The Avalon School Upper School: Grades 9-12

The Upper School years at The Avalon School are demanding: young men write to express their reasoning while challenging the boundaries of their world with an immersion in Shakespeare and the great novels of western civilization. Calculus and language study are pursued with an eye to college readiness and each student is coached in the planning and perseverance necessary to successfully navigate an increasingly sophisticated course of studies.

"You hold power with balance, with wisdom of mind… And you shall bring peace to your people for a long time to come, a source of strength to the heroes."
--King Hrothgar to Beowulf from the Old English epic Beowulf

Curriculum

Religion
We have adopted Midwest Theological Forum's Didache Series for the Upper School Religion curriculum. The goal is to give the boys an intellectual vision of the world as made by God and kept in existence by Him, and the central importance of the redemption by Jesus Christ on the cross and its renewal in an unbloody manner in the sacrifice of the Mass.Courses: Sacred Scripture, Church History, Sacraments and Moral Theology, Apologetics, the Blessed Trinity

Texts: Ignatius Bible (RSV), Understanding the Scriptures, Didache Series, Midwest Theological Forum; The History of the Church, Didache Series, Midwest Theological Forum; A Moral Life in Christ, Didache Series, Midwest Theological Forum; The Sacraments, Didache Series, Midwest Theological Forum; The Blessed Trinity, Didache Series, Midwest Theological Forum

Mathematics
The Avalon School has adopted the Saxon Mathematics series for our math program. The classes consist of short lectures followed by students working on sample problems. The books are rigorous and there is little "fluff." The learning is incremental with continual review. There is frequent cumulative testing. There is also an emphasis on correcting mistakes, a key area where much learning can take place. The classes will be supplemented with math puzzles, mental math, and topics from the history of math. Saxon books are especially suited for students to advance above grade level and we will do our best to accommodate such cases.

The Avalon School offers a regular and honors track for mathematics in upper school.
Regular Honors
Grade 9 Algebra I Algebra II
Grade 10 Algebra II Geometry
Grade 11 Geometry Pre-Calculus
Grade 12 Pre-Calculus Calculus AB/BC

History
For students in the upper grades, the reading of biographies of historical figures and stories about the great events in history with an emphasis on Western culture will help foster a humble respect for the human heritage and its achievements.

Courses: Medieval/Early Modern History, US History, US History (AP), History of the 20th Century, European History (AP)

Languages
The study of a foreign language gives the student the ability to look at his own language with new eyes and a better understanding of grammar. Avalon offers courses in Spanish, Italian, and Latin.
Latin is a language of structure. Mastering the intricacies of its structure develops mental habits of precision, discipline, memory, and efficiency that manifest themselves in other fields from algebra to writing. Latin also links us to the past. The ultimate goal is to read the great works of Rome in their original language leading a student out of being a child of his age.

Courses: Latin Spanish Italian
9th grade: I or II I or II
10th grade: II or III II or III
11th grade: III or IV* III I
12th grade: IV or V* III or IV (AP) I

*Latin V (AP) studies Horace and IV (AP) studies Virgil

Science
Science is a hands-on subject. In Upper School, Avalon students are required to take both Biology and Chemistry I in order to graduate. In the 11th and 12th grades, students can choose among three classes: Biology AP, Conceptual Physics, and Anatomy and Physiology.

Poetry
The reading, memorization and recitation of great poetry is an essential part of the Avalon curriculum and experience and comprises a part of the English literature course offerings. Each grade memorizes and recites a number of poems throughout the year. In addition, the competitive recitation of poetry by House representatives is a staple of festival day celebrations.

Literature
Professor John Senior wrote, "Western tradition, taking all that was best of the Greco-Roman world into itself has given us the thousand good books as a preparation for the great ones and for all studies in the arts and sciences, without which such studies are inhumane."

Texts include:

9th Grade
The Aeneid, Virgil
Beowulf
Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Henry V, William Shakespeare
A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

10th Grade
The Iliad, Homer
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
Othello, William Shakespeare

11th Grade
The Odyssey, Homer
The Divine Comedy, Dante
A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

12th Grade
The Aeneid, Virgil
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Ballad of the White Horse, G. K. Chesterton
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare