aristotle to Nussbaum. Ethical reasoning is applied to an examination of contemporary issues such as bioengineering, human rights, social justice, our relationship to the natural world, and the obligations of citizenship. Students will be encouraged to use what they are learning as a framework to develop and support their own opinions on these topics.
This course will introduce students to systems of social inequality in the United States. We will investigate the structural, interpersonal, and social dimensions of oppression. Course materials will explore the ways that sexism, heterosexism, and racism have developed over time as well as the ways they impact each of us every day. Students will develop language, tools, and skills to create positive social change.
In this course, we will explore together the relationship between literary works and their film adaptations. What is lost, gained, or transformed as the story’s voice changes its form? How do characters and images change when we encounter them on screen instead of on the page? As film continues to demonstrate new possibility for narrative, how might we observe and articulate the different choices authors and directors make to engage us in their art? By studying the terms and techniques used in each medium, students will be able to analyze, appreciate, and imitate the techniques and talents of authors and directors alike. Past texts have included The Color Purple, Atonement, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, The Joy Luck Club, Never Let Me Go, and The Orchid Thief, among others. Texts under consideration for 2023 include If Beale Street Could Talk, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Namesake, and Rabbit Hole, among others.
Offered Fall 2023
