Upper School Students Begin Mini-courses
Following final exams in mid-May, the Upper School puts a pause on traditional academic courses like math, science, and history and transitions into mini-courses for the final weeks of the school year. Mini-courses are required, active classes that provide an experiential learning initiative to students. During mini-courses, students have designated time to to complete individual projects, travel, and explore potential passions in classes that are designed to be interdisciplinary and community-based.
This spirited trimester crosses grade levels and courses are taught by Ellis teachers, outside experts, alumnae, and students. A pressure-free learning experience, mini-courses allow for hands-on learning that offers the Ellis Upper School community the opportunity to collaborate, reflect, and innovate together in a joyful environment.
This year, mini-courses include 31 distinct options with topics ranging from intersectional feminism, to playwriting, to architecture. In recent years, students have also taken study trips to Russia, England, France, Italy, Crow Canyon, Spain, and New York City. Others have participated in community service projects. The capstone of each academic year for underclassmen, mini-courses are a time for Ellis girls to embrace new ideas and have fun.Architecture
Arrival
Colored Clay / Wearable Art
Coloring, Convo, and Current Events
Cooking the Classics
Crafting Calm
Dear Data
Food for Thought
Fun with Phone Photos
Homelessness in Pittsburgh
I Go to Work
Intersectional Feminism
Intro to Sewing
Life through Creative Writing
Localmotion
Mindfulness Matters
Mini- Course Play
Mini-Course Murder Mystery
Nine-Mile Run: Watershed Exploration and Restoration
Origami and Papercraft
Playwriting Workshop
Save the Food
Shakespeare in Performance
Shape Thinking- Color and 2D Animation!
Speak Like A Native
The Art of Mathematics
The City through its Art
The Course That Dare Not Speak Its Name (Gay History from 1850 to the Present)
The Unconventional Challenge: Fashion Through the Decades
West Penn Art Project
Yoga
To learn more about mini-courses at The Ellis School, click here.
Envision Her at Ellis
If you're interested in exploring Ellis for your daughter, let's connect! Request information about enrollment, attend one of our upcoming events, or hear about Ellis from those who know it best: our students.
