Science

LIFE SCIENCE

Life Science is a 7th grade introduction course that teaches biological principles. Students learn about such topics as cell structure and function, genetics, and photosynthesis.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Physical Science is an 8th grade introduction to elementary chemistry and physics principles. This course begins to formulate an understanding of scientific concepts and principles.

See more on Life and Earth & Space Science by clicking here for the class website!

EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE

This course provides the student with an overview of the areas of astronomy, chemistry, geology, oceanography, meteorology and paleontology while examining those principles and processes which bring about changes in her physical environment, the earth. The student will supplement her understanding by conducting and analyzing experiments related to the major concepts of an area. The class offers an excellent foundation for further study in chemistry and physics and is for Grade 9 and above.

BIOLOGY

In this course, students will explore the fundamentals of Biology, which include topics such as cellular structure & function, genetics, evolution, ecology, microbiology, plants and animals. Also available in a more fast-paced Honors level.

Mrs. Fernandes class

Grier's Advanced Placement program provides students with competitive courses which prepare students for university and college studies.

A.P. BIOLOGY
This college level course covers supporting chemistry biology, 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 A.P. exam. Prerequisites: Anatomy, Honor Biology, Chemistry

HONORS BIOLOGY

Ms. Brubaker's Conceptual Physics class

CHEMISTRY CONCEPTS

This course is an inquiry based introductory course for 11th and 12th grades designed to offer a basic understanding of chemistry. Students will study matter and energy, phases of matter, the  structure of matter, chemical bonding and quantitative chemistry. (For college admissions, some colleges consider this course a science elective and not a chemistry class.)

CHEMISTRY

Chemistry offers the student an opportunity to demonstrate her math skills, and memorize and apply fundamental chemical concepts. These concepts include, but are not limited to, the use of the Periodic Table, acid/base chemistry, nomenclature and stoichiometry. Students in this class typically have strong math skills and a high level of interest in science.

HONORS CHEMISTRY

Honors chemistry offers the student an opporturnity to demonstrate her math skills, and memorize and apply fundamental chemical concepts. These concepts include, but are not limited to, the use of Periodic Table, acid/base chemistry, nomenclature and stoichiometry. Sudents in the class typically have strong math skills and a high level of interest in science.

A.P. CHEMISTRY

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 students, and the nature and the variety of experiments done in the laboratory.

Mr. Van Horn teaches Honors and AP Chemistry

 

Physics on lab day

CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS

This course will cover motion, Newton’s Laws of motion, momentum, energy, electrostatics, electricity, magnetism, waves, sound and light. Emphasis placed on the concepts of physics with mathematical equations as guides to these concepts. Prerequisites: Taking or have taken Algebra 2

PHYSICS

Physics offers the same basics as Physics A but with easier math applications. The course is segmented, offering many small chapters so that each part of the subject material can be readily absorbed. This course is designed for the student wishing to fulfill her science requirement at a less intense level.

A.P. PHYSICS

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. Prerequisites: Must have had at least one year of physics and received at least an A.; Teacher recommendation.

A.P. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

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. 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. Summer preparation is expected as well. Prerequisites: Physics, Biology and Chemistry; Teacher recommendation.

SCIENCE ELECTIVES

The following electives are offered by the science department when there is sufficient student interest:

Anatomy & Physiology

This is an in-depth, full-year course on the human body. Students will cover all organ systems, with a focus on the names and locations of organs, plus how they work together to keep us alive. Students interested in this course should be aware that there will be several dissections. Pre-requisites - Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

Environmental Science

This full year course in environmental studies will explore current environmental issues. Topics such as population, climate change, ecosystems, waste, water pollution and other topics will be covered. This course will deepen the student’s understanding of these issues. Pre-requisites - Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

Marine Biology

Marine Biology is the scientific study of the organisms that live in the sea. The study of organisms in the marine environment expands to those in the world’s oceans and brackish water (marshes, bays, ect.) This course begins with the history of Marine Biology, the sea floor, and its topography. The chemical and physical features of the ocean such as sea water, ocean circulation, waves, and tides are also discussed. The fundamentals of biology such as reproductive strategies, challenges of life in the sea, and the diversity of life in the sea will be covered. The course will then begin a look at the biological properties contained within the sea, starting with marine primary producers and the major factors that shape the pattern of marine primary productivity. Following marine primary productivity, the wide range of phyla in the marine systems coupled with animal behavior of marine organisms will be discussed. The course will then explore different marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, estuaries, bays, marshes, intertidal communities and the pelagic ocean. Lastly the course will discuss the effects of human presence upon the marine ecosystem, including fishing and pollution, and the prospects for the future the marine systems.   Class time is spent on a mixture of lectures, activities and laboratories. Laboratories and activities will be performed for each topic. Some labs will include dissection of marine organisms. Trips to aquariums and a marine science station will be taken for out of classroom experience.

