Curriculum - Overview
Tambearly International School Educational Program
Tambearly International School provides a U.S. curriculum supplemented by British, Canadian, and Bahamian material. Our classes promote critical thinking skills through diversified instruction and learning. Our goal is to provide a curriculum which prepares each student to perform well within any educational environment, in any country throughout their educational journey. Tambearly families come to us from all over the world but Bahamian students represent fifty percent of our student enrollment. The trajectory of our students' future is as diverse as the study body.
Tambearly students' instruction aims to develop communication, critical thinking, problem solving, mathematical thinking, creative expression, and collaboration. Development in each domain provides necessary skills and concepts needed for interacting with content material across the curriculum while producing productive citizens maintaining an academic, social, and emotional well being. Benchmarks establish skills and concepts the students should be able to know and do within each domain (communication, critical thinking, problem solving, mathematical thinking, creative expression, collaboration, and physical development) at the end of the age-related time frame.
Our preschool program (Pre-k and Montessori) emphasizes the importance of concepts of play, patterns, cause and effect and communication in providing meaningful learning experiences for children. Students learn through the concepts across the standards by engaging in hands-on activities that encourage the development of skills, knowledge and ways of thinking and learning. Our students are able to progress at his/her own pace while the teacher provides developmentally appropriate learning experiences which encourage growth.
Primary grade instruction (Kg-6) at Tambearly International School aims to provide opportunities for students continued development in communications, cognition, creative expression, and social skills while advancing self-management and research skills. Emphasis on becoming active participants in their learning by reflecting on their role and responsibility as learners is key to student success.
Our upper school program begins with Grades 7 and 8 continuing to deepen their knowledge in core curricula of English language arts, math, science, and history/geography. The rigorous curriculum focuses on helping students become increasingly independent learners and preparing them to succeed in high school.
Students in Grades 9-12 follow a college preparatory program that prepares students for post secondary school. The mix of traditional high school courses, combined with higher academic standards, is designed to establish a solid foundation for students as they get ready for their future college careers. College-level courses through the College Board Advanced Placement program are integrated with real-world application and context, engaging students with subject matter that encourages critical thinking and problem solving.
We are registered with College Board- (CEEB code 800121) instructing curriculum/syllabus in AP Human Geography, AP English Literature and Composition, AP English Language and Composition, AP Biology, and AP Pre-Calculus. We are working on syllabus audit to add AP French and AP Spanish for the 2023-2024 school year. Our aim is to add two AP courses each subsequent school year.
“What Does Syllabus Authorization Mean? It is the official recognition by the College Board that your syllabus meets or exceeds the expectations colleges and universities have for your AP course. Your syllabus was reviewed by experienced college and university faculty, who have confirmed that it outlines how you provide a college-level learning experience for your students. This authorization grants you permission to use the "AP" designation on your students' transcripts in association with the authorized course. “ - excerpt from letter to Tambearly International School from College Board.
Tambearly International School is also a registered testing center for SAT, ACT, PSAT, and AP examinations. (center 89172). In order to receive this status, we completed a registration process first earning Level 1 status with permissions to test Advanced Placement Exams (AP), then being upgraded to Level 2 status within the year to add PSAT, SAT, and ACT.
