Registration for academic year 2025-26 is currently open. To inquire about a class, please contact the teacher via email (click on the teacher's name below). If you would like to discuss a course or student placement over the phone, please include your phone number in your email to the teacher.

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Pre-Algebra (Laurie Warren)

Aims to develop confidence and independence in the concepts and skills necessary to approach Algebra successfully.

Grade: 7, 8, 9 (placement test required)

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

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Algebra I (Laurie Warren)

Using Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs, students will cover topics such as operations, square roots, graphing, linear, simultaneous and quadratic equations with plenty of practice. This is a dialect approach where illustrations and real life critical thinking problems help students understand why formulas work and how to apply them.

Grade: 7, 8, 9, 10 (placement test required)

Meets twice weekly (see Schedule)

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Geometry (Marty Georges)

This two-semester course will cover elements of classical Euclidean geometry: logic, proofs, and deductive reasoning; points, lines and planes; rays and angles; congruent triangles; parallel lines and quadrilaterals; transformations and symmetry; area; right triangles; regular polygons and circles; geometric solids and volume; and coordinate geometry. Course material will be drawn primarily from Harold Jacob's Geometry (3rd edition), with supplemental material from Euclid's Elements. Weekly homework will emphasize student mastery of essential principles, as well as application to practical examples.

Grade: 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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NEW! Introductory Biology (Charles Nystrom)

Over 2 semesters, we will work together through the wonders of biology, focused on going beyond the text, memorization, and classification, and into the sacred, marvelous, and created. The class will consist of lectures, homework assignments, a midterm and final, and creative opportunities. Guidance will be provided for completion of optional (but highly encouraged) at home labs, and select group lab demonstrations will be organized as we are able.

• Fall Semester: Using the first half (modules 1-8) of Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Biology, 2nd ed (Wile & Durnell) as our framework, we will cover the tenets of biology, microbes, fungi, the chemistry of biology, cell structure/anatomy, cell reproduction and DNA, and genetics. 

• Spring Semester: Using the second half (modules 9-16) of Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Biology, 2nd ed (Wile & Durnell) as our framework, we will cover evolution, ecology, invertebrates, plants, and vertebrates.

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Pre-requisites: General Science course; ability to read, take notes, and work independently

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

 

NEW! Integrated Biology (Charles Nystrom)

Intended to be a companion course to the core Biology course, or to serve as a stand alone course for the motivated student or curious life-long learner. Using that week’s core biology material as a starting point, we will explore anything and everything biology touches: graduate fields of study, careers, industries; theology, philosophy, poetry, art; medicine, practical life, whimsy. We will begin with review of optional homework/readings, move into group discussion/activity, and end with a time of informal lecture/dialogue that is open to the public. Optional grading and adjustably rigorous assignments can be discussed on an individual basis, or the class can be taken without a grade in mind and simply to explore biology. Parents are welcome to participate as they desire.

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 + adult

No tests; written and oral assignments optional

Pre-requisites: currently taking or have taken high school biology; or strong interest in biology

Meets once a week in the evening (see Schedule)

Special cost: $100 (no cost to students of Introductory Biology course)

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Integrated Math Science and Engineering (IMS) (Marty Georges)

Exploration of classical problems of science and engineering throughout history, particularly those problems that have led to the development of mathematical methods that scientists and engineers take for granted today. Students will learn to develop solutions to problems using first principles of physics and engineering. The course will consist of lectures, in-class collaborative problem solving, weekly homework, and unit studies. Topics may vary depending upon the interests of students; previously the class analyzed, modeled, and accurately predicted the performance and trajectory of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster.

Grade: 11, 12

Prerequisites: Algebra II, Trigonometry, Geometry; Pre-calculus or Calculus desired.

Meets twice weekly (see Schedule)

 

Observational Astronomy (Marty Georges)

Introduction to astronomy intended for the novice and focused on the practical aspects of observing the heavens both with the naked eye and with a telescope. Particular attention will be devoted to the coordinate system of the night sky; the order and system of constellations; how to locate celestial objects; the motion of the sun, moon, stars, and planets; the use of software to plan and model observations (i.e. Starry Night); and the use of a large amateur telescope.

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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Music: Meaning and Materials (John Sundet)

We think of music as primarily about listening and pleasure, but these things are merely a gateway to the riches that deeper musical study yields. This course provides an introduction to music with a focus on language and participation, covering philosophy (musical meaning, learning to think about music), physics and materials (rhythm, tone and pitch, timbre, etc.), notation, and theory (temperament, scales, keys, harmony, etc.). The course will approach all topics via concrete musical examples and stress active active musical involvement using our voices—the primary musical instrument given to each of us.

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 (also open to adult students)

Prior musical experience welcome but not needed.

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

 

What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? (Intro to Philosophy) (Marty Georges)

“A great deal as it turns out.”

—Dr. John Mark Reynolds.

Introduction to philosophy through selected readings exploring faith, reason, and western civilizations. Topics may vary depending upon the interests of students, but will include at minimum: existence; properties; belief, justification, and knowledge; the intersection between faith and philosophy; and the history of philosophy. Particular attention will be devoted to the development of critical reading and concise writing skills through the use of analytical outlines and a weekly précis. The course will consist of lectures, in-class discussions, weekly reading assignments, and short papers (<650 words).

