Curriculum Guide 9-12
A minimum of 6 credits are required each year in grades 9–12, and a minimum of 24 credits are required for graduation. Although Doane Academy has minimum requirements, most students aim for the maximum coursework they can complete in a given year.
Doane Academy operates on a trimester system. Each course carries a credit-weight reflecting the class time commitment: 0.33 credit for a single trimester, 0.66 credit for two trimesters, and 1 credit for a full-year course.
The Doane curricular system also includes ‘cycles’ for each grade level of courses, rotating by trimester, which focus on college preparation, character and leadership.
Click here to learn more about the Doane Academy Graduation Requirements.
2023-2024 Curriculum Guide
US Arts
At Doane, students are encouraged to choose an Arts Major course and an Arts Minor course in order to immerse themselves in the Arts, express themselves creatively in multiple ways, and make connections across different artistic disciplines. Courses designated as Major meet for one hour three out of every six school days while courses designated as Minor meet for one hour two out of every six school days. Students may choose only a Major or Minor option unless otherwise noted. Completion of a Major course earns a student 1 credit, and completion of a Minor course earns a student a .5 credit.
Concert Band
- Instructor: Adrienne Mazar
- Grade Level: 7-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 1 required Fine or Performing Arts credits when taken in high school
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: None
- Major/Minor Designation: Minor
- Honors Option: N/A
In band classes (rehearsals), the ensemble will study music theory and read and prepare a variety of concert band music which has been selected to be appropriate for the playing level of the band. In addition to attending all rehearsals, band students are required to take one music lesson per week given by the band director.
This course is for those who successfully demonstrate the ability to play the music found in Book I of a nationally recognized band method. Students in band must own or be currently renting their own instruments.
Ceramics
- Instructor: Jackie Bak
- Grade Level: Major (9-12) / Minor (7-12)
- Requirement Information: Fulfills required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school as a Major option. Fulfills .5 of 1 required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school as a Minor option.
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: None
- Major/Minor Designation: This course can be selected as either a Major or a Minor Arts option.
- Honors Option: N/A
Students will learn to build functional pottery using low fire/earthenware clay. Students will use the slab roller, extruder, and potter’s wheel to create bowls, vessels, and sculptural pieces. These pieces will be kiln fired and glazed.
AP Ceramics
- Instructor: Jackie Bak
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: One year of Ceramics Major
The AP 3D Design course is available to students who have taken at least one year of Ceramics Major and have received approval from the Ceramics instructor. The student must work independently and be self-motivated, working consistently and putting in extra time beyond class time to complete the AP 3D Design portfolio. Students will create a portfolio that demonstrates ceramic ability not only with functional forms but also sculptural pieces. Work may be completed over 2 years, but a student can receive AP credit only during the year when their portfolio is completed.
AP Studio Art Content
The 3D portfolio consists of three sections:
- Breadth: illustrates a range of ideas and approaches to art making. Students submit digital images of eight three-dimensional works, with two views of each work, for a total of sixteen images.
- Concentration: shows sustained, deep, and multi-perspective investigation of a student-selected topic. Twelve Digital images of work, some may be details. A concentration should consist of a group of works that share a single theme. Concentration includes space for written commentary describing the focus of the student work.
- Quality: represents the student’s most successful works with respect to form and content. Ten digital images consisting of two views each of five works.
Student work will be evaluated during critiques. Students will meet with the Ceramics instructor to discuss the requirements of the portfolio.
Jazz Ensemble
- Instructor: Adrienne Mazar
- Grade Level: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 1 required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: Students must be enrolled in Concert Band in order to enroll in Jazz Band. Auditions are required.
- Major/Minor Designation: Major
- Honors Option: N/A
All members of the Jazz Ensemble must be enrolled in Concert Band as their primary performing ensemble. This performance class is an extension of the larger ensemble experience. Students wishing to perform in the Jazz Ensemble must be approved by the director and be proficient on their instrument in at least four sharps and four flats, chromatic scales, and some modes. Percussionists must be able to adequately perform on drum set and traps in multiple styles, including swing, Latin, rock, funk, and fusion.
The Jazz Ensemble reflects traditional Big Band instrumentation (saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and rhythm section). Through listening to recordings, critiquing, analyzing, discussion and application, students will learn a variety of jazz styles found within this genre. Students will understand the history of jazz and be able to associate specific musicians to distinct types of jazz. This is a performance class; therefore, students are expected to attend all rehearsals, sectionals, and performances.
Studio Incamminati Advanced – Contemporary Realist Art
- Instructor: Jarred Fisher, Lynn Snyder
- Grade Level: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills .5 of 1 required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: Students must be enrolled in Studio Incamminati as a Major in order to enroll in Studio Incamminati – Advanced as a Minor.
- Major/Minor Designation: Minor
This course meets for an hour on two out of every six school days. It is an extension of the Studio Incamminati course, and therefore students can enroll in it only if they choose that course as their Major option.
This course offers students who are passionately committed to creating realist art the opportunity to further enhance their skills. These students will get additional one-on-one time with the instructors and push themselves to improve in a class environment which requires dedication and offers them the chance for great artistic growth.
Studio Incamminati – Contemporary Realist Art
- Instructor: Jarred Fisher, Lynn Snyder
- Grade Level: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fills Upper School Fine/Performing Arts Requirement
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Major/Minor Designation: Major
The purpose of this course is to teach the classical principles of life drawing and painting as they are taught at Studio Incamminati. In this highly acclaimed atelier, founded by Nelson Shanks, students are taught to observe both complex objects as well as the human form and draw them in a simple, strong way. Students at Doane will learn how to turn an object in a drawing by understanding how light affects the rotating form. By understanding elements such as terminators as well as the unique aspects of both the light and the shaded sides of the form, students will learn to bring their drawings to life. Perspective, composition, size and value relationships, creativity and aesthetic beauty will all be taught. Additionally, there will be a strong focus on learning and understanding anatomy. All of the major bones and muscles of the human body will be taught in dynamic lessons using anatomy books and a full-size skeleton. This information will then be applied both by using a live model and through the profound experience of creating a self-portrait. Here we will create with a true understanding of the physical while searching for personal emotional subtleties. Mid-year will bring the addition of oil painting to the course. Students will learn technical understanding as well as safe handling practices of this traditional medium. By creating color panels for each of the colors on our palette, students will gain confidence in color mixing while collectively making over 1000 hand-mixed colors. The exciting and insightful understanding of how light and the environment affect color will be explained, forever changing how each student perceives color. We have a dynamic year planned to give every student the precious opportunity learn and feel like an artist.
We truly hope that students will embrace the uniqueness of this class. We fully realize that our students might not feel as though they are good artists. It cannot be emphasized enough how everyone can benefit from this experience in learning to “see” at a whole new level. We are full time working painters who are excited to share a lifetime of hard earned knowledge. Our goal is to make this a fun and dynamic experience in which we help each student be the best artist they can be.
Upper School Choir
- Instructor: Shelley Zuckerman
- Grade Level: Major (9-12)/Minor (7-12)
- Requirement Information: Fulfills required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school as a Major option. Fulfills .5 of 1 required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school as a Minor option.
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: None
- Major/Minor Designation: This course can be selected as either a Major and/or a Minor Arts option.
- Honors Option: N/A
In this course, students learn proper vocal technique, basic music theory and sight-singing, choral repertoire, and some music history. In Choir, students prepare music for performance at two annual concerts, Chapel services, and other venues.
