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I am moving to Berkeley from Connecticut this summer. My daughter will be entering 9th grade and I am trying to get some information about the AP science paths at BHS. From information in the parent network archives, past PTSA newsletters, and Mr. White's Physics pages, I've been able to piece together a little information. (BTW, it is AMAZING the amount of information I have been able to gather from afar, and I am SO grateful to the people who have taken the time to put so much helpful information on the Net!!) My understanding is that BHS does not specify science course sequences (bio before chem, or vice versa, for example) although various courses require various strengths (good algebra background for chem, etc.) I also have seen that there are eligibility tests for AP courses administered around March of each year. Apart from meeting the requirements of those tests what (if any) are the prerequistes at BHS for taking AP Chem, AP Physics and AP Bio? I was surprised by a recent posting by Mr. Brand where he mentioned that his AP Chem class was mostly sophomores. I am also concerned about my daughter registering late (we won't be able to establish residence till late July.) Will this seriously limit her course selection? Is there anything we can do? Katrina
During the next two weeks (April 3-14 ) we will hold lunch-time informational meetings and visit math and science classes to tell students about the AP course selection. As far as the course selection process scheduled for next Thursday, April 6: Your student should sign up for Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Human Anatomy, not specifically for the AP course. The April 6 student selections are meant to give us a student count by subject so we can plan our teachers' schedules for next Fall, not for specific teacher selection.
We will schedule several AP Qualifying test dates during late April/early May. We haven't set a schedule for this yet, but as soon as we do I will post it on this newsletter and in the school bulletin. Students who want to take an AP Science class must take the qualifying test and fill out an application.
For students who are not currently enrolled in BHS and who think they want to take an AP Science class, we can arrange for the Qualifying test to be given at their current school. Call me at 510-644-6758 to request arrangements. As always we will be as flexible as we can to accomodate individual needs.
Steve Brand, BHS Science Chair
It's class selection time at Berkeley High and we're looking for some advice. My son plans to take AP Physics, AP Calculus B/C, and AP Latin (4th year). He is an excellent math student and Latin is his favorite subject, so this looks good so far. He is also in the Jazz Ensemble, which entails many hours of practice. The question is-- has anyone's child taken that combo so that we may have some idea what kind of work load we're talking about? Is it insane to consider AP English as well? What experience do people have with the 12th grade non--AP English electives? Are they more of the "nothing" we've come to expect from English classes? In other words, he's looking for something academically rigorous w/o having the life sucked out of him. I'd appreciate any thoughts from parents who've had kids in these classes. WR
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