Building on the concepts of Acting I and Acting II, this semester-long course offers more in-depth training in the areas of emotion, character development, and motivation.
Curriculum Guide
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This semester-long course introduces students to drama through theater games and activities.
Students in this semester-long course work toward a more advanced set of goals.
This is an advanced course in programming application and computer science intended for students who have completed AP Computer Science A and would like to explore the subject in greater detail.
Depending on their readiness, students take this course over a single year (accelerated) or over two years (enriched).
A full-year course, Algebra I, is an introductory level math course and is a prerequisite for Geometry.
The full-year Algebra II and Trigonometry course follows Geometry in GSB’s math curriculum.
A yearlong course, Honors Algebra II and Trigonometry follows Geometry and is a prerequisite for Honors Precalculus.
In this semester course, students study the anatomy (structure) and the physiology (function) of body systems in humans and other animals.
Students learn about a broad range of animal science topics.
AP 2-D Art and Design is a yearlong course that is not based on a written exam; instead, students submit portfolios for evaluation in early May.
The AP Art History course welcomes students into the global art world to engage with its forms and content as they research, discuss, read, and write about art, artists, art making, and responses to and interpretations of art.
This is equivalent to an introductory college-level biology course for biology majors.
This course follows the syllabus for the AP exam in Calculus AB. As such, it is a rigorous, demanding course requiring a strong foundation in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and analytic geometry.
This course follows the syllabus for the AP exam in Calculus BC.
This course is the equivalent of a first-year college chemistry course; it covers materials in-depth and provides a deeper consideration of both the theoretical and mathematical analysis of topics.
This is a college-level, yearlong course that prepares students to sit for the AP exam.
The AP Computer Science Principles course is designed to be equivalent to an introductory college computing course.
AP Drawing is a course designed for the serious art student who is interested in an intensive investigation of art concepts, media, and techniques after taking an introductory level art course, Drawing and Painting and Honors Portfolio.
A rigorous advanced-level humanities class, AP English Literature and Composition prepares students specifically for college-level English work.
This course looks at the natural world and how human activity impacts it.
This course surveys European political, social, economic, and cultural history from the Renaissance to the present.
Students further develop oral proficiency through oral reports that focus on cultural and historical topics.
This intensive course prepares students for the AP exam.
AP Latin concentrates on the translation, analysis, and interpretation of Vergil’s epic poem, the Aeneid, and Caesar’s commentaries, De Bello Gallico.
This course provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and analyze critical topics in microeconomics.
This yearlong course takes advanced musicians with existing knowledge of music theory through the equivalent of a first-year college music theory class.
This course is a response to the format changes made by the College Board in 2014, and it is based on the “Six Big Ideas,” or core principles identified by the College Board.
This course is a response to the format changes made by the College Board in 2014, and it is based on the “Six Big Ideas,” or core principles identified by the College Board.
This course is the equivalent of an introductory college course in Psychology.
This rigorous and challenging course emphasizes the use of authentic Spanish for active communication, allowing students to reach advanced levels in their oral, aural, reading, and writing skills. Students engage in conversation by using advanced grammatical structures, literary analysis, cultural studies, and in-depth discussions of current events around the world.
The AP Statistics course introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data.
This course provides students with an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States.
This is an intensive yearlong course that prepares students to read historical texts critically...
In World History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 to the present.
This course provides a systematic approach to the study of biology.
Topics covered in this fast-paced course include ecology, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics, bioethics, evolution, diversity of life, and animal and human anatomy, and physiology.
This marks the culmination of weeks of cross-curricular research, place-based learning, and exploration focused on a specific campus ecological system, such as pond, stream, wetland, forest, or farm.
This course is designed for students who wish to take Calculus, but not in preparation for the AP exam.
Advanced ceramics will allow the further development and exploration into technical skill, personal style, and aesthetic choice within the medium of clay.
Ceramics one focuses on the development of skills within sculptural and functional pottery creations to allow students to familiarize themselves with the medium of clay.
Ceramics two focuses on the unification of sculptural and functional pottery creations to allow students to pursue projects unique to his/her/their interests and art style.
In the words of one of our Middle School science teachers, “There is an unspoken code at Gill: work hard, be joyful, and help one another.”
The school’s commitment to its core values is integrated into daily life at Gill, as is a focus on character awareness and development.
This course emphasizes the periodic table of elements, the formation of compounds, and reactions that occur to produce new substances.
This course emphasizes the periodic table of elements, the formation of compounds, and reactions that occur to produce new substances.
Students who have completed the Concert Choir course and pass a proficiency evaluation are eligible to take Advanced Choir.
