Upper School Intersession 2025

Student sign-up timeline:

Monday, November 18 @ 3:15 – 12th Grade
Tuesday, November 19 @ 3:15 – 11th Grade
Wednesday, November 20 @ 3:15 – 10th Grade
Thursday, November 21 @ 3:15 – 9th Grade
November 21-30 – Sign-ups/changes open to all. After December 1, schedules will be frozen.

arrow_back View All Dates

8:55am PST

Advanced Chess Training - How To Learn Chess

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

I will give advice on improvement in chess: how to practice and how to choose out of the sea of content and players online to learn from. After this discussion we will apply the ideas with games and review in class.

Prerequisite: Familiarity with all rules of chess including checkmate, castling, and en passant. Familiarity with chess notation is helpful.

Facilitators

Steven Zierk

GM Steven Zierk is a chess professional and coach from San Jose, California. He won the World Youth Under 18 Championships in 2010 and after earning his degree from MIT in 2015, earned the Grandmaster title in 2018.

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Math and Games

8:55am PST

Hot Glass - Cool Designs

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

Create your own hot glass experience in this hands-on hot glass class. Blow, shape, and color your project. Explore the technical and the artistic basics of glass working in this fast-paced beginner's class.

Facilitators

Douglass Brown

Half Moon Bay Art Glass

Douglass Brown has had a 40+ year history of working with glass in many different types of glass. 13 years ago, he opened up Half Moon Bay Art Glass and started giving hot glass experiences to the public and corporate team building events. Now with the help of his team, they have... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

8:55am PST

How To Sell a TV Show

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

Have you ever had an idea for a TV show or app and wondered how you would even go about trying to create it? Well, the one thing TV shows, apps, sneaker companies, etc. all have in common is that their creators first had to pitch the idea to investors. If you have an idea that you’d like to sell, this workshop is for you.

Emmy-nominated TV writer Michael Kramer is going to teach you how he takes ideas for TV shows and turns them into compelling oral presentations in order to get Hollywood studios, networks and streamers to buy them. He’ll break down the whole pitch for you using actual pitches of his that have sold -- going from what inspired the idea to how to succinctly describe it to developing the characters to the importance of a theme. And whether your idea is for a TV show or something else, you’ll each get to present to the class the opening of your pitch: a short description of your idea and what inspired it. So whether your idea is for a TV show or another creative outlet, by the end of the workshop you’ll have an understanding of how to transform that idea into an actual presentation and tailor it to your unique talents so that your idea will have the best chance of selling. And hopefully have fun doing it.

Facilitators

Michael Kramer

Michael Kramer is an Emmy-nominated writer who has sold multiple comedy pilots to CBS, Disney and Sony, as well as to Universal, USA Network, TBS, Warner Bros. and Freeform. He has written for multiple animated and live-action comedies and dramas, including the one-hour series SUITS... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Literature/Communications/Performance

8:55am PST

Intro to Metalworking & Jewelry Making!

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

In this 2.5 hour activity, you'll learn the basics of small-scale metalworking using a variety of tools! You'll get an introduction to the world of soldering, shaping, and polishing metal to create little pieces of wearable art!

No experience whatsoever is necessary, but come with some idea of what you want to make, closed-toed shoes, and no flowy sleeves! Or, if you DO have experience from a past Jewelry Intersession or a WoW Workshop, you'll have the freedom to explore techniques you already know, get instruction on anything more advanced, or ask for advice on anything you're working on!

Interested in a longer, more in-depth course where we'll get more practice and get to cover things more thoroughly? Check out the 5 hour In-depth version of this class!

Facilitators

Sophia Hoermann

Sophia Hoermann is a Nueva alumni from the class of 2022 and she is now a junior in college at the University of Utah. She started making jewelry in middle school and didn't realize until she took a jewelry making Intersession sophomore year that Nueva had all of the tools needed... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts, Design Thinking/Technology/Engineering

8:55am PST

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

In this class, I will share with students how, in the words of the scholar Ruth Benedict, anthropology can help "make the world safe for human difference." I will describe how and why I became an anthropologist, and I will discuss in detail my experiences living and researching in South Africa. The class will also include a brief overview of what anthropology is and how an anthropological perspective can speak to social justice, climate change, the pandemic, and other critical issues of our time. I will include plenty of time for questions and discussion!

