James Bowie H.S. – 9th Grade Elective Course Descriptions
2017-2018
Fine Arts Courses
Art 1: This course lays the basic foundation for learning art processes, procedures, theories, history, and art judgment. The approach is experimental in use of materials (drawing, painting, printmaking, fibers, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, photography) but structured to provide students with a strong foundation in design, drawing, and vocabulary.
Adv. Arts 1*: This course explores the basic foundation of the art process, procedures, theories, history and art judgment. This is an advanced Art I class designed for students with two or more years of middle school art. Students will experiment with different materials (drawing, painting, printmaking, fibers, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, photography).
Theatre Arts Courses
Theater Arts 1: An introduction to Theatre Arts. This year-long, activity-oriented course is designed to introduce students to the art of theatre while tuning the students into their bodies and voices and building upon their creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills and developing their abilities in collaboration and college and career-readiness.
Adv. Theater Arts 1: A year-long advanced foundational class is designed for students that have theatre arts experience from middle school. Advanced Theatre I provides opportunities for students to develop skills in critical listening and thinking, as well as stage presence, ensemble work, and aesthetic awareness. Advanced Theatre I is students’ opportunity to really focus on characterization of performance, building their vocal tools, experiment with movement, and gaining confidence in their stage presence. A student must audition in April to be placed in this course.
Technical Theater 1: An introductory course covering the basic concepts in technical theatre, which includes terminology associated with the theater and the safe use of tools and machinery. Design units include: lighting, sound, costumes, props, publicity, stage make-up and scenic design.
Theater Production 1: This year-long after school class is designed for students planning to participate in the after-school productions of Starlight Theatre Company as an actor or technician. Students are highly encouraged to take an academic Theatre Arts or Technical Theatre course in conjunction with Production I. This course meets outside regular school hours for rehearsal (typically 4:30-6:30 p.m.), technical workdays (Wednesday afternoons and some Saturdays), and performance blocks. Required: documentation of rehearsal or workday hours turned in every 6 weeks.
Musical Theater*: This year-long introductory course explores the fundamentals of song analysis technique in the preparation of music theatre repertory for performance. Emphasis on song preparation, song selection, finding your voice and character, and acting the song. Basic music skills and singing experience are highly recommended but NOT required.
Instrumental Music Courses:
Freshman Band w/o Marching*: Freshman level Concert Band. One class period.
Freshman Band with Marching*: Students enrolled in Marching Band, with exception to Color Guard members, must be enrolled in a WIND ENSEMBLE or FRESHMAN BAND as well. This course has a large amount of outside school day and weekend commitments. We do not rehearse at school because of facility shortage, so transportation to and from is vital.
Chamber Winds: This course is offered to students in all grade levels. This course concentrates on small chamber assessment and individual performance technique. Students must be enrolled in a WIND ENSEMBLE in order to be considered for this class.
Classical Guitar 1: A course designed to teach the basic concepts of music through performance on guitar. Students will need to provide their own steel-string acoustic guitar to work with in class.
Color Guard 1*:An audition based course that includes beginner/intermediate ballet, modern, and jazz dances, as well as flag technique. Students perform in football games, competitions, and winder guard. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! Audition in November and May. Counts as a Fine Arts credit.
Percussion 1 with marching*:This course is offered to students in all grade levels who are percussionists from their previous middle or high school. Students must be enrolled in a WIND ENSEMBLE and MARCHING BAND in order to be considered for this class.
Jazz Band*: Explore all genres of Jazz music all the way from swing to bebop and fusion. Wind players must be in band as well. Students will audition on their instrument during the spring semester for the future fall placement. If they have not auditioned, they must see the Jazz Band Director in order to set up an audition time before they are placed in the class. Students must be enrolled in a WIND ENSEMBLE CLASS in addition to this course. Only exception to this case is if they are strictly a guitar or piano player and do not play a traditional concert band instrument.
Steel Drums*:A trip to the Caribbean every day! No prior experience necessary. Everyone is welcome who has a desire to play music! This course is open to any student on campus. Requirements for the course are prior musical knowledge, and it is preferred that you have played a musical instrument or steel drums prior to registering for the class. There are special circumstances where a student may not meet the requirements, but in that situation the student must set up a time to meet with the Steel Drums Director. There are three sections of this class: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. All 9th grade students should be enrolled in Basic. Any other grade level must have written instruction of class placement from a director.