Yearbook Design*
- Instructor: Jack Newman
- Grade Level: 7-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills .5 of 1 required Fine/Performing Arts credit when taken in high school
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: None
- Major/Minor Designation: Minor
- Honors Option: N/A
In this highly autonomous studio class, students learn to solve visual problems using Adobe Photoshop CS and Entourage’s online proprietary program. Through demonstrations and hands-on work, this class will work as a team to build the school’s annual yearbook. Students will work together on traditional design layouts and learn to solve the problems which arise when creating publications. All students will participate in the following: working with basic magazine-style/layout, type selection, and color and theme selection as related to yearbook production. Additional instruction is given in photography, copywriting and fitting, photo selection and fitting, and page assembly.
*Please note that this class requires a substantial commitment to working outside of the regular classroom time on material collection and creation, whether that be to take photographs, gather quotes, create & complete surveys, attend games, regattas, and/or other after-school, evening, and weekend events.
US English
Upper School English students learn to be strong communicators and deep thinkers, with a particular focus on the development of writing skills, both analytical and creative. Through the study of important works of literature, students hone their analysis skills and learn to communicate their thoughts effectively. We hone writing skills in particular by assigning frequent interpretive paragraphs and personal responses in addition to multi-draft essays that involve students in writing workshops throughout the year. Doane Academy’s English department stands apart in that students need five English courses in order to graduate from our program. Our ninth grade program includes two courses, one of which focuses exclusively on research and composition skills.
Our small classes and emphasis on seminar style discussion allow students and teachers to build strong relationships and help every student make their voice heard. We supplement this development through our yearly Poetry Out Loud competition, which allows us to see and celebrate the growth of our students’ oral communication skills. The curriculum - an intentional and thoughtful blend of canonical texts and contemporary, crucial works - requires students to grapple with issues of character and essential questions about the human experience. Ultimately, when students look back on their English education at Doane, they will remember an experience in which they confronted life’s most difficult questions and gained the confidence to strive to answer them.
American Literature
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
- Instructor: Dr. Abbey Morgan
- Grade Level: 11/12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course/s: AP English Language & Composition
- Honors: No
In this survey of American literature from the nation’s founding to the present day, students will explore, define, and challenge American tradition, American problems, and the American identity. Course texts will introduce students to disparate American landscapes, from the serenity of Walden Pond to the glaring opulence of 1920s New York society mansions. They will engage the radically different voices that emerge from each of the Americas we study and, in conversation with other critics, develop writerly voices of their own. Students will write critically, reflectively, and creatively in a variety of genres and forums. Our approach to composition as conversation will emphasize peer-sharing and responding to feedback as crucial parts of the writing process. It will also insist that writing never happens in a vacuum. When students pose arguments about texts, they will acknowledge and engage the critical conversation existing around those texts, both within our class and beyond it. The course will resemble a college literature seminar, requiring every member’s thoughtful participation. Texts may include the poetry of Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and selected stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Amy Tan.
Honors Requirements: Honors students will further engage the texts and their classmates’ ideas via additional journal assignments, formal peer critiques of written work, and class leadership exercises.
AP Language & Composition
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
Instructor: Leah Kochenour
Grade Level: 11/12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course/s: American Literature
This course has a college–level curriculum designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement test offered in May. In addition to satisfying a high school graduation requirement, the AP Language and Composition class may be taken for college credit, which can be earned by scoring highly on the AP test or through an arrangement with Rowan College at Burlington County. The course seeks to train students to read, analyze, and compose in a variety of expository modes and purposes. It is primarily a study of rhetoric and the myriad strategies authors use in approaching their audiences. The course is driven by the study of complex, non-fiction writing and will prepare students to accomplish the kind of college-level writing their future professors are expecting. Students will read and analyze selections from a set of “50 Essays'' selected by the College Board, be exposed to long-form journalism, and experience book-length nonfiction like Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild or Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime.
AP Literature
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)
- Instructor: Dr. Abbey Morgan
- Grade Level: 11/12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course/s: World Literature
This course may be taken in place of 12th Grade World Literature. Students can earn college credit through an arrangement with Rowan College at Burlington County and/or by taking the AP Literature exam in May. In AP Literature, students will practice college-level literary analysis by examining both minute textual details and the larger socio-political forces that position works of literature in our cultural landscape. We will explore universal themes of love, failure, empathy, and mortality, but we will also work to understand texts within the historical moments that produced them. Students will continue to learn the technical terminology of literary criticism and will apply it to a variety of genres, including lyric poetry, short stories, novels, and drama. Authors studied may include Shakespeare, Yaa Gyasi, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kate Chopin, and Zora Neale Hurston. The aim of the course is threefold: to prepare for the AP exam, to prepare for college humanities courses, and to build a foundation for a lifelong love of reading.
Composition
- Instructor: Nicole Johnson
- Grade Level: 9
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits; Fills 9th Grade cycle requirement
- Duration:Two Trimesters
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors: No
As students practice close reading and literary analysis in English 9, they will build complementary writing skills in Composition. Students will learn to structure, support, and revise a critical argument; apply key concepts in grammar and style; perform strategic research and cite others’ work appropriately; and communicate their ideas effectively as critical, reflective, and creative writers. Assignments will include analytical essays, a persuasive speech, a cover letter and résumé, a personal memoir, a blog, and a variety of creative pieces. The course culminates in a research project in which students will explore the challenges, advantages, and cultural assumptions that define their generation. As they build a supportive, constructive community of writers, students will discover that the best way to improve as a writer is to give and receive feedback. In addition to conferencing with and engaging written feedback from the instructor, they will participate in frequent peer-sharing exercises At the conclusion of the course, students will possess the foundational skills and the confidence required to be successful high school writers.
English 9 - Coming of Age Narratives
- Instructor: Leah Kochenour
- Grade Level: 9
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors: Yes
In English 9, students will build a community of critical readers, writers, and thinkers in conversation with great literature. As a community, they will explore big-picture literary and ethical questions: What are our expectations for certain kinds of literature, and what happens when artists break those “rules”? How does literature illuminate conflict in cultural and generational identities? How can engaging literature help us build empathy? To anchor discussions of these larger questions, students will practice close reading of specific textual details. This kind of sustained analysis will allow students to develop and support their ideas, both in seminar-style discussions and in written work. Texts are drawn from across genres, cultures, and time periods: The reading list includes Shakespearean drama, a graphic novel, poetry and short stories, the memoir A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, and various novels that may include Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Central themes that tie these diverse texts together are war and personal conflict as they shape the process of growing up.
Honors Requirements: Students may work towards achieving “Honors” on their transcript by further engaging the texts and their classmates’ ideas via additional journal assignments, class leadership exercises, and “deep dives” into cultural and historical background for the texts.
