Learning Center Program
The Creative Writing Program is an eight-week curriculum designed to teach writing skills and spark the girls’ continuing interest in reading and writing. Girls experiment with many forms of creative writing such as journal keeping, poetry, autobiography, and fiction. The Creative Writing classes are taught by graduate students from the California Institute of the Arts and by visiting authors. The teens use computers in our Learning Lab to publish their work.
The Equine Science class introduces teens to science and health concepts, and gives girls an opportunity to apply classroom learning in a practical setting. Experienced staff teach the girls about horse behavior, anatomy, nutrition, breeds, colors and markings, as well as physical fitness and reproduction. Students observe and interview horse-care professionals such as veterinarians and farriers to see science in real-life terms.
We have become acutely aware of the need these girls have for outlets of creative expression, in large part due to the lack of art classes available to them in the public schools. The Digital Photography class encourages these girls to examine the various ways photographs create meaning in our society and will also encourage them to produce their own photographic images using a digital camera. They learn to use digital technology to edit and manipulate these images on a computer.
The Web Page Design class will teach teens computer technology, in addition to building upon the critical thinking and visual literacy skills which they developed in the Digital Photography class. The Web Page Design class will concentrate on the meanings constructed when images and language are combined.