SPX 8th Grade Course Description Guide 2023-2024

OurMission

St.PiusXHighSchoolisaCatholiccollegepreparatoryschooloftheArchdioceseofSantaFe.Weserve Godandthecommunitythroughfaith,loveandrespectandinspirelearning,leadership.

COURSEDESCRIPTIONS

ENGLISHDEPARTMENT

ENGLISH8-LANGUAGE&LITERATURE-Thiscombinedliteratureandlanguagecourseis designedtointroducestudentstotheEnglishlanguageasanexperienceinvolvingreading,writing, speaking,andlisteninginordertodevelopeffectivecommunicatorsandthinkers.Studentsare introducedtovariouswritingstructures,suchasthefive-paragraphcritiqueandwrittennarrative. Vocabularyandgrammararefundamentalexperiences.Readingforcomprehensioninvolvesshort stories,poetry,drama,andnovels.Aspeechcomponentisanessentialpartofthewholelanguage experience.Studentsmustcomposearesearchpapersectionofthiscourse.Studentswillreceivetwo separategrades:oneforLanguageandoneforLiterature.

Prerequisite:None-Acourseopentoeighthgraders.

HONORSENGLISH8-LANGUAGE&LITERATURE-Thisadvanced, combinedliteratureand languagecourseisdesignedtointroducestudentstotheEnglishlanguageasanexperienceinvolving analyticalreading,criticalthought,articulatewritingandspeaking,andastutelisteninginorderto developeffectivecommunicatorsandthinkers.Studentsareintroducedtovariouswritingstructures, suchasthefive-paragraphcritiqueandwrittennarrative..Vocabularyandgrammararefundamental experiences.Readingforanalysisinvolvesshortstories,poetry,drama,andnovels.Aspeech componentisanessentialpartofthewholelanguageexperience.Studentsmustcomposealiterary researchpapersectionofthiscourse. Studentswillreceivetwoseparategrades:oneforLanguageand oneforLiterature.

Prerequisite:Entrancetothisclassisdeterminedbyhighentranceexamscores,formerteacher recommendations,andgrades.Inaddition,aletterofapplicationandreviewofawritingsamplepriorto acceptance.

MATHEMATICSDEPARTMENT

Ifastudentwantstochallengehis/herplacement,he/shemust petitionthemathdepartmentto takethecourse.

MATH8 -Inthiscourse,studentswilllearntheconceptsofcomputationandunderstandthe propertiesofrealnumbers.Studentswillbecomecomfortablewithusinglettersandsymbolsto translateproblemsintoalgebraicform.Inaddition,theywilllearnhowtosolveandgraphlinear equationsandinequalities.Studentswillbecomecomfortablewiththeslopeofalineandhowit

representstherateofchangeofthetwovariables.Studentswillalsolearnabouttwo-andthreedimensionalshapesandtheirproperties.Withinthis,studentswillcalculateperimeter,area, circumference,surfaceareaandvolumeoftheseshapes.Additionally,studentswillunderstandthe PythagoreanTheoremandbeabletoexplainwhyitistrue.Thestudentswillalsoapplyconceptsof probabilityinavarietyofways.Calculatorsarenotallowed.

ALGEBRAI -Thiscourseprovidesthefoundationfor allsubsequentmathcourses.Studentsare introducedtothebasicstructureofalgebrathroughtheuseandapplicationofrealnumbers, polynomials,factoring,linearandquadraticequationsandtheirgraphs,inequalitiesandrationaland irrationalnumbers.Thiscoursewillprovideopportunitiesforstudentstobuildtheirthinkingand problem-solvingskills.Calculatorsarenotallowed.

HONORSALGEBRA/GEOMETRY -Thiscourseisdesigned forfreshmenstudentswithhigher abilityinmathematics.Itisfastpaced,asstudentsareexpectedtolearnandapplyskillsmorequickly thanstudentsinAlgebraI.Thefallsemestercoversallmaterialofregularalgebra(first-andsecond degreeequations,lines,inequalities,radicals,polynomials,andwordproblems)aswellassome AlgebraIItopics,includingcomplexnumbersandsyntheticdivision.TheSpringsemesteris comparabletoafullcourseingeometry.Topicsincludeparallelism,triangletheorems,formalproofs, similarity,circleproperties,quadrilaterals,areaoftwo-dimensionalfigures,andsurfaceareasand volumeofthree-dimensionalfigures.