English 10 - Rebel Voices: Community and Self
- Instructor: Dr. Abbey Morgan
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors: Yes
The course will investigate various ideas about how to develop one’s own identity and voice, both with respect to the world of letters and to the so-called real world. We’ll consider what it means to be a member of one’s community, country, and the world from disparate perspectives and personalities; how race, ethnicity, religion, and other personal identifiers play a role in being a community member; ways of expressing dissent when facing moral, ethical, logical, and personal issues or problems; how to analyze societal pressures in order to decide what’s best for yourself and what’s best for your community; and how to engage differing ideas and voices in productive and empathetic ways. This course is an opportunity to build empathy while challenging both social customs and intellectual norms. By exposing ourselves to a wide range of perspectives, whether driven by logic, emotion, political leaning, religion, passion, or our familial traditions and pressures, we will have each tried on many different “hats” by the year’s end. We’ll have plenty of chances to argue for and against the ideals we brought to class with us in September. Each unit will include one piece of analytical or argumentative writing, while also containing creative and personal pieces that the texts themselves dictate (flash fiction, poetry, dialogues, drama, personal essays, historical dream-sequences, etc.). Texts may include Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing, Roberto Bolano’s Amulet, Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Karen Russell’s Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Tommy Orange’s There There, and selected poems and short stories by Louise Erdrich, Stuart Dybek, Yusef Komunyakaa, June Jordan, and Adrienne Rich.
Honors Requirements: Honors students will further engage the texts and their classmates’ ideas via additional journal assignments, class leadership exercises, and “deep dives” into cultural and historical background for the texts.
World Literature
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)
- Instructor: Leah Kochenour
- Grade Level: 11/12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 5 required Upper School English credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course/s: AP English Literature & Composition
- Honors: No
In the 2024-2025 academic year, 11th and 12th grade English students may choose to take World Literature or AP Literature. World Literature aims to expose students to a range of times, places, and cultures in a way that causes them to more closely examine and better understand themselves. Students will read texts that allow them to travel the world and consider the most complex questions about the human experience. What is our relationship to a higher power and how much control do we have over our destinies? How do we distinguish our true selves from the projections we create? How do we recognize and combat evil in all its forms? These questions will help students study the subtle differences between peoples but also search for the commonalities that bind them together. Each additional work will expand the circumference of students’ empathy to include more people and additional perspectives. World Literature will encourage and require students to engage in effective literary analysis and marry that analysis to nuanced thesis statements that are as complex as the questions they answer. By the conclusion of the course, students will have the confidence to express their opinions at a college level both in terms of their quality and clarity. Primary texts include Oedipus Rex, The Book of Job, Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, and Master of Go.
Honors Requirements: Honors students will further engage the texts and their classmates’ ideas via additional journal assignments, formal peer critiques of written work, and class leadership exercises.
College Counseling
Junior Seminar
- Instructor: Robyn Henry
- Grade Level: 11
- Requirement Information: Fills 2 of 3 required 11th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Two Trimesters
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
This mandatory course for all 11th-grade students is geared towards preparing students to excel in the college application process and meet the challenges of college life. In this course, students will develop self-awareness of talents and relate them to career goals; complete personality tests and career interest inventories as tools in their discovery and decision-making; learn the college application process; generate self-marketing materials such as application essays, resumés, and art or writing portfolios; spend time with visiting college representatives; meet one-on-one with Robyn Henry to discuss their college goals.
Senior Seminar
- Instructor: Robyn Henry
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required 12th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Trimester
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
This mandatory course for all 12th-grade students is geared towards preparing students to excel in the college application process and meet the challenges of college life. In this course, students will develop self-awareness of talents and relate them to career goals; complete personality tests and career interest inventories as tools in their discovery and decision-making; learn the college application process; generate self-marketing materials such as application essays, resumés, and art or writing portfolios; spend time with visiting college representatives; meet one-on-one with Robyn Henry to discuss their college goals.
US Lead Onward
Through its Lead Onward program, Doane Academy signals clearly that it views the development of character and leadership qualities in our students as a priority equal in importance to academic achievement. Comprised of a series of required grade-level courses in both Middle and Upper School, this program serves as a core pillar of Doane’s culture and curriculum. Through it, we ensure that our students graduate knowing themselves, knowing the world, and ready to change both.
The two-trimester 9th grade Composition course serves as a bridge to help students connect their sense of self to a greater collective. After completing a range of research, writing, presentation, and reflection exercises, they Composition by completing their “Generation Essay,” in which they communicate the core beliefs and attributes that they believe define their generation. As part of this final project, students reflect on how scholars, cultural commentators, and peers characterize them and come to see that they, as individuals and a collective, ultimately have the agency to define their identity and determine their future.
Through three, connected, trimester-length courses, 10th grade students expand their ability to exhibit empathy by exploring different social, religious, and ethical philosophies. They also explore the qualities of effective leaders in preparation for assuming leadership roles in the Doane community and deepen their understanding of how to contribute to a sustainable world. As 11th graders, they then devote a trimester to developing the research, rhetorical, and listening skills needed to fully consider and ultimately answer a single complex and controversial question. This deep-dive approach requires them to consider and attempt to reconcile a range of differing opinions, and it invites them to propose a solution that includes others, even those who disagree with them. In recent years, topics of study have included gun violence, mass incarceration, and palliative and end-of-life care.
Having participated in an inclusive conversation around a challenging issue in 11th grade, seniors then spend two trimesters learning to facilitate these kinds of essential discussions. After completing a multi-day, on-campus training run by the Sustained Dialogue Institute, seniors lead a series of hour-long, seminar-style meetings during the second of half of the year. All students in grades 6-12 participate in these meetings, and the focus of each is an issue related to social justice, diversity, and inclusion. We live in a cultural environment of quick judgments and deep divides, and it is conversations of this kind that will help us chart a way forward to a more connected and more just society. Having completed the Lead Onward program, Doane students graduate not only able to participate in these conversations but ready to lead them.
Junior Seminar
- Instructor: Robyn Henry
- Grade Level: 11
- Requirement Information: Fills 2 of 3 required 11th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Two Trimesters
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
This mandatory course for all 11th-grade students is geared towards preparing students to excel in the college application process and meet the challenges of college life. In this course, students will develop self-awareness of talents and relate them to career goals; complete personality tests and career interest inventories as tools in their discovery and decision-making; learn the college application process; generate self-marketing materials such as application essays, resumés, and art or writing portfolios; spend time with visiting college representatives; meet one-on-one with Robyn Henry to discuss their college goals.
Senior Seminar
- Instructor: Robyn Henry
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required 12th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Trimester
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
This mandatory course for all 12th-grade students is geared towards preparing students to excel in the college application process and meet the challenges of college life. In this course, students will develop self-awareness of talents and relate them to career goals; complete personality tests and career interest inventories as tools in their discovery and decision-making; learn the college application process; generate self-marketing materials such as application essays, resumés, and art or writing portfolios; spend time with visiting college representatives; meet one-on-one with Robyn Henry to discuss their college goals.
Lead Onward 9: A History of Free Speech
- Instructor: Timothy Kirk
- Grade Level: 9
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required 9th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Trimester
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
“Free Speech” is at once a philosophical idea, a legal tradition, a polemical slogan, and a historical struggle. In this course we explore the multiple dimensions of “free speech” as a moral, political and even economic category. What kinds of activity, political or otherwise, count as “speech”? How are these activities made more or less “free”? And why is preserving that freedom important? What historical struggles and causes has the idea of free speech developed in and through? What institutions and technologies shape it, and should it shape?
In this course, students are introduced to the philosophical history of free speech in the ancient and medieval world by interrogating texts that explore early societies' relationship with free speech. Students then explore the Enlightenment ideas of speech and expression that frame our society, followed by court cases that either expanded or contracted speech in the United States. Finally, students will grapple with modern First Amendment issues around social media, artistic expression, hate speech, and more.
