Students are taught how to study the Bible for themselves. They are also introduced to Theology in the areas of Scripture, God and the Church. One quarter is spent on prophecy, particularly the Books of Daniel and Revelation. Finally, students explore several areas of apologetics including cults, reconciling science and Scripture, and the problem of evil.

Students make further development in personal Bible study skills. In their theological studies they cover the topics of man, sin, and the future. There is a one quarter study in the Book of John. And finally, they pursue the topics of the existence of God, miracles, and criticisms of the Bible.

Students do a study in the Book of Romans. They spend one quarter on developing a Biblical world view and comparing it with competing views. One quarter is spent on Christian history since the first century and missions. Lastly, students interact Biblically with several contemporary issues raised by the class.

Students do a study in the Book of James. They look at what the Bible has to say about practical issues they are facing like choosing a career, finances, and marriage and family. They will read and react to the biography of a Christian figure and develop a presentation of their own testimonies as they prepare for the senior missions trip.

LDR 150 is a three-credit college course that assists students in discovering the concept of life calling in a holistic and faith-based setting by focusing on one’s God-given design as a basis for this calling. Students are led to understand how work and individual leadership is best understood from this life calling perspective. They will focus on more than just a career; they will evaluate their foundational values, unique design, and personal mission and discover how to integrate this into their life and leadership. Credit for this course is assigned by Indiana Wesleyan University, who trains our own faculty to teach it. Cost is $75 for high school credit only, or $350 if college credit is desired, and includes the text and the IMAGE spiritual gifting assessment.

Students study and analyze the different components of a short story (plot, setting, theme, point of view, character) and identify different literary genres. Students also study the different elements of drama by reading one of Shakespeare’s plays. Speech preparation and delivery is also learned. Throughout the course, students will analyze and evaluate literature and characters’ actions based on a Biblical worldview. The writing and grammar component of the course reviews all eight parts of speech with special emphasis on adjectives and adverbs, including adverb clauses. Students review basic sentence patterns, usage concepts such as agreement and pronoun reference, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Instruction and practice in library skills and study skills are included as well. All the steps of the writing process are reviewed as students complete writing projects such as a devotional, a research essay, an in-class essay, a comparison/contrast paragraph, poetry, and a public service announcement.

This course expands on what was taught in ninth grade by studying various modes of literature including allusion, symbolism, irony and allegory. Students also continue to study and identify major literary genres such as biography, short fiction, poetry, drama and personal essay. A play by William Shakespeare is also read and studied. The writing and grammar component includes verbal phrases, clauses (including noun clauses), usage, and mechanics. Review the five basic sentence patterns and introduce two new sentence patterns. Reference chapters include library skills and study skills. Students use the writing process and learn writing strategies such as sentence expansion and reduction, coordination and subordination, and correct use of parallelism. Writing projects include a persuasive speech, an editorial, an eyewitness report, a research essay, a cause-and-effect essay, a short story, poetry and metaphor, and a webpage design.

This course is designed to evaluate the connection between history and culture and the literature of a time period. American literature from the time of the Native Americans to contemporary authors is studied within a Biblical framework. Classic American novels are also read and studied. The writing and grammar component includes verbal phrases, clauses, usage, and mechanics. Students review the seven sentence patterns and add advanced concepts such as tense sequence, perfect verbals, and adverbial nouns. The writing process and writing strategies such as variety, emphasis, and sentence logic are developed through writing projects which include a research paper, a literary analysis, a folktale, a narrative poem, a hymn, an analytical essay, an interview, a memoir, an analogy, an in-class essay, and a letter to the editor.

The literary focus of this course is British literature from the time of the Anglo-Saxons to the present. Shakespeare is studied and analyzed in depth. Throughout the course, students analyze literature through a Biblical worldview and compare and contrast the worldviews presented in literature with the Bible. The writing component addresses the particular needs of advanced-level students, including writing strategies for sentence logic and energy, paragraph development, and organization. Students write literary analysis essays and a MLA style research paper. Special attention is given to teaching students to write college level material. The course also covers test-taking strategies and college application essays.

In this college level course, which prepares and requires students to take the Literature and Composition AP Test, students are engaged in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. The course includes intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. Through the close reading of the texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. Students consider textual structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of literature and include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity.

This one-year course covers physical, political, and cultural geography. Students are exposed to a complete survey of geographic principles and regions, map skills, geographic approach to key historic events, an overview of types of governments, the influence of land, climate, and resources on national economics, principles of stewardship of resources, biblical basis and illustrations for geographic principles, and eight cultural regions and their influence on lifestyles, sports, arts, and culture.

