This course is the second year progression of Dance Technique III, designed for the advanced-level dancer to deepen the application of advanced-level skill, leadership, and performance while continuing to develop techniques in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, jazz funk, hip hop, musical theatre, and cultural dance. Instructional focus and student development will be geared toward applying advanced artistry, technical execution, and self-choreographic growth. Choreography, improvisation, and performing will be explored individually and in small groups. Emphasis is placed on the dance performances, and advanced skill proficiency is expected. A hallmark of this class is to develop an individual artistic voice. Additional units include group and individual dance for musical theater, dance improvisation, writing a dance critique, dance history, advanced functional anatomy and nutrition, and multimedia dance forms. Students will begin to explore leadership development and careers in dance and the performing arts. Physical daily participation and Participation in the Emerge (Fall) Dance Show is mandatory.

Additional Expectations: Dancers in Dance Technique III(H) must perform in one dance concert each semester with a unique theme. Students in all courses will be graded daily on their physical participation in class. Excessive absences will impact grades in this course. Dancers must take at least one year of Dance Technique III before progressing into Dance Technique III (H).

With an emphasis on performance, students will demonstrate mastery of body control, knowledge of proper positioning, and execution of advanced technical skills. Increased performance opportunities are available at this level, and students will continue to explore leadership development and careers in dance and the performing arts. Dancers will explore choreography and composition, demonstrating, analyzing, performing functional anatomy and nutrition, and creating detailed movement studies. This class concentrates on the development of a healthy, well-balanced performing artist. Students must develop, revise, and edit music and utilize video analysis to direct and choreograph a Spring Student Dance Concert piece. Physical daily participation and Participation in the Emerge (Fall) Dance Show is mandatory.

Performances for Dance Technique IV (H): VCHS Fall Concert—Emerge; VCHS Spring Dance Concert—Emotions; Senior Dance Concert—Senior Dance Technique IV (H) students only; various community performance opportunities; field trips to dance-related events.

Additional Expectations: Dancers in Dance Technique IV(H) must perform in one dance concert each semester with a unique theme. Students in all courses will be graded daily on their physical participation in class. Excessive absences will impact grades in this course.

The Vivid Dance Team (H) course is designed for dancers at the pinnacle of HS dance and performance trajectory with an emphasis on executing excellence in the art of dancing. Students must demonstrate distinguished body articulation, mastery of musicality, phrasing, and choreographic texture, and knowledge and execution of proper positioning. Dancers will train and condition to achieve exemplary flexibility, anaerobic and aerobic capability, cardiovascular endurance, and strength. This class concentrates on the development of a healthy, well-balanced performing artist in preparation for dancing at the collegiate or professional level. Increased performance opportunities are available at this level, and students will continue to explore careers in dance and the performing arts. Dancers expand choreography development, composition, movement analysis, performance functional anatomy and nutrition, leadership in rehearsal, and course teaching opportunities. These goals will be achieved through training and dance practice to prepare for school performances and competitions. Physical daily participation and Participation in the Emerge (Fall) Dance Show is mandatory.

Performance Opportunities: Regional & National Dance Competitions; rallies; football games; performance in VCHS Dance Arts concert each semester, with a unique theme; various community performance opportunities.

Vivid Dance Team Additional Requirements: After school, weekend, holiday additional rehearsals, performances, regional & national competition travel are required.

Additional Expectations: Dancers in Vivid Dance Team V(H) must perform in one dance concert each semester with a unique theme. Students in all courses will be graded daily on their physical participation in class. Excessive absences will impact grades in this course.

Hip Hop I is a beginning-level course designed to introduce students to the foundational techniques, vocabulary, and artistry essential for dancers at the beginner to early-intermediate level. Students will study a variety of dance forms, including hip-hop, jazz, ballet, musical theatre, tap, and cultural dance, gaining versatility and confidence across multiple styles. The course also incorporates key concepts such as dance history, dance terminology, stage and theater etiquette, and an understanding of basic anatomy as it relates to safe and efficient movement.

Students will develop kinesthetic awareness, movement memory, creative expression, and aesthetic appreciation through technique classes, improvisation, choreography units, and performance-based activities. Additional learning experiences include writing a dance critique, exploring multimedia dance forms, studying functional anatomy and nutrition, and investigating the art of performing.

Class activities include participation in the school’s Emerge (Fall) Dance Show, a mandatory performance requirement for all students. Research assignments throughout the course deepen students’ understanding of dance as both an art form and a lifelong physical pursuit.

Through daily physical participation, students will strengthen their physical fitness, self-discipline, self-confidence, and independence as movers. By the end of Hip Hop I, each student should leave feeling encouraged, supported, and inspired—carrying with them a new appreciation for dance and the skills necessary to continue their artistic growth.

Additional Expectations: Daily physical participation is required and is a significant part of each student’s grade. Excessive absences will impact your overall evaluation in the course.

This intermediate, repeatable course deepens students' understanding of hip-hop, jazz, performance, musical theatre and tap movement mechanics. Hip Hop II expands on the student's exposure to hip-hop history, culture, and dance forms while increasing their technique, performance, and choreography aptitude. Combinations will become more complex, with the stress on clean technique, exploration of new skills, and repetitions. Students will work towards refining faster and more varied tempos and textures. Students' focus is on teacher-developed material and refinement of craft. Student projects will include a self-reflection and goal-setting quarterly assessment and dance critique. Physical daily participation and Participation in the Emerge (Fall) Dance Show is mandatory.

