HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE 

Our science department helps students develop the scientific literacy needed in the 21st Century. Issues such as energy production, environmental awareness, and healthy personal lifestyle choices are themes that are woven throughout coursework. By engaging in these topics we also hope to inspire students to help become the next generation of problem solvers in these areas. We hope this work will help fill the demand of future scientists and engineers our nation so urgently needs.


OVERVIEW

Our approach to instructional practice and curricular design emphasizes projects where students collaborate with one another, present ideas to one another, and enrich their learning by making connections to the scientific and general community. In short, we aim to help students think and act as scientists as opposed with asking them to wait until after college to do so.

Curriculum

All students are required to take a minimum of four years of lab science. Students begin their sequence with Engineering in Grade 9. They then choose from Biology or Earth Science in Grade 10. In Grades 11 and 12 students select from Chemistry, Physics, or Earth and Space Science. Beginning in Grade 11, students can take additional science elective courses including: Computer Science, Robotics and Psychology.


SCIENCE STRANDS

As in all disciplines, work in Science encompasses a wide range of skills that are hard to summarize in a single grade. To help student and teachers communicate clearly about important skills and expectations, assessment in the Science department is divided into four strands

Experimentation

Science is built upon a foundation of experiments. Students are assessed on the essential habits of experimentation in a wide variety of contexts: observing, measuring, recording, analyzing, and forming evidence-based conclusions.

Modeling

Models are useful tools to enhance scientific literacy. Students can build physical models, computer simulations, or create conceptual models/maps to represent processes or principles that exist in the natural world.

Enduring Understanding

Often the most innovative advances in science and technology depend on linking together ideas from more than one field. Scientists must have deep knowledge and an understanding of how multiple ideas are related. Enduring understanding will assess students’ ability to work with and extend the ideas presented in class.

Work Habits

Effective work habits are critical to academic success across disciplines. The Work Habits strand reflects class participation, homework completion, consistency of meeting deadlines, and coming to class prepared.