Upper School

My favorite class so far has been Algorithms and Data Structure. It's a computer science elective.

During the upper school years, our students make deep connections with their teachers and their peers. They become part of a tight-knit community committed to learning and discovering their talents and passion.

Latin students actively shape their academic program. The upper school curriculum begins with everything you would expect in a college preparatory high school—literature and history surveys, biology, chemistry, physics, algebra, calculus, geometry, language. But Latin takes it a step beyond. We offer our students exceptional educational opportunities and ask them to dig deep, think critically and commit themselves to fully pursuing their intellectual passions both inside and outside the classroom.

Latin’s educational approach is student-centered and individualized. By understanding how each child learns best, our teachers help students identify their passions and take on new challenges.

Latin students love learning. They are encouraged to do, to create, to try and to fail. The focus is on the process, not the outcome, which helps students build resilience, remain intrinsically motivated and succeed.

Around the Upper School

An Inside Look at Latin's Maker Spaces

Lower School Computer Science and Tech Integration Specialist Fiona Deeney, Middle School Technology Coordinator Mike Demopoulos and Upper School Innovation Studio Manager Shane Enderle offered an inside look at Latin's maker spaces for parents/guardians.

At the start of the event, the team shared information about each division's maker space and projects created in them. Then they gave a tour of the upper school maker space to show some of the equipment and supplies students can access in all three divisions.

Upper School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutters
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
Soldering Irons and accessories
iPad Pro’s with Apple Pencils
VR Headset

SOFTWARE
Adobe Suite
Illustrator
Photoshop
In Design
Fusion 360
Sketchbook Pro
Procreate
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio

Middle School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printer (x3)
Vinyl Cutter (x2)
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
MacBook Air (x2)

SOFTWARE
PrusaSlicer
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
iMovie

Lower School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutter
Laser Cutter
Digital Embroidery Machine
Sewing Machines
LittleBits Pro Library and STEAM Kits

SOFTWARE
Doodle 3D
TurtleStitch
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
Drawing Pad

Afterward, parents/guardians got the opportunity to laser engrave on a pre-cut wood roman head. They also visited stations to make leather key chains, play with Little Bits electronics from the lower school, see embroidery and sewing machines in action, and a few physical projects that students have created.

The maker spaces at Latin aid students with designing and problem-solving, as well as develop skills, talents, thinking and mental rigor.

Academics

Academics
Around School
lower school
middle school
upper school

Upper School Project Week is Back!

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, upper school project week is back! Students chose to spend the week on one of the 25 in-town projects or 11 out-of-town projects.

The in-town offerings included:

Ad-RAP-tation: the Latin School and Q Brothers' Collective
Art and Anatomy
Chicago: Walking, Food, and Art
Code Your Own 2D Games and Build a Mini Arcade Cabinet
Curling in Chicago
Cycle Chicago: Riding & Wrenching
Dancing with culture
Design a Chicago Bike Tour
El mundo Latino in Chicago: An Exploration of Chicago's Latinx Community
Exploring Chicago’s Queer History
Find Your Inner Chef
Habitat for Humanity
Just for Kicks
Make Your Escape (Room)
Making Music
PADI Scuba Diving Certification and Training
Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective
Survivor
Theatre in Chicago
The Greatest City in the World Chicago Gospel
Treemendous Forest Preserves
Urban Agriculture
Wellness: Mind & Body
What Makes a Neighborhood?: Art, Advocacy, and Food
Yarn Bombing

The out-of-town offerings included:

Canyoneering & Rock Climbing Adventure
Civil Rights Trail 2022
Coral Reef Experience in Florida Keys
Cycling Through the Sonoran Desert
Detroit: Invention and Reinvention in a Great American City
Exploring the Pacific: Oceanography of Southern California
Latin Iditarod: Dogsledding
Mountain Biking in Moab
The Ancestral Heritage of The Land of Enchantment
The Raw & The Cooked: A Literary Feast in Michigan
There is No Business Like Show Business!: LA TV & Film

Check out more photos and videos from our PWeek take over on Latin's Instagram @latinschoolofchicago at #latinpweek.

Around School

Around School
Community & Traditions
upper school

Upper School Student-Athletes Continue on to College Athletic Programs

Congratulations to our student-athletes who have committed to playing a sport in college next year!

Margot B. ’22 is playing ice hockey at Gustavus Adolphus College. Zachary W. ’22 is rowing at Lehigh University. Mehak D. ’22 is playing squash at Colby College. Lauren V. ’22 is playing water polo at Pomona College. And Mia W. ’22 is swimming at Mount Holyoke College.

Go Romans!

