Welcome!

We have posted Fall 2009 class offerings on this blog for your leisurely perusal leading up to the scheduling circus on Thursday and Friday, September 3-4.  Staff pitches are mostly up, as of Tuesday August 25.  Volunteer pitches are being posted as we receive them, and a few other staff classes might trickle in too.  If earning particular high school credits is a goal for you, see the Credit page for some helpful info.

Please review the classes carefully and take time to consult facilitators regarding questions you have about the classes before the scheduling circus so that our time together can be as productive as possible. Leading up to the circus you will have dedicated time to meet with your advisor to ask any questions you may have.

You may find that a review of course descriptions with your parents may help you in this process.

As always, please let us know ways that we can improve this process in the future.

Crafty Cornucopia with the Queen of Craft (Julie Charles)

Needle felting, button making, credit card crafts, soda cap jewelry, etc. — crafteuse extraordinaire (and PSCS alum parent) Julie Charles returns to satisfy your crafty cravings.

Introduction to Object Oriented Programming Using Java (David Purdy)

This class will teach basic object oriented computer programming using the Java programming language. Object oriented programming (OOP) languages are among the most common in wide use today, especially on large scale and commercial software development. The class will teach basic programming concepts, the theory of OOP, and related concepts and design patterns (Model-View-Controller programming, coupling vs. cohesion, encapsulation, etc.). Through a combination of theory and hands-on work writing code, students will learn the basics of what is involved in creating the software we use everyday.

Audio Recording & Engineering (David Purdy)

This class will introduce students to the world of audio recording and engineering. Students will learn the science of sound, how audio is routed and processed in a modern sound system, and recording and engineering techniques including microphone selection & placement, mixing, monitors, and processing & effects. The recording portion of the class will focus on computer based recording systems. Students will work hands-on with sound equipment in class to patch and tune sound systems and create recordings.

Essential Web Development (David Purdy)

This class will teach the foundation of web design and development, including Hyptertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript. The class will introduce the fundamentals of how web pages work, basic graphic design for the web, the client/server model used online, beginning HTML and CSS coding, and modern CSS-based page layout. Students will learn to hand-code basic web pages from scratch using current web standards and best practices.

Introduction to Technical Theatre (David Purdy)

This class will introduce students to the many behind-the-scenes disciplines that make the magic of theatre happen! The class will offer an overview of the various areas of technical theatre, and explore the fundamentals of stage management, set design, technical direction, scenic painting, properties management, lighting design/electrics, and sound design/engineering. Students will have the opportunity to explore theoretically and hands on many areas of technical theatre.

Knitting Workshop (Judy)

This will be a class that meets at least once a week for the purpose of knitting together; it is open to new and experienced knitters alike. Other fiber artists (crocheters, spinners, embroiderers, etc.) are also welcome.

If you are new to the sport of knitting, I will offer lessons in basic stitches, but you will need to come with needles in hand (details below).

One of the first class meetings will involve a trip to a yarn store (within the Ride Free Zone downtown) to pick out yarn for your project, or just to fondle the alpaca and silk if you already have a project in progress. Bring at least $20 if you plan to buy yarn.

The needles I recommend for beginners are Clover Takumi Bamboo straight needles, size 11 (8mm). They are readily available online and at craft and yarn shops with an MSRP of $8.50. Other needles are acceptable, but please make sure they are size 11 for a beginner’s project.

Undulant Fever (Judy)

Flannery O’Connor’s stories of revelation and grace have often been described as grotesque; her response to this was, “I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic.”[1] A native of rural Georgia and a devout Catholic, O’Connor peopled her stories with do-gooders, atheists, conmen, and wayward children.

Fair warning: She wrote during the 1950s and 1960s in the segregated South (O’Connor died in 1964, aged 39), so her stories are peppered with what is now referred to as “the ‘N’-word”.

In this course we will read one story per week from her collection Everything That Rises Must Converge, and we will spend the class time discussing our impressions. We will not be reading in class, so please come prepared.

I expect this class to be a lot of fun; Flannery O’Connor was a master of dark humor, and her portraits of southern life in the mid-20th century are not to be missed.

The text, Everything That Rises Must Converge, is available new for $15 in paperback, and I’m sure you can get it very cheaply at a used book store.

[1] O’Connor, Flannery, ‘Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction’, in Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969), p. 40.

Make it (Scobie)

A chance to build things! This will be an Atelier-style class. What does that mean? It means that as facilitator, I’ll be working on my own projects as a way of instructing and inspiring your project or projects. I’ll help you plan and make the things you want to make, and we can all get help from one another on our projects, and consult each other as we design and build.  If you are hoping to continue the “Tiny Things” class from last year, this is the right place to do that. Or if you’d like to finish the cardboard glider or the Radio Controlled Land Sailers, you could work on those as well (Those projects could involve significant expense, however, so come prepared to spend). 

I need a minimum of two for this activity. I’m open to occasional guest students by permission.  

Cost: $15 and up, depending on projects and materials.

Geometry (Scobie)

One year long. Three times per week. A full high-school credit in Geometry. Need I say more?… well, yes, at least a little bit more. Geometry is amazing, a chance to learn the attractively pure, descriptive language of shapes and structure that are all around us, combined with rule building, which eventually leads to the construction of proofs and the discovery of logic.  Geometry can be thought of as some of the ‘least-math-like’ math you’ll ever encounter, and many of the problems we can solve with Geometry are like games and puzzles and (toward the end of the year when we begin doing proofs), they become almost like miniature court cases.

Folk Music (Scobie & Liana)

Culled from American folk, blues, Irish music and more, this class will focus on learning tunes in a way that prioritizes beauty, harmony, and story telling. Expect fascinating guest artists from time to time, who will teach us their favorite tunes. Acoustic instruments and singers welcome!

This class is listed as having homework, because you’ll have the joyful outside-of-class activity of learning, practicing, and loving the tunes we’re learning: waaaay better than having some commercial jingle or bad pop music trapped in your brain.