Upper School Course of Study | 2017-2018
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Upper School Course of Study | 2017-2018 UPPER SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY | 2017-2018 Table of Contents GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS .................................1 Modern Languages: Spanish ..........................................17 Modern Languages: Chinese (Mandarin) ........................19 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR COURSE SELECTION ..........................................2 History ............................................................................20 Cross Discipline Electives ...............................................23 HOW TO PLAN YOUR COURSES ...............................3 Mathematics Progression Paths for Upper School ..........24 COURSE OFFERINGS Mathematics...................................................................25 Grade 9 ............................................................................5 Science ..........................................................................26 Grade 10 ..........................................................................6 Visual and Performing Arts .............................................31 Grade 11 ..........................................................................7 Visual and Performing Arts: Applied Individual Study ......36 Grade 12 ..........................................................................8 Alternatives to the Arts Graduation Requirement ...........36 Music Performance Groups ...........................................37 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Athletics, Physical Education, English .............................................................................9 Wellness and Media Literacy .........................................38 Classical Languages: Latin .............................................12 Participation in Community Service ................................39 Classical Languages: Greek ...........................................14 Modern Languages: French ............................................14 COURSE PLANNER ....................................................40 Graduation Requirements English 4 years Language 3 consecutive years of Modern Language or completion of Latin III or Greek III History 3 years (must include U.S. History) Mathematics 3 years (minimum requirement of Algebra II) Science 3 years (must include Physics, Chemistry and Biology) Visual and Performing Arts 1 year (Class of 2018 and 2019) 2 years (one must be classroom; other may be performance; begins with the Class of 2020) Electives Varies (addition of electives to total required 20 credits) Physical Education 4 years (3 times/year in 9th and 10th grade; 2 times/year in 11th and 12th grade) Senior Assembly 10-minute speech on topic of choice Participation in Community Service 40 hours Special Studies Program (SSP) 4 years Total credits needed to graduate 20 total credits required for graduation 1 The Agnes Irwin School | Empowering Girls Since 1869 General Guidelines for Course Selection The Agnes Irwin School offers a rich and diverse • Think about the many demands on your time, both curriculum that provides girls with a deep academic and non-academic, which include: foundation in the humanities, mathematics and – school activities (any plans to increase your science, wellness and athletics. You are required to involvement, pursue leadership) study a wide variety of subjects yet also have the flexibility – outside commitments (music/drama lessons, sports to pursue your individual interests. teams, religious/cultural affinity groups, job) The decision about what courses to take each year is a – family situation (do you hold significant balancing act involving many factors. As you look ahead, responsibilities at home) you should think both about the immediate future and your – travel time to and from school long-term goals. Considering the following factors may – time for sleep help in your decision-making: – time for fun Making complex decisions about your priorities is an REQUIREMENTS AND THE FUTURE important part of the educational process, and the faculty • Pay attention to the requirements, making sure that you and administrators at Agnes Irwin are invested in helping will be able to complete them by graduation. you to make these choices wisely. Your advisor will work • Think about your future academic plans. When you closely with you to develop the course of study that best complete a requirement, do you want to continue in that meets your academic goals. subject or concentrate on another? DROP/ADD PERIOD • What is your passion? What courses are exciting to you? A student may drop or add a course without impact to the BALANCE CHALLENGING AND transcript during the first two cycles of the school year. Any REALISTIC CHOICES changes to courses after the drop/add cycle are reflected on the transcript. • Think about your most difficult times this year and use those experiences to inform your choices about the It is important to note that scheduling is a complicated level of course challenge, number of courses, and other process and not all students will be able to be placed in activities you choose to do. their first choice courses. Courses with low enrollment may not be offered. Courses with only one section may have • If you have needed regular tutoring in a course, consider a limit on enrollment (generally no course will enroll more whether you can handle the next level of coursework. than 20 students). We do, however, make sure that all Students should not need to be tutored regularly to students have options that will prepare them well for the succeed in a class, with the exception of temporary or college admissions process. The College Counseling team chronic medical situations. If students rely on tutoring, is involved in course planning, including meeting one-on- they are generally “over placed” in their current level. one with rising seniors. 2 UPPER SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY | 2017-2018 How to Plan Your Courses In this section, you will find course requirements What are colleges looking for? listed by grade level, followed by full descriptions The best path to getting into college is to let things develop of courses by discipline. There are also answers to as organically as possible in the student’s growth, without frequently asked questions to help guide you in your trying to second- guess what the colleges want, especially decision-making. At the end of this section, there is a four- given AIS’s comprehensive offerings, both academic year planning sheet. This planner allows you to look ahead and co-curricular. Every college looks for different things at what courses you may want to take in the future and to and that can also change on a yearly basis, so to try plan pre-requisites now, including having an understanding and emulate a perceived ideal is not useful. Colleges of the grades necessary to be able to move to an Honors want interesting people who have taken advantage of level. When planning ahead, have multiple course options opportunities that matter to them personally (admissions in mind as electives change from year to year. committees are leery of situations which they believe to have been orchestrated or forced). FAQS ABOUT COURSE SELECTION How do I balance between rigor and breadth? ANSWERED BY AIS COLLEGE COUNSELORS Usually the student knows the answer to this question How can I be sure that the courses I select at AIS intuitively, in terms of what is manageable in her life will lead toward a successful college outcome? and priorities. The best path toward present and future 1. AIS’s minimum requirements meet and/or usually success, including college prospects, is for the student to exceed college entrance requirements in terms of both challenge herself, while balancing all aspects of her life – depth (number of years studied) and breadth (number academics, activities, fun, and sleep. of areas covered), and, other than art courses, are What do I do if I want to accelerate or upgrade from all NCAA approved [no art courses at any school are the program I have been recommended for? approved by the NCAA; our recruited athletes have not found this to be a problem in the past]. 1. Acceleration in either level (moving from grade-level to Honors) or breadth (adding an additional course 2. AIS’s system of departmental recommendations and or Independent Science Research) should be carefully individual course prerequisites have been designed and discussed with all appropriate parties (advisor, teacher, reviewed extensively to ensure students’ success in department head) to determine the feasibility of such a AIS coursework. Careful attention is paid every year to move. Awareness of the student’s past work and how checking each student’s progress in order to determine other students have managed AIS’s curriculum help the next step in coursework and, then, double-checked determine the probability of success. For example, in at the end of the academic year by individual teachers, nearly every case for the past ten years when students department chairs, and the Upper School Director. The have jumped a level against AIS’s advice, especially college counselors are brought into any discussion in math, the student has struggled in that next year where there is any concern on that front. and sometimes beyond, with negative impact on self-esteem, grades, and college prospects. 2. What if regular external tutoring has been necessary for a student to cope with an existing course? In this case, the need or reliance on regular tutoring would indicate that the student is over- stretched in that course, and, thus, acceleration