For the list of all courses in a PDF for the 2012-13 school year, click complete course description

AP English
Grade: 12
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Fall & Spring Semester
Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation and a grade of 80 or better in subsequent honors course
or 90 or better in other English course.
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: As an AP course, this is a rigorous college-level course and is designed to
teach beginning college writing. This course follows the curricular requirements as described in
the AP English Course Description. The reading is challenging; the writing is frequent and
requires an independent mind. Every day students will talk about writing and literature. In the
discussions, students and teacher will address structure, style, diction, imagery, symbolism,
metaphor, motif, tone, theme, syntax, and more. Students will learn how these make a work
unique and will be reading from an intensive and extensive reading list. They will study British
writers, American writers, and writers from all over the world. Students will read drama, fiction,
non-fiction, and poetry, and they will read literature from the past and literature of today. In
discussions of literature, they will learn the social, cultural, and historical values a work reflects
and embodies. They will also learn about literary criticism and how to look at literature through
different lenses, internalizing, and making their own connections.

AP US History
Grade: 10
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Grade of 90 or above in previous history course and/or teacher recommendation
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: This course is chronological survey of American history from pre-
Columbian times to present times using textbook, video/movies, literature, original documents,
and group discussion. There is a heavy emphasis on writing exercises. All students are expected
to take the AP US History Exam.

AP Microeconomics
Grade: 10 - 12
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Algebra II (with a grade of 80 or better)
Core Course: No
Course Overview: AP Microeconomics is a course designed to provide students with a
thorough understanding of the principles of economics as they apply to individual decisionmaking
units, including individual household and firms. Students taking the course will spend
time examining the theory of consumer behavior, the theory of the firm, and the behavior of
profit-maximizing firms under various market structures. They will evaluate the efficiency of
the outcomes with respect to price, output, consumer, surplus, and producer surplus. Student
will have an opportunity to examine the behaviors of households and businesses in factor
markets, and learn how the determination of factor prices, wages, interest, and rent influence the
distribution of income in a market economy. Students will also consider instances in which
private markets may fail to allocate resources efficiently and examine various public policy
alternatives aimed to improving the efficiency of private markets.

AP Macroeconomics
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Algebra II & AP Microeconomics (with a grade of 80 or better in each course)
Core Course: No
Course Overview: AP Macroeconomics emphasizes economic principles as applied to the
economy as a whole. The topics are presented to meet the curriculum standards tested on the AP
Exam as designed by the College Board. Lessons include basic economic concepts common to
Microeconomics and Macroeconomics; an analysis of national income and its components,
economic indicators including gross domestic product (GDP), the inflation rate and the
unemployment rate; the financial and banking, monetary and fiscal policies, exchange rates and
international finance, globalization and world trade.

AP Calculus AB
Grade: 10, 11, or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Calculus and/or Placement Test; Teacher recommendation
Course Overview: This course provides a thorough study of the elementary functions of
Calculus designed to prepare a student for the A.P. Calculus AB exam in May.

AP Calculus BC
Grade: 10, 11, or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Examinations: Semester & AP Exam
Prerequisites: Calculus and/or AP Calculus AB; Teacher recommendation
Course Overview: The AP Calculus BC course is designed to offer students who have
completed a regular calculus course or the AP Calculus AB course an opportunity to further
study calculus. All of the topics of the “AP Calculus BC” course description will be discussed.


AP Statistics
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Examinations: Semester & AP Exam
Prerequisites: Pre-Calculus and/or Placement Test; Teacher recommendation
Course Overview: This class uses a college-level text with computer applications for collegebound
students who are interested in the study of basic statistical methods. This A.P. course
prepares each student for the AP Statistic Exam

AP Physics
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Must have had at least one year of physics and received a 90 or above and teacher
recommendation.
Core course: Yes
Course Overview: The AP Physics B Exam covers a full-year non-calculus college course on
general physics, intended for students not majoring in a physical science or engineering. The
course will encompass Newtonian mechanics, fluid mechanics and thermal physics, waves and
optics, electricity and magnetism and modern physics. Students will be expected to meet with
this class once a week during an extra help that will be determined by the teacher.

AP Biology
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & AP Test
Prerequisites: Must have had Honors Biology, Chemistry (preferably honors) and Anatomy
and Physiology. Students should have received at least an A- in Honors Biology, at least a solid
B in chemistry, and at least an A- in Anatomy and Physiology. Teacher recommendation is
required for acceptance into the course.
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: This two-semester, college-level course covers supporting biochemistry,
cells, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, cell division, genetics, molecular biology, vertebrate
zoology, invertebrate zoology, plant ecology, viruses, bacteria, ecology, evolution, environment
science and human biology. An intensive look at biology prepares students for the A.P. exam.
Students will be expected to meet with this class once a week during an extra help that will be
determined by the teacher. Students will be given a summer assignment at the end of the
previous year that will be due at the start of classes.
Chemistry

AP Chemistry
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & AP Exam
Prerequisites: Physics and honors chemistry; Must have earned 90 or better in honors physics
and/or honors chemistry; teacher recommendation
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: The AP Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the first-year
college general chemistry course. Students in such a course will attain a depth of understanding
of fundamentals and a reasonable competence in dealing with chemical problems. The course
contributes to the development of the students’ abilities to think clearly and to express their
ideas, orally and in writing, with clarity and logic. The AP course in general chemistry differs
qualitatively from the usual first secondary school course in chemistry with respect to the kind of
textbook used, the topics covered, the emphasis on chemical calculations and the mathematical
formulation of principles, and the kind of laboratory work done by students. Quantitative
differences appear in the number of topics treated, the time spent on the course by student, and
the nature and the variety of experiments done in the laboratory. Students will be expected to
meet with this class once a week during an extra help that will be determined by the teacher.

