Upper School Curriculum

Grades: 10, 11, 12
Full-Year

PREREQ: Precalculus with no prior coding classes | or Algebra II and one of the following: CS 100 Introduction to Programming, CS 100 and CS 200 Robotics 1 and 2, or CS 300 Game Design

This full-year course is a broadly focused exploration of Java programming that mirrors a 100-level college computer science course. The first third covers procedural programming, emphasizing Java’s foundations derived from C and C++. The second third focuses on object-oriented design, inheritance and polymorphism, highlighting Java’s distinct features from its predecessor languages. The final third concludes with algorithm design and efficiency, encompassing recursion, searching, pattern recognition, and sorting. Students gain proficiency in Java programming, class design, information encapsulation, and experience with string, array, and list methods and their associated functionality. Assessments include e-text homework, lab and project coding assignments, quizzes, tests, and occasional CTF (capture-the-flag) team problem-solving exercises. Students also learn GitHub usage and collaborative project posting. Student success requires dedication, maturity, independent follow-through and collaborative skills.