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 The courses offered by this department provide students with skills used in all academic disciplines. The department is composed of two discrete divisions: Computer Science and Journalism. An explanation of the goals and objectives of each division follows.
COMPUTER
SCIENCE
The middle school Computer Science program fosters computer literacy for all students and offers interested students introductory programming and computer application courses. The program provides a foundation that can be applied to students’ overall academic experience as well as to advanced areas of computer science.
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Library and Technology 7 |
7900-0
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| Full year —
Grade 7 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
In this class, students are introduced to the research and computer skills they need to succeed in their academic classes at Harvard‑Westlake. Students learn how to acquire, organize, and store information from both printed and electronic sources, to evaluate the legitimacy and usefulness of the information they find, and to attribute that information using proper bibliographic forms. Additionally, students learn how to present information through properly formatted Word documents, through charts and graphs generated in Excel, through PowerPoint presentations, and through well-designed pamphlets. The class also covers keyboarding, proper use of e-mail, Internet safety, and computer troubleshooting. Students are, at times, required to complete class assignments at home. |
Introduction to
Programming I
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7100-1 |
7100-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grades 8 and 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
This course covers the fundamentals of programming in Java and gives students an appreciation for the tasks of problem solving, organizing, and writing computer programs. Topics include algorithms, decision structures, random numbers, and loops. Examples of programs students write include a cashier program, a number-guessing game, and a craps-dice game. BlueJ, an interactive and visual Java programming environment, is used to provide a student-friendly programming environment.
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Introduction to
Programming II
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7110-1 | 7110-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grade 8 and 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
This course covers additional features of Java and emphasizes problem solving. During the first half of the semester, students write Java programs using Karel J. Robot, a robot simulator that introduces novice programmers to the fundamental concepts and skills of object-oriented programming. During the second half of the semester, students learn about simple graphics, applets, event handling, and the graphic user interface. BlueJ, an interactive and visual Java programming environment, is used to teach object orientation to beginning programmers.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Programming I. |
Introduction to
Web Design
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7120-1 | 7120-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grades 8 and 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
Students in this course are introduced to the numerous skills required to build a website. Students learn how to access and organize information from the Internet and other sources. The principles of graphic design and layout techniques using computer programs such as PhotoShop®, Flash®, and DreamWeaver® are thoroughly addressed. The goal of this course is to give students the ability to create functional websites from scratch. |
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JOURNALISM
This division prepares students to work on the production of school publications such as the newspaper, yearbook, and literary and community service magazines.
Introduction to
Journalism
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7200-1| 7200-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grades 8 and 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
This elective course introduces students to basic journalistic skills. The goals are to teach students to write interesting, factual articles and to prepare them to be good reporters, interviewers, and copy editors for school publications. Topics covered include journalistic ethics and integrity, news and sports reporting, writing opinion pieces, interviewing, researching, copy editing, reviewing restaurants and movies or plays, photography, laying out pages, and newspaper production. |
Introduction to
Journalism Production
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7210-1| 7210-2 |
First semester— Grades 9— Meets 3 times per cycle
Second semester— Grades 8 and 9— Meets 3 times per cycle |
Students in this class are reporters for and editors of the middle school news magazine. In this course, students apply journalistic skills to produce a news magazine: writing articles, conducting interviews, covering newsbeats, assigning stories, laying out pages, and editing. Editors assist the faculty advisor in creating policy and design, participating in meetings, supervising sections of the magazine, and overseeing layout.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Journalism or permission of the instructor. |
Introduction to
Publications
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7220-1 | 7220-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grades 8 and 9— Meets 3 times per cycle |
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of publications production. Through individual projects, students learn the basics of design, layout, and digital photography. This course gives students a strong foundation in Adobe® Photoshop® and InDesign®. Students interested in the school’s publications, such as The Spectrum, Vox Populi, and The Tenth Muse, are encouraged to take this class. It is a requirement for students who are planning to take Introduction to Yearbook Production. |
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Introduction to
Yearbook Production (Fall)
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7260-1 |
| First semester — Grades 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle
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Students in this course are responsible for providing the upper school’s Vox staff with adequate and accurate coverage of student life, special events, and middle school activities and organizations. Middle school staff participate in making editorial decisions and are responsible for page layouts and designs. Management skills are developed as students learn to meet deadlines and communicate with the upper school yearbook staff. Students are introduced to the basic concepts in yearbook design and to the production values and procedures of the Harvard‑Westlake Vox Populi yearbook. Introduction to Journalism and Introduction to Digital Photography are strongly recommended and may be taken concurrently.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Publications or permission of the instructor. |
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Introduction to
Yearbook Production (Spring)
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7260-2 |
| Second semester —
Grades 8 and 9 —
Meets 3 times per cycle |
This course is designed for those students who have completed Introduction to Yearbook Production (Fall) or Introduction to Publications. Yearbook production initiated during the fall semester continues, but students spend most of the spring semester completing The Tenth Muse, the middle school’s literary magazine.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Yearbook Production (Fall), Introduction to Publications, or permission of the instructor. |
(from the 2008-2009 Curriculum Guide) |
