High School electives are typically courses that fall outside of the main core academic subject areas. These courses are not required, but a student chooses to take them. Electives may reflect a student's interests, introduce or improve skills, or be directly related to a future career.
STJ offers the following electives:
Advanced Placement Business Personal Finance
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in or completion of Algebra 2
AP Business with Personal Finance is an introductory, college-level business and personal finance course. Students explore the business disciplines of entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, accounting, and management through real-world business application, case studies, and project-based learning. Through the course, students will apply their learning of business concepts to an entrepreneurial project, the Business Canvas Project. The project will provide students with the opportunity to engage in work-based learning experiences, performing tasks a business founder performs, such as product development, customer research, marketing, and the preparation of financial documents. The course will culminate with a Financial Advisor Project, in which students will provide financial recommendations to a fictional household based on their financial profile. The recommendation will help the fictional household develop strategies to manage its budget and meet financial goals related to post secondary education, home buying, retirement, and charitable giving.
Art 1
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 9-12
In Art 1, there will be a healthy mixture of drawing, painting, ceramics, mixed media, photography, along with some art history and learning of techniques. Any student is welcomed and encouraged to take Art 1.
Advanced Art
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 10-12
Prerequisites – successful completion of Art 1. This class will do all of the above types of art, but will have more freedom of decision making. This class is for the serious student that is interested and wanting to learn more intently about all things art, or a specific medium of art. This class will be graded harder than Art 1, but is very rewarding and very fun too.
Creative Writing
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 10-12
Students will begin by reading and analyzing selected works and studying story structure and author’s craft. Students will then compose literary fiction, poetry and genre fiction. They will participate in all aspects of the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, editing and revision. During the writing process, students will engage in peer reviews and will be expected to both give and implement constructive feedback. Students should express their creativity and interests through their writing.
Dual Credit Electives
Grades 11-12 ~ Prerequisites – achieve the Texas required scores on either the SAT, ACT or TSI and be in good academic standing at STJ. Junior or senior status preferred, although younger students may be approved on an individual basis. Students must be self-motivated and diligent in their study habits in order to be successful in a dual credit class, especially those taken online. The student MUST meet with the counselor individually and follow instructions for getting enrolled in a class prior to the deadline given. The current cost for a 3-credit hour class is ~$300 with textbook.
Engineering Your World - Design
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 11-12
Engineer Your World uses a curriculum developed by The University of Texas in collaboration with NASA engineers. This course will engage students in authentic engineering design and computing practices in a problem-solving, inquiry-focused, project-based environment. Students discover the engineering design process, make data-driven decisions, and work in multi-level teams to solve complex challenges. They explore mechanical, chemical, civil, electrical, and aerospace engineering through design challenges. Through the work on these projects, students develop engineering habits of mind and skills needed for the 21st century – creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration.
Engineering Your World - Computer Science
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 11-12
EYW: Engineering Applications of Computer Science is an engineering course that engages students in programming and computational thinking to solve hands-on engineering design challenges. For students with an interest in engineering, the course provides opportunities to design computing-enabled solutions to engineering problems. For students with an interest in learning to code or to apply coding skills, the course’s hands-on, human-centered approach motivates the development of programming and other computational thinking skills. For both groups, the course sparks curiosity and provides valuable experiences with computing, design, and problem-solving that will benefit all students, regardless of their future goals.
Foundations of Law
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 10-12
This class will examine civil, criminal and administrative law as well as the different roles and professions within each. One semester will focus on civil and administrative law and what that encompasses, while the other semester will be devoted to the criminal justice system.
Journalism - Yearbook
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 10-12
This course is designed to provide students with industry-standard journalism skills and the ability to apply those skills to the actual production of the yearbook. Students will learn the Walsworth Online Publishing Design Program, as well as marketing skills through advertising, contacting local businesses for yearbook sponsorships, and promoting the sale of the yearbook.
Mid-Coast Construction Academy
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 11-12
Students will attend the Mid-Coast Construction Academy from 8-10 am every morning (two class periods). Students can decide to focus on Electrical trades or Plumbing. Tuition paid to Mid-Coast by the student is
Multimedia Literacy and Digital Citizenship
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 11-12
The Multimedia Literacy course focuses on developing responsible media habits and critical analysis of a range of media such as political cartoons, advertisements, film and photography, music, television, social media apps, news media, artificial intelligence and more. Historic and contemporary uses of propaganda will be explored as well as current events and contemporary pop culture. As the course is an elective in the English department of St. Joseph High School, students will continue to cultivate their writing skills through a variety of essays and essay types along with several creative projects throughout the year.
Spanish 3 Honors
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 10-12
Spanish 3 is an honors course that continues the student’s understanding of and appreciation for the Spanish language. The primary focus is the student’s improvement of their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills in Spanish. Students will continue to learn new vocabulary and grammar, but will also further explore the vibrant cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and peoples through studying, analyzing, and discussing various media including film, music and literature. The course is fast-paced and assumes that the student has a firm grasp of most concepts taught in Spanish 1 and Spanish 2.
AP Statistics
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 11-12
This is an introductory course to the study of statistics and probability and will provide students with the basic concepts of data analysis and statistical computing. Students will learn to interpret the numbers in surveys, election polls, sports, and medical studies. They will use graphs such as histograms, stem plots, time plots, and scatter plots to display data, using numbers such as median, mean, and standard deviation to describe data, evaluate data distribution, and calculate probability of events. Topics include sampling, surveys, experimental design, organizing data, distributions, probability and inference.
Theatre Arts
1 Credit ~ 2 Semesters ~ Grades 9-12
The Theatre Arts class is designed to introduce students to theater basics, technical theater, elements of acting, creating a character, producing, directing, and playwriting. Students in the class MUST be able to:
- Attend all auditions, even if the desired position is only backstage
- If cast in a production, must be able to rehearse for 6 to 8 weeks in the evening, Sunday through Thursday. If not cast in the show, must attend rehearsals two weeks prior to the show to learn how to work the set, etc.
- Perform scenes within the classroom, memorizing lines and blocking. Must work collaboratively with others in the class.