Upper School Courses

The courses below give the name of the course, the academic year students can take the course, whether it is a full-year or one-semester course, course prerequisites, course description.

Creative and Performing Arts

(1 unit required for graduation)

The offerings of visual art, music, and theater concentrate on mastery, competency, skill acquisition, creative problem solving, criticism, and discipline. The arts help to build self-respect, self-reliance, and cooperation among the students and possess the power to motivate. One of the goals of the arts is to produce aesthetically literate students through imaginative, energetic, and resourceful teaching.

Visual Art
• Exploratory Art Swing Studio (11-12, YR-1.0, Prerequisite: Beginning Art or Studio Art): The course allows students to benefit from the strengths of a cooperating team of art teachers, as the students rotate to different teachers for instruction in stained glass, pottery, textiles, jewelry making, graphic design, and photography. Students are required to have a beginning art or studio art course prior to taking this class.

•International Art (10-12, SEM-0.5): In this course, students learn about the wonders of art around the world through a variety of hands-on projects. They study different cultures and pieces of art produced in various countries and develop an awareness and appreciation of other cultures and their art.

•Studio Art (9-10, SEM-0.5): The course introduces students to a variety of art techniques, styles, media, materials, and art history.

•Beginning Art (9-10, YR-1.0): This course introduces students to a variety of art techniques, styles, media, materials, and art history. Emphasis is placed on working from direct observation and is recommended as a prerequisite for Intermediate Art.

•Intermediate Art (10-12, YR-1.0, Prerequisite: Beginning Art Recommended): The course is for students who want a diverse art experience at a more advanced competency level. Students study a variety of art media and styles. The course allows students to develop a portfolio exhibiting a mix of techniques, drawing from direct observation as well as more complex themed works. This course is recommended as a prerequisite for Advanced Art and AP Studio Art.

•Advanced Art (11-12, YR-1.0, Prerequisite: Intermediate Art recommended): This course is for students who want a diverse art experience at a more advanced competency level. Students study a variety of art media and styles. The course allows students to develop a portfolio exhibiting a mix of techniques, drawing from direct observation as well as more complex themed works. This course is recommended as a prerequisite for AP Studio Art.

•AP Studio Art (10-12, YR-1.0, Prerequisite: Intermediate Art or Advanced Art recommended): This is a college-level course in the visual arts. Students may submit for review by the College Board any of three AP portfolios, 2D-Design, 3D-Design, or Drawing. By the end of the year, students have completed at least 24 works that illustrate their competency in a variety of art styles and media and display a concentration in a related style, medium, and theme.


Performing Arts - Music
•Band (9-12, YR-1.0): The course is designed to expose students to advanced-level music skills, with the intent to foster and develop goal setting, time management, rehearsal etiquette, performance practices, personal and group responsibility, and to instill a desire for life-long learning.  Students may choose concert band, pep band, guitar ensemble, string orchestra, percussion ensemble, and/or woodwind and brass ensemble.

•Chamber Choir (10-12, YR-1.0, By Audition Only): The class is designed for experienced vocal students who are interested in serious choral studies. They perform in winter and spring concerts and at other opportunities that promote choral studies at USJ. The students in this class will participate in all regional and state vocal events for which they qualify.

•Ninth-Grade Choir (9, YR-1.0): This course is recommended as a prerequisite for Upper School performance classes. Students review the basics of music theory and prepare for auditioned ensembles.

•USJ Singers (10-12/YR-1.0, By Audition Only): The class is designed for students interested in performance, as it prepares them to give performances that are dynamically presented, widely appealing, and significant to both the performers and listeners.  Students learn a variety of standard choral literature as they increase their vocal skills. The students in this class will participate in all regional and state vocal events for which they qualify.

•AP Music Theory (10-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This is a college-level course that develops a student's ability to recognize, understand, and describe the basic materials and processes of music that are heard or represented in a score. They will master the rudiments and terminology of music, including notation, intervals, scales and keys, chords, metric organization, and rhythmic patterns, along with more advanced material.


Performing Arts - Theater
•Acting (10-12, YR-1.0, By Audition Only): The course is designed to provide students, with a sincere interest in acting, instruction involving technical skills and expertise for college auditions and performances.

