Arts Winter Session

Arts Winter Session is a special opportunity for students who are committed to full-year art classes (choir, instrumental ensemble, portfolio prep, and senior studio) to try something new. This curricular innovation is one of the only programs of its kind in the area that helps students find more time to explore. High school students are constantly making choices and prioritizing their interests and they learn early on that there isn’t enough time in the day to do it all. But at PCD, where student success relies on the expectation and opportunity to participate fully, and fail or discover a new talent in the process, the art department has created more time to create. For eight weeks in January and February “Susie,” who is in the school’s jazz ensemble, will spend three days a week playing her tuba and two days a week designing, building, and programming a robot. Her classmates will learn how to play the ukulele, learn the art of video character development, study art history, prepare acting audition monologues, try their hand at 3-D computer modeling and much more.

By changing the sessions each winter we are able to respond to student interest and introduce students to new disciplines with in-depth concentrated courses that provide essential hands-on experience. Winter Session courses are taught by the PCD arts faculty as well as visiting artists, engineers, and tech designers, who give students the opportunity to work with and learn from professionals in the field.