It’s that special time of year again filled with indecision and potential regret: course selection. With only four college counselors for the entire Village High School, students can miss out on classes and opportunities they wish they had known about. The most common of these missed opportunities are new classes, many of which The Village School might offer for the 2025-2026 school year (note: the school has the right to offer/discontinue courses if issues apply as these courses are mostly tentative).
First, The Village School has new language levels and second-year IB courses. Spanish and French IV Honors is being introduced for students who have completed the prerequisite III Honors class but do not want to continue to the corresponding IB class or AP Spanish Language. Additionally, Arabic III is being offered as current Arabic II students advance. Also, since they were introduced last school year, IB Global Politics HL/SL and IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) HL will start their second year as rising seniors enter year two of the IB Diploma program.
While only one new core class is coming to The Village School, it is uniquely intriguing. IB Literature and Performance (IB Lit and Perf) will be a new IB interdisciplinary class mixing English literature and the theatrical arts (although it will solely count as an English credit). IB Lit and Perf was launched worldwide in 2022 with its first examination occurring in May 2024. During this SL-only course, students will “Read and analyze a minimum of five literary works, perform scenes from dramatic (play) texts, [and] transform non-dramatic works into performance.” (ibo.org). The Paper 1 is a comparative essay between works studied in class (the same as the IB Literature/Language and Literature Paper 2). While there’s no Paper 2, this is supplemented by an Internal Assessment in addition to the Individual Oral (IO). Students will create a ten minute long transformative performance where they will take a non-dramatic literary extract and turn it into a piece of live theater. More details about the course are on the IBO’s website (ibo.org).
Numerous STEM and Arts electives will also be introduced. Kinesiology and Medical Forensics are both science electives with the former requiring students to have completed a biology class and the latter requiring Anatomy & Physiology (or with permission). Kinesiology is the scientific study of human movement, learning how anatomy, the brain, and other biological components and mechanics work together to create (or limit) movement. Students interested in a future career or current interest in the medical field, fitness/exercise science, or physical therapy/kinesiology might find this class useful to introduce them to these intricacies in human movement. Medical forensics is a delve into how various tactics like witnesses, medical records, and autopsies are used to determine how a person died. This class might be useful for students looking into biological science, forensic science, or criminology as students will analyze case studies and try to find their own solutions through simulated autopsies. The Village School will also be reintroducing some courses including Food as Medicine. This class highlights the biochemistry of food and how nutrition can be utilized in medicine to lead to a healthier lifestyle or potentially prevent disease. Students who have completed Anatomy & Physiology can take this class as a useful elective for majors in biochemistry, nutritional science, or other related biological future prospects.
In addition to these medical electives, three more computer science courses are continuing to expand the department in The Village High School. Advanced Programming for Desktop Applications is an advanced programming course designed in Java. This course will be similar to Intro to Computer Science, covering similar content including loops, methods, and Graphical User Interfaces. However, as a more advanced course, this is designed for more students with prior knowledge in coding. Students must’ve completed Computer Science Foundations II/III in the Village Middle School or receive instructor permission. EYW: Engineering Applications of Computer Science will be reintroduced along with Software Engineering Practices as a brand new course. EYW or Engineer Your World (not to be confused with EYW: Design) shows the application of computation in problem-solving and computation thinking in engineering. Software Engineering Practices illustrates the process of software design looking at various design and architectural models. This course will show students the skills software teams use in developing large-scale software. Due to its advanced nature, students must’ve completed Web Applications, be currently enrolled in IB Computer Science HL, or get instructor permission. This course is also restricted to students pursuing the Computer Science Diploma (along with Intro to Artificial Intelligence). This new diploma will require students to take all of the following classes: Intro to Computer Science (or Advanced Programming for Desktop Applications), Web Applications, AP Computer Science A, and the aforementioned Software Engineering Practices, IB Math, and IB Computer Science. Students must also be enrolled in at least one of the following: IB Physics, IB Biology, IB Business Management, or IB Digital Society.
However, there are also some new courses for humanity’s kids. Business and Professional Skills is being reintroduced as a core semester course for the Entrepreneurship Diploma. This will give students skills to advance their career development such as resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, interview skills, networking, etc. AP African American Studies is an introductory history course focusing on the African American diaspora’s history, culture, and role in American development. Similar to AP US History, the exam will include three Short Answer Questions (SAQ) and one Document Based Question (DBQ). Students will also create an individual research project which will be presented to their class. Along with a question about it on the exam itself, this project totals ten percent of the total AP score. This course covers African American roots going as far back as ancient societies and empires in Africa such as the Mali, Ghana, and Songhai Empires. This continues until the modern century focusing on topics like Black culture in films and theatre.
Speaking of theatre, Technical Theatre is a broad view of theatre teaching students a hands-on experience of the creation of theatre through elements like stage makeup, rigging, and script analysis as well as interdisciplinary aspects of technical theatre. Costume & Prop Design is being reintroduced as an art course in theatrical clothing design. Students will design and create costumes while learning about the complex use of imagery to invoke feelings and the psychology of fashion.
Students who want to learn to invoke feelings through music should take Beginning Instrumentalist. This course is for students who want to play an instrument for the first time. They’ll have the options between flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion, violin, viola, cello, or bass. They will also have to provide for their own instrument. Conversely, AP Music Theory is for students with at least one year in an instrument whether that be at The Village School, outside lessons, or with instructor permission. Students will learn about fundamentals, harmony and voice, and modes and forms. For the AP exam, in addition to multiple choice and free response questions, students will sight sing two melodies.
To find more information, there are several ways you can discover more. You can check the curriculum guide with descriptions of every course, talk to your college counselor or department heads, or look at the IBO’s/Collegeboard’s website for IB Literature & Performance and AP African American Studies/AP Music Theory respectively (or any other IB or AP class). While the Village High School plans to offer these courses, it is not guaranteed and any description is subject to change. If no teacher to teach the class is found or not enough students are interested, the course might be pulled. This happened to AP Music Theory and AP African American Studies for the 2024-2025 year as not enough students enrolled. Additionally, “Sometimes there is interest in the course, but a specific department doesn’t have the capacity to teach it with the other classes the department must offer. Ex) IB Literature and Performance would be a new fine/art English course, but if an English teacher were to teach it we’d still have to be able to cover all of the English sections that students take as English is a core class required for graduation.” (Sara Conroy) The best way to ensure the class you want to take is offered is to sign up for it and ask others to show interest. Showing interest is the best way to show the school that you and many others would take the course so they should invest more into ensuring these courses get offered. While there’s no guarantee, don’t fret. Remember you will have many similar if not better opportunities if you decide to continue onto college. High School is just a time to explore your interests so make sure you decide your courses based on what you like and want to do in the future. May us have a good course selection season with all the classes we want and no regrets!
Reminder about the add-drop period: add-drop will occur solely during the summer and you won’t be able to change your courses once the school year starts. Keep this in mind when choosing your future schedule.