Lead Onward 10: Sustainability
- Instructor: Katie Sereduk
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 2 of 3 required 10th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Two Trimesters
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
In this two trimester class, students will explore the field of Sustainability. They will analyze the interaction between ethical, economic, and scientific concerns in developing sustainable practices personally, locally, nationally and globally. Students will study and develop practical solutions to real-world issues involving social and economic equity and climate change. An emphasis is placed on community applications, and students are encouraged to think creatively about how they can transform their assignments into successful action plans for themselves, the Doane community, and beyond.
Lead Onward 11
- Instructor(s): Colleen McCormick and Jarred Williams
- Grade Level: 11
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required 11th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Trimester
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
Students will explore complex issues from multiple perspectives, learn to review their own thoughts and experiences, and seek to better understand themselves. They will engage in productive discourse and learn to understand and grapple with a range of opinions. They will participate in “deep dives” by doing in-depth research and have discussions of contemporary social issues faced by today’s world as they look to discover what challenges exist, what has been done so far to address these challenges, what they truly care about, and how their unique skillsets can be used to affect change. Deep dive issues include such topics as mass incarceration, water quality and college tuition. Issue analysis is evidence based, and student grades will be based on synthesis and incorporation of this evidence in support of their opinion. Students will be introduced to basic social science concepts to understand how scientists have tried to objectively define the nature of interpersonal human behaviors.
Lead Onward 12
- Instructors: Chris Rhodes and Jarred Williams
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 2 of 3 required 12th Grade Lead Onward courses
- Duration: Two Trimesters
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
In this two-trimester course, seniors develop the ability to lead their fellow students in seminar-style conversations about pressing issues of social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. At the course’s outset, educators from the Sustained Dialogue Institute visit campus to work directly with seniors and provide them with the foundational skills they will need in order to facilitate these essential discussions. Over the next several weeks, seniors practice these skills while reading, studying, and responding to a pair of challenging texts about the experiences of marginalized groups. Past pairings have included Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. In addition, students work together to select six topics they will address with their peers in the seminars they will run during the final part of the year. Each senior will have the opportunity to run two of these seminars, which will include students from a range of grade levels, and each will receive feedback both from fellow seniors and from Doane teachers. This feedback will focus on their success in creating and maintaining a positive, constructive, and passionate learning environment. As a result of their work in this Lead Onward course, seniors will graduate able to lead conversations about challenging topics in which respect is always present, nuances are consistently explored, and differing views are expressed with the shared goal of greater understanding and empathy.
Introduction to Religious Studies
- Instructor: Rev. Mike Giansiracusa
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required trimester courses
- Duration: Trimester
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Honors Option: No
Religion both shapes and is shaped by culture. It has the power to fuel violence and build peace. As such, religious literacy is a keystone in building strong, ethical leaders.
This class focuses on providing students a methodology for studying religion as an academic discipline and for recognizing and negotiating the religious aspects of modern culture. Students first learn the Cultural Studies Approach to religion and then apply that approach while exploring Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the focus in this course because they are the three most predominant in current, U.S. socio-political discourse. The Cultural Studies Approach holds that religions are internally diverse, changing over time and culturally embedded. This class empowers students in building their own religious literacy by providing both basic content knowledge about each of these religions and asking them to analyze these religious aspects of political, social and cultural life across time and space.
US History
AP Comparative Government
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)
- Instructor: Colleen McCormick
- Grade Level: 11-12th
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course/s: AP US Government and Politics, African-American History
Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich diversity of political life, to show available institutional alternatives, to explain differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students the importance of global political and economic changes. Comparison assists both in identifying problems and in analyzing policymaking. Careful comparison of political systems produces useful knowledge about the institutions and policies countries have employed to address problems, or, indeed, what they have done to make things worse. We can compare the effectiveness of policy approaches to poverty or overpopulation by examining how different countries solve similar problems. Furthermore, by comparing the political institutions and practices of wealthy and poor countries, we can begin to understand the political consequences of economic well-being. Finally, comparison assists explanation. Why are some countries stable democracies and not others? Why do many democracies have prime ministers instead of presidents?
In addition to covering the major concepts that are used to organize and interpret what we know about political phenomena and relationships, the course should cover specific countries and their governments. Six countries form the core of the AP Comparative Government and Politics course: China, Great Britain, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia. By using these six countries, the course can move the discussion of concepts from abstract definition to concrete example, noting that not all concepts will be equally useful in all country settings.
AP European History
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
- Instructor: Colleen McCormick
- Grade Level: 10-12th
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course/s: N/A
Students in this course are expected to demonstrate knowledge of major events and trends as well as basic chronology in European history from the High Renaissance (1450) to the present. This course will focus on intellectual, cultural, political, social, economic, and diplomatic developments throughout European history through the use of the text as well as primary sources such as documents, maps, statistics, artwork, and other pictorial/graphic evidence. Students will develop the ability to analyze historical evidence and the ability to express their analysis and understanding effectively in writing. This course is taken in preparation for the AP exam in May. Also, this class may be taken for college credit through the Rowan College at Burlington County CAP Program.
AP US Government and Politics
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)
- Instructor: Colleen McCormick
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course/s: N/A
*This course is offered during alternating years
This college-level course is an introduction to the US national government. We will study governmental institutions and political processes and examine policy choices. The institutions and policies of the US government will be considered in light of historical change, constitutional procedures, and comparative perspectives. This course is taken in preparation for the AP exam in May. Also, this class may be taken for college credit through the Rowan College at Burlington County CAP Program.
AP Psychology
- Instructor: Katie Sereduk
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course/s: Sociology, AP Government, AP European History
This full-year elective course begins with an overview of the history, goals, methods and careers of the profession of psychology. Later modules examine the biological foundations of behavior, sensation and perception, sleep, dreams, hypnosis, learning, memory, motivation, emotion, developmental psychology, personality theory, psychopathology, psychotherapy, social psychology, and intelligence. The text for the course is Rod Plotnik’s Introduction to Psychology, published by Thompson / Wadsworth. This course may be taken for college credit either through successfully completion of the AP Test or through an arrangement with Rowan College at Burlington County.
AP U. S. History
- Instructor: Amy McMinn
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: Permission of instructor
- Alternate Course: US History
AP US History is a course for rising 10th graders that begins with New World Beginnings and goes to present day. This course is designed to challenge and help make better analytical thinkers. Students will be required to do reading assignments as well as terms for each unit. A key to success is to do the textbook readings the weekend before a given unit begins. Reading prior to the week’s activities will help you understand class activities and prepare you for the Free Response Questions, Document Based Questions and Multiple Choice tests that are at the end of every unit. This course is built to prepare students for the AP exam. Also, this class may be taken for college credit through the Rowan College at Burlington County CAP Program. Over the course of the year, this course will help students develop competence and autonomy.
Honors Requirements: Since this is an AP course, there is no Honors option offered.
History of Indigenous Rights
Instructor: Amy McMinn
Grade Level: 10-12
Requirement: Fulfills one of three required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
Duration: Full-Year
Prerequisites: None
In this course, students will explore what it means to be an indigenous person and learn about the oppression indigenous peoples have experienced, fought, and countered throughout history. Students will examine how different peoples have protected and preserved their cultures and the challenges they continue to face today. As they explore case studies that include the Sioux in the United States, the Mayans in Guatemala, the Xhosa of South Africa, the Kurds in the Middle East, the Uyghers in China, and the Maori of New Zealand, students will consider how they can participate in protecting the rights and traditions of indigenous communities around the world.
