BOARDER-ZONE: BREADBOARD CIRCUITRY DESIGN

Surfboards, snowboards, and breadboards – no doubt California’s the land of the boards, but only the latter will make lights blink, bells ring, and radios transmit.  In this class students learn the basics of electronics through breadboarding, the essential step of assembling temporary circuits to see if and how they work.  They’ll learn to follow schematics, identify components, and understand important principles such as voltage, amperage, resistance, inductance, and capacitance.  This session will be followed by a soldering class in the winter and a class on soft circuitry in the spring.  A materials fee of $40 is due and payable to the instructor on the first day of class.

Instructor: Imagination Unlimited, has been stimulating young minds by offering hands-on science, physics, and engineering classes.

DRAWING & CARTOONING

Polish your drawing skills, create characters & learn from a real cartoonist!! We will make a group comic book, create new characters, create story boards, learn to draw in different styles, & have a blast each week with our creations! 

Instructor:  ArtHouse Studio & Starting Arts does fine art & art history classes to schools around the Bay Area.

FALL PLAY

The Fall Play is an opportunity for students to participate in a stage production at school.  Students with or without theater experience are welcome to sign up.  The Fall Play traditionally is a comedy, with a variety of speaking parts played by 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders.  Students who sign up are expected to commit to the rehearsal and performance schedule.  All students will have fun helping with costumes, make-up, and props.  There also will be a stage crew to help with sets, lighting, sound, technical issues, and play promotion.   This year’s play will be announced the first week of school.  The start date for this course will be the first rehearsal.  No refunds will be given after that date.

Instructor: Elizabeth Belles is a Redwood Teacher and was the Director of the 2008 & 2009 Fall Play.

JAPANESE

A native Japanese instructor will teach a colorful immersion-style program focusing on conversational skills.  Basic reading and writing skills and simple language structure (present tense, agreement) are also introduced.  By the end of this class, students will be able to talk about simple topics of interest to their age group, as well as write some basic sentences.  A materials fee of $29 is due and payable to the instructor on the first day of class.

Instructor: Berlitz Kids has been offering after-school language programs for the past 30 years in the United States and abroad.

MANDARIN

A native Mandarin-speaking instructor will teach a colorful immersion-style program focusing on conversational skills.  Basic reading and writing skills and simple language structure (present tense, agreement) are also introduced.  By the end of this class, students will be able to talk about simple topics of interest to their age group, as well as write some basic sentences.  A materials fee of $29 is due and payable to the instructor on the first day of class.

Instructor: Berlitz Kids has been offering after-school language programs for the past 30 years in the United States and abroad.

REDWOOD MATH CLUB

This ever popular parent-sponsored math program will strengthen your problem solving abilities and improve your math skills.  The combined efforts of a Saratoga High School teacher and student coaches will teach you how to tackle brain-tickling problems with unconventional techniques not seen in your regular middle school curriculum.  You will have the opportunity to participate in multiple math competitions and events such as MathCounts, AMC 8/10, Math Olympiad, Mathleague Contest, Harker Invitational and more.  You will also get a chance to play brain-storming math games and learn the value of teamwork in academics.  Yes, math can be interesting and fun!

Placement test: Tuesday 9/7, 3:15pm at the Redwood Multipurpose Room.

You must pass the placement test in order to enroll in this program.  Please look for the Math Club flyer in the 1^st day packet for information about how to register for the placement test.  For more information, please contact Janie Chiang or Jennifer Zhang. 

STOP MOTION ANIMATION

Kids work on a crew to create an animated film. With the guidance of professional filmmakers young students decide how they will create their characters (construction paper cut outs, Lego Figures, Action Figures, etc.) to imagine, plan, shoot and edited their own films. Kids will be empowered by finding their voice and learning story structure.  They will learn how to write, storyboard, edit, create character using stop motion animation.  We use very simple cameras and students can take what they’ve learned and continue their growth on their own.

Instructor: Freshi Films is an educational company that has over 500 programs teaching kids film, game design, and animation in 25 states as well as England, India, and South Korea.

THE SPOT

The LGS Recreation has created this exciting enrichment and leadership program located at Redwood Middle School. “The Spot” is a recreation-based program where “kids can be kids” in a fun, safe, and supervised environment. If your child isn’t there we will miss them! Members of “The Spot” will have the opportunity to participate in: Homework Center, Arts & Crafts, Pool Table, Video Games, Movies; Activities & Sports, Trips & Excursions and Special Event.  New this year we will be incorporating Service Learning opportunities as well as leadership workshops. Our staff will help make the transition from elementary school to middle school as we navigate the teen years together! For more information, review the packet of information that is available on-line or in the school office.