Skills and Concepts (Lower School)
Montessori and Pre-K
Developmental Skills
Pays attention to the teachers
Shares and takes turns with others
Respects others and their property
Follows multi-step instructions
Cares for classroom materials
Cleans up after herself/himself
Works well independently
Obeys classroom rules
Listens while others speak
Uses good manners
Demonstrates self-control
Displays self-confidence
Participates in group activities
Gross Motor Skills
Running
Jumping
Hoping
Skipping Galloping
Balancing
Climbing
Marching
Fine Motor Skills
Opens and closes containers
Picks up small objects with tweezers
Holds crayons correctly
Holds Pencil correctly
Uses scissors correctly
Paints with brushes
Tears paper and tissues
Zips and buttons clothing
Ties shoe lace/ribbons
Laces/strings beads
Puts puzzles together
Opens and closes lunch bags/backpacks
Language
Speaks clearly
Increasing vocabulary
Uses basic rules of grammar
Enjoys telling stories
Identifies uppercase letters
Asks questions
Speaks in three to six word sentences
Recognizes first name
Spells in three to six word sentences
Recognizes first name
Spells first name orally
Writes first name
Recognizes last name
Spells last name orally
Writes last name
Recognizes sound/letters in words
Understands rhyming words
Understands opposite words
Understands word association
Classroom
Remembers routine
Uses indoor voice
Wears uniform
Makes healthy food choices
Communication
Listening/Understanding
Word Articulation
Sentence Articulation
Follows Directions- One Step
Multi Step
Vocabulary
Conversation
Writing
Early Strokes
Letter Form
Word Form
Poetry
Stories
Reading
Phonetics
Word Building
Books
Comprehension
Phonograms
Grammar
Parts of Speech
Capitals
Periods
Plurals
Stories
Work Cycle
Interest
Repetition
Concentration
Self Discipline
Self Confidence
Self Motivation
Independence
Adjustments to Changes
Problem Solving Skills
Sensorial
Visual
Color
Tactile
Auditory
Geometry
Order
Mathematics
Early Nos. 1-10
Teens 11-19
Tens 10-90
Decimal System
Skip Counting
Fractions
Addition
Multiplication
Subtraction
Division
Tables
Physical Education
Energy Levels
Washroom Independence
Suitable Dress
Suitable Lunch
Coordination-
Small Motor
Large Motor
Hand/eye
Social Emotional Development
Adjustments to School
Social Interactions
Rules
Instructions
Music
Swimming
Physical Education
Kindergarten
Developmental Skills
Interacts positively with peers
Respects the rights of others
Exercises verbal control
Demonstrates positive feelings
Speaks in well formed sentences
Shares ideas confidently
Follows directions
Completes assigned task
Listens as others speak
Pays attention
Works independently
Completes work on time
Participates in sports
Mathematics
Knows basic geometry
Grasps comparisons
Grasps quantity of numbers
Grasps quantity of numbers 1-20
Grasps sequences and passing of time
Grasps one-to-one correspondence
Rote-counts to 100
addition, subtraction, multiplying, dividing
sorting cylinders by length,
making designs with pattern blocks
learning about coins
Language Arts
Grasps basic sounds
Recognizes letters
Uses phonetic sounds when reading
Recognizes non-phonetic words
Recognizes sight words
Writes upper and lower case letters neatly
Listens to stories
Finds endings to stories
Retells stories in proper sequence
Grasps what has been read
Follows Spanish attentively
Participates in music
Participates in sports
Science-
Weather
Animals
Plants
recycling to protect our environment
Social Studies-
Family and Community
Geography-
Our home in relation to others
Music/Movement
Grade 1
Mathematics
Use an analog clock to tell time to the minute
Recognize coins and count money
Solve simple mathematical word problems
Recognize shapes and know how many sides they have
Count, read, and write whole numbers exceeding 100
Understand basic place value
Count and group objects in ones and tens
Identify one more than, one less than, 10 more than, 10 less than a given number, and learn to use the symbols <, >, and =
Compare the length, weight, and volume of two or more objects
Reading
Develop Comprehension of grade-level materials
Read grade-level material with fluency
Retell a story's beginning, middle, and ending
Compare the experiences of characters
Identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic
Identify the meaning of words in a variety of texts
Writing
Legibly writing upper and lowercase letters
Use capital letters for names and beginnings of a sentences
Utilize ending punctuation (e.g. period, question mark)
Learn to correctly spell and use high-frequency words
Use descriptive words when writing
Write narratives with two or more appropriately sequenced events, while including some details and providing an ending
Social Studies
Explore the concept of community beyond just family
Learn how neighborhoods make up cities, cities make up states, and states make up nations
Understand how all of community components work together to create a cohesive unit
Science
Learn external features and environments that help plants and animals thrive
Learn weather patterns
Learn how weather patterns contribute to the water cycle
Learn how the water cycle sustains life
Using a thermometer and wind vane to measure weather conditions
Learn properties of solids, liquids, and gases
Make and record observations that include pictures, numbers, or written statements.
