This list is intended to give everyone an idea of what's coming next term! Classes are entered in the order they're received. The board will try to balance what is proposed across the periods. Being on this list doesn't indicate board approval, final approval of classes will happen after the proposals due date. If you see a need, please propose something or talk to friends about filling in the gap!
Spring 2024
| Class Name | Description | Ages | Teacher |
| Anatomy Vocab, Body Systems, and Dissection | In this class we will learn the vocabulary to describe the human body and anatomical movements with lots of active practice. We will then learn about the major body systems. The class will conclude with two weeks spent on fetal pig dissection. The materials fee of this class is high to allow for the purchase of a dissection kit for each student. If two students would like to share a kit, the fee will be reduced to $30 each. | 11-18 | Megan Tarchichi and Abby Kuftic |
| Silly Books and Games | Come listen to silly picture books and play games! We will play a variety physical games like Simon Says, board games like Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel, and age-appropriate jigsaw puzzles. There might even be a stuffy or two! | 4-6 | Colleen Wedler, Shannon Konek |
| Fun with Felting | Come enjoy the magic that is wool felting. This class will cover both needle felting and wet felting. We will make projects such as a wet felt geode, flat needle felted scenes, a needle felted three-dimensional creature, and a felt patch. We may even try to make a wet felted bowl! There will also be time to make your own creations using the techniques we do in class. | 10-18 | Cosette Cornelius-Bates |
| Short Stories | Delve into the world of short fiction in this discussion-based class, featuring a survey of classic and modern short stories from around the world. Practice your analysis and critical reading skills through group discussions and activities while broadening your literary horizons. Some out of class reading will be required. | 12-18 | Allison Johnson, Jessica Rudmin |
| Shakespearean Tragedies | Experience some of history's most famously tragic figures in this class focusing on Shakespeare's Macbeth, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. We will utilize both modern and original translations of The Bard's works, with a combination of in-class and out-of-class reading. | 12-18 | Allison Johnson, Jessica Rudmin |
| Entomology | In this class we will explore what entomology is and why it is important to study insects. We will cover taxonomy and classification of the major orders, study anatomy, collecting techniques, applied entomology topics and the importance of museum collections. Students will be expected to conduct some at home observational experiments, log findings on iNaturalist app and listen to assigned podcasts. Class will involve lecture and discussion, as well as hands on activities. | 12-18 | Deborah Denovich |
| Rachel Carson Book Club | Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" sparked the environmental movement in the 1960's. In this class we will read a chapter or two of "Silent Spring" each week and discuss the science and issues raised. Students will be expected to read the material ahead of time as assigned and be prepared to participate in discussion. This will be a discussion based class with some hands on activities relating to environmental science and chemistry. | 12-18 | Deborah Denovich |
| Ballroom Dance Club | Let's learn some basic social dancing! We will learn the basic steps of a variety of Standard (foxtrot, waltz, ...) and Latin/Rhythm (merengue, cha cha, mambo, swing...) style dances. Each week we will focus on one or two dances, practicing what we learned and adding new steps. No dance experience required, just try something new and have fun! Class is open to students who have taken the class before to practice their dance skills, pick up new steps and refine technique or just to have fun dancing. | 12-18 | Deborah Denovich, Rachel Meyers |
| Speak Up: Public Speaking Made Easy | Talking in front of others can be challenging; nearly 75% of people have a fear of public speaking! In this interactive and student-led class, we, Luna and Jack P, plan to create a low-stakes and encouraging environment where we will go through how to write a speech, how to deal with anxiety around public speaking, and different speaking techniques. This class is suitable for people with any experience level, so don’t be afraid to join us! | 13-18 | Rachel Meyers Carey Parkin |
| Say, Sing, and Listen (for older kids) | This class will be all about having fun and getting comfortable with interaction skills. Students will sing songs and act out motions together. We might dance, make noise, dress up, and speak in silly voices. We’ll use a friendly and fun format to practice making short presentations including introducing ourselves. We’ll talk about how to be a good audience with skills like listening with our eyes, asking questions, and knowing when to applaud. This class is for students 7-10 yrs old with a special welcome to anyone who thinks they’d be too nervous to speak in front of others. That’s what this class is all about. Having fun and getting comfortable with our voice! | 7-10 | Maralynn Jacoby, Kendra Williamson |
| Say, Sing, and Listen (for younger kids) | This class will be all about having fun and getting comfortable with interaction skills. Students will sing songs and act out motions together. We might dance, make noise, dress up, and speak in silly voices. We’ll use a friendly and fun format to practice making short presentations including introducing ourselves. We’ll talk about how to be a good audience with skills like listening with our eyes, asking questions, and knowing when to applaud. This class is for students 4-7 yrs old with a special welcome to anyone who thinks they’d be too nervous to speak in front of others. That’s what this class is all about. Having fun and getting comfortable with our voice! | 4-7 | Maralynn Jacoby, Kendra Williamson |
