2025-2026 Curriculum

This advanced level course builds on the topics from Biology and Honors Biology with a molecular and structural focus.

In this second-year exploration of advanced chemistry topics, students investigate organic synthesis, drug design and natural products with applications to biochemistry, pharmacology and biotechnology.

In this course, students will build upon the foundation of Chinese IV Honors and will become more deeply immersed into the language and culture of the Chinese-speaking world.

In the Advanced Honors lab sessions, students explore advanced economic concepts such as behavioral economics, Marxism and income inequality.

This course offers the most accomplished seniors advanced literary analysis of representative works of poetry, fiction and drama.

This course is designed for students with highly developed language skills who are interested in continuing to deepen and refine their mastery of French in an advanced seminar format.

Students planning to enroll in this course next year meet with the instructor this spring to select a set of texts they want to explore in Advanced Honors Latin.

Multivariable Calculus takes the concepts covered in single-variable calculus and extends them to multiple dimensions.

In this course, students begin by studying topics in elementary number theory.

This is the department’s most advanced physics course and explores topics in mechanics, electricity and magnetism from a calculus-based perspective.

This course is designed for students with highly developed language skills who are interested in continuing to deepen and refine their mastery of Spanish in an advanced seminar format.

This course is designed for students with highly developed language skills who are interested in continuing to deepen and refine their mastery of Spanish in an advanced seminar format.

In the class, students continue to refine their oratorical skills as well as prepare for specific extemporaneous and prepared events.

This course is designed to explore decision-making at all levels as students explore how individuals and societies manage scarce resources in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants.

Using case studies, this course will explore how biological, psychological and social-cultural dynamics intersect and influence the thoughts and actions of individuals and groups.

This is a non-academic leadership group that meets two periods per cycle for the entire school year.

This course explores the solar system, the life cycles of stars, and the forces that govern celestial motion through experiments, data collection and mathematical modeling.

In this course, students will investigate the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe through experiments, data collection and mathematical modeling.

Biblical Literature takes students on an engaging exploration of the many writings that make up the Bible, covering a wide range of topics including politics, public life, popular culture, religious beliefs and practices, spirituality, race, gender, sexuality, social movements and ethics.

Throughout the course, we will explore different scales of time and space and view human history from various perspectives.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the increasingly important field of biology, covering the core concepts of biochemistry, genetics, natural selection and ecology.

This course is an audition-only, advanced orchestral and chamber music class for string, wind and brass players with four or more years of experience on their instrument.

In this course students will explore limits, derivatives and integrals, and develop the skills necessary to solve problems within these topic areas.

This is an entry-level class that is designed for students’ self-expression, using clay as the medium. 

This course expands on the technical foundation of Ceramics 1 and emphasis is placed on giving the student greater freedom to select a personalized program in ceramics. 

This course is designed for students who are self-directed and committed to their personal expression in ceramics.

This course is a continuation of a student's artistic and technical development with ceramics.

This course familiarizes students with the underlying principles that govern the chemical reactions in our world.

This course is an introduction to Chinese language and culture and, as such, stresses developing Chinese speaking and listening skills in everyday situations.

Building on the skills mastered in Chinese I or Chinese IA and IB, Chinese II is a theme-based course designed to develop students’ communicative skills in handling uncomplicated tasks and predictable transactions in the immediate environment.

This course prepares students to engage and produce paragraph-length discourses on topics relating to the immediate environment and the greater community.

This course continues the work of Chinese III, deepening student’s ability to engage with greater proficiency in each of the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

This introductory choral performance group is open to all upper school students who enjoy singing and would like to improve their singing technique.

This course is an intermediate, audition-only choral ensemble for singers who already read music, have had introductory experience with singing in a choral ensemble, and wish to expand their experiences by continuing to learn and perform.

Students investigate light, waves, motion, forces and energy. 

Students investigate light, waves, motion, forces and energy. Conceptual Physics Enriched covers each topic in more depth and requires a greater degree of student independence.