Phonics Mastery Elementary School
Tambearly works with the “Explode the Code” series- a time-tested and highly effective approach to teaching phonics. The first three books of the Explode the Code series, - Books A, B and C – focus on visual identification of consonants, their written lower case forms, and their sound-symbol relationships. Activities also reinforce left to right directional, vocabulary, listening, and following instructions in a variety of interesting and engaging ways.
As the students move through the series, they progress through the vowel sounds and patterns, consonant clusters and digraphs, syllables, and suffixes.
Systematic phonics instruction is proved to enhance children’s ability to read, spell and comprehend texts particularly in the younger grades.
Grade Level Course Summaries Identifying Skills and Concepts Grades 2-6 (Elementary School)
Grade 2
Grade 2 students begin with basic grammar skills and Nelson handwriting (joins and unjoins). The focus on developing reading skills lays emphasis on reading for better comprehension. Students will understand the rhythm, structure and points of view add meaning to the story. Grade 2 students also continue to develop decoding skills deepening knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. In math students are introduced to larger numbers (building up on what was taught to them in the first grade) and fundamental operations such as addition and subtraction with the Saxon Math Program. They work with measurement of time, length, distance, weight and temperature along with additional basic concepts of geometry. The subject of science helps them explore basic earth and space along with planets and the weather system. Students learn about gravity and magnets, substance changes from one state to another, plants and animals, and key organs in the human body. In Social Studies, Grade 2 students begin exploring themes of Tourism Education for the Bahamas and developing themes of cultural and social awareness of the community in which they live. Students gain an understanding of the government and current events. They are also given a basic understanding of American history and are taught about some noteworthy American Presidents. The subject of geography includes learning about the different continents, oceans and countries across the world.
Grade 3
Grade 3 students continue to strengthen reading comprehension through key reading skills, frequent and in-depth discussions, exposure to high-quality literature and non-fiction texts, and the reading of books at each student's own level. The students use their language skills to organize ideas, describe things in greater detail, use linking words to connect ideas, use parts of speech correctly, and develop sound understanding in using capitalization and punctuation. Through the Saxon Math Program grade 3 students learn about numbers to 1000, using place value. They will understand, apply, and recall addition facts up to and including 9 + 9 and related subtraction facts, and add and subtract 2- and 3-digit numbers, including the use of mental mathematics strategies. Students will understand and recall multiplication and related division facts. They will solve problems involving numbers, patterns, measurement and data, and use symbols to solve one-step addition and subtraction equations. Grade 3 science students learn about sound and about rocks found on Earth’s surface. They test and evaluate building materials and apply problem-solving strategies to build structures for a specific classroom challenge. These young scientists also study the life cycles and needs of animals. In social studies the Grade 3 students deepen their understanding of the sense of community and explore Bahamian historical development.
Grade 4
The fourth grade reading/language arts program stresses a continuum of literacy skills and strategies to further develop those introduced in third grade. Core instruction focuses on key components of which include instruction in phonics and decoding, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, study skills, and writing (including grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling.) Fourth grade Saxon Math content emphasizes the following: numeration – reading, writing & comparing integers, whole numbers, fractions, and decimals; relationships between fractions, decimals & percents. Operations & Computation – adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing multi-digit whole numbers and decimals; rounding; adding and subtracting fractions. Patterns, Functions & Algebra – using symbolic, verbal, numerical, and graphical representations; parentheses; creating, extending, and describing patterns and rules. Grade 4 social studies looks closely at maps, globes, water, land, and climate from the point of view of how these affect human culture and history. The main emphasis of the curriculum is U.S. geography addressed through the study of four key regions of the United States: the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, and the West. Each region is examined by focusing on such topics as geography, work, living, and citizenship in action. The Grade 4 Bahamian social studies emphasis is on contemporary issues, including Tourism Education, Environmental Education and Nation Building; In grade 4 science, students observe and interpret patterns related to the transfer of matter and energy on Earth, in physical interactions, and in organisms. Through close study of classroom plants and field specimens, students also learn that plants and animals have internal and external structures that support life, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
Grade 5 students read and understand new vocabulary while comparing and contrasting topics and themes in reading. Learning how to analyze reading passages in a more complex way is essential to strengthening comprehension skills as content levels increase. They begin to write for different purposes and continue to develop grammar skills. The Grade 5 Saxon Math program require the students practice more complex mathematical concepts such as word problems, add/subtract/multiply/divide whole numbers/decimals/fractions/mixed numbers, equivalent fractions, convert between fractions/decimals/percents, estimation, variables/expressions/equations, geometry and measurement, and probability. They will expand their knowledge about the scientific method, how Earth’s four spheres interact within the water cycle, and knowing and locating different climate zones around the world. In social studies, Grade 5 students focus on the influence of the physical and cultural environment on national origins, growth, and development. Students learn about the earliest peoples through the founding of colonial governments, the ideals of the Enlightenment, and the English tradition of self-government.
