Fine Arts

6th grade
Required
Yearlong

Sixth grade students engage in a yearlong introduction to the four disciplines of the fine arts, including one semester of dance, drama, and visual arts, and one semester of instrumental and vocal music. Sixth grade students who wish to pursue instrumental music for the full year rather than one semester may indicate this preference on the course request form. Placement into advanced music classes is determined by audition.

This full-year arts sampler provides each student with an experiential introduction to dance, drama, visual arts, and music. Students spend one semester exploring vocal and instrumental music (Orchestra and Band I); the other semester is split evenly between dance, drama, and visual art.

• Dance includes basic movement and an introduction to the elements of dance through a variety of dance styles and techniques
   
• Drama focuses on two basic elements of theatre: story and character. Students explore their inherent theatricality using improvisation, theatre games, storytelling exercises, and other tools.
   
• Visual Art focuses on self-expression and exploration via the elements of line and color, exposing students to a variety of ideas, styles, media, and techniques
   
• The semester of Orchestra & Band I introduces and develops fundamental vocal and instrumental skills that enable students to explore and express their creativity through sound

7th and 8th grades
One semester

Students deepen technique, movement expression, and choreographic experience. The course includes a variety of dance styles, including modern, ballet, hip-hop, break dancing, salsa, swing, and more. Students practice skills in choreography and composition, working both individually and collaboratively with peers. Guest artists enrich the learning with special classes and performances. In addition, students may participate in performance events throughout the semester to share their creative work. Dance class is an opportunity for students to learn more about their own artistic voice and to build community and confidence through group collaboration.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This course is designed to develop an understanding of the theatrical production process from mounting a script to postproduction critique. Students participate in auditions, research, rehearsal, and performance, and work with the Stagecraft class to produce the Middle School play. The Play Production class will include one nonperforming student who serves as the stage manager for the production, assisting the director throughout the semester. Prior experience in Stagecraft is preferred.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

Working in conjunction with the Play Production class, Stagecraft students study the technical aspects of theatre, including the design and production of scenery, lighting, sound, properties, costumes, and publicity. During the semester, students research, design, and construct all elements of the set. Students serve as the stage crew during tech rehearsals and performances, providing production support, technical direction, and stage management.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This course is designed to develop an understanding of the theatrical production process from the first reading of a script to postproduction critique. Students participate in auditions, research, rehearsal, and performance, and work with the Stagecraft class to produce the Middle and Upper School play. The class will include one nonperforming student who serves as the stage manager for the production, assisting the director throughout the semester.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

Working in conjunction with the Play Production class, Stagecraft students study the technical aspects of theatre, including the design and production of scenery, lighting, sound, properties, costumes, and publicity. During the semester, students research, design, and construct all elements of the set. Students serve as the stage crew during tech rehearsals and performances, providing production support, technical direction, and stage management.

7th and 8th grades
Yearlong

This class is intended for advanced beginner- to intermediate-level instrumentalists seeking to advance their technique and musicianship. We will build fundamentals, working on ensemble playing, practice techniques, basic theory, and listening skills in order to prepare and present a performance. The course is designed to prepare students for participation in the jazz and/or orchestral performance groups.

7th and 8th grades
Yearlong

The Middle School Orchestra is UPrep’s advanced Middle School performing ensemble. We compete in regional adjudications and travel to one overnight destination each year. This ensemble is open to all orchestral instruments, including saxophone, and requires an audition or teacher signature for enrollment.

7th and 8th grades
Yearlong

Intermediate Jazz Ensemble is UPrep’s intermediate jazz instrumental group. This class is designed for intermediate-level instrumentalists who are familiar with note reading and rhythms. The focus of this class is on building skills playing in a group setting, basic improvisation, jazz articulations, and preparation for the advanced jazz ensemble. We will participate in two jazz festivals each year and perform twice a year at a Seattle-area jazz club. This class is open to students who play saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. Entry into the class is by audition and/or teacher signature.

8th grade
Yearlong

This is UPrep’s advanced jazz instrumental performing group. We participate in three or four regional jazz festivals and perform twice a year at a Seattle-area jazz club. Because of our performance exposure, the commitment level and expectations for student preparedness are high. This class is open to students who play saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. Entry into the class is by audition and/or teacher signature.

