EOC Course - This course has a state-mandated end-of-course test.

This semester-long honors high school course engages students in the study of life and living organisms, and examines biology and biochemistry in the real world.  Students in Honors Biology study units on Ecology, Cells, Genetics, and Evolution through the lens of sustainability practices that allow them to answer relevant questions like, "What are challenges to human health in a changing world?" "How can we live in a way that addresses these challenges?" This course is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed by states to improve science education for all students. The goals of these standards are to develop a thorough understanding of content as well as improve key skills like communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and critical thinking.  

This course is intended to provide both theoretical and practical knowledge of chemistry while developing the basic laboratory skills necessary to complete a college-level chemistry course. The student will be able to comprehend and utilize terminology associated with chemistry, maintain a safe laboratory environment, understand the basic concepts concerning the structure of elements and compounds along with the properties and relationships of each and relate the importance of chemistry to his/her everyday life.  Topics covered in this course will include but are not limited to the organization of matter, the language of chemistry, phases of matter, solutions and their behavior, chemical reactions, and organic and nuclear chemistry. 

This full-year course is equivalent to a first-semester college course in algebra-based physics.  The course covers Newtonian mechanics (including rotational dynamics and angular momentum); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves, sound, and fluid dynamics.  The course includes hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to apply the science practices.  Topics covered in this course will lay the foundations needed to continue into the AP Physics C curriculum.

AP Biology is designed to offer students a solid foundation in introductory college-level biology.  By structuring the course around the big ideas, enduring understandings, and science practices established by College Board students develop an appreciation for the study of life and begin to identify and understand unifying principles within a diversified biological world.  This course is divided into units that span all levels of biological organization, from atoms and molecules, through cells and organs and into interactions among and between organisms.  At the end of the course, students will have an awareness of the integration of other sciences in the study of biology, understand how the species to which we belong is similar to, yet different from, other species, and be knowledgeable and responsible citizens in understanding biological issues that could potentially impact their lives.

This course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year with an emphasis on mathematical models. Students should attain a depth of understanding of fundamental concepts of chemistry including structure and states of matter, intermolecular forces, and reactions. Students will do hands-on lab investigations and use chemical calculations to solve problems.  The course should contribute to the development of the students’ abilities to think clearly and to express their ideas, orally and in writing, with clarity and logic.

The APES course is a full-year course designed to offer students a solid foundation in the introductory college-level understanding of environmental concepts.  The goal of this course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, and to evaluate the risks associated with these problems and examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.

Physics Honors/AP Physics 1 are prerequisites to this course unless a student is approved specifically by the instructor.

This year-long course will offer two AP credits and students will take two AP exams in May.  In the first half of this course, Mechanics, you will explore concepts such as kinematics; Newton’s laws of motion, work, energy, and power; systems of particles and linear momentum; rotation; oscillations; and gravitation. In the second half of this course. Electricity/Magnetism, you will explore concepts such as electrostatics, conductors, capacitors and dielectrics, electric circuits, magnetic fields, and electromagnetism. You’ll do hands-on laboratory work and in-class activities to investigate phenomena and use calculus to solve problems.  Physics class aims to produce critical thinkers who can demonstrate proficiency with the following concepts: mechanics, energy & waves, electromagnetism, & fluids.  Proficiency must include an understanding of these concepts, the ability to communicate these concepts, and the ability to use these concepts in the laboratory setting as well as the everyday world.  Students are encouraged to have completed AP Calculus (AB) before beginning this course.  In addition to having completed, or to be taking, AP Calculus (BC) concurrently.