Prerequisite:Havingtakenapreviouscourseinalgebraisnotarequirement.Admissiontothisclass is determinedbyhighentranceexamscoresandgrades. Nowithdrawalswillbeallowedafterweek7 of school

GEOMETRY-Thiscourseisdesignedtohelpthestudent understandthebasicstructureofplane, solid,andcoordinategeometry.Studentswilldevelopproblemsolvingskillsandpowersof visualization.Theywillalsobuildtheirknowledgeoftherelationshipamonggeometricelementsand theywillincreasetheirunderstandingoftheinductiveanddeductivemethodsofreasoning.Students arerequiredtohavethefollowingitemsonthefirstdayofclass;compass,protractor,andascientific calculator.

Prerequisite:AlgebraI.Requiredforgraduation.

WORLDLANGUAGES

Coursesectionsinthisdepartmentareavailabletomeettheneedsofvariousstudentabilities. Assignmenttospecialcoursesectionswillbemadebycounselorsanddepartmentpersonnelwithfinal approvalgivenbytheAssistantPrincipal-Academics.Allcoursesareyearlong.

INTRODUCTIONTOSPANISH -Thiscourseisafullyear academiccoursethatfocuseson developingaworkingvocabularyaswellastheabilitytoproducemeaningfulcommunicationby developingthelanguageskillsoflistening,speaking,reading,andwriting.Throughthematic-based vocabularyandgrammaticalstructurestudentswillbecomefamiliarwiththevariousaspectsof Spanish-speakingcountriesandtheirculture.TextbooksandMaterials:AsiSeDiceLevel1

SPANISHI-InthiscoursestudentsstudythebasicsofSpanishgrammar,includingthepresent, imperfect,andpreterit.Fourcommunicationskillsaredeveloped-speaking,listening,reading,and writing.Studentswillbeexposedtothesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthecultureofthepeoplewho speaktheSpanishlanguage.

Prerequisite:None-Anelectivecourseopentoall students.

HONORS SPANISH I - Honors Spanish I is an accelerated Spanish I course covering all the basic concepts and cultural items taught in Spanish I regular. This course is designed to meet the needs of students who have mastered some of the more basic concepts of regularlevel1butarenotproficient enoughtofunctioninalevelIISpanishcourse.Theprimarylanguageofinstructionwillbethetarget language!Spanishisusedextensivelyforcommunicationintheclassroom!Inaddition,studentswill beresponsibleforamajorprojecteachsemester.

Prerequisite:Pre-evaluationgivenpriortoregistration,teacherrecommendationorinterviewwith department

FRENCHI-Thisisanintroductorycoursetobasic skillsinFrenchvocabularyandgrammar.Four communicationskillsaredeveloped:speaking,listening,reading,andwriting.Cultureisweavedinto eachlessonviavideos,Frenchartifacts,literature,slides,andskitssostudentscanlearnto communicateeffectivelywithFrenchspeakersacrosstheglobe,learnabouttheirownculture,and becomemoresensitivetoculturaldifferences.Requirements:dailyreviewofmaterialstudied, memorizationofvocabularyandgrammar,weeklyactivitiesintheworkbook.

Prerequisite:None-Anelectivecourseopentoall students.

LATINI-LatinIwillexplorethehistory,cultureandcivilizationrelatedtothedevelopmentanduse oftheLatinlanguage.ThebasicskillsoftheLatinvocabularywillbetaught.Emphasiswillbeplaced onthereading,writing,speaking,comprehension,andtranslationofLatin.ThebenefitsofLatinused inthesciencesandmathwillalsobeexplored.

Prerequisite:InterviewwiththeLatininstructorandashortessaystatingwhythestudentisinterested intakingLatinandhowthestudentwouldcontributetothesuccessoftheclass.

