Welcome back, member families, to the High School Co-op, and welcome to our new members. Some exciting developments have been in the works over the summer!
--Our new name: Although we will no doubt continue to refer to it as simply “Co-op,” in order to identify our group publicly, we have adopted the more specific name, “Dundas Valley High School Co-op.” Got a ring to it, doesn’t it?
--Our new location: As our new name indicates, we are still based in Dundas but have moved to St. Paul’s United Church at 29 Park Street West--just a few blocks from our previous location. St. Paul’s provides us with larger facilities and the option to add more courses to our schedule to accommodate, we hope, all students who would like to participate in Co-op this year.
--Our new ID cards: All Co-op students will receive a photo ID card, and parents will receive a faculty card upon request. These cards will be useful for ID purposes in a number of situations, including obtaining student or teacher discounts. We will let you know when we will need your photos e-mailed to us for the cards.
A few details about this coming semester:
--The annual Canoe Trip is scheduled for September 15-18. Get geared up!
--Semester 1 classes will run on Thursdays from September 23 to December 9.
--Course selection should be made by e-mail with the registrar, Ms. Larin: theshire@cogeco.ca
--Registration forms and semester fee of $75 per family must be received by mail by September 7.
--All course fees are payable to the instructors on the first day of class.
Please see your registration e-mail for more details.
First semester course offerings:
9:00 – 10:30:
Art(8:30-10:30)--James Tughan
This class is ideal for beginners as well as advanced art students. James Tughan will teach basic gesture and contour line drawing technique, the use of colour and chiaroscuro, bas-relief constructions, all with attention to imagination and metaphor. James describes his classes as non-threatening, playful, imaginative and purposeful.
Current Issues: Christians and Pop Culture--Ben Bowman and Irene Pypker
Is popular culture like a weed that needs to be trimmed and burned or like a tomato plant that needs to be cultivated and pruned to produce fruit? This course aims to help students understand the role Christians play in their relationship with popular culture and mainstream media. Two main attitudes of Christians to pop culture have historically been mindless acceptance and blanket condemnation. In this course we will navigate between these two extremes to try to find a way in which we can fulfill our creative potential as creatures of God in His world. Sample topics for sessions include imagination, creative communities, and the relationship between parents and popular culture.
Using Eyes Wide Open by William Romanowski and Culture Making by Andy Crouch, along with other handouts from key texts, we will survey Christian literature on popular culture. This will also be an interactive course, with a focus on in-class discussion based on readings, media clips and other examples of popular culture. Students will be required to prepare/present one or more of their own pop culture samples, along with their thoughtful analysis of the sample. Some sort of creative response, whether essay, oral presentation, visual, musical, or poetic, will also be required.
Ben Bowman is a 4th year Redeemer student with a keen interest in youth and culture- making. Irene Pypker will assist.
First Aid and CPR--Red Cross
This course will be taught by a Red Cross Instructor and will include a take-home manual. This course is more intensive than the Emergency First Aid course taught at co-op a few years ago. The student will earn a three-year certification. This course provides comprehensive First Aid & CPR techniques for those who want more knowledge to respond to emergencies in the home or workplace. A variety of topics are covered from basic first aid such as cardiovascular and breathing emergencies, CPR Level A, and prevention of disease transmission to more severe sudden medical conditions and injuries to the head and spine.
10:45 - 12:15:
The Lord of the Rings--John MacKinnon
This 12-week course will be a literary course for the most part with practical lessons in life added into the lesson mix based on the adventures of Bilbo, Gandalf, and Frodo and the rest of the characters. The literary component will come predominantly from the work entitled "Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings" by Amelia Harper, published by "Home Scholar Books". (this was used by Ms. S. Larin a couple of years back). One aspect of this amazing story we will examine is the deeply embedded Christian element. Although this is not a work of theology proper we will examine Tolkien's deeply held Christian world view as seen through the lives of his characters in this work.
We will look at the literary techniques used by J.R.R. Tolkien to tell his epic tale and why they have been successful. The class time will be infused with dramatic readings by students of important sections of the book as well as other in class activities which will add to the interest and impact of this class. This class will not be based on the movie rendition of The Lord of the Rings, although we will use Peter Jackson's film trilogy to illustrate some aspects of the work. Students should have read the full story by the end of class as this will enhance their class experience and so summer reading is requested.
As the story is set within the context of a physical journey by various characters so this class will take 4 of the 12 lessons to test ourselves in a physical manner. We will take one class for learning navigation by map and compass in the Dundas Valley Trail Centre. One class will involve team building at "Gravity" a local climbing gym in Hamilton. One class will involve the art and challenge of outdoor food preparation including learning the use of a compound bows and arrows and a crossbow for "hunting". (No real hunting will take place we will use archery targets). As the rings of power held such an important position in this tale by Tolkien we will take one class to exam the art of jewelry making, including a field trip.
Students can expect to write 3 essays and an "in class" final exam. Essays will be submitted by email to the instructor. Students are expected to participate in class academic exercises and other activities as noted above.
Writing: The Elegant Essay--S. R. Larin
This course will cover all aspects of essay writing--thesis statements, organization, introductions, conclusions, transitions, etc, and will focus at the end on the persuasive essay. Elements of writing style will also be addressed and liberal doses of humour will be included :-).
Health and Nutrition--Vicky Hachey
This course will look at the various body systems and how the nutrient breakdown of food supports them. There will be some unique food preparations, some eating seasoned with lots of learning and fun, such as the Papier Mache Stomach or the Bacteria War. All that is required is a 3 ring binder, pen, and paper, occasionally containers to bring your creations home.
1:00 – 3:00:
Acting for the Stage--Gwendolyn Starks
This class will approach the fundamentals of story telling, character study, and acting for the stage from a theological perspective. The students will be required to participate in vocal and physical warm-ups, improvisation, and other assignments that will teach them how to create a believable character for the stage. Each class will also have a short theatre history component. There will be some required reading, writing, and memorization involved, and a showcase of the student's work will be performed at the end of term.
Pottery--Keith Hamilton (at the Kool Klay Kafe)
Students will learn the fundamentals of making pottery, including types of
clay, where it comes from, how the firing process works, as well as
information about glazes and glazing. They will participate in preparation
and cleanup. Several techniques of hand building will be taught, beginning with the
basics of making pinch pots, slab and coil building. Creativity will be
stretched to enable students to create many interesting pieces, using
surface decoration, painting and glazing.
We’re looking forward to another stimulating year of learning, creativity, and fellowship! See you all September 23!
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