core english math

Pre-Calculus Honors students completed a collaborative project to review trigonometry.

Pre-Calculus Honors students completed a team project in which they pretended to fire fireworks using trigonometry on Feb. 14 organized by math teacher Susan Kaplan. It was a fun experience for students to brush up on their knowledge on trigonometry. “The project helped me understand trigonometry by using a real-life example,” junior Avery Simon said. Students communicated with their peers in order to be able to succeed in this activity. “I really liked being part of a team, because we were able to work together, and I got insight from other students that did not share the same ideas as me,” sophomore Alexa Smith said. Kaplan explained the significance of incorporating team activities into her curriculum. “This is a fun project that the kids tend to like. It helps solidify some of the concepts we have talked about, on terms of right triangles and trigonometry,” Kaplan said. Photos by Andrea Malpica

IB Environmental Systems and Societies students studied K and R species and their habits’ influences on their breeding, with just a container of bubble soap, a bubble wand, and a square made of PVC pipes on Oct.

7. Students modeled how different species’ breeding patterns functioned in a creative way: by blowing bubbles through the PVC square. “We blew bubbles and saw how many made it through these square, modeling different species’ breeding patterns. Those who made it through the square were offspring that survive past childhood,” junior Idalia Basterra said. Although the main purpose of the lab was for students to reinforce their knowledge on different species’ survival rates, it also helped students in the long term. “I wanted students to work on collecting data sets for further analysis which is helpful not only for the tests at the end of the year, but also helps with skill sets that are necessary for their Internal Assessments,” IB Environmental Systems and Societies teacher Carla Carmona said. Photos by Mia Carrasco