High School Fine Arts & Electives

Course: Choir and Music Appreciation
Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Tuesday 3:15 – 5:15pm
Instructor: Tina Holcombe
Cost: $77 per month + $60 application fee
Online Availability:  Students cannot enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student. All students must attend in person. If you are sick or traveling, you can join via Zoom for up to two consecutive weeks.
Book: All music will be bought by the teacher and provided to students at no additional charge
Description: The Hilger High School Concert Choir has built a tradition of choral excellence in the Chattanooga Homeschool Community. This class uses choral singing as the doorway to a well-rounded understanding of music and appreciation of bringing glory to God with the gift of choral music. The goal of this class is to encourage a love of choral singing, basic music literacy and musical collaboration. We will explore the concepts of vocal technique, basic theory, ear-training, and stage presence. Rhythm, interval training and note-reading will be addressed each week as we learn to better understand the language of music. No prior musical experience is required. In the fall, students may audition for the East Tennessee Vocal Association’s All-East Honor Choirs and Tennessee All-State Chorus. This is a wonderful opportunity for those who have a love for choral music.  In the Spring semester, we take a select group of students to Lee University for Honor Choir. This is a wonderful chance to work with other high school singers while being on a college campus. Each March, the East Tennessee Vocal Association sponsors the Choral Festival. In March of 2020 and 2023, the HHL Choir got all Superior Ratings at this festival and became one of the first homeschool choirs to qualify for  participation in the TN American Choral Directors Association’s State Choral Festival. The choir has a retreat each semester – the retreats are all day on Friday and most of Saturday. This is the highlight of the semester for our singers. We rehearse our music, play games, eat together, pray together, have a fun/silly talent show and make memories that last a lifetime. The goal is to make our retreats, performances, and field trips educational, unifying and fun. Some of our high school students have gone on to study music at the collegiate level with some able to exempt certain freshman courses and/or obtain music scholarships. It is our desire that our high school choir members gain a love for music and its Creator and develop fond memories of experiences with their fellow students while singing great choral literature. “Several studies have confirmed that music directly enhances learning through increased spatial development. Math and reading are improved by learning rhythms and decoding notes and symbols. So there appears to be cross disciplinary learning in music.”  (Source: The College Board)

Course: High School Art
Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Tuesday 8:20 – 9:50am OR 1:50 – 3:20pm OR Thursday 8:20 – 9:50am
Instructor: TBA
Cost: $74 per month + $60 application fee
Online Availability:  Students cannot enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student. All students must attend in person. If you are sick or traveling, you can join via Zoom for up to two consecutive weeks.
Book: TBA
Description: Our God loves art. From the beginning of time the Lord has displayed Himself and interacted with us through creativity. He's the author of creativity! Through the study of the history of art we will see how God's creation reflects His character by creating! We will study art from the Western world as well as important artwork from Asia. Beginning at the tail end of the Renaissance, we will then make our way through movements like Romanticism, Impressionism, Pointillism, and Fauvism. During this process, we will learn about different artists, their styles, and how they can teach us through what they did. We will look at various masterpieces and examples of artwork that defined many cultures, even Japanese art. We will study techniques from various artists and try them in class. We will mess up, try again, and refine our technique. We will also learn to use our creative gifts as a platform to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. We will talk about how we, as artists, can reflect our time in history and be a light shining in the darkness. We will use all sorts of media such as acrylic paint, oil pastels, porcelain, glass, found materials, collage, and spray paint. A significant amount of time will be devoted to color theory and color mixing. There will be weekly homework that reflects our studies in class as well as a few larger projects each semester. A student-favorite project is expressive self-portraits made with acrylic paint and oil pastels. Students will learn how to dialogue about each other’s work through critique. Finally, students will also learn how to write their own artist statements about larger, more involved projects. A two-year rotation of books is incorporated, so your teen can take the class two years in a row without repeating information, homework, etc.

Course: Drama – Theater Arts
Grade Level: 8-12
Day/Time: Thursday 2:25 - 4:25pm
Instructor: Caroline Rowell
Cost: $74 per month + $60 application fee
Online Availability:  Students cannot enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student. All students must attend in person. If you are sick or traveling, you can join via Zoom for up to two consecutive weeks.
Book: Scripts to be announced and provided for students at no additional charge
Description: Do you have an inner Drama Queen or King waiting to take the stage? If so, this class is for you! Creative workshops and projects will build on traditional principles of acting, script analysis, improvisation, theater history, and much more. Students will grow in their abilities to act, skillfully listen, work as members of an ensemble, all while gaining experience in set and  costume design, and construction. Additionally, during rehearsals and productions, students will have the opportunities for hands-on experience in several technical aspects of theater. Participation in drama classes is fun, but can also help students gain a wide variety of skills  needed to succeed in future educational and life goals, including teamwork, efficiency, self-confidence, focus, and purpose. Come join us in drama class! Plays and specific production dates in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 TBA. Please note that extra rehearsals outside of class time WILL be required, 5-6 sessions per show, per semester. These rehearsals are mandatory as they are an important part of our rehearsal time. We may also have a couple fundraisers during the year to pay for our production costs. 