Community service is a natural extension of our emphasis on character awareness, citizenship, inclusion, kindness, and respect.
This course explores critical developments in world history, using resources drawn from the social sciences, history, and the natural sciences.
This class introduces students to the world of drawing three-dimensional objects using computers.
Computer Science Principles is a semester-long course which builds a solid understanding of computer science.
Concert Choir can be taken as a semester or yearlong course.
Open to juniors and seniors who have taken Creative Writing and Portfolio Development, students in Advanced Creative Writing I craft a more extensive portfolio of fiction or poetry organized around a theme or common topic.
This course is designed with the serious writer in mind.
Advanced Creative Writing II is open to seniors only.
In this year-long offering, students research and debate social issues that shape the world in which they live.
Students in this semester-long course learn the basic design principles involved in print publications, including the development of a theme or motif, layout and design, the appropriate choice of a font or typeface, the appropriate placement and use of images, and the importance of proofreading for both spelling and grammar.
This course follows college level curriculum intended to teach students (a) learn elementary analytical solution techniques for the solution of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), (b) understand the solution structure of linear ODEs in terms of independent homogeneous solutions and non-homogeneous solutions, and (c) interpret the solutions using plots and methods of calculus.
Serving as an introduction to the study of digital illustration as a visual interpretation of words, concepts, and ideas, students will use a variety of Adobe software for illustration, technical drawing, composition, and implementation of created art into page layout.
In this full year, students will expand on the technical and design skills they previously learned in Digital Illustration and Graphic Design.
This course is designed for students who have mastered the required skills in Graphic Design and Digital Illustration.
In this semester-long course, students learn how to create an artistic vision of an existing play, how to serve as the coordinator of a cast of performers, how to manage the schedule of a production, and how to be the single director of a staged performance.
This introductory semester course in discrete mathematics is designed for strong math students, particularly those also interested in computer science.
In this semester-long course, students learn numerous skills and techniques for representational drawing, focusing on and capturing what they see and using value, shading, and contrast to create a sense of form.
Students visit the library for story time each week, introducing them to a wide variety of children’s literature.
Activities support the development of healthy social and emotional skills, fine and gross-motor skills, balance, and coordination.
The program begins by helping children understand their place in the world from the perspective of the self within a community.
What does “American” mean, and how has the answer to that question changed and developed over the course of America’s history?
What does “American mean,” and how has the answer to that question changed and developed over the course of America’s history?
This course focuses on the roles we play in our society as individuals and in groups and looks at how we interact.
This course focuses on the roles we play in our society as individuals and in groups and looks at how we interact.
If we are the decisions and choices we make, then those decisions and choices have multiple implications for our place and meaning in the world.
If we are the decisions and choices we make, then those decisions and choices have multiple implications for our place and meaning in the world.
An introductory class to the study and analysis of literature, English 9 prompts students to contemplate how we form our identities.
This course is designed for seniors who would like to pursue advanced studies in science after successfully completing physics, chemistry, and biology.
Students are introduced to the French language and culture.
Although this course expects students to have a solid first-year preparation in vocabulary and grammar, the class begins with an active review of previous material before leading the student into more challenging material.
In this course, students are expected to have a solid first-year foundation in vocabulary and grammar.
This course continues to review and reinforce communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
This course continues to review and reinforce communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
Students continue to develop and refine their language skills through increased exposure to more advanced grammar and vocabulary.
Students continue to develop and refine their language skills through increased exposure to more advanced grammar and vocabulary.
Open to students who have completed four years of French, this course is an alternative to AP French.
This course usually follows Algebra I and is a prerequisite for Algebra II.
This course is designed to challenge students with strong mathematical backgrounds.
The program provides structured, large-group activities and games that develop cognitive, physical, and social skills.
First grade continues to be a time of exponential growth in literacy.
In library, students begin the year by reorienting themselves in the library through a scavenger hunt.
The curriculum builds on addition and subtraction skills, as students work with two-digit numbers and place value.
Students are introduced to many of the fundamental skills that scientists use.
The curriculum explores the building blocks of community and how different communities are structured.
In first grade, the students will start to write words in Spanish.
Building on the introduction of art elements in kindergarten, first-grade students continue to identify and describe concepts through various lessons.
Second-grade students continue to become more independent as readers, exploring their interests through reading, building reading stamina, and applying reading strategies to maintain reading fluency.
In library, students begin the year by reorienting themselves in the library through a scavenger hunt.
Students gain increasing mastery with addition and subtraction skills, working with numbers up to 1,000, using mental math strategies, and solving word problems.
Students practice scientific investigations of butterfly and plant systems throughout the year.
