Friday Workshops

The Real Reason Why Our Students Love Fridays

Every Friday, students at AAI get the chance to open their minds and explore learning in unique and exciting ways. While technically an AAI curriculum requirement, Friday Workshops are a student and teacher favorite that give students the opportunity to try out budding interests, learn new skills, and discover new passions. All AAI students register for three hours of workshops each quarter and – to keep things interesting – workshop offerings change quarterly. Check out some of our current and past workshops below!

Animal Kinesiology

Kinesiology is the study of the mechanics of body movement. This workshop focuses on the practice of taping, which helps muscles function without restricting the natural range of motion. This technique is used to treat humans and animals, including horses, dogs, and cattle, with mobility issues. In Animal Kinesiology, students learn the technique of taping and apply the technique to animal patients.

Breads Through History

Starting from the 1400s, students learn about the technologies used in North America and Europe to grind grains for bread. Breads Through History facilitates student discussion around the cultural significance of these technologies and their impact on civilizations. The class then gets hands-on as students use these technologies to grind grains and make bread in the historical way of bread making.

Chinese

The need for language competence in a global society touches every sector of life. From career preparation in an international workforce, to citizen diplomacy and national defense, to one’s role in a social community, communication across cultures is key. In this workshop, students learn how to create with language, ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics, and handle a simple situation or transaction.

CHOICE Innovation

The CHOICE Innovation workshop is a prerequisite for AAI’s CHOICE class and the CHOICE excursion. Students in the CHOICE program work to end extreme poverty prevalent in our global societies while developing leadership skills and global awareness. These workshops fundamentally alter students’ mentality, awareness, and engagement by engaging them in impactful, reflective, and international experiences.

Dance

In Dance Workshops, students gain proficiency in skills specific to a dance style and become familiar with the history and cultural significance of the practice or style. Teachers focus on incorporating rhythmic qualities of music into the dancers’ bodies. By encouraging individuality and confidence in movement, teachers help the dancers find their comfort zone in each style of dance.

Fit for Life

A prerequisite for the Fit for Life Immersion, students form a foundation of Fit for Life teachings in these workshops. Fit for Life involves vigorous activity sessions comprising both formal exercise and recreational activities, such as soccer and basketball. Participation provides students with a greater understanding of key principles and students learn to improve their skill level through guided practice.

Greenhouse Design and Construction

In this workshop, students collectively design and construct a functional greenhouse on AAI’s campus. Greenhouse Design and Construction is a hands-on project that enhances students’ ability to envision a goal, construct a blueprint to obtain that goal, and then physically construct their vision. As this is a team project, each student is responsible for assisting the collective group every step of the way.

High School Choir Rehearsal Session

This sectional workshop provides opportunities for each section in Choir to rehearse their voice parts, and then collaborate with other voice sections with guidance from the choral director to improve the musicality of the piece. Discussions of musical form, phrasing, and appropriate style allow students to analyze and interpret choral selections and develop techniques and concepts to refine their work.

How to Think About the Great Ideas

To be a human being is to be endowed with the proclivity to philosophize. To some degree, we all engage in philosophical thought in the course of our daily lives. In this workshop, students read and discuss a compilation of texts by Mortimer Adler, which summarizes the most important ideas of Western thought, explicating their histories, developments, and their importance in our lives today.

Intro to Criminal Justice

Intro to Criminal Justice teaches students about their rights as citizens and how to interact with those who work in the criminal justice system. As a basic overview of the criminal justice system, this workshop covers laws, courts, and criminal justice theory, as well as specific local and federal cases in order to examine the process in which cases move through the criminal justice system.

Introduction to Essential Oils

It’s possible to create a more natural, healthy lifestyle with aromatherapy. In this workshop, students learn about essential oil safety, how oils are produced, and common methods of use, including dilution ratios for daily use, acute issues, and people who need special consideration. Students explore nine essential oils and the different ways they can be used to support physical and emotional wellbeing.