Piano 1*: In Piano I, students will learn to play the piano, develop music-reading abilities, appreciate music from a wide variety of sources, and apply basic music theory concepts to create songs and musical compositions. No prior piano or musical knowledge is needed to take the class, but students should be prepared to practice diligently on pianos provided at the school.
Sinfonietta Orchestra*: Introductory orchestra. One class period.
Choir Courses
The Bowie Choir Department offers several classes designed to prepare students for a variety of concerts, performance productions, tours, and competitions throughout the school year. Choir students learn to read music, produce a healthy and beautiful vocal tone, and be part of a team of outstanding vocal musicians. To meet the very high standards of the program, students are expected to adhere to strict standards of attendance, behavior, and engagement in learning. Admission requires a meeting with the directors, but is open to all.
Bel Canto Treble Choir (Freshman girls): Introductory Choir, not co-ed.
Varsity Mixed Choir (Freshman boys): Introductory Choir; not co-ed.
Dance Courses:
Dance 1:An introduction to the moving body. Students will learn various methods of stretching, yoga, Pilates, and movement through an anatomy based course. Students will also learn about various cultural dances and dance history. Can be taken for Fine Arts or a PE credit.
Pre-Drill: A course designed for experienced dancers and non-experienced dancers who are interested in learning drill team technique used by the Silver Stars. Consists of jazz techniques and kick techniques, as well as drill team history. Students will perform at the Winter Concert, as well as, the Silver Star Spring Show. Can be taken for Fine Art credit or PE credit.
Musical Theater Dance: Beginning level dance course for students interested in theater arts. Students will learn performance-based movement ideas, as well as dance technique, and musical theater history. Students will performance at the Winter Concert. PE Credit.
PE Courses:
Aerobic & Conditioning Activity: Covers fitness/conditioning, weight training, core workouts, pilates, and yoga.
Individual Sports: Covers badminton, golf, weight training, table tennis, bowling, track & field, tennis, and disc golf.
Team Sports: Covers volleyball, soccer, softball, basketball, handball, ultimate Frisbee, and football.
Aerobic Dance: Instruction in steps and basic movement involved in jazz, tap, ethnic, and modern dance. Students will have the opportunity to choreograph and present a dance using basic movement.
Other Electives:
Computer Science: Students will collaborate with one another, their instructor, and various electronic communities to solve the problems presented throughout the course. Through data analysis, students will identify task requirements, plan search strategies, and use computer science concepts to access, analyze, and evaluate information needed to solve problems. Taught on the Bowie campus as a virtual, online course in conjunction with Garza High School. Please consider students learning styles as this course is unique in its’ delivery and requires students to be self-motivated and adept at learning online.
Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources: Introduction class that will allow students to look at where our food and fibers come from, as well as cover leadership skills, Plant and Animal Science, Small Business, and History of Agriculture. Students will explore careers in the Agriculture industries and gain the skills and knowledge to succeed in the Agriculture Pathway here at Bowie High School.
Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance:Provides a general introduction to the economic, financial, international, social, legaland ethical aspects of business, as well as marketing, personal finance and basic career investigation. Students learn through reality-based individual and group projects, studying current events, online research and running a virtual business simulation.
Business Information Management (B.I.M): In this honors weighted course, students will implement software skills required by colleges and competitive work environments. Students will apply technical skills to create professional documents, develop dynamic spreadsheets, formulate databases, and make electronic presentations using the Microsoft Office Suite.
Journalism 1: Beginning writers, photographers, graphic designers and film makers receive “boot camp” training in journalism field skills, including: blogging and writing articles for news, features, editorial column, entertainment and sports writing. Students also use still and video cameras to record and edit images using state-of-the-art software and technology to create print and online publications.
Photojournalism-Principles of Arts, AV, and Communication: Beginning photographers learn the basics of operating all digital single lens cameras using tripods or hand held techniques. Photographers learn best practices and how to edit still images using state-of-the-art software and technology. Students create professional portfolios that include portfolios, special event coverage, sports action sequences, and abstract and landscape photography for both print and online scholastic journalism publications.
Yearbook-Principles of Art, AV and Communications: Students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in careers in the advertising, communication, and audio- visual industries. With an emphasis on Yearbook.