The curriculum builds on the concept of community, exploring the essential elements of a successful and thriving community.
In second grade, students will start reading words, phrases, and sentences in Spanish.
Students continue to incorporate elements of art and principles of design into each project, allowing them to develop more purpose within their artwork.
Students continue exploring fiction and nonfiction genres, including narratives, informational texts, fairy tales, and poetry, as they become increasingly more independent as readers.
In library, students begin the year by reorienting themselves in the library through a scavenger hunt.
Students continue to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with larger and more complex numbers.
Third-grade exploration of music includes singing, games, and movement.
Beginning with observations of the sky and weather, third graders become meteorologists using weather measurement tools to predict the weather.
The course of study begins with a unit on Native Americans and continues to European explorers and the British colonization of North America.
In third grade, students begin to read Spanish stories with a more enhanced level of understanding.
Students begin to work independently on projects in the third grade.
Students begin the Accelerated Reader program, which encourages independent reading and the further development of comprehension skills.
In library, students continue to focus on research methods and strategies, learning to navigate the library spaces, and using a variety of sources.
More advanced work is introduced with decimals, fractions, algebraic reasoning, and basic geometry, while also stressing mastery of skills that will enable students to thrive in later math courses: proficiency with the four operations; quick recall of math facts; and facility with estimating, rounding and judging the reasonableness of an answer.
Students have already explored note and rhythm reading, form, pitch, dynamics, and tempo, and they are ready for an exploration of timbre and texture.
In fourth grade, students begin our STREAMS program, an acronym for sustainability, technology, research, engineering, agriculture, math, and service.
The curriculum includes an in-depth study of the American Revolution, the United States government, westward expansion, and immigration.
In Fourth Grade, students will continue to expand their Spanish vocabulary and reading level.
By fourth grade, students are better able to present their decision-making while working on projects.
This class is designed to introduce and expose all students in the grade to the sounds, structure, and basic use of the French language.
Students attend weekly health and wellness classes throughout the school year.
Fifth-grade language arts is studied within the context of a greater humanities course.
This introductory course develops and strengthens good vocabulary and grammar skills while teaching students the fundamentals of a classical language.
This class focuses on introducing design thinking and engineering, allowing students to tinker, collaborate, craft, and build.
This year-long course continues the Singapore Math program from earlier grades, introducing new topics and concepts.
Students journey through the earth’s systems, investigating the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and geosphere.
Fifth-grade social studies is studied within the context of a greater humanities course.
The goal of this class is to expose and foster topical and functional communication and to raise cultural awareness of traditions and daily life in countries where Spanish is spoken.
Students learn a range of computing skills, including keyboarding, word processing, working with spreadsheets, and creating presentations.
This is the first of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I French course.
Students attend weekly health and wellness classes throughout the school year.
Students study a range of literary genres, including historical fiction, science fiction, and non-fiction (memoir), as well as short stories and poems.
This is the first of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I Latin course.
Sixth-grade Makerspace class focuses on teamwork and advancing individual design skills and techniques.
This year-long course continues the Singapore Math program, building pre-algebra skills, and focusing on conceptual understanding and application of skills to solve problems.
6th grade science, "Our Changing World", is designed to engage students through hands-on experiences that will deepen conceptual understanding but also cultivate essential scientific inquiry skills necessary for future exploration and discovery.
Students investigate the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.
This is the first of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program corresponding to the Upper School Level I Spanish course.
Much of the focus of computer instruction at this level is on the Google Apps for Education, with additional projects requiring the use of Apple apps, such as iMovie and iPhoto.
This is the first year of the enriched course.
As they learn to discuss and write about increasingly complex literature, students develop critical-thinking skills in seventh-grade English.
This is the second of two consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I French course.
Students attend weekly health and wellness classes throughout the school year.
Students continue to investigate early civilizations by exploring Greece, Rome, Europe during the Middle Ages, and Islamic culture.
This is the second of two consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I Latin course.
Seventh-grade students continue their engineering and design skills and build on their previous experiences in the Makerspace.
7th grade science, "Organization in the World", is designed to engage students through hands-on experiences that will deepen conceptual understanding but also cultivate essential scientific inquiry skills necessary for future exploration and discovery.
This is the second of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I Spanish course.
Projects in this class connect with academic subjects and are designed in collaboration with core subject teachers.
This is the second year of the enriched course.
In eighth grade, students become more independent in their reading, writing, and thinking skills.
This is the third of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I French course.
This is the highest-level math course offered to Middle School students and is open only to eighth-grade students who successfully completed a full year of Algebra I.
Students attend weekly health and wellness classes throughout the school year.
