academics
A New Science Sequence This academic year marks the launch of a new science sequence in the Upper School, with 9th graders now taking biology, rather than environmental science, then chemistry in 10th grade and physics in 11th grade. As seniors, the current crop of 9th graders will be able to pick from advanced courses in biology, chemistry, or physics, or from a series of science electives, including some new ones currently in development. The change, says Upper School Principal Steve McManus, is aimed at overcoming limitations of the previous science sequence, which will be followed to completion by current sophomores through seniors: environmental science (9th); biology (10th); chemistry or applied chemistry (11th); and physics or calculus-based physics (12th). “We were finding that seniors who were interested in pursuing advanced science coursework were forced to double up their senior year, which meant they had to drop something else to make room,” says McManus. In addition, Friends School students hoping to pursue summer internships in science labs found that many programs required completion of biology and chemistry — which meant they couldn’t apply to these programs until the spring of their junior year, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
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Last spring, students in Katherine Jenkins’ 9th grade Environmental Science course learned firsthand about the aquaponics operation at Baltimore’s Cylburn Arboretum. Field trips like these will continue under the new science sequence with coursework on environmental sustainability in biology.
While the new sequence means the end of a yearlong course in environmental science, “environmental stewardship and sustainability are still core to our values at Friends School, and we don’t want to lose that,” says McManus. The 9th-grade biology curriculum being rolled out this year includes coursework on environmental sustainability, he says.
Students try some of the local greenery at the Cylburn Arboretum.