Legal and Financial Fundamentals
- Instructor: Colleen McCormick
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course/s: N/A
This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of your legal rights and responsibilities, a knowledge of everyday legal problems, and the ability to analyze, evaluate, and in some situations, resolve legal disputes. It will also address general problems in the areas of criminal and juvenile justice; torts; and consumer, family, and individual rights law. Students will become more aware of what to do about discrimination or other violations of their constitutional rights.
Students will also begin an exploration of the world of economics and cover the concepts of personal finance. They will explore the fundamental laws of micro- and macroeconomics, including the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, supply and demand, productivity and efficiency as they apply to individual and collective human behavior. The class will apply the concepts of budgeting, career planning, saving, and investing, banking and credit as students learn to make better financial goals and decisions to work towards their future using practical skills and examples. Course content will be applied in a variety of ways, including simulations such as the stock market game and the creation of a personal finance plan for college and beyond.
Modern World History
- Instructor: Amy McMinn
- Grade Level: 9
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
Modern World History focuses on major events in world history from approximately the Renaissance to the present day in order to increase students’ knowledge of the society in which they live and help them achieve a solid understanding of how that society emerged over time. The course teaches students about people, ideas, places, lifestyles, and cultures that influenced the course of history. Though most of the curriculum focuses on issues that affected Europe, the course is not taught entirely from a Euro-centric perspective. Students will examine interactions between trading cultures and warring states from multiple perspectives using primary sources from outside the text, including diaries, memoirs, letters, and even newspaper archives. By the end of the year, 9th graders should see how wealth, power, creativity, spirituality, ingenuity, and other morally ambiguous forces have shaped our environment.
U.S. History
- Instructor: Mary Ann Williamson
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School History/Social Studies credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: N/A
- Alternate Course: AP US History
This is a required, one-credit survey course that is taken in 10th grade. The history of the United States is studied, primarily within a chronological framework, from early settlement through the present day. The text used are Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner’s United States History; Prentice Hall / Pearson, and Paul Boyer’s The American Nation, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
US Mathematics
The Mathematics department at Doane Academy is dedicated to the advancement of the mathematical reasoning skills critical for fostering quantitative and deductive thinking abilities in our students. We strive not just for competency with concepts necessary for effective citizenship, but also for recognition that mathematics is a vibrant field of study that can serve as a powerful and exciting tool in this ever-evolving world. We seek to develop students who are courageous in mathematics, unafraid to work collaboratively and take intelligent risks while developing their problem solving skills.
Our focus on problem-based learning and our small class sizes afford our students with a tremendous opportunity to tackle challenging, multidimensional problems with the help of their peers and their instructor. Those students looking for even greater challenges may take our advanced level Calculus courses, conduct a Statistics-based study for the annual S.T.E.A.M. Fair, and participate in monthly competitions with our Mathematics Club.
For many students, finding ‘x’ is the goal. At Doane, our goal is for students to know why they found ‘x,’ how they created the means for doing so, and under what circumstances ‘x’ could be altered to obtain a different result. As such, students graduating from Doane Academy leave with a deeper understanding of the nature of mathematics and are capable of constructing complex, logical arguments making use of mathematical modelling and quantitative data.
* Course titles accompanied with an asterisk indicate an Honors Option. Selection of an Honors Option means the student is electing to do additional, more challenging work, requiring a higher level of critical thinking. These students will receive credit for honors level work.
Algebra I
- Instructor(s): Elizabeth Santini
- Grade Level: 7 - 9
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Pre-Algebra
- Alternate Course(s):N/A
Algebra I is where students begin to build the conceptual knowledge base necessary for conquering complex problems using mathematical reasoning. Through collaborative work groups and heavy emphasis on the “how” and “why” of concepts, students will build a foundation of mathematical knowledge and problem solving techniques that will help them in future math classes and beyond. Concepts covered will include solving complex equations and inequalities, linear functions, and systems of equations.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Geometry
- Instructor(s): Jillian Gorman
- Grade Level: 8 - 10
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Algebra I
- Alternate Course(s):N/A
Geometry students are challenged to examine the world around them and deconstruct it into the geometric structures that form the building blocks of their daily experience of “space.” Students will learn to apply mathematical logic when doing so, assembling logical progressions of facts that prove the fundamental theorems they will utilize throughout their explorations of triangles, polygons, congruence, similarity, trigonometry, circles, and polyhedra. Students will also build on the skills gained in Algebra I by analyzing geometric problem sets with algebraic concepts. As a heavily visual course emphasizing the development of spatial reasoning skills, students can expect to be frequently challenged to apply their conceptual understanding of course material to a variety of topics including art, science, architecture, and more.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Algebra II
- Instructor(s): Brianna Horgan/Matthew Gorman
- Grade Level: 9 - 11
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Algebra I, Geometry(Recommended)
- Alternate Course(s): N/A
Algebra 2 calls upon all of the previous material learned in Algebra 1 and Geometry in order to explore various functions and models: quadratics, exponentials, logarithms, radicals, matrices, and more. Students will be expected to apply learned concepts to both novel situations in a pure mathematical framework as well as to real-life applications. By the end of this course, students will have completed the traditional sequence of high school mathematics classes and thus be prepared to pursue most upper level Math and Science courses offered at Doane.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Pre-Calculus
- Instructor: Matthew Gorman
- Grade Level: 10 - 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Geometry, Algebra II
- Alternate Course: Statistics for Social Science
Pre-calculus serves a dual purpose as a mathematics course: first, it covers content not encountered in previous math courses at Doane; most notably trigonometry, vectors, and analytic geometry. Second, it introduces students to concepts in calculus, such as continuity, limits, and derivatives. This full-year elective expects mastery of content from previous mathematics courses. As such, students enrolling in this course should anticipate a vigorous and challenging exploration of topics that will pull from content mastered throughout their mathematics careers as students. Those students that rise up this challenge and complete Pre-calculus will be ready to take their first steps in Calculus in college or at Doane.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Honors Calculus 1
- Instructor(s): Jillian Gorman
- Grade Level: 11 - 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Pre-Calculus
- Alternate Course(s): Statistics for Social Science, AP Calculus BC* (* - Placement based on Instructor’s recommendation)
Calculus is the foundation of modern mathematics and physics, and its concepts enable us to make sense of motion, forces, and a host of other phenomena. This course - the equivalent of one semester of college level Calculus - provides an in-depth look at core Calculus concepts, including limits, derivatives, differentiation, and integrals with an emphasis placed on “real world” problems involving optimization, related rates, and motion. The course curriculum is designed to develop a deep understanding of the theorems which are critical to success in advanced Calculus courses. Students enrolled in this course may opt to take the AP Calculus AB Exam in May, but will need to complete significant work outside of class in order to prepare to do so.
Honors Requirements: All students enrolling in Honors Calculus 1 do so at the Honors level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate the motivation, work ethic, and initiative commensurate to the course workload.
AP Calculus BC
- Instructor(s): Matthew Gorman
- Grade Level: 11 - 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Pre-Calculus Honors
Alternate Course(s): Statistics for Social Science, AP Calculus AB (Placement based on Instructor’s recommendation)
AP Calculus BC builds upon the content mastered in high school mathematics courses and delves into topics which when summed together equate to two semesters of college level Calculus. Students will explore in-depth core Calculus concepts, including limits, derivatives, differentiation, and integrals. They will then further explore the derivative and integral by examining parametric, polar, and vector functions. They will also analyze polynomial approximations and series. Students enrolled in this course are expected to take the AP Calculus BC exam administered in May.