This one-year course outlines the major political, social, and cultural developments of our world, and particularly of Western civilization, beginning with Creation, and continuing to the present. Students are encouraged to examine cause-and-effect relationships, and to continue honing other analytical skills, as they explore the cultures of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, Europe through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation, and the increasing globalization of the modern world.

Required for graduation, this is a one-year overview of the history of our nation from the Colonial period to the present, using a primarily chronological approach. Emphasis is placed on the political, social, and historical developments that have shaped our nation today. The course is designed to encourage thoughtful analysis of current policy challenges within the context of lessons that can be learned from our past national experiences. Classroom work is supplemented with, debates, research, and a primary source analysis project.

A one-semester course exploring the development and operation of our American government, with primary emphasis on the national government. The course begins by outlining the functions and interrelationships of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of our government, and the importance of the political parties in the formation and execution of domestic and foreign policy. Major emphasis is also given to understanding civil rights and liberties, and the role Christians can and should play as citizens. Learning activities include simulation, supplementary readings and reports, research, and debate. The course includes the U.S. and Illinois Constitution tests, and is required for graduation.

A one-semester course on the principles of the market system. Beginning with the interaction of the factors of production and the laws of supply and demand, students explore the basic principles of the American economic system, including the various forms of business organization, money and banking, and the financial markets. They also explore the role of government in the economy as the Congress and the Federal Reserve formulate and apply fiscal and monetary policies, and respond to the challenges of a global economy.

This is a multi-discipline class, functioning as both a consumer math and a micro-economics course. In this full-year course, Christian stewardship in the areas of time and money are the primary themes. Basic consumer skills such as income, budgeting, banking, borrowing, transportation, food, clothing, buying/renting/maintaining a house, choosing the right types of insurance and managing investments, income taxes, and providing for vacations are included. The course also offers a review of basic math skills and measurements.

The course advances the student in working with unknowns in addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. The student works with graphs in linear and linear inequalities, and furthers his skills with matrices, probability and statistics, transformation, exponents, polynomials and the quadratic functions. This course prepares the student for advanced algebra and geometry.

The geometry course topics include plane and solid geometry, properties of congruence, similarity, ratio and proportion, area, perimeter, and volume of basic figures. The student will write and make constructions of inductive, deductive, and indirect proofs.

The course covers equations and functions, matrices, systems of equations, quadratic functions, polynomial functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, rations functions, binomial theorem, and discrete mathematical concepts.

Trigonometry topics include trigonometric functions and their graphs, identities, law of sines, law of cosines, trigonometric equations, complex numbers, conic sections, and practical applications. Calculus topics include problem solving with equations, functions, polynomials, exponential functions, logarithmic functions, systems of equations and inequalities, parabolas, ellipses, hyperbolas, sequences and series, mathematical induction, the binomial theorem, conic sections and polar graphs, complex numbers, matrix algebra, statistics, sequences, limits, and differential calculus. A TI-83 or TI-84 graphing calculator is required for this course.

This course is designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam offered by the College Board. Students will work with functions represented in a variety of ways, understand the meaning of the derivative in terms of a rate of change and local linear approximation and use derivatives to solve a variety of problems, understand the meaning of the definite integral and use integrals to solve a variety of problems, understand the relationship between the derivative and the definite integral as expressed in both parts of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, communicate mathematics both orally and in well-written sentences and explain solutions to problems, model a written description of a physical situation with a function, a differential equation, or an integral, use technology to help solve problems, experiment, interpret results, and verify conclusions, determine the reasonableness of solutions, including sign, size, relative accuracy, and units of measurement, develop an appreciation of calculus as a coherent body of knowledge and as a human accomplishment for God’s glory and the benefit of fellowman. A TI-83 or TI-84 graphing calculator is required for this course.

This is a multi-discipline class, functioning as both a consumer math and a micro-economics course. In this full-year course, Christian stewardship in the areas of time and money are the primary themes. Basic consumer skills such as income, budgeting, banking, borrowing, transportation, food, clothing, buying/renting/maintaining a house, choosing the right types of insurance and managing investments, income taxes, and providing for vacations are included. The course also offers a review of basic math skills and measurements.

Logic I studies the beginning laws of rational thought, the Syllogism, Venn Diagrams and informal fallacies. Both Logic I & II have the student apply the process to everyday situations around them.

Logic II takes the student through conditional arguments, truth tables, and the theorems used in valid arguments. Both Logic I & II have the student apply the process to everyday situations around them.

