NEW CLASSES FOR 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR
With a new era sweeping in for OVS as fresh buildings come up and COVID restrictions come down, the school is set to launch an array of new classes next school year.
The new offerings include a course on the history of the Channel Islands, a class on literature of the wilderness and courses on equine science, film studies and economics.
Many of the new courses will take place in a single semester to allow for students to take more classes.
“The nice thing about OVS being so small is that we can tailor schedules to meet the needs of each individual student,” said Assistant Head of School Laurel Colborn, who is in charge of academic programs.
Junior Ryan Farrell has signed up to take Film Studies and Economics for his senior year.
“These will be great courses to prepare me for college,” he said. “Film Studies is interesting to me because I had never thought to study movies.”
In 2015, the academic departments gathered and created their dream list of courses they wanted to teach at OVS. Mrs. Colborn and faculty have worked on building and refining the list of new classes, though the Thomas Fire and Coronavirus pandemic have put several obstacles in their path. Despite these obstacles, OVS has managed to grow its academics without dropping any classes.
“We really do try to look at the longevity of our program,” Mrs. Colborn said.
With the end of construction on the horizon, the faculty were inspired this year to revisit their dream list and come up with more courses to offer.
“We’ve wanted to grow the program all along,” Mrs. Colborn said. “Having the campus grow will open up what we can do academically.”
The new buildings will include science three labs, allowing for teachers to take liberty in how many courses they can offer. While the standard course load for students is between five to six classes, the 2021-22 school year will require that all students take six classes to allow for an enriching academic experience.
“The idea of this is to expand what we’re offering in a variety of ways and allow students to have more semester choices,” Mrs. Colborn said.
Many of the classes are pitched by the faculty. The new course offerings have allowed teachers to share their expertise in unique subjects.
OVS librarian Ms. Reynolds earned her undergraduate degree in creative writing, and she has prepared a course to teach in the fall.
“I’m hoping the class will be an opportunity for students to explore their creativity,” she said.
Students will practice different forms of writing such as fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Ms. Reynolds wants to encourage students to find their voice and become comfortable with criticism. Her plans for the course range from writing song parodies to biographies. Her course emphasizes the importance of communication amongst peers as students will read one another’s work.
“When you create something you have to be vulnerable to let others read it,” she said. Ms. Reynolds hopes that by the end of the course, students will have portfolios to look back on what they created.
The new course offerings have emphasized OVS’s focus on the arts not only with creative literature but with performing arts classes such as Dance and Guitar.
Junior Alex Alvarez has been playing guitar for three years, and has taught herself everything she knows. Next year she will be taking Mr. Boyd’s year-long guitar class.
“The course appeals to me because as a musician it is a good opportunity to focus on skill,” said Alex. “I’m excited to learn more from a teacher whose passion is music and is a successful musician.”
While many of the new classes focus on creative studies, the mathematical department has not been overlooked.
Mr. Farmer currently teaches multiple math classes including AP Statistics and Algebra. His focus wasn’t always on mathematics, however. He earned a business degree from UC Davis, and has incorporated his degree into two new courses he will be teaching: Business Math and Economics.
“I am excited to teach these classes because it will get me back in touch with what I learned a lot about in college,” he said.
While teaching a broad subject such as Economics in one semester will be a challenge, Mr. Farmer has prepared an in-depth curriculum that will teach interesting techniques and concepts related to starting a business.
In the fall of 2021 the OVS community will see the years of hard work pay off as the new classes will be put into action.
“It’s going to be so exciting,” Mrs. Colborn said.