Grade 6 English Language Arts
Grade six language arts curriculum consists of higher-level literacy skills. Composition, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary is enhanced within the study of a variety of genres (fiction, poetry, nonfiction) for content and meaning while students utilize their skills as young readers and writers. Students further develop their speaking, listening, and viewing skills through a variety of more complex lessons and projects that incorporate the 6-Traits Writing program. Grade 6 Saxon Math introduces functions and coordinate graphing, integers, exponential expressions, and prime factorization. Students learn the order of operations, number lines, decimal place value, how to find the percent of a number, how to round decimal numbers, and attributes of geometric solids. Grade 6 science students distinguish between variables and controls in a scientific investigation, analyze data to determine validity and reliability, explain the steps of photosynthesis, Identify the components and structure of DNA, and explain how scientists determine the age of a fossil through an integrated program of life science, physical science, and earth science. Grade 6 World History students explore people and events that ushered in the dawn of major Western and non-Western civilizations. Included are the early societies of the Near East and Africa, the ancient Hebrew civilization, Greece, Rome, and the classical civilizations of India and of China. Throughout the entire year, students will recognize the unique and similar political, economic, geographic and social structures of these world civilizations
Grades 7-8 English Language Arts
The English Language Arts curriculum in grades 7-8 is a text-based analysis mix of literature, non-fiction, and creative endeavor. There is a strong focus on comparing pieces of text to one another to give students critical skills that will let them discern the accuracy of a text by focusing on writer’s craft, context, reliability, and alternative viewpoints. We reinforce reading skills through a variety of texts that students will need to understand for their futures, academic and beyond. Authors of focus include Ray Bradbury, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, Scott O’Dell, Rudyard Kipling, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Alfred Noyes, Lois Lowry, C.S. Lewis, Gary Paulsen, Gary Soto, and Sandra Cisneros. We move beyond the textbook and into real life by analyzing stories, movie clips, poetry, music, and images, both still and animated. Students build their writing skills through essay writing (narrative, informative and argumentative), evidence-based responses, poetry practice, and creative prompts. In addition, students practice oral communication skills through formal and informal class presentations. We also practice necessary skills including grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.
Grades 6-8 Mathematics
In Saxon Math, concepts from every math strand are woven together and connected throughout the year. Skills or concepts are reinforced throughout the years, helping students build a strong foundation of understanding. New concepts expand students’ knowledge through hands-on activities using manipulatives and other materials. Students gain depth of knowledge through written practice, which gives them the opportunity to review and apply concepts. Units are integrated and distributed to give students time to develop skills and algebraic thinking. Practical applications of abstract concepts help students master thinking and reasoning strategies.
Grade 7 Science
This course, which is aligned with the Ministry of Education guidelines, exposes students to topics in Health Science as well as General Science and prepares them to sit the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) examination. It explores topics such as characteristics of living things, classification of living things, flowering plants, energy and work, nutrition, the body, body systems, introduction to matter, separation of mixtures, and nitrogen cycles. .
Integrated Science
Integrated Science blends life, earth, and physical science topics in three courses, specific to each grade. The program focuses on scientific problem solving and covers topics in life, earth, and physical science. Exploration of motion and energy, interactions of matter, understanding the universe, Earth and geologic change, exploring ecology, and human body systems encourage thought-provoking questions that allow students to relate the science concepts to the world around them. It continues to introduce basic concepts and key ideas while providing opportunities for students to learn reasoning skills and a new way of thinking about their environment. This course, which is aligned with the Ministry of Education guidelines, builds on the foundation laid in grade 7 to prepare the students to sit the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC), the PSAT examination, and further study in grade 9.
