Science Department

Science is an essential part of the total school curriculum.  By selecting a balanced science curriculum students will develop an understanding of themselves as interdependent members of society and as a responsible agent within the eco-system of nature.  In addition, all science course offerings engage students in developing problem-solving and decision making skills.

In order to graduate from high school, students are also required to demonstrate mastery of the following Core Curriculum Content Standards during their course of study.  Students are also encouraged to explore the Science electives to further complement their educational perspective.

These standards will be addressed within the required curriculum.  Students graduating are required to have a minimum of fifteen credits in science.

These 15 Credits should include an introductory level course in each of the following sciences: Physics or Physical Science, Chemistry, and Biology.

Students who plan to major in science, engineering or medicine should consider taking two sciences per year in their Junior and Senior years.  One or more of these upper level courses should be AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and/or AP Physics.

Core Content Standards for Science

5.1       All students will develop problem solving, decision making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions and communicating results.

5.2       All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology.

5.3       All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem solving in science and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories.

5.4       All students will understand the interrelationships between science and technology and develop a conceptual understanding of the nature and process of technology.

5.5       All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.

5.6 All students will gain an understanding of the structure and behavior of matter.

5.7 All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.

5.8 All students will gain an understanding of the structure, dynamics, and geophysical systems of the earth.

5.9 All students will gain an understanding of the origin of evolution and structure of the universe.

5.10 All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena.

Course Offerings 2008 -2009

Elective Courses