Additional courses and course changes are scheduled for the Great Neck Public Schools high schools for the 2014-2015 school year.
The Board of Education voted approval at the Jan. 27 public action meeting. The changes are for Great Neck North High School and Great Neck South High School.
The superintendent and his curriculum staff recommended the courses, but board approval of a course does not guarantee that the course will be available.
There may not be money in the budget, for example. Some recommendations could put additional constraints on a school’s master schedule, making staffing difficult. Unreasonably small classes might negatively impact implementation. And some courses might overlap with other activities at the school.
At North High School, two courses were approved, Chinese 12/AP, a continuation of Chinese 11, an enrichment course for intermediate and advanced students. Chinese culture is also explored.
Also at North High, AP Physics 1 is added, extending the course to a two-year sequence.
Six courses will be added at South High School. Chinese V focuses on higher level communication skills and explores Chinese culture and social customs.
Music Today is a semester-long elective which will include critical listening, music history and understanding the relationships among music, history and culture. Requirements will include an album review project, a music genealogy project and a music creation project.
Women’s History: from Betty Crocker to Betty Friedan to Lilly Ledbetter is a semester-long course examining and exploring the evolving economic, social and political rights of women from the beginning of the Republic to date.
AP Physics II is another class offered since the College Board has changed the scope and sequence of the current AP Physics class to better align with post-secondary school and student needs. It is a two-year sequence.
Forensics is a full-year course that explores forensic science techniques and compasses elements of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, psychology and mathematics. This course will involve many hands-on lab activities, experiments and virtual activities that will further student knowledge of forensic science and problem-solving techniques.
No courses were addressed for either North Middle School nor South Middle School.