Laser & Magnetic Therapy

Laser therapy is the application of light to living organisms to improve health. Magnetic therapy is used to enhance healing from injuries and wounds or to treat chronic conditions. In this hands-on Animal Science workshop, students learn how low-level lasers and magnets of varying strengths are used as alternative therapy techniques for both humans and animals, then apply those techniques to their animal patients.

Lights, Camera, Action 1: Mrs. Fandango

This innovative film class is designed for a new generation of storytellers. With an ultimate approach to hands-on, interactive learning, students find themselves completely immersed in film study from day one. Students are encouraged to dive into movie history, from its original beginnings to today’s modern movies. If filmmaking is your passion, this riveting workshop will put your dream into practice.

Mythology

Mythology is fascinating! Did you know that there are patterns and formulas that most mythological creatures, characters, and stories follow? This workshop explores and analyzes these patterns throughout the history of mythology. Students then create their original myths to explain aspects of the natural world in the style of Roman and Greek mythology. Character development and plot, as well as literary devices, are a major focus.

Participation Skills

These workshops involve skill practice and participation in a variety of games and sports, with intermittent stoppage of play for “coachable moments.” The emphasis of each Participation Skills workshop is on improvement and learning to play the game correctly, as well as forming a foundation of important principles. Students focus on improving their skill set through focused practice and develop strategy by learning how the game is played.

Philosophy of Science

An introduction to the philosophy of science, this workshop explores the history of scientific thought in order to define, explain, and justify modern scientific thought. Students develop a basic understanding of the foundations, methods, and implications of science as they explore and debate what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultimate purpose of science in human society.

Programming Plugins in Minecraft

Do you like Minecraft? Have you ever wanted to be able to code a Bukkit plugin or a Spigot plugin? If so, Programming Plugins in Minecraft is the right workshop for you! Students learn how to compile Java source code to .class files, pack them in a JAR and install them on a Minecraft server. Plus, connect to your local server and run your local server with a new plugin.

Reader’s Workshop: Part I (The Novel)

In this workshop, students learn how to read and comprehend literature at a deeper level. Students participate in activities before, during and after reading the novel, including Socratic seminar-style discussions. Through thoughtful collaboration, students discover central themes and analyze the impact of the author’s choices on story elements and structure.

Religions of the World

This workshop is a comparative study of world religions, including Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Students have the opportunity to observe the traditions and rituals associated with these religions and analyze similarities and differences across the religions studied. By the end of the workshop, students are able to describe the basic tenets of the world’s major religions.

Shakespeare Re-Write

What would the works of Shakespeare sound like if he wrote them today? In this workshop, students re-write selections from Shakespeare in modern English and then work together to perform them as a reader’s theater or a drama scene. Students learn to analyze Shakespearean text, develop the ability to re-write it in modern vernacular, and improve their presentation skills and acting basics.

The Road Not Taken: Understanding Poetry

This writing workshop engages students in learning to read and understand poetry. Students learn to appreciate poetry by listening to its rhyme, rhythm, and overall sound and then work together to unpack poetry at the line and word level, breaking it down in order to identify and explain how the elements work together to create an effect or reinforce meaning.

Thrift Store Upstyle Fashion Project

This workshop teaches students to research and design an original article of clothing by combining re-styled thrift store finds and their own unique creations. Students’ projects incorporate original design ideas and innovative uses of upcycled clothing. The workshop culminates with a fashion show or presentation of the finished original works for admiration and constructive critique.

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Music that Spread the Word

In each two-hour workshop, students explore the life and work of various musical artists of the civil rights movement. Through their exploration, students become familiar with the music of the Civil Rights Movement and learn how music fueled the movement in the 60s and helped bring widespread support to the cause of human rights and equality.

Yoga Flow

Yoga is a centering form of exercise that is good for both physical and mental health. In this beginner Yoga Flow class, students are introduced to yoga postures through step-by-step verbal description and demonstration. Emphasis is placed on student understanding, safety, and stability within each pose. This series is designed to meet the needs of those new to yoga, as well as those seeking a better understanding of basic poses.