This class is designed to introduce students to basic construction techniques and elements of costume design.

This course builds on the construction techniques and information learned in Costume Design and Construction I.

This course focuses on the development of introductory theatrical dance vocabulary.

This is an intermediate level continuation of Dance I.

This performance-based course is a continuation of dance technique work.

This performance-based course is a continuation of dance technique work.

This course is an introduction to lens-based media with a focus on both photography and video production.

This course expands on Digital Media I.

This course expands on Digital Media II.

This advanced lens-based media course is designed for students developing their personal portfolio while focusing on an in-depth exploration of photography, filmmaking or interactive art.

Dramaturgy is most easily defined as the process of in-depth literary, historical, sociocultural and theoretical analysis applied to a range of performance types, in order to facilitate the work of the cast, crew and production team.

This course is a hands-on introduction to building and understanding electronic devices.

English I is a writing-intensive course that asks students to read a variety of literary texts through a writer’s perspective, building foundational skills in literary analysis.

Building on the skills taught in English I, this course teaches students how to read increasingly complex and challenging texts actively, closely and analytically.

English III is an American literature course with a focus on three overlapping categories: immigrant experiences, stories of self-invention and dissenting voices.

We consider Shakespeare’s plays for their philosophical value, ethical ambiguity, political prescience and the probing of themes such as leadership and loyalty, race and gender, love and friendship.

This semester course delves into environmental issues through a California-centric perspective.

This semester course offers a comprehensive examination of environmental issues through a global lens.

Who are the heroes upon whose actions depend the fates of tribes, nations, even the human race? You’ll meet them in Epic Epics.

In order to engage in conversations about gender and equality, one must be skilled in reading and interpreting the stories that have shaped many of our views on women.

The students in this course will explore the complex relationship between food, culture, the environment, and social justice. 

From DNA analysis and blood spatter patterns to firearms analysis and fingerprinting, this course introduces students to areas of biology, chemistry, and physics that are applied in analyzing evidence found at a crime scene.

French I is a foundational language course.

Building on the skills mastered in French I or French 1A and 1B, in this course students further develop their proficiency in the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

This course continues to build on the skills acquired in French II.

In this course, students expand on the knowledge acquired in previous courses and incorporate new strategies that improve their skills across all four language modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing), through a variety of readings, films, writing activities, role play situations, in-class discussions and oral presentations.

This year-long course provides an overview of full stack web development.  

This curriculum includes various introductory level activities related to fitness.

This semester-long study of major issues affecting the world today offers students a global overview of political, economic, social and cultural issues that are shaping their future.

The health curriculum is designed to encourage active student involvement in the development of a healthy lifestyle.

This semester-long study of major issues affecting the world today offers students a global overview of political, economic, social and cultural issues that are shaping their future.

This course explores the dynamic interplay between Afro-American artistic, academic and literary works, situating them within the historical context of their creation.

This course expands the broad introduction to computer science offered by Software Development and Applied Computer Science, providing a general background for further study in the field.

This course will consider the phenomenon of pre-modern empires by exploring three different ancient examples (Persia, China and Rome).

This course delves into the expanding realm of machine learning and artificial intelligence at various levels.

Students in this course will trace the scientific development of the atomic bomb, begin to understand how its usage and proliferation affected world culture and history, and investigate the role that nuclear weapons continue to play in the 21st century.

This advanced course is rigorous, fast-paced and equivalent to a first-year college biology course and is taught with a college textbook.

Building on the advanced algebra work completed in Precalculus, this is a college-level course on differential and integral calculus, but not including power series. 

Building on the advanced algebra and introductory calculus topics covered in Precalculus Honors, this is a college-level course on differential and integral calculus.

This course provides the structure, in-depth support and rigor to develop an advanced art portfolio.

This course emphasizes laboratory investigation and making connections between seemingly disparate topics within chemistry, applying our students’ understanding of the physical world formed in physics to chemistry while refining a strong foundation in chemistry for application to biological systems.