SCIENCEDEPARTMENT

FOUNDATIONSINPHYSICALSCIENCE -Meetingthe8thgradesciencerequirement, FoundationsinPhysicalScienceisafull-yearlaboratoryscience.Thecourseisdesignedtoprovidea generalorientationtointroductoryphysicsandchemistry,andengineeringpractices.Scientific measurementskillsareemphasizedinalaboratoryenvironment.Studentsapplymathematicaland criticalthinkingskillstosolveproblemsinclassandapplythesetorealworldsituations.Thefollowing topicsareemphasized:thenatureofscience,experimentaldesign,basicstatisticalanalyses,introduction totechnicalwritingandoralpresentationskills,allwithinthecontextofphysics,chemistryand engineeringpractices.Studentsarerequiredtohaveanon-graphingscientificcalculatorforthisclass.

SOCIALSTUDIESDEPARTMENT

U.S.HISTORY-Inthiscourse,studentsencounteranddiscussthehistoryofournationfromthedays beforeitsfirstfoundinguntiljustafteritsre-foundingfollowingtheCivilWar.Studentswillengage withthisbasicstorythroughmasteringskillssuchasnote-taking,primarysourceanalysis,group discussion,andprojectlearning.Inaddition,studentswillgainamasteryofAmericanphysicaland politicalgeography,thefoundationaldocumentsandinstitutionsofourgovernment,andtherelevant teachingsofourCatholicfaithonsocialandpoliticallife.

THEOLOGYDEPARTMENT

THEOLOGY8 -Inthiscourse,studentswilllearnthestructureandhistoryoftheChurch.The primaryfocusoftheclassisidentifyinganddescribingthefoundationsoftheChurch.Studentswill lookatthefirst500yearsofChurchhistoryandhowitformedthefoundationofthemodern-day Church.StudentswillbuildupontheknowledgeoftheGospelsinordertoproperlyunderstandthe foundationsuponwhichtheChurchwasbuiltwhilecontinuingtodeveloptheirfamiliaritywiththe Bible.Eachstudentwillalsoexaminetheimpactofsaints,Churchleadersandimportanteventsthat shapedChristianity.Abasicintroductiontoethicsandmoralityisalsointerwoventhroughoutthe themesofthiscourse.

FINEARTSDEPARTMENT

VISUALARTSCOURSES

STUDIOART -TheStudioArtclassisgearedtoward thestudentwhohasaninterestinartand wouldliketolearnmoreaboutandexplorebasicarttechniquesandmediums.Theclasswillfocus heavilyondrawinganddesigntechniquesinthefirstsemesterandthenwillshifttowatercolor paintingtechniquesandfinallythreedimensionalprojectsinthefourthquarter. Basicdrawingand shadingtechniqueswillbestudiedwithvariousmediasuchaspencil,penandinkandcharcoal. Studentswilllearnhowtoshadewiththesemediumsandmakeobjectsappeardimensionalthus creatingtheillusionofspace.Compositionalvalueswillalsobestudiedsuchasbalance(symmetrical, asymmetricalandradial)aswellasfocalpointsofinterestculminatinginvariouscontentoriented finishedworks.

PERFORMINGARTSCOURSES CHORALMUSIC

CHOIR -Thiscourseisdesignedforstudentswith littleornochoralexperiencewhowishtolearnthe basics.Anemphasisisplaceduponthedevelopmentofsight-singing,vocaltechniques,performingand generalmusicalknowledge.Thisensemblewillperformmusiconallconcertsandinconjunctionwith theBelCantoConcertChoir. Thestudentwillberequiredtoparticipateinallschool-sponsored performances,workshopsandclinics,andallspecialevents.

INSTRUMENTALMUSIC

BEGINNINGBAND-TheBeginningBandisdesignedtoprovidestudentswithanintroductory experienceonbandinstruments.Curriculumforthiscourseisanextensionoftheskillsandconcepts introducedinGeneralMusicclasses.BeginningBandisopentoalleighthgradestudents.Prior instrumentalmusicexperienceisnotrequired.

BEGINNINGORCHESTRA-TheBeginningOrchestraisdesigned toprovidestudentswithan introductoryexperienceonstringinstruments. Curriculumforthiscourseisanextensionoftheskills andconceptsintroducedinGeneralMusicclasses.BeginningOrchestraopentoalleighthgrade students.Priorinstrumentalmusicexperienceisnotrequired.

