As freshmen, students tend to assert themselves in a definite way, seeing things as black or white, reveling in the concrete and physical. PWHS meets them with a curriculum focused on polarities in form and content: comedy and tragedy in literature, revolutions in history, the tangibles of blood and the skeleton in science. In art, a focus on black and white (including block printing) leads students into a discovery of the values of the shadings of gray in between.

Main Lesson Blocks
Literature: Comedy and Tragedy

Mathematics: Combinations and Permutations

History: U.S. history/Civics; World History through Revolutions; World History through Art

Science: Human Anatomy; Plant Chemistry; Thermodynamics & Acoustics; Geology

Continuous Track Classes
English: Grammar; essays; speech; news writing; emphasis on descriptive writing, extemporaneous speaking

Mathematics: Algebra I

Foreign Language: Spanish or German

Music: Choir or Orchestra

Movement: Eurythmy; Physical Education

Art Blocks: Fine Art: Black & White Media; Linoleum Block Printing; Clay Sculpture

Applied Art: Copper Chasing; Woodworking; Basketry