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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Bible Overview (John Sundet)

A guided journey through the full text of the Bible designed to promote biblical literacy and to establish the basis for a lifetime of reflection and re-engagement with the text. A prominent goal is to assure that no book or chapter remains obscure or unrelated to the redemptive narrative. First semester: Genesis through Song of Songs; Second semester: Isaiah through Revelation. 

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 (also open to adult students)

Meets twice weekly (see Schedule)

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NEW! Introduction to Literary Analysis (Debbie Goodale)

Literary analysis is taught through various skills: annotating, how to infer themes, identifying and learning how authors use literary devices to enrich meaning, character analysis, and identifying the narrative elements that make a story. These skills when practiced will help students grow in their capacity to read complex text. Socratic circles and learning how to question the text is another essential higher level reading skill.  Writing will be an essential component as students learn how to support their assertions about the text through strong textual evidence. 

Grade: 7, 8

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

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Creative Writing (Debbie Goodale)

In this course, students will explore different forms of creative writing, such as poetry, memoir/narrative pieces, creative nonfiction, and journaling. Students will analyze mentor texts (the writing of published authors) as models for improving and expanding their creative writing skills. Students can expect mini-lessons and practice in creative writing skills, including word choice, voice, tone, etc. In addition, students will read various texts by poets and writers that speak to the creative writing process.

Grade: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

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​​Literary Study Toolkit I: Basic Analysis (Joseph Leake)

This one-semester course will equip junior high students with the tools and confidence they need to approach literature in high school and beyond. One half of the course will focus on poetry, from comprehension and enjoyment to form, structure, and terminology. (What’s the difference between a metaphor and a simile? Between assonance and alliteration? Between the Italian sonnet and the English sonnet?) The other half will focus on prose fiction: plot structure, character classification, genre, terminology. (What’s the difference between falling action and resolution? Between a protagonist and a deuteragonist? Between a romance and a Bildungsroman?) Assignments will include short readings, quizzes, and creative writing in the genres studied. 

Grade: 7, 8

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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Literary Study Toolkit II: Mythology (Joseph Leake)

Do you know what Hamlet means when he describes his mother as “like Niobe, all tears”? Most modern readers don’t have the background information necessary to grasp the classical allusions that pervade not only Shakespeare, but virtually every author up until the 21st century. This course offers students a welcoming and engaging entrée into Greco-Roman and Norse mythology, walking them through the important myths that have shaped, inspired, and adorned so much of western literature. Assignments will include short readings, quizzes, and creative rewriting of a myth.

Grade: 7, 8

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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Great Books of Western Civilization I (Joseph Leake)

Consider this course an invitation to embark on a three-year exploration of western literature, a ticket to tantalizing worlds lost to time, and the opportunity of a lifetime to see through the eyes of our intellectual forebears. Students will face the herculean—and richly rewarding—task of wrestling with the weightiest works of the western tradition from the ancient to the early medieval: Gilgamesh, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Virgil’s Aeneid, Beowulf, Norse Eddas, The Saga of the Völsungs, and Njal’s Saga. Alongside the literature, the course will give students an historical framework for understanding the trajectory of western thought and art, covering such topics as the heroic age, orality and literacy, the consolidation of power under Rome, the subsequent dissolution of the Empire and rise of European nations, the spread of Christianity, and the conversion of the pagan north.

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

This course constitutes a portion of our three-year Great Books program; each Great Books course is offered in rotation, and students may take them in any order

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NEW! Great Books of Western Civilization II (Joseph Leake)

Picking up the threads from the previous course, this second installment in our Great Books program teases out the richly woven tapestry of thought from the High Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Students will enter the alien yet oddly-familiar and strikingly beautiful worlds depicted in The Song of Roland, the Lays of Marie de France, the Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Emerging with a robust understanding of this crucial epoch in the western tradition, students will delve into such topics as the transition from heroic epic to romance, the spread of the Italian Renaissance, Humanism and the Reformation, and the development of English drama. 

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12

Meets once a week (see Schedule)

This course constitutes a portion of our three-year Great Books program; each Great Books course is offered in rotation, and students may take them in any order

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Great Books of Western Civilization III (Joseph Leake)

Details coming soon

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

This course constitutes a portion of our three-year Great Books program; each Great Books course is offered in rotation, and students may take them in any order

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NEW! The World of Faërie: Fairy Tales, Faith, and Enchantment​ (Joseph Leake)

​G.K. Chesterton once described a time when, in search of something to read, he found himself looking drearily through a stack of dreary-sounding modern novels, when all of a sudden he found one that made him cry out for joy: “Here at least, here at last, one could find a little common sense!” he thought. The book he had found was a copy of Grimms’ Fairy Tales. C.S. Lewis once observed that fairy tales were an essential part of preparing children for the trials and tribulations of the modern world, reasoning “Since it so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” And J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that fairy tales contain an image of the Gospel, “giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.” What did Tolkien mean by this? And how could Chesterton and Lewis claim that fairy tales were relevant—even vital—in the modern, “real” world? We’ll explore the answers to these questions (and more!) in this course, as we delve into the origins, symbolism, and artistry of the fairy tale tradition. We’ll examine the roots of fairy tales in ancient myth and trace out the influence of fairy tales on modern fantasy and film; discover the origins of the word “fairy” itself; survey the great 19th-century effort to rescue fairy tales from oblivion; read and discuss the sometimes-surprising original versions of well-known stories such as Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid, as well as less-well-known tales such as Soria Moria Castle, Childe Rowland, and The Battle of the Birds; examine the writings of authors such as Chesterton, Lewis, and Tolkien on the value and meaning of fairy tales for Christians; and ultimately, consider why it is that fairy tales have always delighted readers and filled them with wonder—and continue to do so today. 

