Snow Sports is a winter term class that is for the student who needs and wants to be outside every day. We spend every afternoon on the slopes of Crystal Mountain enjoying the beautiful Northern Michigan winter. This is a great class for those that are experienced skiers and riders as well as those beginners who have a desire to learn. We will head to Crystal Mountain every day right after lunch. This will also be your afternoon activity. We will also be studying the ski industry, general strength and conditioning, and skiing and snowboarding techniques.

In this immersive 5-week cooking course, students will explore the rich culinary traditions of
Spanish-speaking countries, gaining hands-on experience in preparing traditional dishes while
learning about the history and culture behind them. Each week will focus on a different country or
region – including Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and Spain – blending cooking
techniques with historical context to offer a comprehensive understanding of how food is tied to
identity, heritage, and community.

In this hands-on course, students will design, create, and refine original products with the goal of selling their work at the second annual spring Artist Market. Through written visioning and artist statements, they will develop a better understanding of design, build a cohesive brand, and consider the customer experience from concept to finished product. The focus will be on creating collections that embody their artistic vision and have market awareness. Students will explore production techniques suited to creating multiples and work across a range of mediums, including ceramics, metals, and laser engraving. Guest visits from local artists and business owners will provide firsthand insights into professional practice and help students build community connections.

This hands-on class offers students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of blacksmithing while helping shape the future of our new forge program. Together, we’ll design the layout of our forge space and establish an efficient workflow— creating not just art, but the foundation of the program itself. And yes, we’ll be forging through winter — literally! Students will gain firsthand experience working with fire and steel in the heart of the cold season, learning to adapt and thrive in a dynamic environment. By the end of the course, each student will walk away with completed blacksmithing projects and the skills, confidence, and knowledge to continue exploring this timeless craft.

Some of the most memorable movies ever made have been about the world’s favorite and most impactful musicians. Think Mozart and Beethoven, but also Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Selena, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. This class will explore the true stories behind each of the musicians we study before we watch the Hollywood version of their lives, giving us a chance to discuss why some details were chosen and others were left out, and when the truth was exaggerated in order to tell a compelling story. We will also spend class time studying some of the more well-known songs and even learning to play or sing them.

Discover the lore, language and science behind one of the most secretive and unique platforms in the US Navy: the submarine. Students will learn the origins of the US Navy submarine force and practical skills like piloting a submarine using sonar, recognizing approaching ships through the periscope, shutting down nuclear reactors, recognizing acute radiation sickness, and avoiding Russian torpedoes. The class will explore ship systems, practice periscope techniques, perform basic navigational plotting and walkthrough the USS Silversides WWII submarine in Muskegon,
Michigan. No prior submarine experience required.

This class offers a broad view of Psychology. We’ll start with the early days of Freud and Jung and move through developmental psychology, sensory perception, behavioral psychology, social psychology, forensic psychology, and psychopathology. Topics covered will include consciousness, experiments and ethics, the history of the asylum system and mental health care, and the development of the DSM – the modern diagnostic manual of mental disorders. We’ll also learn about how psychology as a discipline interacts with and affects popular culture and the arts. Our main text will be the OpenStax Psychology textbook and in the second half of the term we’ll read Lord of the Flies, which will give us a context through which to discuss adolescent psychology, culture and ritual formation, group dynamics, and the psychology of fear, violence, and bullying, not only in the story, but in relationship to students’ own experiences. At the end of the course, students will produce a final project, either by psychoanalyzing a film or producing a psychoanalytic or archetypal work of art.

This class will cover the history of LGBTQ representation in film and television. The class focuses on American media, but we will compare examples from international cinema as well. We’ll watch excerpts, full tv episodes, and movies from the very first depictions of queer and transgender people in media to the more fully developed, but sometimes still problematic portrayals of today. This course also provides an introduction to concepts from both Film Theory and Queer Theory. We’ll learn about such phenomena as the gaze, gay and transgender media tropes, virtue signaling, camp, coding, disidentification, and queerbaiting. We’ll discuss the importance of representation and how the lack or prevalence of representation can affect a community’s identity and self-perception. Using media examples, we’ll also learn about the fluctuating attitudes of broader society toward LGBTQ people from the 1920s to today.

This unique interdisciplinary course offers students an extraordinary opportunity to engage in immersive, place-based learning beyond the borders of Michigan. While the Sleeping Bear Dunes provide rich environmental lessons, the ecosystems of coral reefs and tropical marine environments present a vastly different and equally critical area of study. For nine days this winter, students will live and learn at a remote field research station on Andros Island in The Bahamas, working alongside marine scientists and local experts. Daily snorkeling expeditions and ecological hikes will introduce students to the biodiversity of coral reef systems, mangroves, and blue holes. Alongside scientific exploration, students will gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural and historical context of the islands through direct engagement with Bahamian residents and traditions. At the heart of this course is the development of careful observation—an essential skill in both science and art. Through drawing and watercolor techniques, students will train their eyes to
notice subtle details in the environment, practicing the increasingly rare discipline of slowing down and truly seeing. These artistic tools will not only enhance their understanding of the ecosystems they study but also serve as a means of visual communication. Students will translate their scientific observations into compelling creative projects, learning to communicate complex ideas through visual storytelling. As public understanding of science becomes increasingly important, this course introduces students to the growing field of science communication, where data and discovery meet design and narrative. By the end of the term, students will have strengthened their observational abilities, refined their artistic techniques, and created original works that reflect both scientific insight and personal perspective. This course invites students to be explorers, artists, and storytellers—equipped to see the world more deeply and share what they discover.