The creation of Madison Country Day School’s Upper School (grades 9 through 12) brings the promise of an exciting educational opportunity to Dane County. The Upper School is a natural progression that builds on a successful foundation begun in 1997 when the school opened with five grades and twenty-two children. Today, with over two hundred seventy students, we stand strong with a continued commitment to provide a first class education—an education that is grounded in a stellar curriculum and the belief that young women and men have a boundless capacity to learn.

Recently accredited as an International Baccalaureate World School, MCDS is currently updating this portion of the website.  It will be completed in the summer of 2008.

Curriculum Overview

ENGLISH: Students read such poets and novelists as Dante, Goethe, Henry James and Elizabeth Bishop. They also learn the fundamentals of formal rhetoric: argument, arrangement and style. Students read selections from Aristotle’s Rhetoric and practice the art of persuasion in both written and spoken form. These rhetorical skills will equip students for the AP Composition Exam and prepare them for the college application process.

MATHEMATICS:  Quadratic Curves, Vector Geometry, Linear Algebra, and Basic Analysis
Students study conics. We introduce vectors of two and three dimensions, discussing components, magnitude, addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, inner product, special vectors, parametric equations, vector equations of a straight line, circle, plane, and sphere. We study matrices including addition, subtraction, scalar and matrix multiplication, and inverse matrices. We discuss linear transformations, linearity, composition, mapping, and inverse mapping. Basic analysis introduces exponential and logarithmic functions, and deepens understanding of trigonometric functions including the addition formulae. Students work with arithmetic and geometric sequences and series. They write proofs using mathematical induction. Discussion of the binomial theorem draws on combinatorics of prior years. Fundamental ideas of calculus include limit, derivative, and indefinite and definite integrals. Eleventh grade analysis seeks to instill an intuitive sense of several ideas that underlie the calculus. The treatment is informal.

SCIENCE: Physics  
This course provides the rules to understand our physical world and the connections to what is found in nature. While chemistry may be the central science, physics is the most basic of all sciences. Here, students explore motion, forces, energy, matter, heat, light, sound and the composition of atoms. Topics include Newton’s Laws of Motion, the use of vectors and scales, momentum, gravity, special relativity (space-time, length-momentum-energy), the properties of matter, temperature, heat and expansion, thermodynamics, changes of phase, vibrations and waves, reflection and refraction, lenses, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics.

HISTORY:  Students develop an extensive knowledge of the course of U.S. History in order to learn to identify and interpret national trends and developments. Because students concentrate upon a single nation and a more limited time period than in previous grades, students are expected to achieve a more sophisticated level of analysis. Students read such selections as Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People, Frederick Lewis Allen’s Only Yesterday and other secondary sources. Writing assignments vary and such tasks as factual accounts, analysis of outside readings and research papers further the students’ ability to understand history. By the end of this course, students will have the necessary skills and knowledge to take the AP exam in U.S. History.

SPANISH: This course is also taught entirely in Spanish and is designed to increase students’ functional communicative abilities and to prepare for the AP Spanish Language Exam. This is a grammar-intensive course equivalent to a third-year college Spanish course in composition and conversation. Students revisit grammar concepts and study them in more depth. Students study current events in the Hispanic world by examining various media. Students will also read selections by various authors in Spanish such as Federico Garcia Lorca.

JAPANESE:  This course is taught almost exclusively in Japanese. Since students may visit Japan this year in an exchange program, students practice conversational skills that address Japanese customs and appropriate behavior in cultural contexts. Grammatical topics such as causative sentences and causative-passive sentences are covered. Students read more advanced materials including literary works by Dazai Osamu and Shinichi Hoshi. About thirty more Kanji will be added. This course is equivalent to a third-year college Japanese course in advanced composition and conversation.

MUSIC:  Classes cover music history particular to the romantic period. Students are required to read, compose, perform and listen per the requirements of the AP Music Theory Examination. The class uses the ABRSM curriculum as the basis for theory instruction and for preparation for practical exams. The course integrates aural, sight-singing, written, composition and analytical skills in the development of the student’s approach. The course progresses to include the analysis of repertoire including study of motivic treatment, examination of rhythmic and melodic interaction between individual voices of a composition and a harmonic analysis of functional tone passages.

ART:  Art History
The course is based on slide lecture and presentation and prepares students for the AP Art History Exam. The primary textbooks for the course are E.H. Gombrich’s The Story of Art and Janson’s History of Art. The course is based in the study of Western art and civilization as the story of a continuous weaving and changing of traditions in which each work refers to the past and points to the future. Those students wishing to work independently in the studio can make arrangements with the instructor. The first half of the year will cover art from cave painting through the early Renaissance. The second half of the year will begin with the Renaissance and finish with Modern Experimental Art and Architecture. The AP test will take place in May. It will cover the entire course and consist of slide identification, compare and contrast and multiple choice and essay writing areas. It is expected that all students will take the exam.

TECHNOLOGY: Upper School students receive instruction in information technology and computer use. Technology retains its supplemental role during Upper School. Building on knowledge gained in Middle School (particularly in the fields of word processing, spreadsheet use and presentation software applications), students learn to use technology to present information. Finally, students develop the ability to collect information using academic databases. These skills enable them to confidently pursue independent academic projects.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION: The PE program is made up of specific units, many of which coincide with the sports seasons offered in our competitive sports program. The year begins with a water sports unit during which students enjoy the Yahara River by canoeing and kayaking. Other units throughout the year include fitness conditioning and assessment, soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball, team handball, floor hockey, softball, archery, cross country and track and field. Events enjoyed on our state-of-the-art track and field facility include 50- and 100-meter dashes, mile runs, long and high jump, hurdles, relays, shot put, discus, and javelin.

Students develop the confidence and motivation to participate in organized and individual physical activities. Daily classes emphasize lifelong fitness, leadership, teamwork, sportsmanship and strategy in both team and individual sports.

Optional school-sponsored, after-school, competitive sports for Upper School students include boys and girls crew. Additional sports will be added in the coming years based on student interest.