1. Unified Arts Your options at Valley Springs Middle School

2. Band (Year Long) Band is a year long class and is open to all seventh grade band students who have successfully completed sixth grade band and have permission/recommendation of the band director. Seventh grade band students continue their development of fundamental playing skills (including scales), with a greater emphasis on the development and use of full band rehearsal/performance skills and are placed in one full band class.

3. Students perform and compete in performances at several venues across the county and state.

5. Visual Arts (Semester Long) In this course we will be fulfilling the North Carolina Visual Art Standards by engaging in hands-on activities that are intriguing to students. We will begin by exploring color theory, perspective drawing, realistic drawing, general art history, and art criticism. As the course continues, students will use a variety of media such as clay, watercolor, pastels, and any other materials that time and budget will allow.

6. Visual Art students work on individual projects as well as group projects, as pictured here. Many Art lessons are spent working with art materials to enhance student critical thinking skills and creative problem solving.

7. In addition to drawing and painting, students work with clay (pictured left), sculpture, and digital media. The photo on the right is of a student art show at the State Employees Credit Union. Art students often display their work in a public setting.

8. Chorus Seventh Grade Advanced Chorus (Year Long) Advanced Chorus is a yearlong class and is open to all seventh grade chorus students who have successfully completed sixth grade music and have permission/ recommendation of the choral director at Koontz. Seventh grade chorus students continue their development of fundamental vocal technique, with a greater emphasis on performance and more advanced sight- reading skills. Students in this group will be actively involved in community and school performances, including competitions and field trips Seventh Grade General Chorus (Semester Long) This class is designed for beginning chorus students and introduces basic vocal technique, beginning music theory and sight reading. It includes a concert to be shared with the Advanced group The VSMS chorus students shown above were one of two middle school choirs in the state invited to perform for the NC Music Educator’s Conference in Winston-Salem, NC.

9. 2016 Chorus trip to New York City after they performed in Carnegie Hall. The Advanced Chorus class includes the opportunity to learn through performance experiences outside of school to greater enhance understanding of music as a performing art and its relationship to our culture and others.

10. With extra individual practice, students are eligible to participate in advanced choirs like the All County Chorus, NC Middle School Honors Chorus and the NC All State Chorus which takes place in Greensboro, NC. If you love to sing with some of your best friends, join the chorus family!

11. Health and Physical Education (Year long) In Physical Education classes, students are exposed to both team and individual sports activities. The emphasis is put upon participation, not competition. Students get a chance to improve their skills in basketball, volleyball, badminton, and handball, to name a few. Individual activities include ping pong, disc golf, bowling, weight training, aerobics, and dance. Students dress out daily in Physical Education classes. The Physical Education uniform is a white "Rams Fitness" T-shirt with navy shorts, with spaces on each article of clothing to place the students’ name. Students may order a new uniform at the beginning and end of the school year. The cost is $6 for the shirt and $12 for the shorts. Order forms can be obtained through the P.E. department. At Valley Springs we want each student to have a safe, fun, and educating experience in the Health and Physical Education classes.

13. Gateway to Technology Design & Modeling (Semester Long) Students apply the design process to solve problems and understand the influence of creativity and innovation in their lives. Using Autodesk® software, a 3-D design application, students create a virtual image of their designs and produce a portfolio to showcase their innovative work.

14. Gateway to Technologies Students develop and design products in Gateway to Technologies using computer software and our 3D printer. Some designs are in the photo below. An advanced class project was developing the prosthetic hand pictured left.

15. Robotics Team

16. Strings Advanced String Orchestra (Semester Long, first semester only) Open to all seventh grade students who participated in 6 th grade string orchestra, or to those with sufficient training (to be determined by course instructor). In addition to the basic concepts covered in Sixth Grade Strings Orchestra, other musical concepts will be developed. These include all notes and left hand shapes, intermediate level time and key signatures, and complex rhythms. A wide variety of music will be explored as well as theory, music history, and ear training. Students are required to practice at home daily and attend two evening performance. (This is a first semester course)

18. Computers Keyboarding and Basic Word Processing (Semester Long) This class is designed to teach basic keying skills and Microsoft Word documents. Student will spend time learning to develop computer code using many fun websites and programs! If you enjoy computers then this class is for you!

19. Exploring Family and Consumer Sciences (Semester Long) The American Red Cross Babysitter’s Training Course will be taught and students will be given the opportunity to receive certification. Students can expect to understand: How to care for infants, toddlers, and school-age children; the business of childcare; the ages, stages and milestones of infants, toddlers and school-age children. In addition students will study the impact of their food choices on wellness, kitchen basics and several lab experiences will follow.

20. Spanish Spanish (Semester Long) Exploratory Spanish emphasizes oral communication, and gives students an initial exposure to the Spanish language through listening, speaking, reading and writing instruction. The course also provides an introduction to some of the cultures and customs of Spanish speaking people. This course is designed for beginners or students with little or no prior Spanish instruction, and some modifications can be made for native speaker to provide practice in reading and writing.

23. PEP Tutoring Peer Tutoring with PEP (Semester Long) Application Required The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to learn about people with a variety of disabilities. Students will work as peer tutors in at least one of these classrooms under the supervision of the Special Education classroom teacher. Students interested in this class must submit an application for the class and provide a teacher recommendation. Only students who have already completed and turned in an application to Mrs. Bush will be accepted.