The Fine Arts
The Fine Arts includes art, drama and music. In each area there are common outcomes - the student is involved as creator, performer, historian, critic and consumer.
Art
Students have an opportunity to explore a range of two-dimensional projects using a variety of mediums. Each project given will allow students to explore their creativity through an art challenge as they work through the design process from planning to final art piece. Mediums students will be able to work with include pencil, charcoal, pastel, paint, ink, collage and print making.
Students will also be using both traditional and non-traditional three-dimensional materials that could include papier-mâché, clay, metal, textiles and mixed media. Emphasis is on basic design elements, creativity and craftsmanship. The process of art-making with these mediums will be emphasized through a series of art challenges. The course will provide an opportunity for exploration and discussion of sculptural practices.
Drama
Students will develop skills in acting, improvisation, movement and speaking as well as learn the history and context of theatre. Interesting areas of study will be stage fighting, monologues, short scenes, drama games, tableaux, and so much more! Be prepared for lots of fun!
Students will also study the many elements that go into staging a successful production, such as sound and lighting design, makeup, visual media, set and prop construction, and stage management.
Music
Grade 7 Band
Grade 7 band allows students the opportunity to play a wind instrument, and explore more exciting and challenging music throughout the year. Instruments included will be flute, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, baritone, French horn, trumpet, and tuba. Students focus on proper playing positions, skill development, and basic musical concepts. There will be a variety of performance opportunities throughout the year.
Grade 8 Band
Grade 8 band will continue to develop wind instrument skills. They will also have access to the percussion instruments, at the discretion of the band director. They will explore more exciting and challenging music, including popular songs and movie music. Students will learn music history and more complex music theory. There will be a variety of performance opportunities throughout the year.
Grade 9 Band
Students will continue to develop their musical skills and knowledge. Music will become more challenging and cover a wide variety of musical genres. Students will be taking a more in depth look at music history and theory. Instruments included will be all wind instruments (brass and woodwinds) as well as percussion. There will be a variety of performance opportunities throughout the year.
Career and Technology Foundations
Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) provides project-based learning experiences designed to help students explore their talents related to occupation-specific knowledge and skills related to five career clusters: business, communication, resources, technology and health/human services.
CTF - Financial Management
Grade 7 -
Students are introduced to foundational financial concepts and terminology with opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding in individual and group tasks. Students will learn about Credit Cards, Money Borrowing, Interest, Savings, and more. Students will explore the Junior Achievement module "Dollars With Sense" throughout the course. If you are interested in how to set yourself up for financial success, look no further!
Grade 8 -
Students learn more of the entrepreneurial side of Finance with the class focus on business. Students start by exploring the role of advertising: what makes an advertisement effective, and why do companies need to advertise. Students will learn about a variety of entrepreneurs and how to start a business. The final project for this class is a Dragon's Den start-up, where students work in groups to plan and produce a product or service with the intent on trying to market it in the school.
Grade 9 -
Students prepare for their financial future through monthly budgets, analyzing post-secondary education opportunities, and determining potential careers. This class helps students prepare for what lies ahead of them when they enter adulthood and their high school years. In addition, there is a Stock Market Simulation put on by Junior Achievement where students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of investing. Lastly, students will learn how to market themselves and apply for jobs.
CTF - Communication
Digital Photography 7, 8, 9
Students will improve their technical knowledge and learn techniques to use digital cameras in a variety of projects. They will learn elements of photograph composition, portrait taking, how to best photograph landscapes, and a variety of effects. Photography effects we will work with include practical effects, in-camera effects and digital manipulations. As students develop skills from one grade to the next, the program focus shifts more towards gaining experience with the many functions of Photoshop and the creativity that it facilitates. Students will also create portfolios and learn to display their work in various forms.
Film Studies 7, 8, 9
Students will develop the ability to think critically about films in terms of content and context, filming techniques and theme through analysis and evaluation. Students will also explore film creation and editing techniques using cameras and video editing software.
Fashion Studies 7, 8 and 9
Students will learn sewing and pressing techniques, about the selection and care of fabric, and how to use a variety of sewing equipment. Students will be encouraged to determine their own personal style in designing and deciding on the types of projects they will create based on their skill level. Students will also have the opportunity to explore knitting, crocheting, quilting, making soft toys, making clothing, bags and other accessories. Students will be able to look at the role of the fashion industry historically, sociologically and economically on our world and the increased use of technology both in the making of textiles and directly in the garments themselves.
Publishing (Yearbook) 8,9
Students will engage in the digital design process and learn how to navigate an online publishing program with the end goal of creating West Ridge’s yearbook. Students are assigned specific yearbook pages and work collaboratively to craft page layouts that appeal to the eye, showcase school photographs with the strongest composition, and tell the story of our school year in a thematic way. Students also engage deeply in the editing process by self-editing their assigned pages and those of their peers, as a means of modeling the actual publishing process.
CTF – Human Services
Food Basics 7
Students will create basic meals from recipes that can be easily made at home; and that are both quick and nutritious. Students learn safe and sanitary food handling procedures, equipment care, comprehension of recipes, and the importance of efficient cleaning habits. Students also work with basic knife skills and handling of raw meat.
Baking Basics 7
Students will develop and demonstrate an understanding of traditional and contemporary baking. Focus will be on basic measuring techniques, preparation methods, role of ingredients, proper use of equipment for baked goods, and efficient cleaning habits. Lab activities are selected to provide students with the opportunity to prepare a variety of baked goods at the basic level.
Snacks & Appetizers 8
Students will work to create a variety of snacks and appetizers that are centered around social events. They will learn more about the presentation of food and how to make food visually appealing. Students will ultimately learn how to make a variety of edible arrangements and garnishes that look and taste amazing.