This course covers the material of Chinese III in greater depth and at an accelerated pace.

In this course, students expand their proficiency across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

This course is an audition-only mixed choral ensemble for the more serious singers who already read music, have had experience with singing in a choral ensemble, and wish to expand their experiences by learning and performing more advanced repertoire.

This course explores the rich diversity of political systems in our world.

This advanced dance class requires dedication and openness to trying many new styles of dance as the students work with guest teachers and choreographers to further expand their world dance horizons.

This is an advanced, interdisciplinary course that expands on the skills learned in Digital Media III/IV, focusing on photography, filmmaking and interactive digital art.

This course is designed to give the students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the science of decision making.

This accelerated, college-level, year-long course offers a survey of American literature organized thematically to assure student exposure to a variety of voices, styles and genres.

This accelerated, college-level, yearlong writing course explores how literature and rhetoric work, collectively and respectively.

In this course, students expand their proficiency across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

In this course, students expand and deepen their ability across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

In this course, students study Classical Greek, beginning with the alphabet and ending with reading of authentic and unadapted texts from ancient Greece.

Latin III Honors serves as a bridge course between the textbook-based learning of grammar in Latin II and the extensive reading of ancient texts in Latin IV Honors: Caesar and Vergil.

The primary focus of Latin IV Honors: Caesar and Vergil is the prescribed syllabus for the AP Latin examination.

This course offers students an opportunity to delve deeper into musical understanding through exploring music through the components of reading (sight-singing), writing (composition), analysis and performance.

The questions, “What is God? Does God exist? What does it mean to believe in God?” are investigated against the background of modern philosophy and theology through instruction in a variety of media.

Honors Physics is a challenging, college-level, non-calculus-based physics course which is designed to investigate fundamental principles of physics.

This course offers a more in-depth exploration of protests and social movements within the United States.

This course explores the behavior and mental processes of human beings through the lens of various subfields of psychology.

In this course, students expand their proficiency across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

In this course, students expand and deepen their ability across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

This college-level course introduces students to the discipline of statistics as a science of collecting, understanding and analyzing data.

This course teaches in depth ways in which process, experimentation and revision impact the creation of art.

This is an honors-level audition-based course for the serious acting student.

This course is for serious technical theater students who wish to continue their development as theater technicians and artisans.

This course examines the constitutional background of the United States government, as well as its institutions, political beliefs, political parties, interest groups and civil rights issues.

This college-level course explores United States history from precolonial times to the modern era with an emphasis on the political, economic, social and cultural forces that have given shape to the nation.

This year-long course will trace the intellectual, cultural, scientific and philosophical history of post-medieval Western civilization.

In this class students perform and improvise over standard repertoire with a focus on scales and rhythmic devices, chord/scale relationships, standard harmonic progressions, and fluency in reading rhythm.

Students with four or more years of experience on saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano, bass, drums or strings, with an interest in jazz, contemporary repertoire, and improvisation, are encouraged to enroll in Jazz III/IV.

In this course, students learn and practice core concepts in journalism: principles, news gathering and reporting.

This course combines the material covered during the two years of middle school introductory Latin.

This course continues with the introduction to Latin grammar and vocabulary begun in Latin I or Latin IA/IB by building upon student knowledge of nouns and adjectives and adding a core understanding of Latin verb forms and mood constructions.

Latin III extends the foundation laid down in Latin II by completing the survey of Latin verb constructions, with particular focus on the subjunctive mood.

This course provides a basic introduction to the patterns and processes found in marine systems and the relationships between living things and their marine environment.

Students are introduced to functions and function notation as they explore linear equations, inequalities and systems as well as exponential functions both graphically and algebraically.

Math 3E is problem-centered and more demanding, considering a greater number of problem types, moving at a faster pace, and providing less instruction and support before homework on any given topic is assigned.

Math 4 is the second course in the integrated Algebra I/Geometry/Algebra II sequence with introductory work in trigonometry.

