SCIENCE The Science Department is dedicated to expanding students’ scientific knowledge through inquiry and investigative skills that enable students to live and contribute to society in the 21st century. Students are challenged to investigate, discover, analyze and interact while learning the fundamental principles of the natural and physical sciences on their path to scientific literacy. Through the crosscutting concepts put forth in the Next Generation Science Standards from the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, we link the discrete disciplines using learning that focuses on engineering and design practices that will empower our students to become innovative thinkers. To better reflect the modern world understanding of chemistry and biology, the Academy has adopted the physics-chemistry-biology sequence. Strong critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities are the hallmark of a global citizen and ensure success in secondary and post-secondary scientific endeavors. There is no better discipline than physics to establish and benchmark these tools. The concepts of forces and energy, introduced from the physics standpoint in Grade 9, are content themes that thread through the entire science curriculum. In all classes, students learn through such vehicles as project and problem-based investigations, hands-on experimentation, demonstration, computer simulations, research projects and the use of the Academy's greenhouse and natural areas as living labs. Enrollment in Honors and Advanced Placement courses requires departmental permission. Sample course progression: Grade 9 Options STEM 9: Physics
Grade 10 Options Chemistry Honors Chemistry
Grade 11 Options Biology Honors Biology AP Chemistry Honors Advanced Physics Physics for Engineering
Grade 12 & PG Options Honors Advanced Physics Physics for Engineering AP Physics C: Mechanics AP Chemistry AP Biology Environmental Science AP Environmental Science Human Anatomy & Physiology
STEM 9 Physics with a Global Perspective
CHEMISTRY
Level: Introductory, Grade 9
Level: Introductory, Grades 10 and 11
This conceptual physics course is designed to provide all students with the foundations for success in any of the sciences. To develop analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills demanded of 21st century learners, and to incorporate the hallmarks of global citizenry, this course will exploit project and problem-based learning to strengthen information processing, problem solving ability and the skills of good science practice. Physics concepts will always thread back to the unifying topic of energy. By melding a skills-based approach to science with fundamental content, students will develop and enhance those strategies that will be the basis for all future science courses. Learning will combine independent study and collaborative efforts. Many modules will examine global and international issues related to the science content in order to better understand that the Nature of Science is very much a social endeavor. Experimentation and design will have both traditional and student-developed components. Students will incorporate communication-of-science skills through research, technical writing and presentation components, as well as deeper reading and guided independent study.
This course is an overview of the chemical nature of matter. Students will study the composition, structure, properties and reactions of atoms and molecules. This inquiry-based course leads students to develop analytical, critical reasoning skills that extend beyond the chemistry discipline. They will acquire the skills and knowledge inherent to chemistry in order to understand other branches of science more deeply.
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