Honors Requirements: All students enrolling in AP Calculus BC do so at the AP level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate the motivation, work ethic, and initiative commensurate to the course workload.
Applied Mathematics (Statistics Based)
- Instructor(s): Andrew Wenzel
- Grade Level: 11 - 12
- Requirement Information: Fills 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Algebra II
In the first and second trimester, students will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of statistics, and tools used by statisticians to collect, organize, analyze, and draw conclusions from data. Students will become competent in exploring data, sampling, designing and administering studies, anticipating patterns with probability and simulation, and statistical inference. Students will practice applying these mathematical foundations of data science and machine learning, gaining competency in the entire process of using data, from exploration and cleaning to presentation and visual representations. The use (and misuse) of applied statistics in society will be examined through topics including political polling, disease modeling, weather forecasting, sports analysis, and college admissions.
In the third trimester, the use (and misuse) of applied statistics in society will be examined through topics including college admissions,insurance policies, the stock/cryptocurrency markets, and more. Students will often work in small collaborative groups to explore problems and share ideas. Active participation in the form of individual and group projects, peer review of student work, and whiteboard conversations are all keys to student success.
Multivariable Calculus Independent Study
- Instructor: TBD, through One Schoolhouse
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement: Filles 1 of 3 required Upper School Mathematics courses
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-requisites: AP Calculus BC, approval from Head of Upper School
- Alternative Course(s): Statistics for Data Science
This year-long course covers a typical college-level Calculus III curriculum, including vectors and vector-valued functions, curves and surfaces in space, partial derivatives and gradients, multiple integration, and line and surface integrals. In the course’s final unit, students learn how to identify and solve various kinds of differential equations, including exact first-order equations and second-order homogeneous and nonhomogeneous linear equations, and they practice using such equations to model systems from science and engineering. Built on a foundation of sophisticated problem solving, the course also features 3D visualization and model-building activities that help students develop their geometric intuitions about doing calculus in higher dimensions. Note: This course is offered online, in partnership with One Schoolhouse. All students enrolling in One Schoolhouse courses are required to be independent, organized, and prepared for the rigor of an AP-level challenge. Please visit One Schoolhouse’s website for further information about the course.
US Physical Education
Upper School Athletics
Seasonal Requirement- at Doane Academy, we feel athletics plays an integral role in the development of our students, as sports are as much about character development as physical development. Our athletic programs embody the ideals of physical fitness, sportsmanship, teamwork, skill improvement and character development. The student athletes’ commitment to excellence and leadership provides a backdrop to maximize their academic and athletic potential. In order to fulfill the physical education graduation requirement, all students in 9th–12th grades must participate in at least one season of a school sport per school year. Students are expected to practice and attend games after school five days a week throughout the season of their sport. Doane Academy competes exclusively at the Varsity level in the Penn-Jersey NJSIAA Parochial B Athletic Association in the following sports:
Fall
- Cross Country
- Varsity Boys Soccer
- Varsity Girls Soccer
Winter
- Varsity Bowling
- Varsity Boys Basketball
- Varsity Girls Basketball
Spring
- Crew
- Varsity Softball
- Varsity Baseball
US Science
Doane Academy’s Science department seeks to engage students in the practice of doing science as a means of engaging scientific theory. Our inquiry-based approach to curriculum design challenges students to explore concepts through experimental design, projects, tinkering, data modelling, and more. We firmly believe that students learn best by “doing.” As such, we emphasize hands-on, real-world experiences which encourage our students to understand the nature of scientific inquiry and how it applies to their daily lives.
The department seeks to provide opportunities for students to participate in interdisciplinary lessons that encourage them to blend content from various subject areas in pursuit of their personal interests. Thus, students are taught through their lab experiences to include what they’ve learned in their other classes as a part of the scientific process. They will explore how scientific breakthroughs have changed the course of history, use concepts learned to inspire artistic representations, apply statistical methods to manipulate data, and take advantage of available technology to enhance their laboratory experience.
Between our robust selection of electives and our core laboratory science curriculum, students graduating from Doane Academy will have learned that true scientific inquiry is not about having the right answers, but instead about asking challenging questions which propel them toward new understandings about their surrounding world
Physics 9
- Instructor: Andrew Wenzel
- Grade Level: 9
- Duration: Year-Round
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
- Pre-Requisites: None
Course Description:
The course explores the foundations of general chemistry, such as atomic structure, properties of matter, and chemical reactions through inquiry and exploration. We use the iHUB Chemistry curriculum. This curriculum structures each unit around making observations to discover how foundational chemistry concepts can answer questions such as "Can there be life outside of earth?" and "Why do we use gasoline for fuel". This provides students an opportunity to see how topics studied affect their daily lives through problem solving, projects, and explorations of modern developments in related fields. Where appropriate, students will be given agency over the structure and focus of labs and projects while exploring these concepts.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Biology
- Instructor(s): TBD
- Grade Level: 11
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course(s): AP Biology
Course Description:
This full-year, upperclassman laboratory science explores the foundations of the biology, ecology and origins of life on earth. Students will develop advanced inquiry and reasoning skills as they explore concepts mastered in Biology in further detail through data analysis, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts across content domains.
Chemistry
- Instructor(s): Brianna Horgan
- Grade Level: 10
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course(s): N/A
The course explores the foundations of general chemistry, including atomic theory, stoichiometry, chemical reactions, properties of matter, organic chemistry, and nuclear energy. Additionally, students gain exposure to how topics studied affect their daily lives through problem solving, projects, and explorations of modern developments in related fields. Lab work is an integral component of the course. Where appropriate, students will be given agency over the structure and focus of labs and projects.
Honors Requirements: Honors students are expected to delve deeper into the concepts mastered during class by completing weekly Honors-level homework assignments and tackling more difficult problems on graded assessments. In addition to this, Honors students will complete one project per trimester related to a topic covered during that trimester.
Anatomy and Physiology
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
Instructor(s): Brianna Horgan
Grade Level: 11-12
Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
Duration: Year-Round
Pre-Requisites: Biology, Chemistry
During this full-year Anatomy and Physiology elective, students will have the opportunity to learn about the systems that make up the human body. Students will explore the relationship between the physical structures of the human body and their functions within individual systems and the body as a whole. Students will be introduced to the major body systems (e.g. Circulatory, Nervous, etc.) and learn how to recognize, locate, and describe these systems. Through exploratory labs, activities, and lectures, students will engage with this knowledge to draw connections to broader ideas such as the impact and mechanism of different diseases, human systems compared to adaptations for various environments, as well as discussions on bioethics and medicine.
AP Biology
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
- Instructor(s): TBD
- Grade Level: 11-12
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Lab Credit
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Biology, or Instructor’s Approval
This course is offered on alternating years
This full-year laboratory science elective is the equivalent of an introductory college course in Biology. Students will develop advanced inquiry and reasoning skills as they explore concepts mastered in Biology in further detail through data analysis, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts across content domains. Students enrolled in this course are expected to take the AP Biology exam administered in May.
Honors Requirements: All students enrolling in AP Biology do so at the AP level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate the motivation, work ethic, and initiative commensurate to the course workload.
AP Chemistry
(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)
- Instructor(s): Brianna Horgan
- Grade Level: 11-12
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
- Duration: Year-Round
- Pre-Requisites: Biology, Chemistry, or Instructor’s Approval
This course is offered on alternating years
This full-year laboratory science elective is the equivalent of an introductory college course in chemistry. A strong emphasis is placed on constructing models, real-world applications, and visual learning as students explore concepts mastered in General Chemistry in further detail. Students enrolled in this course are expected to sit for the AP Chemistry exam administered in May.