•Introduction to Theater (9-12, SEM-0.5): The course provides students with an overview of theater techniques and gives them an understanding and appreciation of theater as an art form. Acting, stagecraft, and theatrical history are emphasized.

•Speech (9-12, SEM-0.5): The course is designed to teach and develop a student's public speaking skills. Emphasis is placed on the importance of public speaking and the fundamentals of speech, speech preparation, and presentation.

Computer Science

(1/2 unit required for graduation)

•Accounting (9-12, SEM-0.5): The course introduces the students to the basics of accounting by showing them various forms of accounting techniques used by businesses. Students learn to complete the general journal, trial balance, six-column worksheet, income statement, statement of change in owner's equity, general ledger, closing entry worksheet, and the post-closing trial balance.

•Computer Applications I (9-12, SEM-0.5, By Departmental Approval): The course introduces and reviews the various uses of computers and the PC platform. It is designed exclusively for students who are new to the Upper School and have not had a computer class prior to entering USJ. Students who did not earn a 76% year-end average upon completion of USJ's 8^th grade computer literacy program will be required to take this course.

•Integrated Computer Applications II (9-12, SEM-0.5, By Departmental Approval): The course provides students with an understanding of advanced components of Microsoft Office. Students who have taken Computer Applications I or have satisfactorily completed the Middle School computer literacy program, with at least a 76% average, are eligible to enroll in this course. It is not intended to be a comprehensive course covering the PC platform. 

•AP Computer Science (10-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Approval): The course is designed to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to that of an introductory college course in computer science. It includes an in-depth study of algorithms, data structures, design, and abstraction as they relate to computer science curriculum studies.

English

( 4 units required for graduation)

•Literature and Composition (9, YR-1.0): This course emphasizes a genre study of prose, poetry, and nonfiction. Writings of American, English, and Continental European authors are studied. An extensive grammar review and vocabulary study is included. Students write a research paper.

•Literature and Composition – Honors (9, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): The honors class is designed for students who have demonstrated a deep, abiding interest in and commitment to the study of literature, and who have met the necessary criteria for admittance. Honors studies may include writing longer papers in response to a more in-depth study of challenging topics. Students write a research/analysis paper.

•Survey of American Literature (10, YR-1.0): This course concentrates on composition and the further study of grammar. A chronological study of American literature with emphasis on classical literature is studied. Students write an analysis paper.

•American Literature – Honors (10, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): The honors class is designed for students who have demonstrated a deep, abiding interest in and commitment to the study of literature, and who have met the necessary criteria for admittance. Honors studies may include writing longer papers in response to a more in-depth study of challenging topics. Honors students write an analysis paper with multiple primary sources.

•Survey of British Literature (11, YR-1.0): This class concentrates on critical, expository, and research writing, offered through a chronological study of British literature. Grammar is studied as deficiencies surface in the writing. Students write an annotated bibliography.

•AP English Language (11, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This honors course is designed to prepare students for the AP English Language exam. Students read extensively from a variety of styles and authors. Emphasis is placed on studying writing styles and the language of British writers. Students enrolled in AP English Language are expected to begin work on an annotated bibliography as preparation for writing a thesis the senior year. 

•Survey of World Literature (12, YR-1.0): This course prepares students for college freshman composition and emphasizes expository, critical, and research writing. Writing assignments are based on a chronological study of masterpieces in world literature, outside readings, and on personal experience.

•Modern Literature (Romantic-Post Modern Lit.) (12, YR-1.0): This course prepares students for college freshman composition and emphasizes expository, critical, and research writing. Writing assignments are based on thematic studies literature written in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
•AP English Literature (12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation, Prerequisite: AP English Language): This college-level, honors course prepares students for the AP Literature exam. Students do extensive study in literary style, including narrative technique, literary devices, irony, and tone, with an emphasis on titles that have appeared frequently on past AP tests. Students will be expected to complete the writing of the thesis.

Foreign Language

(3 units of same language required for graduation)

French
•French I (9-10, YR-1.0): The course is designed to teach students the basic skills of listening, speaking, writing, and reading as a beginning course in French.  Cultural traditions and contributions are presented.

•French II (10-11, YR-1.0): The course continues the study of the language that began in French I. It offers a greater depth of study in speaking, listening, structure, vocabulary, and idiom.