Additional Expectations: Students in all courses will be graded daily on their physical participation in class. Excessive absences will impact your grade in this course.

Hip Hop III Honors refine students' mastery of abilities in all areas of technique, performance, and choreography but do not introduce new units. Combinations will become more complex, emphasizing clean techniques, exploration of new skills, and creation of materials and freestyle. Students will work towards refining faster and more varied tempos and textures. Students will practice creating materials and refining crafts. Student focus is on the innovation of movement signature and peer-to-peer teaching opportunities. Higher levels of proficiency are expected and encouraged.

This course explores the processes of composing and producing advanced-level choreography. Students will identify and integrate the contributions of contemporary choreographers to expand their choreography skills. An emphasis on larger compositions is expected.

Physical daily participation is required, and Hip Hop III(H) students must perform in one unique-themed dance concert each semester.

Additional Expectations: Students in all courses will be graded daily on their physical participation in class. Excessive absences will impact your grade in this course. Dancers in the class are expected to audition for choreography for the Emotions Spring Dance Show (April). Seniors are expected to be part of the Senior Showcase Dance Show in May.

English 9, a college preparatory course, introduces vital and foundational concepts that will serve students throughout their high school careers. Students study various literary genres: the short story, the play, the epic poem, poetry, and the novel. The course focuses on grade-level texts in order to strengthen reading comprehension and analysis, which provides the basis for academic writing. Writing centers on paragraph development using specific evidence to support a claim and draw logical conclusions. Using this paragraph structure, students write analysis and argumentative essays. Throughout the year, students deepen and apply their study of grammar and vocabulary.

Though summer reading is not required for this course, students will find that establishing a reading habit over the summer helps them get a head start on the reading experience they will have during the year. While we encourage them to read books of their own choosing, we also recommend the following titles as indicative of the type of literary rigor they may encounter in the English 9 classroom: Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, and Patricia McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Parents may wish to have students read at least one of these titles, as doing so will help them enter the course better prepared for its pace and expectations.

English 9 Honors engages students in challenging writing and reading, including a broad selection of literary genres, including epic and conventional poetry, drama, short stories, and novels. Within the course, students practice close reading and literary analysis, strengthen grammar and vocabulary, and refine their writing through an emphasis on the writing process. They demonstrate their learning through analytical writing, projects (both individual and collaborative), traditional assessments (reading quizzes, tests, finals, etc.), and discussions, with regular opportunities for creative expression through writing, artwork, and short presentations.

Is English 9 Honors right for me? English 9 Honors is intended for motivated, self-directed students who are ready for the pace and expectations of advanced coursework. Students should come in able to write clear, fluent, well-organized paragraphs. Independent reading is a significant component of the course, and students should enter reading at or above grade level. Because learning builds day to day through reading, writing, and discussion, regular attendance is essential.

Though Summer Reading is not required, students will find that establishing a reading habit over the summer helps them get a head start on the reading experience they will have during the year. In addition to recreational reading over the summer, we recommend the following titles both as a preview of Honors English 9 rigor and as a way for students to enter the course more prepared: Michael Zusak’s The Book Thief, C.S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet, Jean Wakatsuki’s Farewell to Manzanar, and/or John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. Parents may wish to have students read at least one of these titles, as doing so will help them enter the course better prepared for its pace and expectations.

*Though internal honors credit is given, the UC does not calculate an honors grade point for this course. Other colleges may assign honors credit.

English 10, a college preparatory course, builds upon the foundations set in English 9. Students study a variety of literary genres and learn to analyze and respond from a biblical worldview. The course stresses the development and application of literary analysis to improve close reading skills. As students practice and enhance their understanding of grammar and punctuation rules, they also develop their composition skills by honing their argumentation and effectively integrating evidence into their argumentative essays and research papers.

Though summer reading is not required for this course, students will find that establishing a reading habit over the summer helps them get a head start on the reading experience they will have during the year. While we encourage them to read books of their own choosing, we also recommend the following titles as indicative of the type of literary rigor they may encounter in the English 10 classroom: George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Erich Garcia Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Parents may wish to have students read at least one of these titles, as doing so will help them enter the course better prepared for its pace and expectations.

English 10 Honors is an accelerated, challenging course that builds on the skills developed in English 9 Honors. Throughout the year, students read diverse selections of literature and analyze how authors’ cultural and personal value systems shape meaning, comparing those perspectives to biblical teachings and their own worldview. Students will continue their grammar and vocabulary development as they practice the craft of writing, learning how to engage various audiences, support ideas with evidence, and write effectively in genres, including literary analysis and persuasive essays. Assessments include timed writing, analytical and persuasive essays, projects (both individual and collaborative), traditional exams (reading quizzes, tests, finals, etc.), and discussions. This course is designed for students who intend to enter AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition as upperclassmen and will provide a strong foundation for college-level reading, analysis, and writing. A summer reading assignment is required.

Summer reading for incoming 10 Honors students: Background to Fahrenheit 451 + Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

Is English 10 Honors right for me? English 10 Honors is intended for motivated, self-directed students who are ready for the pace and expectations of advanced coursework. Readiness for the course includes the ability to write a four- or five-paragraph essay within 60 minutes and to build arguments using a claim-data-warrant pattern. Independent reading is a significant component of the course, and students should enter reading at or above grade level. Because learning builds day to day through reading, writing, and discussion, regular attendance is essential.

*Though internal honors credit is given, the UC system does not calculate an honors grade point for this course. Other colleges may assign honors credit.