The Bay Area is one of the most beautiful areas in the country, and yet very few of its inhabitants know about the wilderness and trails that are right in our own “backyard.” In this outdoor studies course, we will become acquainted with the history, geography and ecological issues of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District. By hiking along some of our most scenic trails, we will see first hand the natural beauty of the area and gain a perspective of the environmental issues threatening it. We will then work on a preservation project that we hope will ultimately encourage students to become involved in environmental issues affecting our community. Although some class time is involved, a primary goal of the course is to get outdoors and explore these areas by hiking select trails with the MPROSD.

Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch have inspired thousands of programmers to develop small programs (apps) for these new platforms. Students with a passion for programming will have an opportunity to explore this exciting new programming venue and to gain experience with development tools including the iPhone SDK, XCode, Interface Builder, Cocoa Touch, and Objective-C. Students will design and implement their own apps, refining their design, programming, and software engineering skills. In addition to allowing students to explore a new programming environment and to implement a demanding project, this course aims to develop lifelong learners: students should learn enough in this course to become independent explorers of more advanced ideas in iPhone app development.

Whip out your magnifying glass and get ready for some fieldwork! In this course, we will visit a different museum each day and investigate these central mysteries: what is a museum? what goes into them and who decides? who enjoys going to museums and why? Using scavenger hunts, puzzles, sketching in the galleries and activities that appeal to the five senses, this course hopes to give you a new museum-going experience. We will also do our best to convince you that a museum visit can be a fun, intellectual and imaginative retreat for the mind and spirit.

What makes a comic different from a novel or a movie? How do graphic novels, manga, comic strips, webcomics, etc, fit into the picture? We will delve into the world of comics with a critical eye and explore what makes it tick. We will visit the Cartoon Museum of Art in San Francisco and talk to comic artists. Then we will learn by doing by creating our own themed comic anthology. Don’t worry about artistic ability or writing ability. We are here to read and tell stories. Maybe you will go on to start your own comic series, or maybe you will never draw another word bubble and comic panel. What this class will leave you with is a deeper understanding of the medium of comics.