Athletics

Around School
Athletics
upper school

Acclaimed Math Educator and Author Visits Latin's Math Department

Ben Orlin, acclaimed math educator and author, visited the lower, middle and upper school math departments on Thursday, March 3.
He popped into Upper School Math Teacher Zach McArthur's calculus class and fielded questions on Gabriel's horn, a mysterious figure that has infinite surface area yet finite volume, as well as Koch's snowflake and the coastline of California, which both turn out to have infinite length.

He also spent the afternoon playing math games with the math teachers in preparation of the release of his new book, "Math Games with Bad Drawings."

Orlin is the author of "Math with Bad Drawings" and "Change is the Only Constant."

Around School

Academics
Around School
lower school
middle school
upper school

How We Approach Teaching and Learning

We are a community of learners. We strive to grow as students, as educators, and as caring and engaged members of our Latin community and the amazing city of Chicago. Our students learn from the past, focus on the present, and prepare for the future.

Upper School Virtual Tour

ExploreOur Curriculum

Experience Academic Excellence

A Wide Variety of Courses and Innovative Electives

We offer more than 160 courses each year.

Small Classes

Small class size encourages continual interaction and sharing of ideas.

average class size: 14
student-to-faculty ratio is 8:1

Strong Teacher/Student Relationships

Teachers are passionate about their subject areas and are available to students inside and outside the classroom.

Freedom to Pursue a Passion and Create Your Own Class.

If you have a passion for languages, for instance, you can double up. Take French and Chinese, Latin or Spanish for example.

Students can develop independent study courses where they work one-on-one with a faculty member on a self-designed curriculum.

I understood the value of this education first hand when I went off to college. My persistence and strong desire to learn and connect with my professors was a reflection of the close relationships I made with my teachers at Latin.

Experiential Learning

Learning at Latin is experiential and project-based, including simulations, mock trials and hands-on lab work.

Examples of experiential learning:

Antigone performance for Global Cities
tenth grade Nuremberg Trials simulation
senior projects
Project Week

When students are conscious and proactive about learning, it provokes a more personal response to engaging with the material.

seeing stars

The upper school Advanced Acting Company class performed the play “Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson during the 2018-19 school year. This true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, whose quest to measure the distance of stars begins at Harvard Observatory and ends up changing our understanding of the universe.

Advanced Acting Company is made up of juniors and seniors who have taken classes in the upper school acting curriculum. The course culminates in a production fully produced and managed by students. With the rehearsal process embedded into class time throughout the semester, it allows the cast and crew to delve deeper into the play, spending more time on script and character analysis, ensemble building and dramaturgy, while also providing students opportunities to oversee behind-the-scenes work like costume and makeup design.

At Latin, I value the project-based learning where students are able to take their own interests outside of school and bring them into the classroom and share their passions with others authentically.

I love the way that Latin accepts everyone. No matter race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc., Latin is always accepting and welcoming to everyone.

Latin emphasizes self-advocacy and empowers students to ask questions and explore, not to study and regurgitate answers.

I chose to become a student at Latin because I am interested in a wide range of topics that expand far beyond the traditional academics curriculum, and Latin has fulfilled that expectation vey well.

FAQ

How do you support students new to the school?

Our goal is to make new students feel at home before they have even started at Latin. In the spring before 9th grade, we hold a course registration information session for students and families. A two-day orientation is held in August for 9th grade students which provides opportunities to learn important transition information and team-build. At the beginning of the school year, all classes go on retreats to foster bonds between students. In addition, Latin’s very active advisory system ensures that every student has an adult who they can go to.

As a ninth grader, each student is assigned an advisor who provides a home base focused on fostering connection, developing peer relationships, and reflecting on community programming and topics. An advisor acts as an advocate for their advisees, serving as the primary contact for families and a bridge between students and faculty/staff/administration. Advisees follow with the same advisor during their four years of high school.

How are parents kept apprised of their child’s progress?

We view parents as partners in their child’s education. So, our teachers are committed to being accessible to parents via e-mail and phone. Beyond individual conversations, there is frequent communication between school and home: students receive two sets of narrative report cards at the end of first and third quarters. In addition, we hold parent-teacher conferences and parent-advisor conferences.

There are so many course possibilities! How do students choose what is best for them?

Students work closely with their dean of students, advisor, and faculty to determine the best course of study. A four-year planning guide is provided to students to help navigate the best course of study based on interest and future academic plans. Family meetings with the dean of students are offered every year to develop an individualized plan with each student and family.

What is Latin’s schedule?

Our schedule operates on an eight-day rotation, with each day having one 90-minute block and five 50-minute blocks. On each of the eight days, students will have a different rotation of classes so that all classes will be equally distributed among the time slots to suit every type of learner. Every student will have short morning and afternoon breaks as well as lunch everyday.