The Beacon School, NYC
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Science Department


Tom Covotsos tcovotso@beaconschool.org
Alec Mahrer amahrer@beaconschool.org
James McKenna jmckenna@beaconschool.org
Colleen Meade cmeade@beaconschool.org
Kate Oldre koldre@beaconschool.org
Lola Oyediran loyedira@beaconschool.org
Lewis Rosenbluth lrosenbl@beaconschool.org
Michael Shum mshum@beaconschool.org
Valln Spears vspears@beaconschool.org
Arend Thorp athorp@beaconschool.org


Student's science PBA should prove that you can be a scientist and a scientific citizen. Their three years of coursework in science are designed to prepare them to understand the forces of science and technology that will shape your future life. The key to understanding science is an appreciation of the scientific method and the nature of experimentation.


At the end of their science experience at Beacon, they will be able to design, perform, analyze, and discuss an independent and original scientific experiment. As a result of this work over four years, they will be able to read, with reasonable understanding, a scientific article in a newspaper or magazine and make informed judgments about the validity of the results and how they might be applicable to their lives.


PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS:

Year-to-year PBA’s: Students are required to pass 6 credits of science. At the end of each year, students will be asked to demonstrate proficiency with the specific content that they covered in that year. Each annual PBA will additionally assess a student’s knowledge of the methodology of science and basic mathematical skills, such as statistics and graphing. The annual assessments will be as follows:

Freshman year: Construction of an original project, demonstrating an understanding of basic physics principles or presentation of a portion of the “Six Flags” laboratory report. Assessed in June.

Sophomore year: Completion of a lab practicum, assessing basic skills with lab equipment and interpretation of the results. Assessed in June.

Junior year: Presentation of a scientific paper on an assigned subject, demonstrating the ability to assess and interpret scientific literature, or completion of a lab practicum, the choice to be determined by the science teacher. Assessed in June.
Sample project #1 'Global Warming'
Sample project #2 'Global Warming'
Sample project #3 'Global Warming'

Non-PBA sample project #1 Acid Base Project
Non-PBA sample project #2 Acid Base Project
Non-PBA sample project #3 Acid Base Project

 

Senior Project Requirement: Each student will design an original research project. The project will be selected from one of the following areas:

  • Earth Science Physics Chemistry Biology
  • Environmental Science Psychology

For more information about the Senior Science Project class and sample projects, click HERE


All PBA projects must include:

  • A research component An experimental design Analysis of data
  • A research question Laboratory or field research Results and conclusions
  • A hypothesis Data collection

As part of this requirement, each student is required to complete a scientific methods course (1/2 credit) during one of the two semesters of their senior year. This course is designed to prepare and assist the student to successfully complete the research project. Each student’s research project must be approved in advance by the instructor of this course. No student will be permitted to present a research project until all of the requirements of this course have been met.

Additional Requirement: If mandated by the state, every student must pass one New York State Regents Examination in Science.

For more information, click HERE for a pdf file

 

Science Course Selection

Click on the course name for a course description.

Course Code: Course Name: Teacher: Band Location:
apb01AP Bio OyediranA222
apb02AP Bio OyediranE222
apc01AP Chemistry CovotsosA321
apc02AP Chemistry CovotsosE321
cf01Chemistry Fall CovotsosB321
cf02Chemistry Fall CovotsosF321
egf01Evolution and Genetics Fall McKennaC317
egf02Evolution and Genetics Fall McKennaF317
if01Immunology Fall OyediranB222
if02Immunology Fall OyediranG222
phy01Physics ShumA317
phy02Physics ShumE317
s1001Science 10 ShumB317
s1002Science 10 SpearsC321
s1003Science 10 SpearsD321
s1004Science 10 McKennaD317
s1005Science 10 MeadeF222
s1006Science 10 ThorpF127
s1007Science 10 SpearsG321
s1008Science 10 ShumG317
s1009Science 10 SpearsH321
s1010Science 10 McKennaH317
s901Science 9 MahrerB217
s902Science 9 OldreB218
s903Science 9 RosenbluthC218
s904Science 9 MeadeC222
s905Science 9 MeadeD222
s906Science 9 MahrerF217
s907Science 9 OldreF218
s908Science 9 RosenbluthG218
s909Science 9 RosenbluthH218
s910Science 9 MeadeH222
tef01Tropical Ecology Fall MahrerC217
tef02Tropical Ecology Fall MahrerG217
tibf01Topics in Biochemistry Fall ThorpC127
tibf02Topics in Biochemistry Fall ThorpG127