•French III (11-12, YR-1.0): The course seeks to develop a greater appreciation for the culture and heritage of the French language. Emphasis is placed on advancing fluency in both the spoken and written language.

•French III – Honors (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): The course presents a more intensive study of grammar and vocabulary than does French III. Selected literary works are read and analyzed.

•French IV – Honors (12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This honors course explores advanced usage of the language in both its spoken and written forms and includes selected literary works, essays, and discussions. A primary goal is the understanding of advanced structure of the language.

Spanish
•Spanish I (9-10, YR-1.0): This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Spanish grammar and vocabulary through the study of the basic skills of listening, speaking, writing, and reading. Students will explore the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries throughout the world.

•Spanish II (10-11, YR-1.0): Students in this course have a greater in-depth study of the basic skills of the Spanish language. There is a continued emphasis on oral skills.

•Spanish II – Honors (10-11, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This honors course is designed for students who have a sincere desire to become fluent in Spanish and to continue their study of the language beyond the three-year requirement. It will provide students with the opportunity to explore the content of the second year course more extensively and at a faster pace. After the transitory first quarter, students will be required to use only the target language in the classroom.

•Spanish III (11-12, YR-1.0): This course seeks to develop a greater appreciation for the culture and heritage of the Spanish-speaking countries. The knowledge of grammar is reviewed and expanded.

•Spanish III – Honors (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): Similarly to the college-prep course, emphasis is placed on advancing fluency in both the spoken and written language. Selected literary works are read and analyzed in the honors class.

•AP Spanish Language (12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): Throughout the course, work continues on structure and vocabulary, with a strong emphasis upon oral work and composition. The understanding of advanced structure of the language is a primary goal. Selected literary works, essays, and discussions help prepare students to take the AP exam in the spring.

History and Social Studies

(3 units required for graduation)

•World History (9, YR-1.0): The course examines the growth of modern civilization, emphasizing the interrelationship of political, economic, social, and intellectual factors. Emphasis is placed on developing reading skills and preparation for essay examinations.

•American Government (10-12, SEM-0.5): Students complete an in-depth examination of the American political system from local to national levels.

•Economics (10-12, SEM-0.5): This course studies various economic systems in the world today, with an emphasis on the American free enterprise system.

•AP European History (10-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This college level course embraces the political and historical approach to the study of Europe from c.1450, integrating history as context and methodology. The course focuses on three interrelated themes: political and diplomatic, intellectual and cultural, and sociological and economic.

•United States History (11, YR-1.0): This survey of American history concentrates on Reconstruction to the present. The chronological study is organized around a political framework, but also explores economic, social, diplomatic, and cultural developments.

•AP United States History (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This college-level course covers American history from discovery to the present and includes a chronological presentation with emphasis on political, economic, cultural, and social influences. Extra readings and the study of historical documents are included to prepare for the AP exam.

•Contemporary U.S./World Issues (9-12, SEM-0.5): This course examines the forces that shape the modern world.

•Psychology (9-12, SEM-0.5): The course serves as the introductory component to the study of why people behave, feel, and think as they do. Students study the history of psychology and identify the methods for examining behavior and mental processes.

•World Religions (9-12, SEM-0.5): In this class, students will gain an understanding of the basic development, doctrine, and practices of the major world religions. Students study major religious traditions and some new religious movements. 

Mathematics

(4 units required for graduation)

•Algebra I (9, YR-1.0): Fundamental algebraic skills are taught in this course, including solutions of elementary equations, inequalities, and functions.

•Algebra I – Honors (9, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): All of the topics of Algebra I are covered in more depth. In addition, functions, graphing, quadratic equations, probability, logarithms, binomial expansion, and trigonometry are taught.

•Geometry (10, YR-1.0): Students are taught a Euclidean plane and solid geometry course, with more emphasis on application than found in a traditional course.

•Geometry – Honors (10, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): Besides the standard Euclidean course, students are taught formal logic and abstract deductive thinking. Students are also taught a full quarter of analytic geometry, including families of curves, conic sections, rotation of axes, and transformations.

•Algebra II (11, YR-1.0): This course involves a thorough study of the algebra and geometry of first and second degree equations, followed by an introduction to exponential, logarithmic, polynomial, and trigonometric functions.