This course is based on a thematic approach to civics rooted in the history of American government.
This is the third of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I Latin course.
Projects in this class are hands-on learning opportunities that incorporate circuitry, robotics, and electronics, as well as using a variety of materials and devices to design, build, collaborate, and tinker.
8th grade science, "The World at Different Scales", is designed to engage students through hands-on experiences that will deepen conceptual understanding but also cultivate essential scientific inquiry skills necessary for future exploration and discovery.
This is the third of three consecutive years in the Middle School language program, corresponding to the Upper School Level I Spanish course.
A rich repertoire of rhymes, folk songs, music games, and movement are explored using varied music styles.
Fundamental skills, techniques, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to produce and understand visual art are covered in this course.
This yearlong, required class gives students a deeper understanding of music, while engaging them in a choral setting.
Beginning with formal instruction of proper safety procedures and with basic drawing and design to elicit creativity and to build confidence, students discover how to use a variety of materials in different ways.
A variety of physical activities and sports are introduced in physical education classes that emphasize fitness, skill development, teamwork, sportsmanship, and cooperation, in addition to strength and conditioning.
CAD introduces students to the world of drawing three-dimensional objects using computers.
Drama class meets weekly and offers students the opportunity to study all facets of theater, from theater games and acting, to history and stagecraft.
This one-semester elective class is designed to give students a deeper understanding of music, while continuing to engage them in a choral setting.
We cover fundamental skills, techniques, knowledge, and the attitude necessary to produce and understand visual art.
Seventh-grade ceramics teaches the basic skills of working with clay while focusing on sculptural projects and hand-building techniques.
Eighth-grade ceramics explores how we interact and utilize clay and pottery within our daily routine by utilizing foundational ceramic techniques to create functional pottery pieces.
In this semester course, the interaction of text and image and the fundamental components of graphic communication are introduced, and students develop and hone skills in working with text and image as they create solutions to a series of design problems.
This program provides select eleventh- and twelfth-grade students an enhanced educational experience by exploring career opportunities.
As part of physical education, students in grades three and four have health and wellness instruction on a variety of topics, including healthy eating, the importance of physical fitness, healthy strategies for working through differences with friends, hygiene, and other developmentally appropriate topics.
Third- and fourth-grade students are introduced to formal health and wellness classes.
Every student is assigned an advisor who is the homeroom teacher. Homeroom teachers oversee and support each student’s academic progress,...
Research shows that for children to function at their best, they need to move and be in physical contact with their surroundings.
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of and appreciation for physics while preparing them for higher-level science and mathematics courses.
This course offers an overview of the scientific study of both the behavioral and mental processes of human beings.
Kindergarten is a special time when emergent readers can make tremendous progress.
The curriculum emphasizes the concepts and foundational skills needed to solidify a strong number sense.
Students attend music class twice each week.
The curriculum encourages the natural curiosity of young learners while introducing them to the science skills and tools to investigate the world around them.
Students are introduced to the elements of art (line, shape, space, value, color, texture, and form) and learn about well-known artists and the unique styles they use to emphasize elements.
Students are introduced to the fundamentals of Latin grammar.
Students continue their exploration of the Latin language and ancient Roman culture.
Students continue their exploration of the Latin language and ancient Roman culture at an accelerated rate.
Students continue the study of Latin grammar and vocabulary, translate increasingly complex material, and further their exploration of Roman culture and society.
Students continue the vigorous study of Latin grammar and vocabulary to be able to translate increasingly complex material, including several classic heroes and begin to study original works by Roman authors, including Pliny, Martial, Catullus, and Ovid.
Roman literature is a diverse and exciting field, and in this course, students have the opportunity to read authors such as Catullus, Ovid, Virgil, Caesar, Suetonius, and others.
Roman literature is a diverse and exciting field, and in this course, students read diverse authors such as Ovid, Virgil, Caesar, Cicero, and others.
Students will utilize the basic concepts and methods of linear algebra to analyze basic applied problems, solve linear equations of equations and find eigenvalues and eigenvectors to enable diagonalization.
Stocked with art supplies, building materials, several 3-D printers, Arduino boards, and other technology resources, the Makerspace hums with activity before, during, and after the academic day.
Fall Sports – Winter Sports – Spring Sports
This advanced course is designed to further explore calculus topics after taking AP Calculus BC.
Music Lab is a one-semester, repeatable course in which student musicians will advance their existing musical skills and develop new ones.
Musicology offers an interdisciplinary journey into the study of music, blending elements of history, sociology, and cultural studies to deepen your understanding and appreciation of various genres of music.
Music Principles II is a one-semester, intermediate course that builds on the concepts of the Music Principles 1.