Prerequisites: Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

Psychology is a dynamic discipline that is constantly seeking new ways to apply knowledge gained from research. In this class we learn about the history of psychology, the major areas that psychology usually studies. One goal of this course is to teach the students to ask intelligent questions regarding psychology. Another goal is to make the students aware that they can apply psychology to their every day lives, and to many of the occupations in the world today.

 

Mrs. Forest's class

 

The Astronomy Club offers various opportunities to stargaze and to do fun space related activities. In the fall we go to a local college on their open house nights and do some roof top observing. We also go to a nearby farmer's field to observe really dark night skies (sometimes we even see the Milky Way stretched across the sky!) In the spring, we host a moon rocks event where we do moon related activities and hold real NASA moon rocks from the Apollo missions. We end the year with a camping trip to stargaze all night long.

Faculty

Kelly Forest was born in Pennsylvania, and after 18 years in Boston, she has returned. Kelly received her bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Lafayette College. After her graduation, she headed up to Cambridge, MA to spend two years getting her masters of civil engineering at MIT. Always wanting to teach and coach, Kelly decided to go into teaching. She headed down to North Carolina with Teach For America. After a year there, she moved back up the Boston area where she taught physics and coached field hockey and basketball at Milton Academy. She left Milton Academy to spend time with her two boys, Sebastian and Lucas, and started teaching again in 2003 at Thayer Academy. At Grier, Mrs. Forest teaches physics and environmental science.

Mark Van Horn is originally from western NY state. He earned his B.S. in Microbiology at Penn StateUniversity, followed by postgraduate coursework in Science Education at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. Prior to his arrival at Grier, Mark spent his life as a research scientist and science teacher. His previous teaching position was with the school district of Philadelphia, where he taught Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry.

Mark’s research positions were in Interventional Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University, in Bioengineering at Penn State, and in a 7-year association with a deep-sea lab at Penn State. In the deep-sea lab, he was in charge of the daily operations of the lab, cruise equipment logistics and he worked with both the mechanical and electrical aspects of undersea systems. This included the design, fabrication and maintenance of devices used in the rigors of deep-sea research aboard the DSV ALVIN and other deep submersibles. As an added bonus of the job, he got to view life at the ocean depths from within these submersibles and share stories of high-seas adventure when returning to land.

When he’s not teaching, motorcycling or finding other excuses for why he can’t do yard work, you can find him loafing with his wife, three children, four cats and a toad.

Christine Fernandes is a local resident of Tyrone and is a graduate of Penn State University.  She holds a B.S. degree in Agriculture Education and a minor in Horticulture.  She has a teaching certificates in agriculture and general science and taught for 8 years teaching life science, earth and space science, and general science before joining the Grier faculty in 2008.  She's also worked for the Penn State Trail garden as a greenhouse assistant, the Penn State Horticulture department as a lab tech, and Alice's Garden as a floral designer.  She is the advisor for the Astronomy and Floral Design clubs. 

Kallie Brubakerreceived her B.S. in Education at Shippensburg University, 2006. She is certified in Earth Science, Environmental Science and General Science and has a certification in Geographic Information Systems. Kallie substituted at many area schools before she came to Grier. Kallie teaches General Biology, Environmental Science, AP Environmental Science and Conceptual Physics. She lives on campus with her husband Jeremy, and enjoys working out, walking and hiking, and is also involved in bowling and recycling with the environmental club.

Sarah Beamer was born and raised in Alexandria, Pennsylvania. Sarah knew at the age of 8 that she wanted to be a biologist when she fell in love with sea turtles. Attendng Millersville University, Pennsylvania and James Cook University, Queensland, Australia, she earned her B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology. After graduating Sarah began working as a research chemist associate for MPI Research in State College. She worked in the bioanalytical group performing validations and sample analysis for pre-clinical drug analysis. Later at MPI she worked as a cGMP research auditor. For the past two years Sarah has also tutored science at the Grier school and found that she loved the school and students so much, that's where she knew she wanted to be!

Outside of school Sarah enjoys the company of my husband and our two dogs, Molly and Susie, and a cat, Macey. She is currently a board member and foster home for the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue, a national coonhound rescue run solely through volunteers. She also enjoys hiking, canoeing, gardening, art, photography, and baking. Sarah has her advanced certification in SCUBA and hopes some day to be a dive master. After diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, her next goal is to dive the Blue Hole in Belize!

Chad Llewellyn joins Grier as a Physical Science, Financial Literacy and Honors/AP Art History teacher. He was born in Oxnard California and attended high school in Jacksonville FL. Chad went to Carlow University  and received a Major in social studies, with a minor in philosophy. He is married to Ashley, lives in Alexandria, and has a dog named Sasha.

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