Air Force Junior Reserve officer Training Corp. (JROTC):This program teaches Aerospace Science, Leadership Education and Wellness. Community Service is an integral part of JROTC. Extra-curricular teams include Marksmanship, Drill, Physical Training, Orienteering, and Rocketry. JROTC stresses the whole-person concept: citizen, athlete, and scholar. There is no military service commitment associated with high school JROTC.
Oral Interpretation I: This year-long, introductory course explores the fundamentals of oral interpretation with self-selected pieces of literature as communication art. Students select, analyze, adapt, interpret, and perform literary in both academic class and tournament settings. First year competitors are required to attend and compete in one tournament per semester.
Debate I: This course involves the introduction to the different forms of Debate and public speaking with an emphasis on Public Forum Debate and Lincoln Douglas Debate. Students will be actively participating in class daily; this is definitely not a lecture course. This class will give students the opportunity to hone their argumentative skills in a structured setting and use them to compete in the classroom as well as for theTexas Forensic Association and UIL events. Attendance at debate competitions is required, so students must be willing to commit to some weekend events.
Fundamentals of Computer Science: This is intended as a first course for those students just beginning the study of computer science. Students will learn about the computing tools that are used every day. Students will collaborate and use computer science concepts to access, analyze, and evaluate information needed to solve problems. By using computer science knowledge and skills that support the work of individuals and groups in solving problems, students will select the technology appropriate for the task, synthesize knowledge, create solutions, and evaluate the results. Students will learn digital citizenship by researching current laws and regulations and by practicing integrity and respect. This course does not count for Language other than English credit.
Computer Science 1: Students will collaborate with one another, their instructor, and various electronic communities to solve the problems presented throughout the course. Through data analysis, students will identify task requirements, plan search strategies, and use computer science concepts to access, analyze, and evaluate information needed to solve problems. Taught on the Bowie campus as a virtual, online course in conjunction with Garza High School. Please consider students learning styles as this course is unique in its’ delivery and requires students to be self-motivated and adept at learning online.
Graphic Design & Illustration 1: Students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in careers in the advertising, communication, and audio- visual industries.
Newspaper-Principles of Art, AV and Communication: Dispatch editors and reporters produce six newspapers in print and online. Job duties include: interviewing sources, writing and editing articles, taking photos, creating graphic illustrations and info graphics, conducting polls and drawing artwork. Typing and basic computer skills required. Staff travels to district, state, and national journalism competitions that support scholastic journalism.
Student Sharing Courses
Akins High School
Concepts of Engineering and Technology: Concepts of Engineering and Technology provides an overview of the various fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and their interrelationships. Students will use a variety of computer hardware and software applications to complete assignments and projects.
Intro to Engineering Design: The major focus of this course is to expose students to the design process, research and analysis, teamwork, communication methods, global and human impacts, engineering standards and technical documentation.
Principles of Information Technology: Students develop computer literacy skills to adapt to emerging technologies used in the global marketplace. Students will implement personal and interpersonal skills to prepare for a rapidly evolving workplace environment. The curriculum will enhance reading, writing, computing, communication, and reasoning skills and prepare students for application of these skills in the information technology environment.
Crockett High School
Principles of Construction: Principles of Architecture and Construction provides an overview to the various fields of architecture, interior design, construction science, and construction technology. Job-specific, skilled training can be provided through the use of training modules to identify career goals in trade and industry areas. Safety and career opportunities are included, in addition to work ethics and job-related study in the classroom such as communications; problem solving and critical thinking; Information Technology Applications; systems; safety, health, and environmental; leadership and teamwork; ethics and legal responsibilities; employability and career development; technical skills; introduction to hand tools; introduction to power tools; basic rigging; and reading technical drawings.
Travis High School
Digital and Interactive Media: Through the study of digital and interactive media and its application in information technology, students will analyze and assess current and emerging technologies, while designing and creating multimedia projects that address customer needs and resolve a problem. The knowledge and skills acquired and practiced will enable students to successfully perform and interact in a technology-driven society.
Principle of Law, Safety, Corrections, and Security: This course introduces students to professions in law enforcement, security, corrections, and fire and emergency management services. Students will examine the roles and responsibilities of police, courts, corrections, private security, and protective agencies of fire and emergency services. The course provides students with an overview of the skills necessary for careers in law enforcement, fire service, security, and corrections.Must take concurrently with BIM.
ASL
Korean