High School
Grades 9-12 at Tambearly are spent exploring the rich and diverse literary forms of the world as well as developing language skills alongside grammatical knowledge and creative writing techniques.
Grade Nine English Language Arts
Ninth Grade Literature and Composition will continue to build on the reading and language curriculum established in middle school, and it establishes a level of rigor and rhetorical analysis beyond that of the Ninth Grade regular literature course. Throughout this year-long class, students will have opportunities to develop and expand their knowledge of literature, literary forms including informational texts, writing, and language. Texts take center stage where students engage in close, critical reading of a wide range of materials. The course trains the reader to observe the small details within a text to arrive at a deeper understanding of the whole. It also trains the writer to focus on crafting complex sentences as the foundation for writing to facilitate complex thinking and communicate ideas clearly.Students will demonstrate their mastery of new learning through performance tasks and assessments.
English Language and Composition
The English Language and Composition course is designed to help you become a skilled reader of a variety of texts as well as becoming a skilled writer. You’ll achieve this through awareness of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the ways that writing rules and language use contribute to effective writing. This course emphasizes the composing processes: the way you explore ideas, reconsider strategies, and revise your work. In the course, you will write essays that proceed through several stages or drafts, with revision aided by your teacher and peers.
In addition to engaging in varied writing tasks, you will read and become acquainted with a wide variety of prose styles from many disciplines and historical periods. Due to the increasing importance of graphics and visual images in texts published in print and electronic media, you will learn to analyze images as they relate to written texts and serve as alternative forms of texts themselves. This class prepares the student for the AP English Language and Composition exam, and writing components of the PSAT, BGCSE, and SAT.
Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory
Readings for Literary Criticism and Theory are drawn from the Classical period to the 20th century. This course introduces students to the debate that has persisted for more than 2000 years among philosophers, writers, and critics in determining what is the nature, function, and value of literature. Students will seek to discover how we can deal objectively with literary art, how readers gain greater access to the richness and complexity of literary texts, and what criteria do we use to determine a work’s “greatness”.
AP English Literature and Composition
The AP English Literature and Composition Course is a rigorous class designed to teach college-level analysis and composition, enhancing your abilities to explore, comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate works of recognized literary merit. You will learn these essential skills through intensive writing, the study of literary genres and works, and reading for multiple levels of meaning. This course is meant to encourage you to conduct careful reading and study of imaginative literature, thereby deepening your understanding of the wider world through the written word.
This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Exam administered in May. While some students may choose not to sit the exam, you will have developed the necessary skills to meet the exam requirements. PSAT, BGCSE, and SAT preparation is also a focus of the year’s objectives.
Grade 9 - Algebra I
A comprehensive math program, based on the teaching principles of incremental development, continual practice and review, and cumulative assessment. Through the sequential lessons students incrementally build their knowledge through continual practice and review. This text covers topics including signed numbers, exponents, and roots; absolute value; equations and inequalities; scientific notations; unit conversions; polynomials; graphs; factoring; quadratic equations; direct and inverse variations; exponential growth; statistics; and probability.
Grade 10- Algebra II
Traditional, second-year algebra topics, as well as a full semester of informal geometry, are included with both real-world, abstract, and interdisciplinary applications. Topics include geometric concepts, negative exponents, quadratic equations, metric conversions, logarithms, and advanced factoring.
Grade 11- Advanced Mathematics
Advanced Mathematics lessons provide in-depth coverage of trigonometry, logarithms, analytic geometry, and upper-level algebraic concepts. Includes continued practice of intermediate algebraic concepts and trigonometry introduced in Algebra 2 and features new lessons on functions, matrices, statistics, and the graphing calculator.
