Advanced Placement (A.P.)
What is A.P?
Advanced Placement is a program created to enrich students beyond the regular high school curriculum. Successful completion of A.P. exams can lead to students obtaining credit and advanced placement in most major universities and colleges throughout the world. There is Canadian content in all A.P. courses and a regional office. The courses are designed with enough flexibility to meet localized curriculum requirements as well as attain credits or advanced placement at most universities and colleges around the world.
How is A.P. different from I.B?
AP provides excellent enrichment opportunities for students that recognize differences in an individual’s level of preparation, motivation and ability. IB also provides these opportunities to students.
AP courses award students with university credit. Only selected IB courses will award university credit. The course must be taught at the “higher level” designation, in order to qualify.
AP offers students greater flexibility, as students are only required to complete the course, with no additional requirements. IB requires students to complete the course as well as the additional requirements.
Both AP and IB programs are equally recognized on an international level.
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Art (Studio Art)(3 credits)
Recommendation: 80% + in Art 20-1
This course is intended to replicate the environment found in competitive 1st yr. University classes. In this course, students will submit portfolios for evaluation – there is no written exam. The goals of the course are to: encourage creative as well as systematic investigation of formal and conceptual issues, emphasize making art as an ongoing process that involves the student in informed and critical decision making, help students develop technical skills and familiarize them with the functions of the visual elements, and to encourage students to become independent thinkers who will contribute inventively and critically to their culture through the making of art.
Biology 20 Pre-AP (Sept 2011 – ongoing)(5 credits)
Pre-requisite: Science 10
Recommended: 75% or higher in Science 10
This course is designed as a pre-requisite for the Biology 30 AP course. Portions of the major areas of study will be covered in this course in addition to the Alberta Curriculum for Biology 20. The AP content learned in this course will be saved in a portfolio to be used in the 30 level, as this material is a requirement for the AP exam but will not be covered to the same extent in 30 AP. This material in the pre-AP course will be reviewed in 30 AP but will not be re-taught so it is mandatory for students to keep and maintain a cohesive portfolio of AP specific material.
Major Areas of Study
I . Molecules and Cells, 25%
II . Heredity and Evolution, 25%
III . Organisms and Populations, 50%
Please visit this website for a more detailed course description
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-biology-course-description.pdf
Biology 30 AP (Sept 2012 – ongoing) (8 credits)
Pre-requisite: Biology 20 Pre-AP
Recommended: 75% or higher in Biology 20 Pre-AP
*Note that students that will write their diploma for Biology 30 in June.*
The AP Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester post-secondary introductory biology course usually taken by biology majors during their first year. After showing themselves to be qualified on the AP Exam, some students, in their first year of college, are permitted to take upper-level courses in biology or register for courses for which biology is a prerequisite. Other students may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory-science course and will be able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors.
The AP Biology course is designed to be taken by students after the successful completion of a first course in high school biology and one in high school chemistry as well. It aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology.
Major Areas of Study
I . Molecules and Cells, 25%
II . Heredity and Evolution, 25%
III . Organisms and Populations, 50%
Please visit this website for a more detailed course description
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-biology-course-description.pdf
**Biology 30 AP (only offered Sept 2011- June 2012)(8 credits)
Pre-requisite: Biology 20, but not Biology 30
Recommended: Chemistry 20, 75% or higher in Biology 20
The AP Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester post-secondary introductory biology course usually taken by biology majors during their first year. After showing themselves to be qualified on the AP Exam, some students, in their first year of college, are permitted to take upper-level courses in biology or register for courses for which biology is a prerequisite. Other students may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory-science course and will be able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors.
The AP Biology course is designed to be taken by students after the successful completion of a first course in high school biology and one in high school chemistry as well. It aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology.
Major Areas of Study
I . Molecules and Cells, 25%
II . Heredity and Evolution, 25%
III . Organisms and Populations, 50%
Please visit this website for a more detailed course description
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-biology-course-description.pdf
English Language Arts (Literature & Composition)
(8 credits total – Eng. 30 – 5, Eng 35 AP - 3)
Recommendation: 80% + in English 20-1
This course is intended to replicate the environment found in competitive 1st yr. University classes. In this course, students will become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Students will examine a writer’s purpose, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the generic conventions and resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.
European History AP
(8 credits total – S/S 30 – 5, EH - 3)
Co-requisite: Social Studies 30 Recommendation: 80% + in Social Studies 20-1
** This course will be offered in the 2011-12 school year only and is being replaced with Social Studies 20AP**
This course is intended to replicate the environment found in competitive 1st yr. University classes. In this course, students will be introduced to cultural, economic, political, and social developments that played a fundamental role in shaping the world. In addition to providing a basic narrative of events and movements, the goal is for students to (1) understand the principal themes in modern European history (2) possess the ability to analyze historical evidence and historical interpretation (3) possess the ability to express historical understanding in writing. Units of study include: intellectual & cultural history, political & Diplomatic history, social & economic history.
World History: Social Studies 20AP
(11 credits total -Social Studies 20-5 cr; Anthropology 30 -3cr; Western World History 30 – 3cr)
Advanced Placement World History is a course offered to any grade 11 or 12 student who has yet to take Social Studies 20. The course focuses on exploring the rich diversity of human history around the world. Major eras will be studied by way of primary and secondary sources in order that students may be able to develop appropriate reasoning skills in relation to major questions of history.
The class will meet every day through 2011-12 and will result in students earning 11 credits.* In May, students will have the opportunity to write the AP exam and be able to earn university credit while still in high school. Students would continue into Social Studies 30 in the following year to meet Alberta Ed graduation requirements.
Math 31 /Calculus AB (5 credits)
Recommendation: 80% + in Math 20 Pure or 20-1, Co-requisite: Math 30 Pure or Math 30-1
The course is designed to bridge the gap between the Math 10-20-30 course sequence and the calculus course sequences offered by post-secondary institutions. It is intended to replicate the environment found in competitive 1st yr. University classes. This course emphasizes the theoretical and practical development of topics in the algebra of functions, trigonometry, differential calculus and integral calculus up to a standard acceptable for entry into all first-year programs in mathematics, science, engineering and business. In this course, students will develop stronger skills and knowledge in algebra, trigonometry, differential calculus and integral calculus. Units of study include: pre-calculus and limits, derivatives and derivative theorems, applications of derivatives, as well as integral, integral theorems and integral applications. Students will gain a better understanding of the concepts of calculus and providing experience with its methods and applications. It emphasizes a multi-representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results, and problems being expressed graphically, numerically, analytically and verbally.
Calculus AP – BC Level (3 credits)
Prerequisite – Mathematics 31
This course is an optional extension of the Mathematics 31 course from the first semester. The course covers topics such as advanced limits, polynomial approximations, series mathematics, polar coordinates and parametric curves. The course prepares students to write the BC level AP Calculus exam in May. Students who do not take this extension course can still write the AB level Calculus AP exam.