| SECONDARY SCIENCE (6-12) DEPARTMENT
Secondary Science News
Congratulations to Carey Page, a 6 th grade science teacher at teacher at Booker T. Washington Middle School and Gretchen Watson a Chemistry teacher at Heritage High School respectively who were their levels teachers of the year. .
Science Department Goal
The Goal of the science department is to help our students become scientifically literate citizens and to expose students to a wide variety of field and hands on activities that will engage them in real world experiences. According to the National Science Education Standards, "students cannot achieve high levels of performance without access to skilled professional teachers, adequate classroom time, a rich array of learning materials, accommodating work spaces, and the resources of the communities surrounding their schools." The science department is helping to provide this support with interactive hands on activities in conjunction with a reflective experience and a rich curriculum.
A main focus for the Newport News Public Schools Science department is to excite our students about Science with interactive hands-on labs. To challenge our students with a reflective piece to ensure that learning takes hold and students are not merely participating in a fun activity.
Program
Description
The secondary science course of study in Newport News public schools is designed to develop the knowledge and skills of the environment, physical and chemical aspects of life. The students pursue these three basic blocks of science through scientific inquiry and working with the scientific method to solve a problem that will enable students to put into perspective people, places, ideas, and events that have shaped our state, our nation, and our world.
In grades six through twelve, students will develop an understanding of the world of science and how science plays a role in the industry and their lives with respect to the past, present, and future of our world. As the students study the environment, they will develop an understanding of the impact animals and plants have on the environment. Students will develop an understanding of how different groups interact with their environment, and how our communities and nations are affected by conditions and events in other places. Studying the physical aspects of our world will students understand the basic principals of engineering and physical properties of the world around in order to be informed citizens and to participate in the public life of our community, state, and nation. Studying the chemical properties of the world around us will help students understand the interactions on a molecular and macro level of the world that surrounds them and help them to understand the impact of humans as a producer, or consumer; and their role in the global environment.
In addition, the courses in the science program are designed to develop the following skills and proficiencies:
- Recognizing and understanding cause and effect
- Analyzing the relationship between the past and the present
- Understanding and analyzing change over time
- Problem solving and decision-making
- Studying and comparing people, places, ideas, events
- Recognizing and analyzing multiple perspectives
- Making inferences and generalizations and drawing conclusions
- Gathering, classifying, sequencing & interpreting information and visual data
- Recognizing and interpreting spatial relationships .
Science
Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions
Secondary
Science Course of Study
Students take a sequence of science courses in grades 6 thru 12. Three high school science courses (including Earth Science, Biology and Chemistry) are required for graduation. However, students must take and receive credit for four high school science courses (including Earth Science, Biology and Chemistry) in order to earn an advanced studies diploma.
High School science courses required for graduation are offered at average, honors, and advanced (AP, IB) levels.
In addition to required courses, high school students may choose from the following courses: AP Environmental Science, Physics, Biology and Chemistry.
Secondary Science Course Descriptions
Resources
Virginia Air and Space Center:
Located in downtown Hampton , the Virginia Air and Space Center has much to offer to Newport News teachers as well as their students. Every year the Center offers teacher workshops designed to reinforce Virginia and National SOL skills. The Center is also the home of the NASA Educational Resource Center , where teachers can obtain countless top quality pictures, posters, videos and more. Programs offered to Newport News Public Schools at no cost are shown below:
Grade 6:
- Planet Earth a one hour program
- Energy U a thirty minute demonstration
- Planet Blue IMAX
- Tour
Virginia Living Museum:
The newly remodeled and greatly expanded Virginia Living Museum is located in Newport News just off of J. Clyde Morris Blvd. Because it is in our own backyard and the quality of its offerings Newport News Schools has a service contract agreement with the Virginia Living Museum . In that contract the following services are included and free to students, teachers and chaperones.
Grades K - 5:
239 prepaid field trip Natural Science Surveys or Planetarium programs scheduled on a first come first served basis. Each program to accommodate up to 60 students. This includes a tour of the museum.
Grade 7:
30 prepaid field trip Environmental Science Laboratory programs scheduled on a first come first served basis. Each program to accommodate up to 30 students. This includes a tour of the museum.
Grades K-5 & 7:
- 89 instructional hours at the museum or 74 instructional hours at the gifted school's site of specially developed in-depth programs for gifted students in grades 3-8 7. Multiple gifted programs may combine instructional hours at both sites.
- A reduced rate for rental of VLM "Discovery Box" study units for independent classroom use, on a first come, first served basis.
- Use of the VLM reference library by appointment.
- Teacher Idea Kits for each scheduled program and student workbooks for each scheduled lab or field program.
- Science fair consultation and judging.
- Marine aquarium consultation.
- Early booking period throughout September to make reservations for the year.
- Free "pre-visit" to the museum for teachers for your upcoming program (by appointment).
Sandy Bottom Nature Park:
Sandy Bottom Nature Park is located in Hampton and offers many opportunities for life science and ecology students. The center is also the site of many professional development classes throughout the year.
Nauticus:
Nauticus is providing teacher training and workshops in several areas of science.
Virginia Aquarium:
The Marine Science Museum offers teacher training throughout the year. This is an excellent community resource for marine science studies.
Children's Museum of Virginia:
They offer specific programs for each grade and target their science SOLs. This museum is highly recommended.
Hampton University:
Hampton University has worked with Newport News Public Schools to offer teacher training workshops throughout the year as well as special summer programs for students.
Description of the Middle School Science program:
- Grade 6 General Science with an emphasis on scientific investigation
- Grade 7 Life Science
- Grade 8 Physical Science
High School science courses offered:
- Earth Science
- Marine Science
- Zoology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Genetics
- Physics
- Oceanography
- Ecology
- Anatomy and Physiology
- AP Biology
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Physics
- IB Biology ( Warwick HS)
- IB Chemistry ( Warwick HS)
Curriculum and Instruction
Newport News Public Schools has begun a major curriculum redesign that is expected to last for several years. The goal of the redesign process is to create a standards-based curriculum that provides all students with rigorous, high quality learning activities, regardless of grade or subject.
During the redesign, each course is to be the subject of a 'backward design' model. Our curriculum will evolve from a list of topics to be covered to a much more dynamic document that clearly indicates what students should know, understand, and be able to do. In backward design, the state and national standards are used to determine the big ideas or major understandings that students should learn. The overarching goal to the backwards design model is to develop a curriculum that fosters dynamic, child centered instruction in the classroom. This will require the identification of discipline level concepts and enduring understandings that will drive the development of essential questions that in turn will promote a more inquiry-based approach to instruction. Once the big ideas are identified, appropriate assessment and learning activities are created to provide students with problems and situations that mirror those found in the world at large. Instructional strategies are chosen to challenge and engage students deeply while keeping the focus on learning. The curriculum design as well as the instructional strategies it contains are composed of the best practices identified to date by current research on learning theory. The most important concepts and skills will be covered in more depth and students will be exposed to more authentic forms of assessment. Students will also learn to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned in new and unique ways.
The Newport News School Division
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, creed, marital status, age or disability in its
programs, activities, or employment practices as required by
the Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA regulations.
Regina Harris, HR Compliance Supervisor, Human Resources, Newport
News Public Schools, at 12507 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA
23606, (757-881-5061), is responsible for coordinating the division's
efforts to meet its obligations under Section 504, Title IX,
the ADA, and their implementing regulations.
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