Non-Departmental Electives

Though dissimilar in content, the following courses are grouped together in order to clarify their place in a student’s overall curricular plan. These classes do not fulfill any department’s graduation requirements. Additionally, not all of these courses are offered every year.

Sexuality and Society Advanced

Building on past studies at Friends’ Central, this one-semester advanced level course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining important topics in human sexuality. Using the lenses of biology, history, sociology, and psychology, students explore the impact of human sexuality on the individual, community, and global society. Grounded in the belief that our sexuality is a force for good, the course explores how healthy sexuality can be used to make the world more just, free, loving, and whole. Practical skills emphasized in this class include: keeping one’s body healthy, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, and making deliberate, informed choices about engaging in sexual activity. Students are guided through the process of creating their own research studies around a question or topic of their choice. This is a one-semester course open to students in grades 11 and 12.

Introduction to Computer Programming

This course is designed to offer an introduction to computer science. Students will learn the basics of computer programming along with the basics of computer science. The material emphasizes computational thinking, helps develop the ability to solve complex problems, and covers the basic building blocks of programming along with other central elements of computer science. It gives a foundation in the tools used in computer science and prepares students for further study in computer science. Topics include: 1) number calculations and data, 2) making decisions, 3) repetition and loops, and 4) graphics.

Advanced Computer Science

This course furthers the ideas learned in Introduction to Computer Programming. After reviewing the basics of variables and data structures, the students will learn about the fundamental ideas of Object Oriented Programming: Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Data Abstraction. The course culminates with a project using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) programming paradigm. Students will demonstrate their understanding with short exercises and larger programming projects. Projects will include encrypting and decrypting secret messages, playing tic-tac-toe, and coding an implementation of mathematician James Conway’s Game of Life. Prerequisite: Introduction to Computer Programming or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to Computer Hardware

Using the Arduino platform students in this class will learn the basics of building and programming computer hardware. Students will learn how both analog and digital circuits work and will learn how to code using the Arduino programming language. Students will experiment with outputs such as LED lights, motors, and speakers and inputs such as buttons, switches, and various types of sensors. The course will be hands-on with students completing projects that blink messages in morse code, sense movement, and more. The class will culminate with a creative project of the student’s choosing. Prerequisite: Introduction to Computer Science, parts 1 and 2 and Advanced Computer Science, or permission of the instructor.