This is one of six required courses for freshmen.
Our teachers understand the vital importance of play for young learners.
In this semester-long course, students learn about the unique qualities of different types of paint, including watercolor, acrylic, and oil.
Homeroom teachers incorporate a range of instructional techniques for reading, including on-level guided reading and elements of the Orton-Gillingham approach.
Students are taught an expanded range of digital printing techniques, camera functions, and photographic techniques.
This course serves as an introduction to the historical, technical, and aesthetic responsibilities of digital photography.
Students continue discussions of the historical, technical, and aesthetic responsibilities of digital photography.
This class fosters in students an appreciation of, and interest in, this most fundamental branch of science.
Honors Portfolio Development is a yearlong course for students who are serious about the practical experience of art and want to develop mastery in conceptualizing, composing, and executing their ideas.
A prerequisite for Calculus, students master topics that include recognizing parent functions; graphing functions (polynomial, rational, logarithmic, and exponential); solving quadratic equations and inequalities; solving systems of equations using matrices.
This course surveys the areas of mathematics that constitute prerequisite skills for the study of calculus.
Prekindergarten students continue to develop skills for reading through listening and retelling stories and poems.
Young learners continue to explore fundamental mathematical concepts and relationships.
Students learn music through singing, creative movement, and listening and playing classroom instruments.
Science explorations for our youngest learners introduce them to what scientists do and how they learn about the world around us.
The Spanish program begins with our youngest students by introducing vocabulary and expressions.
By creating art, young learners engage in discovery and develop creativity, independence, and problem-solving skills.
Our Early Childhood teachers nurture a deep love of reading and writing in students as they help them develop strong fundamental skills.
Hands-on activities introduce young learners to numbers and foundational mathematical concepts, including less versus more, part versus whole, and same versus different.
This year-long course is designed for students who have computer programming experience and are interested in a rigorous introduction to object-oriented languages.
Students in this semester course learn computational basics through programming or coding.
Specialized teachers in art, library, music, science, technology, and Spanish comprise the Related Arts faculty.
All GSB graduates are skilled in research methods across disciplines and utilize a variety of information resources.
At each grade level, students undertake research projects.
Students in this semester course are introduced to the principles, history, and social implications of robotics and experience a hands-on introduction to robotics and engineering, enabling students to combine the skills of a mechanical engineer, project manager, and programmer.
This semester course takes robotics further by concentrating on advanced topics.
Middle School at Gill St. Bernard’s fosters students’ growing independence, understanding that preteens and adolescents are naturally driven to explore and experience the larger world.
This semester course develops knowledge of and experience in the technical (nonperformance) aspects of theatrical production.
Our math curriculum, based on the Singapore Math approach, begins in early childhood, and extends through the second year of Middle School.
Research indicates that guided social and emotional learning helps students thrive in school and throughout their lives.
Research indicates that social and emotional skills help students thrive in school and throughout their lives.
This upper-level course focuses on communication skills and oral proficiency in Spanish.
This course stresses proficiency in all four skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—and provides an understanding of basic grammatical structures and patterns of communication.
This course reviews and reinforces communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
This course reviews and reinforces communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
This course reviews and reinforces Spanish communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
This course continues to reinforce Spanish communication skills through the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
Students read and analyze contemporary and classic literature from Spain and Latin America.
In this course, students continue to expand and refine their knowledge and communication skills through the study of more complex vocabulary and advanced grammatical structures at a rigorous pace.
In addition to standard, honors, and AP courses for physics, chemistry, and biology, the Upper School Science Department offers many elective courses.
For over 50 years, the Spring Unit has been the inspiration for the school’s motto, Schola Mundus Est: “The World is Our Classroom.”
Held at the end of May, the Middle School Spring Unit Program allows students to immerse themselves in a subject outside of the core curriculum.
This course uses both a theoretical and experimental approach and provides students with a solid foundation in introductory statistics.
Students in fourth through sixth grade take part in STREAMS, a yearlong program that brings together work in sustainability, technology, research, engineering, agriculture, math, and service.
This semester-long, entry-level course provides an overview and introduction to the visual arts using a variety of art tools and materials.
All Early Childhood students appear in The Nutcracker during the holiday concert performance.
Tinkering and design-thinking are vehicles for innovations and invention.
Students explore the history of the United States from the pre-colonial era to the present day.
This yearlong course enhances the skills that students have previously acquired.
This semester course introduces students to the wood medium, beginning with the basics of shop safety.
Prerequisite: Woodworking I
Students who wish to undertake or to continue the study of a language that GSB does not offer may contract with Language Education Resource Network (LEARN).