| Earth Science and Natural Disasters | In this hands-on class we'll learn about how rocks are formed, where mountains come from (how old are the Appalachian mountains anyway?), what happens when tectonic plates move (tsunamis! earthquakes!), and how the physical environment affects humans. (Can YOU engineer an earthquake-proof building?) | 9-12 | Jaime Horst |
| PALS is Putting on a Play! | The PALS Play is back after a five-year hiatus! This class is for anyone interested in being in a full-length production (approximately 60 minutes): from those who love to be center stage to new actors who just want to try out a small part. All experience levels are welcome. Anyone who signs up for this class will have a part that they will be responsible for memorizing. Regular practice at home will be a necessity for the students to be prepared to perform after just ten weeks of practice. The play will be performed at Share Fair on December 11. We are looking forward to putting on a great show! | 10-19 | Holly Schnur, Abby Kuftic |
| Collage Art | Let’s explore the wonderful world of collage art! This hands-on class with give students a chance to explore everything from tearing and cutting paper, mixing textures, and vision boards to photomontage, mosaics, and decoupage. Everyone will get a chance to unleash their creativity to compose unique and expressive masterpieces. | 7-12 | Mary Crago |
| Movement and Music | In this class we will explore movement and fundamental musical concepts. Each week we will play games, do activities, and read a book together to develop social, musical, and listening skills. All are welcome. Please reach out to discuss specific adaptive needs of your child. | 4-6 | Kate Fuller |
| Zentangle Art for Teens | This hands-on art class requires no previous art experience. If you can doodle, you can Zentangle! Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create interesting artwork. Each week we will focus on a new technique and add to our growing portfolio of unique creations while hanging out with peers. | 13-18 | Jess Pedersen |
| Fairy Tale Science | Have you ever wondered how a wolf could possibly huff and puff and blow down a house? Or perhaps you have wondered how a delicate glass slipper could withstand a evening of dancing? In this class we will look at fairy tales and conduct experiments to determine the science behind the fairy tale. Every week we will read a different fairy tale, conduct an experiment, and do other hands on activities related to our tale. | 5-8 | Noel Medici and Kirstin Swenson |
| Imaginative Play Turned Into Stories | This class will be a free imaginative play based class for the first half of each hour. Hopefully, kids will have fun creating their own characters and deciding on plots and adventures for those characters to have. Then we will settle in for the second half and kids will have the opportunity to draw/write out what happened in their imaginative play to make it into stories/books. Children do not yet have to be writing on their own to participate in this class. If they are preliterate, teachers will take the dictation of their stories to add to the pictures they make. | 4-13 | Becky Ashkettle |
| Basketball | In this class, we will be playing full court basketball. We will focus on learning by playing (rather than by doing drills). Kids at all skill levels are welcome. The idea is to find ways for everyone to participate, improve, get some exercise, and have fun! | 12 and up | Ryan Mills and Ted Block |
| Wings of Fire Club | This student led class will be all about the dragons from the Wings of Fire universe. We will discuss the books, do dragon related arts and crafts, and some dragon centric creative writing. | 8-12 | Jennifer Sherrill |
| Creative Writing | We will work on our creative story-writing skills using prompts and discussions about writing. We will use prompts from the book “Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly” by Gail Carson Levine. Students should have at least basic sentence-writing skills. They may choose to hand-write or bring a laptop/ipad to type or do voice-to-text if that is their preference. | 7-12 | Zoe Weaver |
| Wild Weather | We will be exploring the wild world of weather! This class will involve reading books, watching videos, doing experiments, and art projects involving weather and storms. | 6-10 | Zoe Weaver |
| Board games | We will play a variety of board games according to the children’s interests. These games could include Zeus on the loose, sushi go, taco v burrito, chess etc | 6-9 | Lotte Bell and Sarah Fawaz |
| Mixed Arts and Crafts | We will be exploring many art mediums each week according to kids’ interests . These will include paint, collage, sculpture, mixed media, etc. | 6-9 | Lotte Bell and Sarah Fawaz |
| Ridiculous Writing | In this class, we will explore the glorious tradition of ridiculous writing—writing that violates the laws of good sense, good grammar and good taste. We will try our hand at writing plays for an impossible theater (i.e. plays that would be impossible to perform), develop stories so silly they will peel every banana within a twenty mile radius, and generate patriotic poems by extracting images from the dreams of mice. For inspiration, we will also sample some of the most ridiculous texts ever written—stuff like Tristan Tzara’s The Gas Heart and James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Minimal reading and writing skills necessary. (There will be three adults in the classroom to help take dictation from kids that would prefer to compose orally.) But all students should ideally know how to fly a helicopter. | 10 and up | Ryan Mills |
| Protest Art | Protest Art is the collection of creative works created by activists or social movements to speak out or try to enact change. Learn the history of this art and the many forms it has and can take, and then try your hand at making protest art of your own. This class will be part history class, part art studio, and will include discussion and critical thinking. | 13-18 | Becky Spevack, Cosette Cornelius-Bates |
