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Our upper school offers an exciting palette of electives which provide basic college preparatory courses and refine the technological skills so necessary for contemporary life. In all, we offer 49 major and 34 minor courses. Art and music may be arranged as majors. Advanced and independent work are available in most disciplines. Ninth grade features exchange programs in France and Mexico. A directed independent project, completed in the junior year, is required for graduation. Senior year is an exciting mix of challenging academics, college applications and a whirlwind of graduation activities.
The Upper School program also provides countless leadership opportunities, numerous extra-curricular activities and diverse learning environments. Electives include involvement with Habitat for Humanity, tutoring programs both at GFS and in the community, internships in hospitals and national and international exchange programs. As part of directed independent study, we are offering nine new elective course each semester at the Global Online Academy across multiple time zones. The courses, for students in eleventh and twelfth grades, are meant to supplement, not replace, traditional classes. Upper School English teacher Meg Goldner Rabinowitz will offer a media studies course and Biology teacher Alyson Solomon has been selected to offer a bioethics course during the 2012-13 year. During the spring term of 2012, an Essentially English evening program involving students, parents, alumni and neighbors is offered as a novel elective.
For more detail about a specific upper school program, visit the Department Pages.