by Cassie Florido
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For the new school year, STA has added several new courses to the curriculum. While many of the courses are in their first year, some of the courses are only new levels in a previously established course. The following is a list of the new courses that are currently available to students.
Intro To Chemistry/Intro to Physics
The intro to chemistry & physics course, taken by freshmen, has been expanded to a yearlong course.
“We give [students] a better foundation [of science],” teacher Mary Montag said. “[The course] gets them ready for upper level sciences.”
According to Montag, the course expansion allows her to spend an equal amount of time teaching the basic concepts of both chemistry and physics.
Astronomy
Astronomy is a new course added to the science department this year, available for grades 10-12. This interactive course allows students to use a Planetarium software in which students can look at visuals of constellations, the sun and the Earth.
“At least two times a semester, [students] have to come up to school to use the new telescopes to look at planets and the moon,” teacher Terry Conner said.
Conner says students will learn how small the Earth is in relation to the other galaxies and universes that exist.
Forensic Science
A new addition to the science department this year is the forensic science course. Throughout the course, students will perform several labs and use podcasts to learn the material. According to the STA Program of Studies, crime scenes will be simulated for students to develop observation skills and draw conclusions based on evidence.
“It gives [students] more hands on, different types of lab techniques that they will not cover in other classes,” teacher Renee Blake said.
Acting I & Theatrical Design
Available this year to all grades is the new acting and theatrical design course. The previous course, drama I and drama II, has now been divided into two semesters. The course will focus on acting first semester and theatrical design second semester. Students are given the option to enroll in the course for one semester instead of taking part in the course for a full semester. If they are not interested in either the acting or theatrical design portion of the course, they can opt out of that part of the course.
According to teacher Shana Prentiss, the students will be able to spend more time going deeper into the process of both acting and theatrical design.
Playwriting
This year, students can take a new playwriting course within the fine arts department. According to Prentiss, students will be writing a play and eventually having the option to submit their work for student productions.
“[The school is] kind of lacking creative writing in our curriculum,” Prentiss said. “So I think this is a great way to improve creative skills but also do it in a fun and creative way,” Prentiss said.
Art History
This year, the art department has added a course that focuses on the study of art history. The course, available for grades 10-12, will teach students about western art such as cave paintings, Egyptian art and Greek poetry.
Teacher Theresa Wallerstedt says that this course is important for students because art is a way to measure any successful civilization as far as the social, economic and political realm.
Illustration
In the new illustration course available for grades 10-12, students will be creating illustrations of stories, books, music and other personal creations. According to the STA Program of Studies, students will create cartoons, comic strips, graphic novels, children’s and adult books.
“Hopefully [the course] will give [students] another opportunity to look into art and see if they wanted to choose it as a career,” Wallerstedt said.
Trigonometry/Finite Math
The math department has added a new course which teaches trigonometry and finite math. According to the STA Program of Studies, the course is for students who are interested in learning a type of math used in everyday life.
“[The course] is geared towards business, social and life sciences, finance, college algebra, logic and statistics,” teacher Mary Fisher said.
Chinese Art & Culture
Chinese art and culture is a new course available to students in all grades for one semester.
According to teacher Valda Hsu, the course will explain the Chinese culture in it’s origins, achievements, cultural thoughts and stories and [the Chinese] influence today.
“I’m preparing [students] for travel, or maybe even to work or study [in China],” Hsu said.
The course currently has a small number of students enrolled, but Hsu says she hopes to slowly grow the course once students become more interested.
Spanish III
Along with a college level Spanish III course, students are now given the opportunity to take a regular Spanish III course.
According to teacher Carolyn Hollstein, the course will not cover as much as the college level course. However, Hollstein plans on focusing of different topics than the college level course.
“My goal is to focus on a lot of conversation and to do different sorts of activities,” Hollstein said.
Hollstein says that she wants to focus on connecting the [students] with the community and putting Spanish into practice.
AP Psychology
A new course available for juniors and seniors, is an AP level of psychology. According to the STA Program of Studies, students will be studying the behavior and mental process of humans and animals. Students will be learning research methods, biological bases of behavior, learning, cognition, developmental psychology, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, personality theories and social psychology.
College Pre-Calculus
A college level course of the pre-calculus course is now available to students in grades 10-12.
According to teacher Jo Weller, students will be studying trigonometry first semester and college pre-calculus and calculus second semester. The course also allows students to receive college credit from Rockhurst University.
“I think it’s important for students to have the opportunity for college credit,” Weller said.