| Printmaking | Come play with printmaking with us! In this class we'll try out a variety of methods and materials for making prints... we'll try block printing, monoprints, and using found objects, to create prints on paper, cardboard, fabric, wood... Our prints will become wall art, wearable art, and functional objects! | 9-16 | Jaime Horst & Cosy Cornelius-Bates |
| Potions | Create bubbling, fizzing, colorful, smelly, tasty, beautiful potions! This hands-on class will focus on creating one concoction a week. Sometimes we'll be learning about chemical reactions, sometimes combining ingredients to make tasty treats, and sometimes working on making colorful artistic creations. No matter the focus, our activities will always involve combining ingredients to create a liquid with special properties! This class may get messy. | 8-13 | Steph Sorensen |
| Dinosaurs! | This class will be a hands-on class. Each week we will have a different Dino-themed activities (math, literature, science). | 4-7 | Toma Martin and Jennifer Sherrill |
| Drawing Club | Drawing what you want while chatting with friends and listening to music. | 10-13 | Theresa Stadt |
| Cardboard City | Design and construct "buildings" for a fictional neighborhood, while collaborating with each other to plan the community. | 9-13 | Theresa Stadt |
| Geography Club: Islands of the World | Geography Club: Islands of the World! Take a trip around the world each week in Geography Club! We will learn Geography concepts by exploring specific islands of the world, from the highest peak in New Guinea to the unique animals of Madagascar that live nowhere else on earth! We will create our own island nation using our new map skills and share our creations with the class. Class will involve brief readings about the Island of the week, group discussions, hands-on activities, map exploration, and geography games. | 8-12 | Jess Pedersen |
| Harry Potter Storigami | We will be exploring the wizarding world of Harry Potter with origami and snippets of our favorite tales (no spoilers!). Students should have a basic idea of paper folding and the ability to listen and follow instructions, both verbal and visual. | 8-13 | April Lechwar |
| Dog Man Comic Club | Learn to draw: We'll break down the key features of Dog Man, Flippy, Petey the Cat, and other characters into simple shapes and lines. You'll practice drawing techniques and explore your creativity to create your own Dog Man adventures. Write your own stories: Become a comic book author! Craft a hilarious story starring Dog Man and his crew. Learn the basics of comic book storytelling, including creating panels, dialogue bubbles, and sound effects. Discuss: Ask and answer questions about Dav Pilkey’s story telling style and cultural impact. | 7-11 | Katy Frey |
| Beatnik Poetry | Learn about poetry lingo, different kinds of poetry styles, and hear a variety of poems already written to inspire kids to write their own poems as a form of expression. This is meant as a learning and creative space in the beatnik coffeehouse fashion. Writing skills are not required but strongly encouraged. So grab a beret, practice your finger-snapping, and join in some poetry fun. | 9-12 | Amelia Moya |
| My Excellent Collection | There are lots of reasons people collect things - enjoyment, preserving memories, creating bodies of knowledge. Regardless of why you collect, if you consider yourself a collector, this class is for you! Part show and tell, part history, part arts and crafts, we will explore our own personal collections, learn about collections around the world and what they can teach us about different topics, and make some crafts to help display our treasures. | 7-11 | Becky Spevack |
| Gym | In this class we will be focused on non traditional sports. Dodgeball, 4square, capture the cone, and general horse play. No horses were or will be harmed in the making of this class. | 10 and up | Ted Block |
| Clay Play | This class will explore one of the most versatile art materials: CLAY! Kids will get their hands on some clay and learn how to pinch, coil, and sculpt so they can make their own creations. Projects will include figurines, pots, beads, and trinkets with hidden compartments. | 6-10 | Mary Crago |
| Maker Lab | In this class, kids will get creative with various materials and art techniques. From paints and pipe cleaners to cardboard and even a little bit of science, kids will create their own unique masterpieces. Projects include cardboard monsters, woven rainbows, agamographs, and sensory dough. | 4-6 | Mary Crago |
| Dungeons and Dragons | Play Dungeons & Dragons! Open to both new and experienced players. Practice roleplaying, math, social problem solving, collaborative storytelling, turn taking, listening, and teamwork. Players make characters and choose an adventure to take together. Addition, reading, and writing skills are helpful. This is a cooperative game, with no PVP. | 8-13 | Rebecca Torbochkin, Andy Medici, Jessica Rudmin |
| Money Matters | Explore the world of money through board and card games and play-based activities. Get some practice using money and get your money questions answered, like how do I pay at a restaurant? Why is money green? What is a tip? Where do prices come from? Discover what goes into buying and selling things, making money, using banks, and more. | 8-12 | Rebecca Torbochkin, Katy Frey |
| Nature Club | This class will focus on exploring our local flora & fauna through hands-on crafting, building, and, observation. We will take a walk around the neighborhood or take a trip to the park if needed for the days activity. Projects will include bird feeders, nature journaling, sun prints, and flower pressing. | 6-10 | Mary Crago, Chris Sheridan |
| Driver's Ed | This class will help aspiring drivers pass the test to get their permit. Teens who already have a permit won't get as much or if the class, as there won't be a hands on driving portion. | 14 and up | Ben Meyers |
| Intro to sewing | Hands on learn to sew class | 8-18 | Kat mostowy, Melissa Jennings |