THEATERARTS

DRAMA-Thecourseisanintroductiontoactingand thetheater Thestudentwilllearnthe elementsofstageacting,bothindividuallyandinsmallgroupsaswellasunderstandingthebasics ofthetheaterspace. Emphasiswillbeplacedondramaticelements,vocalwork,improvisation, physical movement. Studentswillstudydramaticliterature,monologuesandscenework.This classisdesignedasafoundationalcourseforfurtherstudyintheater

DANCE

DANCE -DanceIoffersstudentstheopportunitytoexplorethefundamentalsofdance.Thiscourse isanintroductoryclassthatwillincludetechniqueandbasicskillsinstylessuchas ballet,jazz, contemporary,andtap.Kinesiologylabsinvestigatethebodyasitmovesandtiesintoinjury prevention.Requiredattirewillincludeballetandjazzshoes,andclothingthatallowsfreemovement. NOEXPERIENCENECESSARY.

ACADEMICINFORMATION

ACADEMICREQUIREMENTS

All8thgradestudentswillhavesevensubjectsandalunch. TheschedulewillincludeEnglish,Math, Science,SocialStudies,Theology,Spanishandoneelective.

Course sections in English, Mathematics,andClassicalandModernLanguagesareavailabletomeetthe needs of various student abilities. Assignment tospecialcoursesectionswillbemadebycounselorsand departmentpersonnelwithfinalapprovalgivenbytheAssistantPrincipal-Academics.

BecauseoftheamountofworkrequiredinAdvancedPlacement(AP)andHonorcourses, studentswillbe allowedtotakenomorethan3courseseachyear.Studentswhowishtoenrollinmorethan3 HonorsorAPcoursesmustreceivepermissionfromthePrincipal.StudentsMUSTtakelunch.

ALL STUDENTSAREREQUIREDTOENTERSERVICEHOURSONTHEX2VOLWEBSITE. STUDENTS HAVE THIRTY(30) DAYS FROM THE COMPLETION OF SERVICE HOURS TO ENTERTHEMORTHEYWILLBEFORFEITED.

CREDITSANDGRADES

Allgradesarerecordedinletters.The4-pointgradesystemisusedatSt.Pius.

TheAdvancedPlacement(AP)andHonorcoursesatSt.PiusXHighSchoolareonthe5-pointgrade system.A=5,B=4,C=3,D=2,F=0andnocredit.

Creditisawardedonasemesterbasis.Onehalfunitofcreditisrecordedforapassingsemestergrade. Eachsemesterofafullyearcourseiscreditedindividually

REPORTCARDS

Thefirstquarterreportcardwillbeemailedtoparentsorguardiansafterthecompletionofa quarter/semester.Afterreceivingthereportcard,parentswillhavetheopportunitytomeetbrieflywiththe student’steachersinthefallatreportcardnight.Allotherreportcards(andseniordiplomas)willbe emailedormailedwhenallfinancialandotherobligationshavebeensettledwiththeschool.

TRANSCRIPTS

Onetranscriptofgradesisprovidedfreetoallstudentswhorequestitiftheirbillsandfeesarepaid.Afee ofonedollar,tobepaidinadvance,ischargedforeachadditionaltranscriptrequested.

ACADEMICELIGIBILITY

Tobeeligibleforparticipation/performanceinsports(bothinseasonandpre/postseason)andextra curricularandco-curricularactivities(including,butnotlimitedto,visual/performingartsproductions, MADAH,ACADEC,etc.)sponsoredbySt.PiusX,astudentmustabidebyscholastic requirementsas definedbySt.PiusX.