Grade 12- Pre-Calculus
Throughout AP Pre-Calculus, students develop and hone symbolic manipulation skills, including solving equations and manipulating expressions, for the many function types throughout the course. Students also learn that functions and their compositions, inverses, and transformations are understood through graphical, numerical, analytical, and verbal representations, which reveal different attributes of the functions and are useful for solving problems in mathematical and applied contexts. In turn, the skills learned in this course are widely applicable to situations that involve quantitative reasoning. AP Pre-calculus fosters the development of a deep conceptual understanding of functions. Students learn that a function is a mathematical relation that maps a set of input values— the domain—to a set of output values—the range—such that each input value is uniquely mapped to an output value. Students understand functions and their graphs as embodying dynamic co-variation of quantities, a key idea in preparing for calculus.
Latin Course I
The eighth grade Latin course at Tambearly represents the first year in a sequential study of the Latin language. The course is designed to: introduce students to the study of a foreign language; acquaint students with the basic grammatical concepts and rules of Latin syntax, provide substantial practice in translation from simple Latin into accurate, fluent English, enable students to practice identifying English word derivation from Latin vocabulary, and familiarize students Roman culture and lifestyles.
Latin Course II
The ninth grade Latin language course at Tambearly builds on eighth grade Latin, with the exploration of Unit 2 of the Cambridge Latin Course. The course is designed to: continue to introduce students to the study of a foreign language, build on basic grammatical concepts and rules of Latin syntax, provide substantial practice in translation from simple Latin into accurate, fluent English, enable students to practice identifying English word derivation from Latin vocabulary, and focuses attention on Roman Britain and Roman Alexandria.
Latin Course III
The goal of the Latin III course at Tambearly is to provide enhanced proficiency in the basic topics of grammar, syntax, translation from annotated Latin texts, and English word derivative identification. Students are encouraged to use what they already know in new ways while at the same time expanding their knowledge. This planned articulation enables students to easily build on what they have learned during their earlier Latin study, as well as to provide a solid foundation for those students who may pursue additional world languages. By the end of Latin III, students will be able to read and translate smoothly from expanded Latin texts, and will demonstrate a greater understanding of the interrelationship between the Latin language and culture, as well as between the Latin language and the English language.
American History
American History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in nine historical periods from approximately 1491 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical comparisons; and utilizing reasoning about contextualization, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course also provides seven themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: American and national identity; migration and settlement; politics and power; work, exchange, and technology; America in the world; geography and the environment; and culture and society. Basic geographical knowledge will be acquired through the study of maps, charts and graphs.
Caribbean History
Caribbean History explores the history, geography and economic development of the Caribbean. British, French, Spanish, Dutch, African and American influences are debated when the class considers how the Caribbean came into being. Why does one of the poorest countries on the planet (Haiti) lie just across the water from the country with the third highest GDP in North America (Bahamas)? Why does a country with a Soviet style command economy (Cuba) lie just across the water from a global headquarters of off-shore banking (Cayman Islands)? Students will be able to explain these apparent contradictions on completing their social studies course this year.
World History
World History is designed to be the equivalent of a two semester introductory college or university world history course. In World History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in six historical periods from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical comparisons; and utilizing reasoning about contextualization, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course provides five themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction between humans and the environment; development and interaction of cultures; state building, expansion, and conflict; creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; and development and transformation of social structures. This course prepares the students for the Advanced Placement World History exam administered in May. While some students may choose not to sit the exam, you will have developed the necessary skills to meet the exam requirements.
AP Human Geography
AP® Human Geography is designed to meet or exceed the experience of an introductory one-semester college human geography course. The course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications. This course prepares the students for the Advanced Placement Human Geography exam administered in May. While some students may choose not to sit the exam, you will have developed the necessary skills to meet the exam requirements.
AP Biology
Our Biology program leads the way with the best ideas in biology education. Organized around major themes, big ideas, and the main ideas of biology, the content is made relevant to students through engaging real-world contexts. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes—energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions.
Earth Science
Earth Science is the study of the Earth and its neighbors in space. It is an exciting science with many interesting and practical applications. Students study the impact of human activity on Earth's environment, and design methods to protect the planet. Four basic areas of Earth science are explored throughout the year: geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy.
Physical Science
Physical Science integrates physics and chemistry with mathematics through accessible text, engaging features, and a variety of hands-on experiences. The critical-thinking opportunities, real-world applications, and technology resources lead students to a deeper understanding of physical science while building science processing skills. The use of differentiated instructional strategies helps teachers reach all learners.