Facilitators

Sarah Ives

City College of San Francisco

I am an anthropologist, researcher, writer, and editor. I currently teach anthropology at City College of San Francisco. I previously taught anthropology and writing and rhetoric at Stanford University from 2013 to 2018. As a Fulbright and Mellon scholar, I earned my Ph.D. from Stanford... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Philosophy/Social Science/Law/Politics

8:55am PST

Landscape Design & Architecture

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

Landscape architecture is the study and practice of designing environments (outdoors & indoors) of varying scale that encompasses elements of art, environment, architecture, engineering, and sociology. Learn about key concepts in large-scale landscape design with Chungpo who runs a landscape architecture firm with major projects in the U.S. and China. He'll share the design process with real examples from site visits to construction completion. You'll learn about the tools and softwares that landscape architects use and you'll get a change to practice with a small design exercise.

Facilitators

Chungpo Fang

YIHE Landscape Architecture

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

8:55am PST

Movie Makeup: Burns, Bruises, Scars! Special Effects Makeup

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

Learn how to create realistic wounds for Film and Television. Join Makeup Artist Elizabeth Fox as we use professional grade products to make cuts, bruises and multiple other gore and wounds. Elizabeth will show you how to navigate using the correct product for the job. We will use silicone build ups for scaring and cuts, bruise wheels and tattoo palates to make burns and bruises and learn on set blood techniques, using multiple fake blood products. A small makeup FX kit will be provided.

Facilitators

Elizabeth Fox

Elizabeth Fox has been a professional working makeup artist since 2000, with over 50 feature films to her credit. She began her makeup artistry in the theater and started working in television and film while living in New York City. After moving to Hollywood, Elizabeth worked primarily... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

8:55am PST

Movie time in Spanish!

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

In this session we’ll watch the Argentinian movie "El fútbol o yo"

Outrageous satire El Fútbol o Yo (My Love or My Passion) is a story about Pedro, a man whose passionate soccer fanaticism has reached extreme and alarming heights. His outrageous antics – which include watching matches at all hours of the day – begin to jeopardize his job and family, forcing his wife, Veronica, to give him an ultimatum: tone it down, or lose your family for good!

Set in Buenos Aires, this movie is filled with wild moments of irrational fervor. If you are an Argentinian, you probably know a hard core “hincha” whose fandom has bordered on the insanely inappropriate! (When we meet at Intersessions ask me why I know this !)

This movie depicts, in a fun yet ridiculous way what soccer means for Argentina and how it is at the heart and center of Argentina’s culture.

Prerequisites:
- All Spanish Speakers are welcome!
- Best suited for students who have taken Spanish 401. The movie will be played in Spanish with Subtitles in English.

Facilitators

Gisella Castronovo

Gisella Castronovo is mom of a 10th grader at Nueva. She was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and like most Argentinians, she grew up watching, listening, talking and breathing soccer! She is a lawyer and a bilingual court interpreter. She is passionate about teaching... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Language

8:55am PST

Roman Thoughts On War: Caesar And Vergil

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

"He plundered and burnt the town, bestowed the booty on the troops, and then crossed the Loire with the army." Julius Caesar led a huge army that conquered much of modern day France, leaving death and destruction in its trail. He also wrote reports on that war, seven books known as the Gallic War (from which the first sentence is quoted). Slightly less than a generation later, the poet Vergil wrote the Aeneid, which Romans thought of as their national poem; it too deals with warfare and its costs, but from a very different perspective. Two Romans, two takes on war: where Caesar is cold and calculating and distant,Vergil is close and compassionate.
In this seminar we will read and discuss sections of Caesar's Gallic War and Vergil's Aeneid. We'll reflect on the representations of war by the two authors, what it means to be human(e) in times of war, the notion of the hero (then and now), and views of 'the other'; and, lastly, questions of destiny, the darkness and cost of empire, and loss. We will combine it with a modern reading on drone warfare.

Facilitators

Christopher Krebs

Professor of Classics, Comparative Literature, German Language and Literature, Stanford University

Christopher Krebs studied Classics and philosophy in Berlin, Kiel, and Oxford and taught at Harvard before joining Stanford's Classics Department, where he regularly teaches a Freshman Seminar on Ancient Rhetoric and its Contemporary Relevance and an Humanities Core class on Great... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category History, Literature/Communications/Performance

8:55am PST

Singers: Healthy Belting Workshop

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

The infamous “belt” seems so easy for some and impossible for others. Why? Learn about how your body and vowel modifications can take your “meh-note” to a “money note”.

Come ready to sing, experiment, and laugh through hits and misses in a fun, caring, and safe environment.

Facilitators

Rocío Guitard

Master Instructor, Rocío Guitard Vocal Studio

Rocío Guitard has been a professional singer for over 30 years, with three solo albums to her name and multiple guest appearances on other artists’ records, plus extensive performing experience in Europe and the US. Her work as a voice pedagogy expert has led her to present at... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Music

8:55am PST

Testing (and Troubleshooting!) Electrical Systems

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

How often do things or new projects work the first time we turn them on? How often do we just throw stuff out when it breaks?