7th and 8th grades
Yearlong

This class is for students who are interested in gaining experience in a group vocal setting. Over the course of the semester, we focus on vocal technique, sight-reading, group singing skills, and performance. We explore a wide variety of styles and genres, reflect on the role that music has played in our lives, and deepen our understanding of what singing is all about. This class is for students of all experience levels and backgrounds.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This course is a creative journey into the foundations of making art. Students will explore self-expression while learning basic techniques for drawing, painting, design, and building three-dimensional forms. Projects may include cardboard sculpture, papier-mâché, abstract painting, drawing from observation, and comics/cartooning. Students will also explore how their projects fit into the context of art history.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This course is an introduction to photography in which students explore the basics of traditional black-and-white photography and transition into digital. Students learn basic camera functions for film and digital cameras, exposure, lighting, composition, darkroom usage, and film development. Through weekly assignments, themes, and portfolios, students develop observational skills, improve critical and creative thinking, and learn a variety of photographic applications.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

Students create a portfolio of original artwork based on techniques from diverse locations around the world. They learn about global culture while gaining a wide variety of art skills and exploring the ways in which they can express their own experiences, memories, and stories through art. Projects may include media such as henna, paper-cutting, various types of painting, Celtic knotwork, and sand art. The course emphasizes both the artistic techniques and the cultural significance of each project as it relates to students’ own lives and cultures.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This class introduces layout, design, and photography. Students acquire advanced skills in appropriate computer applications to successfully create and publish the school’s yearbook. Students are required to photograph events outside of class time.

7th and 8th grades
One semester

This course is designed to teach students the skills necessary to create UPrep’s Middle School newspaper, Puma Prints, and maintain an online news presence, UPrepMedia.com. Students are responsible for photos, stories, and design. The course covers journalistic writing, photography, layout/graphic design, online publishing resources, current events, and media literacy. Students gain experience with Adobe Creative Cloud software and WordPress. This class requires work outside of school hours. Students may take the course more than once and advance to more responsible positions on staff each year.

7th–12th grades

Students dive into the art of choreography and the experience of building and performing dances. Students explore a variety of choreographic exercises, improvisational scores, and creative work in the studio to build their understanding of composition and the creative process. During visits with professional dancers and choreographers, on field trips to see professional performance, and through in-class assignments and presentations of their own work, students deepen their understanding of dance and choreography. A variety of documentaries highlight current choreographers and their work. In-class lessons approach dancemaking from a variety of methods. During the course, students create their own choreography, set their movement on peers, dance in the work of their classmates, and experience having choreography set on them by others, including professional artists. To culminate the class, students perform a selection of dances in a showcase, sharing their creative work in a final performance for the UPrep community.

8th–12th grades

The goal and focus of Winter Stock is to enhance theatre students’ ability to think creatively and engage in multiple levels of learning through an all-inclusive theatrical experience. Like young summer stock actors and theatre techs, our students develop an understanding of the artistic process and build a working, unified company while creating a fully produced play in a short period of time. Students gain an understanding of their own learning process as they integrate elements of play-making: sound, lighting, set design, set construction, acting, and performance.

7th–8th grades

“Yes And …” develops confidence, flexibility, adventurousness, and performance skills through the medium and playfulness of improv theatre. The ability to improvise—working with what you have, responding to changing circumstances, and going with the flow—is a skill that is as applicable to daily life as it is to theatre. This class uses two classic forms of improvisation—games and long-form—to explore character development, build the ability to think quickly and respond readily to prompts, and learn to tell a story in an improvisatory way. In these ways, the course prepares students for experiences in which quick thinking, comfort, and ease in presentation are required. The final performance is a low-key, lightly produced event presented during the class period. The performance is open to family but does not require any special scheduling.

7th–8th grades

This very tactile course gives students the opportunity to learn, in a hands-on manner, how to transform clay into works of art and useful everyday objects. The class focuses on hand-building and sculptural techniques as well as multiple low-fire glaze techniques. Students also learn how the history of ceramics through European, Asian, Native American, and Indigenous cultures influences contemporary ceramic artists. Be ready to get your hands dirty.