糖心Vlog

Introduction to Engineering Design - will only be offered in fall trimester, available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, requirement: ECLIPSE (if student arrived in 3rd form) 

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Introduction to Engineering

 

This trimester-long course allows students the opportunity to have a taste of what being a design engineer is really like. This largely project-based experiential course introduces the spectrum from aesthetics to performance in design decision making, before leading students through a series of design cycles mimicking the processes typically encountered in engineering industry using industry-standard tools. Individual and group projects will teach computer-aided design (CAD) and finite element analysis (FEA) software by walking students through the creation of a radio-controlled airplane design and conceptualisation of a deployable bridge for humanitarian applications, culminating in a competitive physical testing process to find out how much weight each 3D printed bridge prototype holds before destruction. This course is perfectly suited to young students looking to turn design thinking and curiosity into a future career.

Economics Textbook:
Principles of Economics 9th Edition, N Gregory Mankiw
ISBN: 978-0357038314

Economics - 5th and 6th formers

A full-year course in Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, with Microeconomics covered in the first half of the year and Macroeconomics covered in the second half. The year will begin with basic concepts in economics, including opportunity cost, production possibilities, frontiers, and analysis of the margin. Topics in Microeconomics include supply and demand, elasticity, taxes and surplus, externalities, costs, the theory of the firm, and the labor market. Topics in Macroeconomics include growth and GDP, inflation and CPI, saving and investment, unemployment, money and banking, exchange rates and currency, and aggregate supply and aggregate demand in an open economy. Discussion of pertinent current events and elements of personal finance will regularly complement the principles studied. The subject matter of economics relies heavily upon mathematics, and this course will present necessary economic content while also giving the mathematical concepts the attention they deserve. Understanding how to work with equations and being able to draw accurate graphs are skills integral to this course. In situations when calculus would be useful, those concepts will be introduced with and without a calculus perspective. Thus, no prior knowledge of calculus will be necessary.

Design and Editing for Literary/Arts Publications

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Design and Editing for Literary/Arts Publications

Design and Editing for Literary/Arts Publications is a course designed to teach the fundamentals of magazine production to new editors appointed to the editorial staff of The Talon. All new editors will be introduced to the basic principles of design (e.g. proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast) and the use of typography in desktop publishing with Adobe Creative Cloud with an emphasis on Photoshop and InDesign. Editors will help solicit works of art and literary content for the magazine and will assist in managing review boards to select works for publication. Through review sessions, new editors will be taught how to use artistic criteria to evaluate digital and film photography, graphic art, and other artistic works through composition and visual storytelling. New editors will shadow and collaborate with senior editors to learn the art of literary evaluation and the editing of poetry and prose with authors. Permission of the instructor required. Those interested in taking “the Talon” should speak with Mr. Wright before submitting course selections.

Introduction to Philosophy: The Examined Life (Fall)

Textbook
Books to Be Determined and billed to families

Is it possible to "know" anything for certain? What makes an action right or wrong? Does the "self" exist, or are we just a collection of memories and atoms? This course invites students to delve into the "Great Conversation" that has shaped human civilization. Over the trimester students will explore the branches of philosophy including logic, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and political theory. Using the perspectives of philosophers, students will be challenged to think critically and clearly about their previous assumptions. By the end of the term students will be able to identify and evaluate formal and informal logical fallacies, articulate different ethical frameworks, construct a persuasive argument and critically analyze primary texts.

Journalism

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Journalism

Journalism introduces students to the fundamentals of print and multimedia journalism, with a deep focus on reporting and writing. 

During most periods, the classroom will function as a traditional “newsroom,” where students will collaborate in producing The Oracle. Taking on specific “beats,” students will pitch ideas, report from the field and write newsworthy stories, campus dispatches, profiles, opinions and columns for the newspaper. 

Through hands-on practice, students will build a foundation in essential reporting skills, like asking effective questions, conducting interviews, gathering compelling quotes, writing with clarity and making sound news judgement. They will learn to report stories with accuracy and fairness, meet “deadlines” and write using frameworks best suited for the story they are trying to tell. 

A central component of the course will ask students to build up a “news diet” by following the work of one professional journalist of their choosing, from local sports reporters to war reporters. In a weekly “press circle,” we will talk candidly about how our reporters structure stories, build authority in their beats and adjust to the changing media landscape. 

Additional units may explore podcasting, short-form video, opinion writing, investigative reporting and narrative storytelling. For those who are specifically interested in sports broadcasting, there will be time set aside to work with Mr. Campbell to develop production and video skills needed to participate on the WFSPN team.

This class is open to old boy fourth, fifth and sixth formers, and new boy fifth formers. The course is designed to be taken as a year-long elective. If students are only able to take the class for two trimesters, they may do so after consultation with the teacher. Journalism is well-suited for students who are interested in taking an active role in The Oracle and WFSPN.

Health: (F, W, or S)

The Health and Wellness class at 糖心Vlog is meant to be an introduction to many facets of health as they relate to an individual boy’s definition of wellness. Throughout the course of the class, we will discuss the dimensions of wellness with specific emphasis on physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and sexual wellness. Because of the multidimensional and interconnectedness of health, we will also touch on cultural, environmental, financial, intellectual, and occupational health.