This session will cover what you need to know to successfully troubleshoot and solve problems commonly found with robotics, cars, appliances, or anything else with wires and controllers! With a few tips and tricks you'll be well on your way to be a troubleshooting expert.

- An introduction to test and integration engineering - how engineers get things working and test that they will stay working
- A conversation around common methods and electrical problem-solving tools like multimeters, oscilloscopes
- Hands-on activities - be prepared to work in groups to debug and test a few different types of systems

Facilitators

Craig Fedor

Lightship RV

Craig is a mechanical engineer with 8+ years of experience developing electric cars, buses, and now campers! He currently leads a team that does testing and debugging of electromechanical systems at an electric RV startup, Lightship RV.He is passionate about problem solving and breaking... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Design Thinking/Technology/Engineering

8:55am PST

Topics in Fractals & Chaos

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

If you enjoyed learning about fractals in 4th grade CTU or Steven's popular Fun With Fractals summer camp, or you just find fractals & chaos fascinating, this might be the session for you. In this two-and-a-half hour session, we'll explore the fascinating logistic function, a simple iterative function that is used to model population dynamics and contains cycles of every length along with true chaos (which we'll define). We'll also learn the simple but incredibly powerful L-systems (Lindenmayer systems) grammar for creating fractals of startling complexity and variety. Time permitting, we also also take a deep dive into the mathematics of the Mandelbrot set or other still-to-be-decided-but-guaranteed-to-be-cool topics.

Facilitators

Steven Chanan

Nueva School

Steven Chanan is in his 16th year teaching at Nueva and was a Nueva student himself back in the 1970s. He is known for his passion for the subject and ability to bring together a wide variety of mathematical disciplines, such as fractals & chaos, contest math, recreational math, and... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Math and Games

8:55am PST

What is Fair Pay and How Do I Get It?

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST

TBA

You have probably heard about the importance of fair pay - but what does that mean and who decides what is fair? In this class you'll learn about how companies get market information about pay rates, how they set a pay philosophy, and how they then apply these both to determining the right amount and type of pay to offer a candidate for a job. We'll start by understanding job descriptions, job titles, job levels, and some basic laws about pay. We'll then learn about salary, bonus, and equity compensation. We'll talk about negotiation approaches and how to determine what is most important for you, based on your personal priorities. Finally we'll practice all of these learnings with a few sample pay negotiations.

Facilitators

Yuki Horiguchi

VP, Cruise

Yuki Horiguchi is currently a VP in the People function at Cruise, a self-driving car company, where she is responsible for compensation, benefits, people analytics, and workforce planning. She has spent over 20 years in life sciences and tech companies, designing and implementing... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 8:55am - 11:30am PST
TBA

Content Category Business and Finance, Wellness and Life Skills

12:35pm PST

Artificial Intelligence in Chess

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

We will cover the history of AI in chess from the first simple algorithms to the best modern engines, covering both their progress in chess and the meaning for AI as a whole.

Students will have the chance to develop their own simple chess AI, and will be given guides on how to develop more elaborate ones.

Facilitators

Steven Zierk

GM Steven Zierk is a chess professional and coach from San Jose, California. He won the World Youth Under 18 Championships in 2010 and after earning his degree from MIT in 2015, earned the Grandmaster title in 2018.

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Math and Games

12:35pm PST

Baking Arts: French Macarons

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

Learn how to make French Macarons from scratch - with a salted caramel and dark chocolate ganache filling. Fundamental skills will cover weighing ingredients, proper mixing methods, piping, decorating and baking.

*This class takes place OFF CAMPUS at Baking Arts in San Mateo. Transportation options include the CalTrain or driving (no Nueva van provided). This class is not suitable for students with nut allergies.

Facilitators

Baking Arts

Baking Arts provides the San Mateo community with hands-on baking classes, specialty baking supplies, and unique spiced coffee.

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
Baking Arts 18 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Content Category Cooking

12:35pm PST

Cartoonapalooza: A Hands-On Workshop Celebrating Comics, Graphic Novels, Cartoon Strips and Political Cartoons

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

Cartoons are not just funny, they can be profound, disturbing, illuminating and always entertaining. David Horsey, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his editorial cartoons and has produced a nationally-syndicated cartoon strip, will lead a hands-on workshop looking at the many types of cartooning, from comics and graphic novels to animation and political cartoons. He will demonstrate how he creates his work and students will draw their own cartoons during the session. There will be a lively discussion of all things cartoonish. Students are encouraged to bring their own finished drawings for a critique or share examples of cartoons that they read and admire.

