Practical Arts Program

The Practical Arts Department offers a variety of courses that are designed to enhance the educational experience of St. John Vianney students. The Practical Arts department provides students with the background and confidence that is necessary to succeed on the college level. The courses offered are electives that appeal to students who wish to pursue college credit courses as well as those students who simply need to fulfill their practical arts credit. The Practical Arts Department is committed to accommodating each of our students so that he can grow intellectually.

Course: Teen Leadership (PRA 500)

Prerequisite: Approval of Mr. Kevin Walsh only. Teen Leadership is a course designed to develop leadership skills, personal skills, and professional skills in a safe classroom environment. This course is designed to teach and use the skills needed to be a leader. Students will be challenged to evaluate, develop, and apply the principles that will be the foundation of their life. Students will learn by DOING-thus building self-confidence by learning how to speak, how to present ideas, and how to work cooperatively in challenging situations with challenging people. This course is designed to help students grow and learn, as they never have before. At the completion of this course, students will be able to: handle peer pressure, build meaningful relationships, demonstrate creative problem solving, accept personal responsibility for their thoughts, attitudes, and actions, make more responsible decisions, realize the importance of principles, standards, and beliefs and take healthy risks in order to be successful.

Course: Architectural Drawing (PRA 410)

Prerequisite: Engineering Drawing (PRA 400) Description: This course uses some mechanical drawing skill with a strong emphasis in computer aided drafting, using the Auto CAD 2000 LT program. Students taking this advanced class explore the world of architects and architecture. The students are introduced to a satisfying and creative profession—a profession of ideas and planning and of intelligent design. Students working in groups on the final project (provided by a local architectural firm) give solutions to a specific problem to a panel of architects using Power Point presentation skills.

Course: Engineering Drawing (PRA 400)

Prerequisite: Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors Description: In Engineering Drawing basic drawing skills are taught to help create an awareness of the drawing world. Engineering drawing is the principal means of expressing ideas in a technical world. A variety of drawing experiences are offered from traditional mechanical drawing to the use of the industry standard Auto CAD 2000 LT program.

Course: Financial Accounting Honors ACC (PRA 450)

Prerequisite: Open to seniors with approval of course instructor Description: Honors financial accounting is an elective in the area of business education for students with an interest in pursuing a business degree in college. The course objective is to establish a foundation in the generally accepted accounting principles and practices of the accounting profession. It introduces the proper techniques for gathering, summarizing and making financial reports for external users. Students learn to make logical business decisions based upon the financial reports they prepare. Computers are an integral part of the class as students learn integrated software packages and spreadsheets while preparing financial reports. The difference between this class and the Financial Accounting (PRA 310) class is the amount of material covered in the detail of specific topics. 1-8-1-8 Advanced College Credit is available through St. Louis University.

Course: Economics AP (PRA350)

Prerequisite: Seniors status, PRA 300, submission of the AP Form and approval of the instructor Description: This one semester course will prepare students for the Advanced Placement test in Economics. The focus will be a blend of macro and micro-economic principles. Included will be in-depth study of production possibilities, supply and demand, economic systems, types of markets, monetary and fiscal policy, marginal utility analysis, marginal productivity, the role of government, circular flow, measuring economic output, the global economy and many other topics. Students must take the AP Exam in May.

Course: Business & Personal Law (PRA 320)

Prerequisite: Open to juniors and seniors with approval of the instructor Description: Business Law is an elective in the area of business education. It draws upon the experiences of each student showing how law affects his daily life. The purpose of the course is to help students realize legal relationships as they arise and how to properly handle those situations. Major topics include the court system, contracts, credit, property, employment, business organizations, commercial paper, wills, trusts and mock trial competition. Proper business ethics and critical thinking are stressed in all topics.

Course: Managerial Accounting (PRA 315)

with approval of the instructor Description: This course presents the complete accounting cycle one more time, this time for a merchandising business organized as a corporation. Managerial Accounting is designed to provide the students with an overview of the role of accounting and the production of accounting data. Accounting data includes: uncollectable accounts receivable, plant assets and depreciation, inventory, notes and interest, accrued revenue and expenses, distribution dividends, and end of fiscal period entries.

Course: Financial Accounting (PRA 310)

Prerequisite: Open to juniors and seniors with approval of the instructor Description: Financial accounting is an elective in the area of business education. It is an introduction to the generally accepted accounting principles and practices of the accounting profession. It introduces the proper techniques for gathering, summarizing and making financial reports for external users. Students learn to make logical business decisions based upon the financial reports they prepare. Computers are an integral part of the class as students learn integrated software packages and spreadsheets in preparing financial reports.

Course: Economics (PRA 300)

Prerequisite: Open to juniors and seniors. Description: Economics is designed to provide students with firm understanding of the dynamics of our economic system. In Economics students discover the complexities involved in attempting to maintain economic stability. Students learn the roles that businesses, consumers, and the government play in our economy. Economics can be taken by seniors for one practical art credit. This course is also recognized as a social studies credit.

Course: Freshman Leadership (PRA 120)

Prerequisite: Selection by the administration Freshman Leadership is a course designed to develop leadership skills, personal skills and study skills to become a successful high school student in a safe classroom environment. This course will teach and use the skills needed to be a leader in high school and beyond. Students will be challenged to develop and apply leadership principles to their lives. Students will learn by DOING—thus building self-confidence by learning how to speak, present ideas, prepare for tests and work cooperatively in challenging situations. This course is designed to help students grow and mature as they never have before and to help them become positive role models for Vianney High School. As the students complete this course, they will be able to: improve study skills, grow in self-confidence, have a better sense of self-concept and make more responsible decisions.

Course: Web Page Design (PRA 115)

Prerequisites: PRA 090, PRA 100, junior or senior status and approval of the instructor Description: This course will show students how to design their own web pages using Microsoft Front Page, HTML and other appropriate software. This course will be taught on a Windows platform.

Course: Computer Programming I (PRA110)

Prerequisite: PRA 090, PRA100, junior or senior status and signature of instructor Description: Computer Programming is taught on IBM compatible units that are networked using Windows 2000. Each unit is equipped with Microsoft Visual Basic. An emphasis is placed on fundamental programming concepts including variables, decision structures, loops, procedures, arrays and files. Learning to program offers the student an invaluable opportunity to develop problem-solving skills. Students will learn to access a problem, break a problem down and then write a program to solve that problem. The importance of good programming style will be emphasized from the very beginning.

Course: Personal Computer Applications (PRA 100)

Prerequisite: PRA 090 Open to all divisions. Description: Personal Computer Applications is taught on IBM compatible units that are networked using Windows 2000. Each unit is equipped with Microsoft Office 2000 that includes Word (word processor), Excel (spreadsheet) and PowerPoint (slide show presentation). Students are taught the concepts and vocabulary for each application so they can easily transfer their learning to software packages. Students learn valuable computer skills, including some exposure to the Internet and search engines, which will help them function in a highly technological society.

Course: Introduction to Financial Education and Keyboarding (PRA 090)

The Introduction to Financial Education and Keyboarding course is designed for students to become literate in the concepts of finance and economics and will cover the following areas: Financial Services, Banking Services, Saving and Investing, and Credit. The keyboarding portion of the course is designed to allow students to gain proficiency applying keyboarding skills quickly and accurately on computers. The course introduces the touch-system of typing to gain speed and accuracy in using the keyboard. This course will correct bad habits formed by students who have been using the computer without formal keyboard training. The students will become proficient in correct formatting in typing and proofreading skills.