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 + adult

No tests or written assignments

Course meets 14 weeks one evening per week (see Schedule)

Special cost: $100​

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Growth and Structure of the English Language I: Greek and Latin Roots (Joseph Leake)

Never again agonize over the difference between “affect” and “effect” or find yourself puzzled by the meanings of words like “pellucid,” “pusillanimous,” and “parsimonious”! A detailed study of the Greek and Latin elements (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) in English—the building blocks of thousands of words—expands students’ vocabulary and enables them to write and speak with greater precision. Additionally, the study of Greek and Latin roots in English enriches students’ comprehension (and appreciation) of the classics of English literature. Why, for example, does Shakespeare describe Ophelia as a “document in madness”? Why does the word “condescending” sometimes have positive (rather than negative) connotations in the novels of Jane Austen? This course provides students a deeper, more complex understanding of the English language and the histories and stories that make it what it is. Discover what the words “villain” and “village” have to do with one another; what the word “egregious” has to do with sheep; why a “decimal” means a tenth of something, but “December” is the twelfth month instead of the tenth; and much more! 

Grade: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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NEW! Growth and Structure of the English Language II: English Language and Literature, Medieval to Modern (Joseph Leake)

Did you know that English boasts the oldest tradition of vernacular literature in Europe, reaching back over 1,300 years? English grammar and vocabulary have changed and developed over time to make, not only the language we know today, but also that of our greatest literary and historical monuments—from the Old English of the first Bible-translations and the Middle English of The Canterbury Tales to the Renaissance English of Shakespeare, from the neoclassical style of Jane Austen and the Declaration of Independence to the use of American dialect in the novels of Mark Twain. Students powerfully strengthen their understanding and use of English by studying the history of both the language and its literature together. This approach allows students to put down deep roots in English: instead of starting from abstract principles of grammar and usage and then applying those principles, students begin organically with the language and literature itself; they go “inside” the language and learn from its literary Masters, acquiring along the way enhanced vocabulary, greater skill in composition, and increased literary comprehension. Come find out why some characters say “thou” but others say “you” in Shakespeare’s plays, what the witches in Macbeth have to do with the dragon in Beowulf, why saying that Sir Lancelot “wept with heavy cheer” is not as contradictory as it looks, what the real difference is between “sit” and “set,” “lie” and “lay”; and much more! 

Grades: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Meets once a week (see Schedule)​

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Arthurian Literature and Composition (Joseph Leake)

Exploration of Europe’s greatest cycle of stories, the Arthurian legend. Students will learn literary analysis and interpretation and hone their composition skills through studying a range of texts, including Celtic myth, medieval romance, Renaissance allegory, and the fiction of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Grade: 10, 11, 12

Not offered for academic year 2025-26

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Senior Thesis Writing Class (Eleanor Georges)

Advanced writing course that hones skills of critical thinking, research, argumentation, and editing, refines the writing process (outlining, drafting, revising), and culminates in the composition and public presentation and defense of a thesis-length essay.

Grade 12

Meets twice weekly, Spring semester only (day and time scheduled based on availability of registered students)

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The Worlds of Lewis and Tolkien (Joseph Leake)

An evening course—open to both high school students and adults—exploring the literary works that inspired the fictional worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Reading from selected works of Tolkien and Lewis, as well as the very tales that so profoundly shaped these authors’ imaginations, including Greek and Norse mythology, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon legend, and the fairy-tales of northwestern Europe.

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 + adult

No tests or written assignments

Course meets 14 weeks; not offered for academic year 2025-26

Special cost: $100​

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Latin through the Aeneid (Isabella Leake)

Most Latin curricula require at least 2-3 years of grammar study before giving students the rich and satisfying experience of reading great Latin texts—such as Vergil’s Aeneid—in the original. This course, however, takes the opposite approach, taking the Aeneid not as the end goal but as the starting point. Students at any level of Latin, beginner to advanced, will learn to construe and translate this great Roman epic, mastering or reviewing the relevant vocabulary and grammar alongside study of the text. The instructor will guide each student in developing an individualized plan of study according to his prior experience (if any) with Latin. The class will also study and memorize one Christian text (such as the Apostles’ Creed or Lord’s Prayer) and one Latin hymn per term. Both classical and ecclesiastical pronunciation will be introduced and used. 

Grade: 9, 10, 11, 12 (also open to adult students)

Not offered for academic year 2024-25