Other Curricular Areas

PHYSICAL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY EDUCATION

The Health and Safety courses at the high school level further develop students’ basic knowledge, life skills, and good habits for maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit. It aims to impart knowledge and skills that can enhance the health, safety, and academic achievement of students. Major health areas covered include physical activity and nutrition, the dangers of substance abuse, family life and physical health, unintentional injury, and violence prevention. Health education skills covered include self-management, relationship management, stress management, communication, planning and goal setting, and decision making. Safety classes are incorporated into the curriculum and include important information regarding fire safety and prevention, emergency procedures, conservation of natural resources, highway safety and traffic regulations.

Physical Education is required for all grade levels. Students participate in a variety of different sports and physical activities to establish and maintain physical health and fitness and develop teamwork and sportsmanship. A daily Falun Dafa exercise routine helps students tone their bodies and helps them tackle their busy schedules with less stress.

ELECTIVES

Fei Tian offers elective courses as well as Advanced Placement (AP) courses on an as-needed basis. The following is a non-exhaustive list of elective courses and college-level courses at Fei Tian. For a full listing of courses currently being offered, please contact the Office of Admissions and Records.

Chinese Calligraphy and Painting helps students develop the basic knowledge and techniques in Chinese calligraphy and painting—two separate, yet closely related, major art forms in traditional Chinese culture. Chinese painting, also known in Chinese as “national painting” (國畫 guohua), has a long history and longstanding tradition in China. Students will learn the two main techniques in Chinese painting: “fine brush” (工筆 gongbi) and “freehand style” (寫意 xieyie). Painting sessions focus on landscape painting, bird-and-flower painting, and figure painting. For calligraphy, students will be introduced to the theoretical bases of the art form as well as the practical skills. Throughout the course, students will imitate the works of famous painters and calligraphers in Chinese history with the purpose of developing an appreciation and aesthetic understanding of the beauty of each piece.

Cross-Cultural Communication prepares professional artists with the communication skills and cultural awareness needed to express their artistic intentions to the public. The course also explores some of the fundamental ways in which Eastern and Western art and music differ. Students learn skills in public speaking, oral presentation, etiquette, and the media. Students learn how to conduct successful interviews and produce media advisories and press statements.

Drawing aims to help students develop the ability to represent three-dimensional spatial relationships accurately on a two-dimensional plane. These early drawings are a vital tool for training the eye to see correctly. Each step of the drawing process is demonstrated and reinforced through repetition. Students use both charcoal and pencil and start by drawing geometric shapes and still life. They also use plaster casts to develop a sense for the shapes of the human figure.

Practicum is a structured learning opportunity in which students are supervised by faculty and staff at the practicum site. Students learn how to apply the artistic skills and knowledge they acquire at school in a performance setting and gain experience by participating in real performances. Students also learn about different aspects of life for a professional artist. Qualified students are encouraged to apply for practicums with leading performing arts organizations, such as Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Pre-Calculus covers topics in algebra ranging from polynomial, rational, logarithmic and exponential, and trigonometric functions to conic sections. Trigonometry concepts such as the law of sines and law of cosines will be introduced. Students will then begin analytic geometry and calculus concepts such as limits, derivatives, and integrals. This course is an important prerequisite for calculus.

Theater Technology is an introduction to theater production with an emphasis on the basic technical elements of scenic, sound, and lighting design. Students will have opportunities to participate in stage management and construct props, sets, and scenery. This is an experiential education course that is offered in conjunction with a practicum. Students will have all theory and knowledge placed in the context of staging live productions.

World Cultures is an experiential education course designed to give the student a global perspective by examining the major cultural regions of the world. For each region, the students will explore and analyze the geography, history, religion/philosophies, value systems, and cultural factors such as language, art, music, economics, and contemporary issues. By the end of the course the student should be able to compare these cultural factors from a global perspective.

ARTS

See the Artistic Curriculum section for details.