New Courses Excite Upper School Students—Historical Research, Film Production and More

After feedback from students looking for more options to build academic research skills, the Upper School launched an advanced historical research methods course this fall—one of several new offerings students could choose from.

The new history class is a progression from the introduction to historical research methods course, both taught by Upper School Librarian Stacey von Winckelmann.

Advanced historical research methods will expand on research skills taught in the introductory class, and provide additional opportunities for experiential learning.

The class will feature semester-long research projects that will require keeping research logs and writing literature reviews. In addition, students will examine best practices for historical preservation and digital archiving, which will be implemented in the creation of a St. Margaret’s digital archive. Students will contribute to that archive by conducting oral history interviews with St. Margaret’s faculty to document the school’s rich history.

“Students will have new experiences to further expand their skills,” Mrs. von Winckelmann said. “They will learn many different aspects of research, which will serve them well in college and beyond.”

In visual arts, a film production class taught by new film and media teacher Karen Bennett focuses on students developing their creative abilities through the production of film projects. Students will analyze short films, write original scripts, block scenes, shoot footage and explore various editing techniques.

Meanwhile, St. Margaret’s English IV class for grade 12 students consists of two semester-length topic classes. The topics vary from year to year, and some previous popular topics return including dramatic literature, modern poetry and short story. This year, two new topics are debuting—East Asian poetry and American Latino short stories, both taught by Kimberly Kim.

“We are constantly evaluating student need and student interests when discussing curriculum at St. Margaret’s,” said interim Upper School Principal Jeneen Graham. “We are excited about these new course offerings, and the skills and knowledge gained from these courses will benefit students well into the future.”