Math 4 Core covers most of the topics in Math 4, focusing on the fundamental concepts and working at a more moderate pace.

The unifying subjects for this course of advanced algebra and geometry are straight lines and the figures they produce − polygons and polyhedra.

Math 5 is the third course in the integrated Algebra I/Geometry/Algebra II sequence.

Math 5 Core covers most of the topics in Math 5, focusing on the fundamental concepts and working at a more moderate pace.

This course completes the study of advanced algebra and geometry begun in Mathematics 4 Enriched and prepares the students for Precalculus Honors.

In this course, we explore the functions and failures of memory through stories.

Mock Trial is a non-academic activity that gives students the opportunity to develop critical thinking, public speaking and teamwork skills.

This survey course examines the history of Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe from the 19th century to the present day.

Narrative Fiction is a study of short fiction. This course aims to read, experience, consider, interrogate, create, share and respond to brief works of fiction.

Optimal Performance is an in-depth functional training program.

Students in this interdisciplinary course learn and practice the two essential approaches to drama − close reading of text and performance on stage.

This is a non-academic activity that meets once per cycle for the entire school year.

This course introduces students to modern and contemporary poetry in all its forms while paying heed to the great poets and poems of the past.

Precalculus is a full-year course covering a rich array of concepts and challenging exercises designed to develop problem-solving and reasoning abilities in a wide range of areas.

This course prepares students for the Calculus course by continuing the concepts from Mathematics 5 Core through the study of functions and logarithms.

This honors version of Precalculus completes the study of advanced algebra topics begun in Mathematics 5 Enriched.

In this course, students build critical communication skills through research, preparation and delivery of persuasive speeches.

This course is about discovering how you can be engaged in the work of transformative justice.

This year-long course provides students with a solid foundation in software development using Python.

Spanish I is a foundational language course.

Building on the skills mastered in Spanish I or Spanish IA and IB, in this course students further develop their proficiency in the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational).

In this course, students will engage in a thorough review of the fundamentals of Spanish I and II, with the aim of improving their communicative proficiency across a range of time frames (past, present and future) and across all three communicative modes (interpretive, interpersonal and presentational).

In this course, students expand on the knowledge acquired in previous courses and incorporate new strategies that improve their skills across all four language modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing), with a particular focus on speaking and writing.

This course connects students to art making in a powerful way.

This course builds on the students’ understanding of drawing and painting while challenging the use of mixed media and process oriented art. 

The primary goal of this course is to foster the development of emotional intelligence and critical thinking through art.

This course enables students to take their artistic expression to the next level in their chosen expression in studio art and assemble a strong body of work to use towards college applications and visual art exhibitions. 

The American West will compare the myths and realities of life on the frontier between 1865 and 1920.

A study of the Holocaust focused on the moral and religious dilemmas it raises for Jews and Christians.

This class is an applied philosophy course that uses the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 as a way of connecting pressing contemporary issues with a broad range of philosophical ideas and controversies, drawn from multiple traditions and many centuries.

This course provides a basic foundation in theater arts, and sets the stage for more advanced high school theater performance courses.

This course builds on the foundation laid in Theater Arts I with additional study of historical periods and cultures.

This course provides an opportunity for students to build upon their knowledge of theater developed in Theater Arts I and II.

In this course, students continue to cultivate the skills learned in previous theater classes.

This course offers students hands-on training in the behind-the-scenes world of performing arts productions.

This course continues the hands-on element of Theater Production I, with students continuing to further their knowledge and expertise in all areas of theatrical production.

This course provides an opportunity for students to build upon their knowledge of technical theater developed in Theater Production I and II.

In this course, students continue to cultivate the skills learned in previous technical theater classes.

This course examines the political, economic, social and cultural developments that have shaped our nation.

This course provides an opportunity to question what it means to write as a woman and to celebrate expression and voice in the female literary tradition from the 19th century to today.

In this largely student-led activity, students produce The Bishop’s School annual, "El Miradero."