Cultural Foods 8
Building off the skills learned in Grade 7, students will be creating dishes from the countries/regions that they study in Grade 8 Humanities. These include Renaissance Europe, the Aztec Empire (modern day Mexico), and Japan. Students will be working with a variety of rare and exotic ingredients with origins to these countries and regions.
Advanced Foods 9
Students will be working on two major components in this course: the five Mother Sauces and preparing a 3-course meal. They will demonstrate their level of creativity and precision by making common variations of each Mother Sauce. Students will also be learning more advanced cooking techniques and recipes that prepare them for the culminating “Iron Chef” competition.
Advanced Baking 9
Building off the skills learned in previous grades, students continue to develop and demonstrate an understanding of traditional and contemporary baking crusts, doughs, and cakes. Students will be working extensively with pies and cakes, learning various piping and decorative techniques that encourage creative and delicious baking. Students also demonstrate their learning with the culminating “Cake War” competition.
CTF - Technology
Construction 7, 8, 9
Students experience a skills-based approach to learning how to build a variety of projects. In this course students will develop appropriate tool safety as well as knowledge on how to best utilize a given tool. Students new to the program begin with hand tools. As they progress students have the opportunity to work with a full selection of power tools. Students personalize plans to align with their own interests and build skills towards developing their own projects from scratch. Some larger projects or specific materials could require an additional cost to students.
Robotics 7, 8, 9
Students learn how to design and build robots to complete a variety of tasks and challenges using LEGO-based kits. Additional concepts explored include engineering principles and planning strategies, effective troubleshooting and problem solving methods, and mechanical systems that complement a robot’s abilities. We also discuss the role robots play in our daily life, where our relationship with technology is heading, as well as the increasing possibilities for automation in our homes.
Environmental and Outdoor Education
EnvOE is an activity-based course that provides opportunities for in-depth practical studies and experiences. It is designed to give students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, build knowledge about environmental studies, and experience outdoor pursuits.
Environmental and Outdoor Education 7
In Grade 7 we will be focusing on introducing students to a variety of seasonally focused outdoor activities and developing their skills as outdoor enthusiasts and future leaders. Some of the topics we will be exploring are: bike mechanics, first-aid skills, meal planning, trip preparation, orienteering, animal tracking, winter survival skills, leave no trace, and environmental footprints. This course will involve a variety of activities both on and off campus. The only prerequisites are having a positive attitude and showing a willingness to try new and exciting outdoor activities.
Environmental and Outdoor Education 8
In Grade 8, we will focus on foundational skills that improve student awareness of natural environments, build outdoor leadership skills and support students in develop their own environmental perspectives. Some of the topics that we will be exploring are: wildlife safety, protected areas, first-aid, endangered species, overnight meal planning, cooking with camp stoves, orienteering, snowshoeing, winter ecology, and winter shelters. This course will involve a variety of activities both on and off campus. The only prerequisites are having a positive attitude and showing a willingness to try new and exciting outdoor activities.
Environmental and Outdoor Education 9
In Grade 9 students will learn advanced skills that will allow them to have safe, comfortable, and active outdoor experiences while developing them as outdoor leaders. Grade 9’s will practice these skills on field trips and while exploring bike mechanics, first-aid, trip preparation, meal planning (backcountry vs. front-country), cooking with stoves, navigation skills, geocaching, knots & ropes, snowshoeing, avalanche awareness, and winter survival skills. This course will also have an overnight winter camp. The only prerequisites are having a positive attitude and showing a willingness to try new and exciting outdoor activities.
Second Languages
French 7
Students will explore and engage in the French language through a variety of diverse activities. Through the use of skits, presentations, brochures, videos, posters, etc., students will study the topics of weather, school, and people in the community. These activities will integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will be exposed not only to language and grammar, but to culture and language learning strategies.
French 8
Students will engage in projects that build on their previous French language experience. Students will learn about clothing, food, animals, and create projects to demonstrate their learning through the use of presentations, videos, scripts, posters, and brochures. In this interactive class, students will integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing, and be exposed to French culture throughout the term.
French 9
Students explore topics such as sports and sports injuries, home design, and communities (urban, rural, community businesses, services, and clubs). These units of study are covered in an interactive, hands-on environment that focuses on acquiring and perfecting language skills. Students will extend their knowledge of grammar, verb conjugations and tenses, as well as enhancing their vocabulary. French culture will continue to be a focus, as well as holidays and celebrations.
Locally Developed Courses
Power Up Your Learning 7, 8, 9
This class is ideal for students who require extra time and support to complete assignments from their core classes. In this class students will identify and strengthen the focus of their learning goals. They will learn how to use their learning
preferences and strengths as a learner. Students will participate in small group and/or individual instruction of new strategies to support their personal learning style, including organizational skills, study strategies, remedial math, reading, and writing. Students will learn to evaluate their own work and make adjustments to improve understanding and performance. They may also find how to access assisstive technologies that can support their learning. In addition to these skills, they will learn how to apply generic and subject-specific strategies to improve their learning across the curriculum.
Students will be given time for reading, studying, and polishing work from other classes. When appropriate, students will be provided opportunities for deeper exploration of goal setting and creating action plans that support their goals.
Leadership / Service 7, 8, 9
Student leadership and service development is integral to developing positive school culture, that teaches students the power of collaborative teams, and that focuses on the betterment of communities. These leadership and service experiences help students to understand that leadership includes both the ability to lead and to follow.
In Leadership / Service 7, 8 and 9 students will explore, apply and model leadership competencies in service of their class, school and larger communities.