Course: Personal Finance (fall semester)
Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Thursday 8:20 – 9:50am
Instructor: Caroline Rowell
Cost: $74 per month + $20 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Book: Order through the website Dave Ramsey. Students will only need the 288-page student soft-cover book.

• Foundations in Personal Finance: High School Edition for Homeschool Student Text by Dave Ramsey 

Description: This course is an introduction to personal finance. We will use the Dave Ramsey Personal Finance curriculum as well as Scripture to investigate the Lord’s perspective on how to manage money and possessions. Many people focus on giving when they think about honoring God with their money. But handling money and thinking about money in a godly way is much more than tithing. Our goal is to help students understand what God’s Word says about work, wealth, stewardship, debt, saving, and giving. In turn, the hope is that this information will lead students to wise management of finances as they begin to control their own resources and make decisions about everything from eating lunch out to buying a car or paying for college. We will discuss topics such as: budgets, compound interest, consumer awareness, bargain shopping, investing and retirement, insurance, taxes, and money and relationships. Class attendance is especially important (virtual is fine) as a portion of each class includes a video from the curriculum. Homework will be assigned each week which will include a variety of writing responses to prompts, scripture memorization, building and creating a resume, interviews, and case studies from the curriculum.  “You will either manage your money, or the lack of it will always manage you.” Dave Ramsey

Course: Health & Wellness (spring semester)
Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Thursday 8:20 – 9:50am
Instructor: Caroline Rowell
Cost: $74 per month + $20 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Book: The book was published in 2018 by Apologia. You MUST order this by calling Apologia directly.  They do not offer the textbook alone when ordering online. They only offer the textbook and workbook set online, and students will not need the workbook. Call 1-765-608-3280.

• Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition by Dr. Laura Chase, ISBN: 978-1940110349

Description: We have been fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of our Creator. This course covers what high school students need to know to help make the best choices for themselves as they become young adults. Health is about stewardship: managing what you have as well as you can. We will cover the physical, nutritional, emotional, and spiritual aspects of growing into a healthy adult. Students will study the human body systems, senses, genetics, temperaments, and physical influences on thoughts and feelings. The course respectfully covers mental illness and emotional stability, as well as the inestimable value of another human being. Our culture, our families, socialization, communication skills, and conflict resolution skills are also discussed. Students will gain an in-depth knowledge of both macronutrients and micronutrients, including the importance of exercise and proper diet. Concepts such as nature versus nurture, personal temperament, good decision-making skills, relational boundary setting, analyzing food intake and activity levels, creating good hygiene habits, and keeping a sleep record are a few of the topics we will discuss in detail. Homework will be assigned each week which will include chapter readings and a weekly quiz. A couple of personally insightful projects throughout the semester will also be assigned. "The greatest wealth is health." Virgil

Course: High School Writing Intensive (fall semester only)
Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Wednesday 2:20 – 3:20pm
Instructor: Olivia Oster
Cost: $62 per month + $20 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Book: You can order this book from Amazon, but we recommend purchasing it in class on the first day.

• A New Grammary by Olivia Oster  

  • Please purchase in class for $15 - Do not purchase on Amazon, it is much more expensive.

Description: Writing well is an essential but uncommon skill that can win scholarships, open occupational doors, and clarify important communications. Your child’s writing ability will be enhanced through this dedicated time during the school week. Using four writing assignments, this single semester course will improve writing skills through group work, discussions, revisions, in-class exercises, and homework with the end goal of instilling confidence in the college-bound writer. The course will reinforce writing fundamentals, including sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, paragraph structure, self-editing, and proofreading as well as increasing writing abilities through mastering each step of the writing process. We will cover thesis development, the use of citations of secondary sources, effective organization, using mature grammatical structures, and developing strong transitions and unified paragraphs. Peer and teacher feedback will be available while all homework, classwork, and writing assignments will be accessible on the teacher’s website. Various handouts will be used to create a college writing resource notebook.

Course: Middle and High School Bible
Grade Level: 7-12
Day/Time: Wednesday 8:00 – 8:55am
Instructor: Olivia Oster
Cost: $40 per month + $20 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Book:  Your own Bible, any version, and a journal of any size or shape with at least 40 pages

Description:  "I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.” Psalm 119:162 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Come enjoy the Word of the Lord with me as we read through the Bible in three years. This class will include reading assignments for each school week,  (between ten and fifteen chapters of the Bible per week), a weekly journal assignment, monthly scripture memorization, and three projects per semester. We will begin this year at the beginning, reading Genesis through Deuteronomy by Christmas break with a Genesis project, a Tabernacle project, and a Pentateuch project showcasing what we are learning as we read these beloved historical books. Each class time we will review the reading, have a short devotional, and have a time for prayer requests and prayer. My prayer for this class follows Psalm 119 closely: I pray that we will take heed, not forget, live and keep, and be revived by the Word of the Lord by hiding it in our hearts so that we may have life and be established to trust in God. This is a class for both those who love His word already and those who are intimidated by reading the whole Bible. We will read Genesis through Esther in the 2024-2025 school year, Job through Malachi in the 2025-2026 school year, and Matthew through Revelation in the 2026-2027 school year. Read along with me to find the greatest treasure!