All students enrolling in AP Chemistry do so at the AP level. Thus, they are expected to demonstrate the motivation, work ethic, and initiative commensurate to the course workload.
AP Physics 1
- Instructor: Andrew Wenzel
- Grade Level: 11-12
- Requirement Information: 1 Science Credit (Lab Science)
- Duration: Year-Round
- Prerequisites: Algebra 2; Pre-Calculus (can be taken at the same time as AP Physics 1)
This course is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through inquiry-based investigations as they explore these topics: kinematics; dynamics; circular motion and gravitation; energy; momentum; simple harmonic motion; torque and rotational motion; electric charge and electric force; DC circuits; and mechanical waves and sound. Students will also become proficient in the science practices which enable students to collect evidence and use it to develop testable explanations and predictions. Students will be prepared to take the College Board's Advanced Placement Test. Students should have completed or be currently taking pre-calculus.
US S.T.E.A.M.
Doane Academy’s S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program is dedicated to developing a community of young tinkerers ready to tackle the 21st century with their creativity, individuality, and unique passions. Our S.T.E.A.M. courses seek to accomplish this by providing students with open-ended, collaborative class structures which encourage them to pull content knowledge from a wide variety of other subjects in pursuit of problem solutions which they can truly call their own.
For many schools, “S.T.E.M.” education is the push for more math, science, and engineering majors going into college. At Doane, we believe this approach is short-sighted. We insist on including the liberal arts - History, Band, Theater, Poetry, and so on - because they drive the creative and entrepreneurial spirit that can lead our young men and women to new discoveries we could never dream of. As such, our S.T.E.A.M. curriculum is as much about learning the engineering design process as it is about providing our students with the opportunity to test their own ideas in an environment that allows them to dream, make mistakes, refine designs, and eventually create a product which addresses the complexity of any problem.
Students enrolled in S.T.E.A.M. courses are challenged to be active participants in our annual events - including Project Green Challenge, Lower School Lab Week, Green Week, and the S.T.E.A.M. Fair - and to help guide the activities of our after school extracurricular activities. By the time they graduate from Doane Academy, students who have capitalized on the opportunities our S.T.E.A.M. program presents will find themselves unafraid to generate big ideas and more than equipped to bring them to fruition.
AP Computer Science Principles - Independent Study
- Instructor: TBD, through One Schoolhouse.
- Grade level: 10-12
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-Requisites: Physics 9; approval from Head of Upper School
- Alternate Courses: N/A
This course investigates the “big ideas” found in our digital world. Using the Python programming language, students develop and demonstrate fundamental concepts of computer programming that can be applied across a variety of projects and languages. Students explore different means of representing information digitally and how our digital world has evolved. They create computer programs to solve authentic problems or for personal interest, such as unique musical pieces, math calculators, and data summations. Students discuss the current state of technology and its role in our everyday lives, discerning the positive and negative influences of innovations concerning computer and network technologies to society, culture, and economics. Throughout, students develop their skills in computational thinking, logical reasoning, and describing processes through algorithms and abstraction. Finally, students demonstrate their learning by creating a portfolio for submission to the College Board and are prepared for the AP® Computer Science Principles Exam in May. Note: This course is offered online, in partnership with One Schoolhouse. All students enrolling in One Schoolhouse courses are required to be independent, organized, and prepared for the rigor of an AP-level challenge. Please visit One Schoolhouse’s website for further information about the course.
AP Computer Science A - Independent Study
- Instructor: TBD, through One Schoolhouse.
- Grade level: 11-12
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-Requisites: Algebra II, AP Computer Science Principles (or equivalent, full-year programming experience), approval from Head of Upper School
- Alternate Courses: N/A
The AP® Computer Science A course introduces the key concepts of programming in Java. The analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills that students develop in this course transfer to programming in other languages as well. This course is designed with the idea that programming should be fun, engaging, and intuitive. Students will learn to apply the main principles of object-oriented software design and programming using classes and objects, constructors, methods, instance and static variables, inheritance, class hierarchies, and polymorphism. Students work creatively and collaboratively with their classmates to discuss ethical and social issues relating to the use of technology and develop a solid foundation from which to launch into a wide range of computer science areas. This course prepares students for the AP® Computer Science A Exam in May. Note: This course is offered online, in partnership with One Schoolhouse. All students enrolling in One Schoolhouse courses are required to be independent, organized, and prepared for the rigor of an AP-level challenge. Please visit One Schoolhouse’s website for further information about the course.
US World & Classical Languages
Latin I
- Instructor: Bryson Sewell
- Grade Level: 8-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 language credits when taken in high school.
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: None
- Alternate Course: Spanish I
- Honors Option: No
What language did Isaac Newton, the famous English physicist and mathematician, use to write his seminal works? Latin! What language did some of the founders of the United States use to communicate with one another in their letters? Latin! What was the language exclusively spoken and written in universities all across Europe until relatively recent times? Latin! And what language, because of some interesting historical events, accounts for roughly 60% of English vocabulary today? Surprise: Latin! Latin! Latin!
In Latin I, students will begin their journey into this historic language in an immersive environment where Latin is treated as it is - a language of communication. Class will be taught exclusively in Latin and students will quickly develop their abilities to understand and use basic spoken and written Latin. To guide our language learning, we will be reading the first ten chapters of the immersive Latin-only book Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Familia Romana. The material from these chapters will serve as the basic content for us to practice speaking, listening to, reading, and writing Latin. Students will intuitively learn basic Latin grammar and begin cultivating a solid Latin vocabulary. By the end of this class, diligent students will be able to communicate about a range of basic subjects exclusively in Latin and will have gained a basic introduction into the ancient Roman world.
Latin II
- Instructor: Bryson Sewell
- Grade Level: 8-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 Language credits when taken in high school.
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: Latin I
- Honors Option: No
In Latin II, students will continue developing their active mastery of the Latin language which they began in Latin I. After a little review, we will be reading chapters 11-20 of Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Familia Romana. As in Latin I, class will be taught exclusively in Latin and students will be expected to speak Latin in class. Emphasis will be placed on deepening both communicative and receptive proficiency in the language by constant practice in speaking, reading, writing, listening to, and thinking in Latin. Students will continue to learn more advanced Latin grammar and develop vocabulary intuitively (together with supplemental exercises as needed). Students will continue learning more about the ancient Roman world and how that world directly affected the trajectory of Western civilization to this day.
Latin III
- Instructor: Bryson Sewell
- Grade Level: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: Latin II
- Honors Option: No
In Latin III, students will become even more proficient in speaking, listening to, writing, and reading Latin. We will be reading chapters 21-30 of our book Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Familia Romana. Students will continue mastering more and more advanced grammar and cultivating a wider vocabulary intuitively. The class will be taught exclusively in Latin and students will be required to speak only in Latin. There will be lots of practice speaking, listening to, writing, and reading Latin, and we will make more forays into ancient Roman culture and the use of Latin in the medieval and early modern periods.
Latin IV
- Instructor: Bryson Sewell
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: Latin III/Latin IV
- Honors Option: No
Latin IV is an important transition point in your study of Latin. In Latin IV, students will finish the textbook Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Familia Romana by reading chapters 31-36 during trimester I. At this point, students will have read over 300 pages of Latin and will have mastered all basic Latin grammar. For the remainder of the year (trimesters II and III), we will continue expanding our ability to speak, listen to, write, and read Latin. We will be making use of transitional Latin readers to secure what has already been learned while constantly being exposed to more and more of this wonderful language. Class will be entirely conducted in Latin by the teacher and the students.