Facilitators

David Horsey

The Seattle Times

David Horsey is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Seattle Times.

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

12:35pm PST

Conservation Ambassadors: Animal Behavior

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

Do you want to learn how to train your teachers, your mom, and your dog? This seminar is all about learning how to understand and modify behavior. Animal behavior has fascinated humans throughout history. David and Lisa Jackson have trained everything from tigers to killer whales — and even their own parents — for over 35 years. Let them share their knowledge with you so you can create better relationships, happier pets, and less-annoying friends. This hands-on interactive experience will give you insight into how understanding behavior modification can positively change the world around you.

Facilitators

Conservation Ambassadors

Conservation Ambassadors

34 years ago David established a non-profit rescue zoo in Paso Robles where he gives wildlife a permanent, loving home for displaced, abused, abandoned or permanently injured wild and exotic animals. Sharing these animal ambassadors helps us educate learners of all ages about conservation... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Environmental Citizenship

12:35pm PST

Corporate Scandal: What Would You Do?

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

What do Theranos, WeWork, Uber, FTX, Boeing, and Wells Fargo all have in common? All of these were high profile and high performing companies that became embroiled in scandal, after some previously hidden information became publicly known - and some of these companies survived and others did not. How does a company that employs hundreds or thousands of well-intentioned people end up breaking laws or behaving unethically? Can you picture yourself working at a company like this and if you came across something that looked potentially unethical, how would you respond?

In this session we'll discuss a few case studies of companies that were viewed in high regard before they came undone. We’ll seek to understand what elements of the company culture, leadership, and other factors led to the circumstances. We will learn about which companies were able to recover and which could not. We will then review some key principles and frameworks of business and leadership ethics, then put our thinking to the test with a simulation of an ethical dilemma.

Facilitators

Yuki Horiguchi

VP, Cruise

Yuki Horiguchi is currently a VP in the People function at Cruise, a self-driving car company, where she is responsible for compensation, benefits, people analytics, and workforce planning. She has spent over 20 years in life sciences and tech companies, designing and implementing... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Business and Finance, Wellness and Life Skills

12:35pm PST

Dorm Snack Hacks!

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

Many of you are planning for college after graduation and many of you will live in campus dorms or other university or student housing. This course is designed to equip you to make some healthy (yet tasty) snacks for yourself with limited equipment and tools. This course will teach you to create a few simple snacks that are healthy and nourishing. At the end of this 2.5 hour course participants will be able to:

1. Demonstrate how to use the "foolproof" method for cooking chicken breast with only a stovetop, pan & lid.
2. Prepare a simple chicken salad
3. Prepare a healthy homemade granola using only an oven and simple ingredients
4. Prepare a parfait using the homemade granola
5. Demonstrate or Explain how to safely prepare a guacamole with no cooking utenils or machines needed

Facilitators

San Mateo Supper Club

Hello everyone! As a passionate chef recently graduated from culinary school, I’m here to blend my love for clean, wholesome ingredients with a flair for diverse cuisines. I have lived on the Peninsula my whole life and grew up loving to cook. Over the years, I've cultivated a deep... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Cooking

12:35pm PST

Hot Glass - Cool Designs

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

Create your own hot glass experience in this hands-on hot glass class. Blow, shape, and color your project. Explore the technical and the artistic basics of glass working in this fast-paced beginner's class.

Facilitators

Douglass Brown

Half Moon Bay Art Glass

Douglass Brown has had a 40+ year history of working with glass in many different types of glass. 13 years ago, he opened up Half Moon Bay Art Glass and started giving hot glass experiences to the public and corporate team building events. Now with the help of his team, they have... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

12:35pm PST

Intro to Metalworking & Jewelry Making!

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

In this 2.5 hour activity, you'll learn the basics of small-scale metalworking using a variety of tools! You'll get an introduction to the world of soldering, shaping, and polishing metal to create little pieces of wearable art!

No experience whatsoever is necessary, but come with some idea of what you want to make, closed-toed shoes, and no flowy sleeves! Or, if you DO have experience from a past Jewelry Intersession or a WoW Workshop, you'll have the freedom to explore techniques you already know, get instruction on anything more advanced, or ask for advice on anything you're working on!

Interested in a longer, more in-depth course where we'll get more practice and get to cover things more thoroughly? Check out the 5 hour In-depth version of this class!

