Princeton NJ Schools Press Releases

THE CIVIL WAR, COMPUTERS, AND ON-LINE CLASSES AMONG ONE HUNDRED-PLUS COURSES AT PRINCETON ADULT SCHOOL THIS SEMESTER

Registration is under way for the fall, 2010, semester at the Princeton Adult School. More than one hundred course listings this year range from gourmet cooking and listening to jazz, to Communication For The 21st Century and the ever-popular More Than A Concert In addition, students can register for more than one hundred non-credit online courses ranging from web page design to genealogy basics. Students may register online or by mail. In-person registration is required for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) on Thursday evening, September 16, at Princeton High School.

Highlights this semester include a trip with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson to the civil war battlefields that surround Richmond, Virginia, and “The Brain,” an insider’s look at the most complex piece of machinery in the universe.. The list of new courses also includean acting course and one on producing digital video taught by an award-winning filmmaker. There are also nine cooking courses including “Healthy and Delicious Desserts,” and “C’est Cheese.” On-line course offerings include technology courses, business courses and personal and professional development courses. The Adult School also continues to offer such old favorites as “Computacion en Espanol,” two courses in digital photography, Hatha- and Spanda- and Iyengar yoga, ballroom and Latin dancing, guitar and a writing workshop.

"Every year we aim for the proverbial something for everybody," said Princeton Adult School President Mark Branon, "and I think we're closer than ever. We have more than a dozen new courses ranging from cerebral to recreational. We’re really excited about our lecture series Communication, the Civil War trip, the creative range of our 14 studio art courses, and our financial planning classes, which address a variety of current personal economic concerns.

"We also have two special one-semester language courses, 'German Business Etiquette” and “Spanish for Travelers.” In addition, we continue to offer our very popular foreign language program, which includes all the usual ones plus Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian. Our ESOL program includes courses in pronunciation and conversation. And our expanded exercise and fitness program includes daytime and weekend classes at the new CAN DO Fitness Center in Forrestal Village, with child care included.

The diverse course listing for the upcoming semester includes eleven lecture courses, and the concert series, 31 foreign language courses, 14 studio arts workshops, 35 exercise, fitness and recreation activities, five studio music classes, eight cooking courses plus wine tasting, 26 courses listed under hobbies and special interests, seven business and professional courses and a computer course taught in Spanish.

Subjects range from professional-level courses such as ‘How to Patent and Profit from Your Invention,” to courses tailored to individual needs such as selling and staging a home in today’s market, tai-chi, and beginning and continuing piano for adults.

Most classes, are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Princeton High School beginning September 30. ESOL registration will be on Thursday September 16, from 7 to 8:00 pm at Princeton High School. In-person registration is required for ESOL students. In-person registration is also available on September 16 for foreign language students who are unsure about what class level is appropriate. Students should use the front entrance to the High School on Moore Street.

Registration online and by mail is already in progress. Students can register online at www.princetonadultschool.org or by mail using forms in the back of the Adult School catalog. Those who have not received a catalog can obtain a copy at any area public library. Registration forms and the entire catalog are also available on the adult school web site.

The Princeton Adult School has been offering classes for 70 years. Beginning with 20 classes in 1939, the school offered over 100 different courses in each of two terms last year with a total enrollment of some 4,500 students.

Over the years Adult School courses have ranged from bird watching and gourmet cooking to lectures on the universe by leading astrophysicists. PAS teachers, who are professionals in their fields and often nationally noted authorities include faculty from Princeton and Rutgers Universities. Recent speakers have included such notables as Neil Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian, Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison.

"We are especially pleased with the public's response to the adult school," said Dr. Branon. "Last year's enrollment was very gratifying. In fact, enrollment has recently been so strong that there are always several courses that fill the first week. We always have to turn people away from popular classes with space limitations — courses such as the one exploring the special collections at the Princeton University Library, wine tasting, and some of the studio courses."

For more information, call (609) 683-1101.