AnystudentwhohasanestablishedAccommodationPlanatSt.PiusXwillbeindividuallyevaluatedfor eligibility. However,ifastudentfailsoneormoreclassesforthequarterorthesemester,thestudentwillbe ineligibletoparticipatebasedontheguidelinesforAcademicEligibility

1stQuarterand3rdQuarterGrades

Tobeeligibletoparticipateinsports,extra-curricularandco-curricularactivitiesforthefollowingquarter, astudentmusthave:

•noincompletegradesforthe1stor3rdquarter

•noF’sforthe1stor3rdquarter,and

•aGPAof2.0orbetterforthe1stor3rdquarter. Astudentwhodoesnotmeettheserequirementswillremainineligibleuntiltheendoftheapplicable semester.Theeligibilityofstudentswhohaveoneormoreincompletegradesisdeterminedafterall courseworkiscompleted(allincompletesmustbeclearedwithin2weeksaftertheendofthegrading period).

Endof1stSemesterGrades

Tobeeligibletoparticipateinsports,extra-curricularandco-curricularactivitiesfortheentirethird quarter**,astudentmusthave:

•noincompletegradesforthe1stsemester

•noF’sforthe1stsemester,and

•aGPAof2.0orbetterforthe1stsemester.

Astudentwhodoesnotmeettheserequirementswillremainineligibleuntiltheendofthethirdquarter,at whichtimethestudent’seligibilitywillbere-evaluated.Theeligibilityofstudentswhohaveoneormore incompletegradesforthe1stsemesterwillbedeterminedafterallcourseworkiscompleted(all incompletesmustbeclearedwithin2weeksaftertheendofthegradingperiod).

**Anystudentwhomeetstherequirementsforeligibilityforthe1stsemester,butwhohasearnedoneF forthe2ndquarter,willbeineligiblefortenschooldays.Attheendoftheten-dayperiod,theAssistant Principal,Academics,willascertainifthestudenthasimprovedhis/herworktoasatisfactorylevel.Ifnot, afinalcheckwillbemade5schooldayslatertodetermineeligibility Anystudentwhoearnsmorethan oneFforthe2ndquarter,hasno1stsemesterfailures,andwhose1stsemesterGPAisabovea2.0,willbe ineligiblefortheentirethirdquarter.

Endof2ndSemestergrades

Tobeeligibletoparticipateinsports(includingsummerworkouts)andextracurricularactivities,forthe firstquarterofthenextschoolyear,astudentmusthave:

•noincompletegradesforthe2ndsemester

•noF’sforthe2ndsemester,and

•aGPAof2.0orbetterforthe2ndsemester

Astudentwhodoesnotmeettheserequirementswillremainineligibleuntiltheendofthefirstquarterof thenextschoolyear,atwhichtimethestudent’seligibilitywillbere-evaluated.Theeligibilityofstudents whohaveoneormoreincompletegradesforthe2ndsemesterwillbedeterminedafterallcourseworkis completed(allincompletesmustbeclearedwithin2weeksaftertheendofthegradingperiod).

AnystudentwhoearnsoneFforthe4thquarter,hasno2ndsemesterfailures,andwhose2ndsemester GPAisabove2.0,willnotbeallowedtoparticipateinanysummerteamactivities,butwillbeallowedto tryoutforandparticipateinfallsportsorextra-curricularorco-curricularactivitiesstartingonAugust1st. Anystudentwhohascompletedall2ndsemestercoursework,andwhohasearneda2ndsemesterGPAof 2.0orbetterbuthasfailedonlyoneclassforthe2ndsemestermaybecomeeligibleonAugust1st,ifthat studenthassuccessfullycompletedacreditrecoveryclassatSt.Piusforthe2ndsemesterfailure.Ifacredit recoveryclassisnotavailableatSt.Pius,thestudentmustgettheapprovaloftheAssistantPrincipalof Academicstocompletethecreditrecoverycoursethroughanapprovedprogram.Whenthecreditrecovery gradeisreceivedandenteredintothestudent’sacademicrecord,the2ndsemesterGPAmustremainabove a2.0forthestudenttobeeligibletoparticipateonAugust1st.

GradesearnedinsummerschoolmaynotbeusedtoboostGPAtobecomeeligibleforthefall semester.

NOTE:ADDITIONS, MODIFICATIONSANDDELETIONSMAYBE MADETOTHISDOCUMENTATANYTIMEAS DEEMEDAPPROPRIATEBYTHE ST.PIUSXHIGHSCHOOLADMINISTRATION.