•Algebra II and Trigonometry – Honors (11, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This course is an intense study of elementary functions and their properties. In addition, theory of equations, transcendental functions, sequences, matrix algebra, circular functions, polar coordinates, and probability are covered.

•Algebra III (12, YR-1.0): This course is a continuation of topics begun in Algebra II, plus an introduction of topics in college algebra and trigonometry.

•Pre-Calculus – Honors (12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This is the terminal course for the non-AP student. It covers trigonometry, sequences, probability, fundamental statistics, exponential functions, and an introduction to calculus.

•AP Calculus (12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This AP course covers all of the topics of two semesters of college calculus, including differentiation, related rates, curve sketching, finding extrema, integration, infinite sequences, elementary differential equations, areas, and volumes. 

Science

(3 units required for graduation)

•Biology (9, YR-1.0): Biology, required for graduation, is the study of life at various levels of organization. The course examines the processes and structures found within individual organisms, the diversities and similarities among the earth's life forms, the interaction of these life forms with one another and with their environments, and man's role as the dominant life form in the biosphere.

•Biology – Honors (9, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): The course examines life at all levels. Students first become aware of and begin to understand the biochemistry occurring in living cells, such as the chemiosmotic theory and the role of photosystems in photosynthesis. A major emphasis is placed on the genetic material of living cells – DNA. Students will not only be able to understand its importance in heredity, but will also gain an understanding of how it controls cellular function. Structure as it relates to function will be studied at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. In addition, an emphasis on ecology helps students prepare to become knowledgeable world citizens.

•Chemistry (10-11, YR-1.0): Required for graduation, this laboratory-oriented course deals with atomic structure theories, periodic properties of the elements, weight relationships in chemical equations, the chemistry of electrolytes, the Kinetic Theory, gas laws, chemical kinetics, and electrochemistry. 

•Chemistry – Honors (9-11, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This course, which uses a college textbook, covers laboratory safety and apparatus, measurement, atomic structure, periodic table, stoichiometry, solution stoichiometry, gases, thermochemistry, acids and bases, organic chemistry, nuclear chemistry, and chemical reactions that include precipitation, acid-base, and oxidation-reduction reactions.

•AP Chemistry (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This college-level course is for students who have demonstrated outstanding ability in Chemistry Honors. The course, based on the expectations of the College Board, covers atomic structure and periodicity, bonding, liquids and solids, solution chemistry, chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, acids and bases, applications of aqueous equilibria, spontaneity, entropy, free energy, electrochemistry, and coordination chemistry.  College textbooks are utilized in this course.

•Anatomy and Physiology (11-12, YR-1.0): The course explores the structure and function of all systems and stresses the interaction of systems to support and maintain a complex individual. Current research and community resources are used to enhance learning.

•Ecology (11-12, YR-1.0): The students in this course study the fundamentals of ecology.  Individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems are discussed. Students explore contemporary ecological problems and evaluate possible solutions. Current events and research are incorporated to help students become better world citizens.

•AP Environmental Science (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This AP course is the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science. It provides students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand the natural world. Students are taught to identify and analyze environmental problems, both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them. Students conduct labs to explore the concepts being studied.

•AP Biology (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): This course is the equivalent of a two-semester college introductory biology course taken by biology majors. Underlying themes include science as a process, evolution, energy transfer, continuity and change, relationship, technology, and society. College-level laboratories enhance learning.

•Physics (11-12, YR-1.0): A graduation requirement for the class of 2009, the course studies the fundamental concepts and principles of physics and stresses skill development in the collection of experimental data, data analysis, and reporting. Topics include motion, energy, vector analysis, matter, the properties of sound and light, electricity, magnetism, and nuclear reactions.

•Physics – Honors (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation): The class is a systematic introduction to the main principles of physics and emphasizes the development of problem-solving ability.  Students need a strong mathematics background and an ability to work within small groups or individually. Topics covered will include mechanics, thermodynamics, fluids, electricity and magnetism, waves, optics, and an introduction to nuclear physics.

•AP Physics (11-12, YR-1.0, By Departmental Recommendation):AP Physics is the equivalent of a first-year college course. It is a comprehensive introduction to physics that prepares student for the spring exam, covering all topics in both classical and modern physics. Strong math and analytical skills are needed for success in this course.