Innovative and exciting new courses are slated to be added to the programs offered at Great Neck North High School and Great Neck South High School. The Board of Education approved four very diverse courses, two for North High and two for South High, pending any possible financial, staffing or scheduling constraints.
The North High School courses include Robotics and Period 10 PM Fitness. Robotics is designed to provide an in-depth study of the robotics field. Students will learn fundamental programming concepts, scientific method and inquiry, basic physics and physical science concepts, engineering concepts, teamwork and collaboration, electronic mathematics and information about the robotics industry. The curriculum is to focus on electronic, mathematics and physics based concepts. Programming and building robots requires the application of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts.
North High’s Period 10 PM Fitness is designed to provide strength training for students who have proved that they are competent with basic movement patterns necessary for strength training in the school’s weight room and in the small gym. The course is to meet the needs of students with full schedules, athletes and/or those students with a very strong interest in fitness and strength training.
At South High School the added courses include Inquiry Through Chemistry and Acting Workshop 2: Scene Study. Inquiry Through Chemistry is designed to provide students with an overview of general chemistry and scientific inquiry. Students gain an understanding of atomic concepts, the periodic table, chemical bonding and stoichiometry, the physical and chemical properties of matter, and acids and bases. The course will include many hands-on lab activities, experiments and virtual activities to further knowledge. In addition, this course emphasizes a discovery approach.
South High’s Acting Workshop: Scene Study builds on acting skills learned in Acting Workshop I. This second course puts the skills to use, In addition, this second course delves deeper into text analysis and character development. This is an advanced course for a serious acting student.
Though school board approved, these courses might not reach implementation for the following reasons; if the resources are not available in the budget; if the course puts an additional strain on the school’s master schedule; and/or if the course overlaps with activities.
At the last meeting of the school board for 2014, with the noted cautions taken under consideration, the school board approved the recommended courses to begin in the next school year, September 2015.