AP Environmental Science
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grades: 0-100
Examinations: Semester and AP test
Prerequisites: Must have earned 85 or better in Physics, Biology, and Chemistry; Teacher
recommendation
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: The goal of this full year course is to use the students’ knowledge of
biology, chemistry and physics to deepen their understanding of current environmental issues.
Subjects covered will be Environmental and Earth Systems and Ecology, Biodiversity, Wild and
Human Populations, Land Use and Resources, Agriculture and Food, Water Resources and
Pollution, Air Pollution, Ozone Depletion, Nonrenewable and Renewable Energy, Waste
Generation and Disposal, Toxins, Human Health and Environmental Health, Global Change,
Sustainability, Economics and Equity. The course will also develop the critical thinking and
analytical skills that are necessary to weigh the socioeconomic costs and benefits of this type of
decision-making. Research and data collection will be a large part of the class and students’ own
interests will be explored. This class will prepare students for the AP exam in Environmental
Science in May. Students are expected to take this exam as the culmination of the course.
Students will have assignments over Winter Break and Spring Break.

AP Portfolio (Studio Art: 2-D Design)
Grade: 11-12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Examinations: Project based with AP Assessment during second semester of senior year.
Prerequisites: Prior art study-sketch book review
Course Overview: The teacher assists in the final preparation of a student’s portfolio for those
students interested in attending post-secondary programs where portfolios are a prerequisite to
admission. The completed portfolio shows skills in all areas and medium of art as required by
the College Board assessment standard.

AP Art History
Grade: 11-12
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Examinations: Mid-term & final exam
Prerequisites: 2 years study
Course Overview: This course is designed to meet the requirements outlined for an introductory
college course in Art History. It helps students to develop an understanding and knowledge of
architecture, sculpture, painting, and other art forms within diverse historical and cultural
contexts. Students will examine major forms of artistic expression from the ancient world to the
present day from a variety of cultures and will learn to look at works of art critically, with
intelligence and sensitivity. Students will learn strategies of analysis, develop a firm
understanding of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, and become fluent in the use of
fundamental art historical terminology. Finally, although emphasis is placed on Western
European art, artistic traditions beyond the Western tradition will be fully integrated in the
curriculum.

AP French Language
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 1-100
Examinations: Mid-term and Final and/or projects
Prerequisites: French IV or equivalent, teacher recommendation, and/or placement test.
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: The Advanced Placement French Language course is a specialized class
designed for those students who have successfully completed Level IV French. Students should
have demonstrated competence in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as a
fundamental knowledge of the culture of French-speaking peoples. Students will continue to
explore the literature and culture of the Francophone world through film, drama, poetry, and
group projects. Students will be expected to take the Advanced Placement Examination in May.

AP Spanish Language
Grade: 11 or 12
Length: Full year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Midterm and final and/or projects
Prerequisites: Spanish IV or equivalent, teacher recommendation, and/or placement test
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: The AP Spanish Language course is comparable to an advanced level (5thand
6th-semester or the equivalent) college Spanish language course. Emphasizing the use of
Spanish for active communication, it encompasses aural/oral skills, reading comprehension,
grammar, and composition. The course objectives are to help students understand Spanish
spoken by native speakers at a natural pace, with a variety of regional pronunciations, in both
informal (interpersonal) and formal (presentational) contexts; to develop an active vocabulary
sufficient for reading newspaper and magazine articles, contemporary literature, and other nontechnical
writings (websites, letters and emails, advertisements, signs and instructions) in
Spanish without dependence on a dictionary; to express yourself by describing, narrating,
inquiring, and developing arguments in Spanish, both orally and in writing, with reasonable
fluency, using different strategies for different audiences and communicative contexts. In this
course, special emphasis is placed on the use of authentic source materials and the integration of
language skills. Therefore, you should receive extensive training in combining listening, reading,
speaking, and writing skills in order to demonstrate understanding of authentic Spanish-language
source materials. Students will be expected to take the Advanced Placement Examination in
May.

AP European History
Grade: 11
Length: Full Year
Credit: 1.0
Grading Scale: 0-100
Examinations: Semester & Final
Prerequisites: Grade of 90 or above in previous history course and/or teacher recommendation
Core Course: Yes
Course Overview: The curriculum of AP European History traces the history of Europe from
the Renaissance of the 14th century to the modern age.