This course serves as a foundation for the full year courses of chemistry and physics. Students learn the basic foundational principles of matter and energy and the relationships between. Practical hands on learning and everyday experiences demonstrate the

This course is designed to introduce the student to the basic, fundamental concepts of biology. The course of study includes the history biological science, the scientific method, basic chemistry, cytology, genetics, origins, and an examination of all five kingdoms. All material is taught and presented from the philosophy that true science seeks to glorify God and is in agreement with the Bible.

This course in lab physics utilizes math skills developed in Algebra. Students study mechanics, forces, properties of matter, energy, heat, sound and light, electricity and magnetism, and the make up of atoms. Physics underlies all the other sciences and is foundational to understanding chemistry, biology, earth science, and astronomy.

The course is inorganic chemistry, which covers the standards of high school chemistry. The topics in this class include atomic structure, periodic table, electron configuration, chemical bonding, chemical formulas, stoichiometry, chemical equations, phases of matter, solutions, chemical kinetics, acid-base reactions just to name a few topics. The object is to prepare the student for college chemistry.

Students will learn the alphabet and will be able to greet and apply simple sentences on weather, school, home, family, and travel. Students will also memorize simple bible verses and learn songs.

Students will learn to apply prior year’s knowledge of vocabulary and sentence structure. Students will learn past tense and future tense. Memorization of bible verses and prayers will be learned, also students will learn about Latin American countries and their cultures.

Students will be learning conversational Spanish. Students will be reading stories (Spanish Literature) and writing stories. Students will be listening to and memorizing Spanish praise music and will be learning about the different festivities throughout Latin America.

Students will build upon the foundation of the last three years of study. Students will continue developing their ability in conversational Spanish. Students will be reading, writing and translating Spanish. Students will continue listening to and memorizing Spanish praise music and learning more about the culture throughout Latin America.

Concert Band is for students having acquired the skills necessary to play music at an upper junior high to senior high school level, as determined by the director. Students through 8th grade will typically receive one group lesson per week. The full band currently rehearses three mornings per week as part of this program.

Honors Band is for students who have qualified for and are members of the Concert Band and are taking private instruction, either on their band instrument or on piano. The Concert Band rehearses four mornings per week.

Using a wide variety of musical styles from traditional to contemporary, students in our Choir and various small ensembles develop their vocal skills while glorifying Christ and representing Westlake at school concerts and in a number of church and community activities.

Westlake seeks to provide opportunities for students to express their love for Christ and to develop Christian leadership skills while ministering to fellow believers. Members of this class learn and practice these skills while regularly leading worship in our weekly Upper School chapels.

This course is a teacher-guided independent study course exploring basic pitch and rhythm notation through interval relationships, and from major and minor scales through basic functional harmony and part-writing. Students will be provided with materials for study and practice and given time to work independently and individually with the instructor. There is no prerequisite for the course.

Students will examine the relationships between major philosophical movements in Western Civilization (such as the Enlightenment) and their expression in music from a Biblical worldview. The course provides an overview of each main movement or period from the Middle Ages through the present day with major examples from the music of the period, examined through an understanding of Scripture and broader historical context.

Westlake desires its students to be prepared to articulate their faith with convincing conviction. This course teaches the student to speak clearly and concisely and to use speaking skills to honor Christ. Students study the fundamentals of public speaking from platform presence to persuasion. They learn to choose topics, research, organize, and communicate in the workplace. They are given detailed instruction about various types of speeches, including personal opinion, persuasive, devotional, demonstration, informative, job interviewing, personal experience, and declamation as well as speaking in special situations.

Drama introduces students to basic acting and stagecraft, including terminology, acting theory and characterization, and improvisation. Classes will include discussing acting techniques for voice and body, theatre terminology, and working with other students to prepare short segments of plays or skits for practice or performance as opportunities are presented. Students also explore technical aspects of theatrical production, including set design, sound and lighting, props, special effects, costuming, and make-up. Practical experience will be provided by the production of Westlake’s spring drama. Students taking this course will be strongly encouraged to participate in the stage crew for the production. There is no prerequisite for this class.

Students learn composition through the use of the Elements of Art (color, line, shape, value and texture) as well as the Principles of Design (balance, repetition, space, and variety).

Students learn to draw through simple and gradual skill-building assignments, and learn to express themselves by drawing. The drawing techniques taught provide students with a wide variety of skills and methods of working. Students are exposed to: blind contour drawing, self-portrait drawing, still-life drawing, and perspective drawing. They use a variety of media including but not limited to: pencil, colored pencil, pen, ink, and charcoal.