Chemistry
Students explore the fundamental principles of chemistry which characterize the properties of matter and how it reacts. Computer-based and traditional laboratory techniques are used to obtain, organize and analyze data. Conclusions are developed using both qualitative and quantitative procedures. Topics include, but are not limited to: measurement, atomic structure, electron configuration, the periodic table bonding, gas laws, properties of liquids and solids, solutions, reactions, kinetics, equilibrium, acids and bases, and nuclear chemistry.
Grade 9 Technology
The Grade 9 Technology course will focus on advanced Microsoft Excel. Students will learn how to create complex formulas, how to work with charts and how to create PivotTables. This course also provides an introduction to Computer Science Algorithms. It covers searching, sorting, recursion, and graph theory. The last topic of Technology in grade 9 is JavaScript. Students learn how to use the JavaScript language and the ProcessingJS library to create fun drawings and animations.
> Students learn about relative and absolute cell references and complex functions.
> Students will learn the basics of creating and manipulating PivotTables.
> Students learn what algorithms are and they learn about binary search and graph theory.
> Students will learn the basics of programming and how to draw and work with JavaScript.
Grade 10 Technology
The Grade 10 Technology course introduces students to computer programming. Students will plan and write simple computer programs by applying fundamental programming concepts, and learn to create clear and maintainable internal documentation. They will also learn to manage a computer by studying hardware configurations, software selection, operating system functions, networking, and safe computing practices. Students will also investigate the social impact of computer technologies, and develop an understanding of environmental and ethical issues related to the use of computers.
> Students describe the functions of different types of hardware components, and assess the hardware needs of users.
> Students describe the different types of software products, and assess the software needs of users.
> Students use the basic functions of an operating system correctly.
> Students demonstrate an understanding of home computer networking concepts.
> Students explain the importance of software updates and system maintenance to manage the performance and increase the security of a computer.
Grade 11 Technology
The Grade 11 Technology course introduces students to computer science. Students will design software independently and as part of a team, using industry-standard programming tools and applying the software development life-cycle model. They will also write and use subprograms within computer programs. Students will develop creative solutions for various types of problems as their understanding emerging research in computer science, and global career trends in computer-related fields.
> Students demonstrate the ability to use different data types, including one-dimensional arrays, in computer programs.
> Students demonstrate the ability to use control structures and simple algorithms in computer programs.
> Students demonstrate the ability to use subprograms within computer programs.
> Students use proper code maintenance techniques and conventions when creating computer programs.
Grade 12 Technology
The Grade 12 Technology course enables students to further develop knowledge and skills in computer science. Students will use modular design principles to create complex and fully documented programs, according to industry standards. Student teams will manage a large software development project, from planning through to project review. Students will also analyze algorithms for effectiveness. They will investigate ethical issues in computing and further explore environmental issues, emerging technologies, areas of research in computer science, and careers in the field.
> Students demonstrate the ability to use different data types and expressions when creating computer programs.
> Students describe and use modular programming concepts and principles in the creation of computer programs.
> Students design and write algorithms and subprograms to solve a variety of problems.
> Students use proper code maintenance techniques when creating computer programs.
Foreign Language
Our language programs are geared towards developing multilingual speakers and thinkers through programs that promote linguistic competence.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
Our English as a Second Language program introduces students to the English language with stories, the English alphabet, and an abundance of total physical response activities.
While English speakers attend Spanish or French classes the ESL students work with specialized teachers to acquire the language and develop a vocabulary that will give them the confidence to communicate in English.
Spanish
The Spanish program is designed to develop competency in and cultural appreciation for the Spanish language.
Daily lessons and activities build language skills through reading, writing, listening and speaking exercises. Field trips and outside excursions with the local Hispanic community provide students with the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real life situations.
Upon completion of the highest diploma level, students are qualified to sit The Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language And Culture exam.
French
The French program, just like the Spanish, is designed to build fluency and linguistic intelligence. Daily lessons and activities build language skills through reading, writing, listening, and speaking exercises Field trips and specialized activities/events supplement the curriculum.