By Elina Suri, Banner Staff

The 2024–25 school year has been off to a splendid start, with classes, co-curriculars, and events well underway. This year, Winsor’s academic offerings have broadened even further to include three new electives: a STEM course, Information Science, and two performing arts classes, Songwriting Exploration and Musical Theater.

Winsor’s new  STEM elective is inspired by the rapidly growing field of Information Science. Taught by  Science  Department  Head,  Mr. Player, Information Science encompasses skills in data, computation, and artificial intelligence (AI) and is described as “the lens through which we can understand ‘thought’ and ‘meaning’ in relation to algorithms and data.” The course tackles pertinent issues surrounding the rise of AI and the deterioration of the line between human thought and machine intelligence. Students explore an array of topics including Turing machines, entropy, signals, logic, statistics, and Boolean networks, and the class culminates in computer modeling projects involving biological, chemical, and physical systems and examining the relationships between neural networks, machine learning, and AI.

Zara Sword ’26, a student in the class, said, “We have been learning about what ‘information’ actually is and how it can be calculated mathematically. What actually leads us to learn something from an event? How can we compare the ‘importance’ of different outcomes mathematically? My favorite part of the class has been reading about and discussing the psychology of the mind in order to better understand AI and what traits make it seem human or not.”

Calculator Hand Built by the Information Science Class: Photo from Charlotte Holmes 

Another new elective this year is Songwriting Exploration, taught by Ms. Brady-Lopez, head of the Performing Arts department. This course  exposes students to the world of music composition and lyric writing by analyzing the form, arrangement, and instrumentation of works by renowned artists. After writing their own songs, students will have the opportunity to play their creations by learning instruments of their choice and arranging their music using applications like GarageBand.

The third class in Winsor’s curriculum this year is Musical Theater, taught by Performing Arts Faculty Mr. Johnson. Building on Winsor’s already robust acting and theater program, Musical Theater provides a novel approach and opportunity for students interested in the performing arts. The class incorporates a historical aspect as students will study the origins of musical theater in America, from operetta and vaudeville to modern Broadway musicals. Students will also explore songs and musical numbers from a multitude of styles and analyze the role of music in theater productions.

Rent With Mina Feldman (far left): Photo from Winsor Communications Department

Musical Theater student, Mina Feldman ’25, said, “We’ve learned about different eras [of theater] through lectures and readings and then performed and experimented with songs and scenes from those eras in class. I’m learning how to get more comfortable singing onstage, which can sometimes seem daunting. Learning how to break down and tackle a song is pretty fun, and it’ll definitely be helpful for me since I sing in the Upper School Fall Play.”

The addition of these electives ultimately provides students with a greater range of opportunities to explore their various passions, learn about swiftly expanding fields, and try something new.