Qualified students may continue onto further levels of Drawing. These students continue to develop the skills and techniques they learned in Drawing I. Students work independently under the supervision of the teacher.

Students develop an understanding of painting, its materials and applications. They explore through painting the interrelated discipline of drawing and design and learn to understand color harmony, balance, and form. The course also encourages the development of objective painting as a means of personal expression.

Qualified students may continue onto further levels of Painting. These students continue to develop the skills and techniques they learned in Painting I. Students work independently under the supervision of the teacher.

During this one-semester course, students are exposed to two foundational computer applications: word processing and spreadsheets. They begin with an introduction to word processing, using Microsoft Word. Students learn basic formatting and editing skills, work with styles and themes, and practice enhancing documents with columns, art, text boxes, clip art, and photographs. In the second part, the basic structure and functions of spreadsheets are presented using Microsoft Excel. Students learn basic spreadsheet formulas, and how to construct PivotTables and Graphs to analyze and summarize data for presentation. Students also learn about the use of forms for more efficient and accurate data-entry.

Database and presentation software are featured in this one-semester course. Using Microsoft Access, students learn about referential databases. They create tables and forms for data entry and storage, and construct queries and reports to analyze and present data. The course also includes a brief introduction of Visual Basic for Applications. Students also learn to create and produce presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. This introductory course teaches students to organize their ideas for presentation, and to illustrate them using pictures, graphs, tables, and multimedia.

This course introduces basic techniques used in creating and modifying images using Corel Paint Shop Pro®. Students master various graphics tools while creating, enhancing, and manipulating freehand images and photographs in this project-based course.

This course explores the use of CAD software for both engineering and architectural application. Students learn the basics of three-dimensional CAD while constructing a model of a mechanical device and a model of a house from a plan. Students incorporate pre-made symbols to create attractive presentation drawings similar to those produced by architectural firms for clients. The course introduces many of the principles of mechanical drawing, and reinforces concepts of plane and solid geometry. Fine

The high school physical education course is scheduled in the ninth grade. The course is designed to meet various needs of the students at this age as follows: physical fitness development, social interaction, and various other physical, mental, and psychological needs. To do this the course will include a variety of activities such as physical fitness testing, team sports and games, and various lifetime sports and activities. All of these are geared toward encouraging cardiovascular and respiratory improvement, improved fitness level, teamwork, competition, motivation, and rule knowledge.

This course is offered in the ninth grade for one semester. The course is designed to train students in areas of total health: spiritual, mental, physical, and social. These include the life cycle of growth, development, heredity, environmental health issues, diseases, substance abuse, safety, fitness, nutrition, and sexual abstinence education. Some basic anatomy will be covered as it related to these topics. Also covered are methods of maintaining fitness levels to produce healthy cardiovascular and respiratory levels.

This one-semester course covers seasonal fitness activities as well as fitness testing. Team and individual sports, rule knowledge, lifetime fitness and game development are a few of the areas covered. The course satisfies graduation requirements for those who do not qualify for sports participation credit.

This course guides students through the process of college planning by preparing them to take either the ACT or SAT tests as well as go through the steps necessary for college application and securing financial aid. Students receive an overview of entrance tests and their components. Different test taking tactics are learned as well as strategies to increase reading speed and comprehension. Each student takes a diagnostic exam at the beginning of the year to discover what aspects of the test most need to be studied for each individual student. Practice tests are also taken throughout the course for additional practice.

Participation on the Westlake yearbook staff provides training in the various tasks associated with print publication, including artistic and graphic design, layout, desktop publication, photography, copy composition, and advertising. Staff members learn to meet deadlines, contribute ideas, work independently as well as together on a team, and work behind the scenes on all school activities, giving them a chance to travel with school trips and sports events. Students interested in joining yearbook staff must have permission of the advisor.

Being a teacher or office aide allows students to view school “on the other side” using a hands-on approach by actually working under the supervision of a teacher or office staff member in a work environment. Students might be given a wide variety of duties which may include copying, grading papers, answering the phones, running errands, etc. Teacher or office aides are very valuable to our teaching faculty and our administrative offices. In addition to the responsibilities a student will daily log or journal the work they have done. At the end of each week their supervisor will review and initial their log. This aide opportunity requires a high level of confidentiality and trust. Students who choose this elective, along with their parents, will be required to sign a statement of understanding, expectations and confidentiality.