Facilitators

Sophia Hoermann

Sophia Hoermann is a Nueva alumni from the class of 2022 and she is now a junior in college at the University of Utah. She started making jewelry in middle school and didn't realize until she took a jewelry making Intersession sophomore year that Nueva had all of the tools needed... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts, Design Thinking/Technology/Engineering

12:35pm PST

Knitting for Beginners and Beyond

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

Learn how to knit or work on your stitches! This class is designed for both beginners, who want to be able to knit basic stitches to create projects of all types, and experienced knitters who want support as they work through a project. Students will learn how to cast on, knit, purl and cast off as well as important techniques of how to back out of your work to fix mistakes. In addition, knitting has a language all its own and some of this will be taught so the students can confidently buy their own yarn and read simple patterns. Useful handouts will be provided. Time will be given to practice and students will be able to take their work home for the evening and when the class is done. No experience necessary to take this class. Supplies will be included.

This class is offered twice; students are welcome to attend both if they want more knitting time.

Facilitators

Debbie Kitani & Lisa Ma

I’m a wife, mother, entrepreneur, knitter. I sold my software and services company back in 2001 and worked for the new company for 7 years. After I sold my company, I decided to learn how to knit and have been passionate about it ever since. The process of knitting is what intrigues... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

12:35pm PST

Makeup: Creative Self Expression for All

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

This Makeup class is open to EVERYONE who wants a chance to play with makeup and explore creative boundary breaking looks! Today, Makeup is all about artistic expression and changing the rules so come to learn new techniques and explore your artistry. This class will concentrate on colors and playing with the eyes and appliqués. This fully inclusive class (everyone is welcome) will show you looks from TV shows and campaigns that are proving that makeup is a form of art than anyone can do. Bring your makeup kit and brushes (or just your creative self). A small makeup kit will be provided.

Facilitators

Elizabeth Fox

Elizabeth Fox has been a professional working makeup artist since 2000, with over 50 feature films to her credit. She began her makeup artistry in the theater and started working in television and film while living in New York City. After moving to Hollywood, Elizabeth worked primarily... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Fine and Industrial Arts/Crafts

12:35pm PST

The Crescent's Journey: Exploring Islamic History, 622-1258

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

An examination of the founding and expansion of Islam. We will explore a number of topics: the pre-Islamic environment in Arabia and the Near East; the biography of the Prophet Muhammad; the first Muslim community in Medina; the theological foundations of Islam; the era of the four rightly-guided caliphs; the Umayyad period and the Abbasid Empire. In addition, the course weighs in on key themes related to philosophy, culture, sectarianism, law, gender rights, and statecraft.

Facilitators

Marwan Hanania

Marwan D. Hanania was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. He received his B.A. with Honors in Government from Cornell University, M.A. in Regional Studies: The Middle East from Harvard University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in History from Stanford University. Marwan has taught at Stanford... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category History, Global Citizenship, Philosophy/Social Science/Law/Politics

12:35pm PST

Topics in Fractals & Chaos

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

If you enjoyed learning about fractals in 4th grade CTU or Steven's popular Fun With Fractals summer camp, or you just find fractals & chaos fascinating, this might be the session for you. In this two-and-a-half hour session, we'll explore the fascinating logistic function, a simple iterative function that is used to model population dynamics and contains cycles of every length along with true chaos (which we'll define). We'll also learn the simple but incredibly powerful L-systems (Lindenmayer systems) grammar for creating fractals of startling complexity and variety. Time permitting, we also also take a deep dive into the mathematics of the Mandelbrot set or other still-to-be-decided-but-guaranteed-to-be-cool topics.

Facilitators

Steven Chanan

Nueva School

Steven Chanan is in his 16th year teaching at Nueva and was a Nueva student himself back in the 1970s. He is known for his passion for the subject and ability to bring together a wide variety of mathematical disciplines, such as fractals & chaos, contest math, recreational math, and... Read More →

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Math and Games

12:35pm PST

Understanding Martial Arts and Self Defense

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST

TBA

This workshop will help students understand and analyze the difference between a variety of different martial arts forms as well as a bit of their history as well. Students will learn basic self defense principles and good practices for self improvement. We will break down the differences between various martial arts forms and their pros/cons, so students can help find out which martial art might be best for them.

This will be an overview of many martial arts conceptually, with a focus on jiu jitsu and Muay Thai based self defense. A combination of analysis, history, technique study, and practical application.

Facilitators

Cody Alan

Nueva School

Cody Alan is a high school teacher, musical artist, and an avid martial artist, currently a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a head coach at Skrap Pack in San Francisco under Gilbert Melendez.

Tuesday January 7, 2025 12:35pm - 3:10pm PST
TBA

Content Category Athletics and Movement, Wellness and Life Skills, History