Latin V
- Instructor: Bryson Sewell
- Grade Level: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: Full-Year
- Prerequisites: Latin III/Latin IV
- Honors Option: No
In Latin V, students will read and write a lot of Latin. This will be a challenging class. The class will be conducted exclusively in Latin. We will read primarily from Latin transitional readers to continue developing fluency with the language and expanding our vocabulary. Again, this will be a challenging class. In addition to reading many pages of Latin, students will be expected to write stories in Latin, write summaries in Latin, write movie and book reviews in Latin, and keep a weekly journal in Latin. Let me say this a third time: this will be a challenging class, but students who commit themselves to it will experience tremendous growth.
AP Latin - Independent Study
- Instructor: TBD, through One Schoolhouse
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-requisites: Latin III, approval from Head of Upper School
AP® Latin students meet the challenge of reading and analyzing passages of Caesar's Gallic Wars and Vergil's Aeneid. The course emphasizes reading and understanding the works of these two authors, as well as diving into the historical context of both works. Students also look at literary devices and discuss how each author uses Latin and to what effect. Students practice these analytical skills not only on the proscribed passages, but also on sight passages from various authors with weekly assignments. Students compare the writings of Vergil and Caesar to modern authors and use class discussions to explore the effect these authors have on our world today. Students prepare translations and essays under time constraints similar to those on the AP® Latin Exam. Additionally, students peer edit essays to help strengthen their writing and analysis skills. All students enrolled in this course are thoroughly prepared to take the AP® Latin Exam in the spring. Note: This course is offered online, in partnership with One Schoolhouse. All students enrolling in One Schoolhouse courses are required to be independent, organized, and prepared for the rigor of an AP-level challenge. Please visit One Schoolhouse’s website for further information about the course.
Spanish I
- Instructor: Isabel Morales
- Grade Level: 8-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits when taken in grades 9-12
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: None
- Alternate Course: Latin I
- Honors Option: No
This course provides an introduction to the study of Spanish and is designed for students new to the language. Students will read, write, and speak in Spanish and develop listening comprehension skills in the target language. Students will learn the phrases necessary to communicate in day-to-day situations in Spanish. Through the study of vocabulary, grammar, and cross-cultural comparison, students will explore the following topics: greetings and goodbyes, pleasantries, telling time, days of the week, months, seasons, weather, giving the date, identifying and describing people and things, telling where someone is from, expressing opinions about classes, talking about family members and pets, describing a house and apartment, describing rooms and furnishings, school activities, school supplies, extra-curricular activities, describing a school uniform, phrases that indicate location, talking about meals and snacks, identifying food and drinks, talking about soccer, basketball, baseball, and tennis, describing a sports uniform, and identifying colors. Students will narrate events in the present tense and express likes, dislikes, and preferences. Students will also be introduced to a variety of study skills to help them learn a new language. Students will be expected to participate during class in the target language, and students’ oral proficiency will be frequently evaluated via formal and informal presentations. The textbook ¡Qué Chévere!, Level 1 will be used in Spanish I.
Spanish II
- Instructor: Isabel Morales
- Grade Level: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits when taken through grades 9-12
- Duration: Full-Year
- Pre-Requisites: Spanish I
- Honors Option: No
Building on the foundation of grammar and vocabulary from Spanish I, students will continue to refine their communication skills in the target language and further understand Spanish-speaking cultures in relation to their own. Spanish II students will be expected to solely communicate in the target language during class with increased attention to oral fluency and accurate pronunciation. Students will learn grammatical structures such as reflexive verbs, the present perfect, the preterite (regular & irregular) and the imperfect tense. By learning these structures students will be able to describe their morning and afternoon daily routine, discuss what their life will be like in fifteen years, express their bucket list, and describe various aspects of their childhood. Lastly, thanks to their exposure to authentic Spanish video, podcasts, newspaper articles, and film both in and out of the classroom student will have many opportunities to narrate in the past whether it be about a summer vacation or simply retelling the events of a short story they have read or a film they have seen. Students will build oral and written proficiency by performing interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks facilitated by technological applications such as Lingt, EdPuzzle, FlipGrid, YouTube, Adobe Spark, Book Creator, and Google Hangout.
Spanish III
- Instructor: Raquel Bejar-Massey
- Grade Levels: 9-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: 1 Year
- Pre-Requisites: Spanish II
- Honors Option: No
Spanish III is a continuation of Spanish II and in this course students will continue to develop their interpretive, presentational and interpersonal skills in Spanish by mastering the irregular verbs in both the present tense and the preterite tense via the Spanish anthology of short stories titled Aventuras en la Ciudad. During the second quarter of the year the focus will be to successfully narrate in the past while using the preterite and imperfect simultaneously. By exposing students to a variety of classic fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Spanish children's stories via websites like Tumblebooks and Bookflix. As a culminating activity students will be asked to write their own children ́s short story via the application Book Creator. Lastly during the third quarter the grammatical focus will be the formation of the present subjunctive to state formal and negative commands, wishes and desires, impersonal observations, doubt, denial and disbelief, speculation. Using a series of cortometrajes otherwise known short films students will be given ample opportunities to talk about their ideal spouse, job, dwelling and other hopes for the future.
Spanish IV/V
- Instructor: Mariana Oropeza
- Grade Levels: 10-12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: 1 Year
- Pre-Requisites: Spanish III
- Honors Option: No
Spanish IV/V is a continuation of the work done in previous Spanish classes. Students will be expected to incorporate highly complicated grammatical structures and a wide range of vocabulary into their writing and daily speech. Students’ oral and written expression will be evaluated frequently, and students will be introduced to more complicated texts to further develop their reading comprehension skills. Students will master narration in the past and present and gain familiarity using the future and conditional. They will also learn to use the subjunctive tense in a variety of situations. Topics of study will include: understanding traffic and auto travel in Spanish, writing and following recipes in Spanish, cooking Hispanic foods, physical fitness and exercise, discussing medical problems, talking about hospital visits, discussing weddings and milestones, chores, running errands and daily tasks, manners and culture-specific greetings and behavior, and travel. The textbook ¡Qué Chévere!, Level 4 will be used in Spanish IV/V.
AP Spanish Language and Culture*
- Instructor: Raquel Bejar-Massey
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-requisites: AP Spanish Language and Culture, approval from Head of Upper School
AP® Spanish Language and Culture is intended for students who wish to develop proficiency and integrate their language skills using authentic materials and sources. The course aims to sharpen students’ communicative skills in Spanish through advanced study and review of grammar, culture, and literature. Conducted fully in Spanish, the class provides quality opportunities for students to synthesize their language skills through performance assessments, the use of cultural materials, and focused class discussions. Students will work to achieve a high level of ability with formal writing, interpersonal and presentational speaking and writing, and aural comprehension through level-appropriate media and texts. This course prepares students for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam in May.
*(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2023-2024)
AP Spanish Literature and Culture*
- Instructor: Raquel Bejar-Massey
- Grade Level: 12
- Requirement Information: Fulfills 1 of 3 required Upper School Language credits
- Duration: September through April (including holidays)
- Pre-requisites: AP Spanish Language and Culture, approval from Head of Upper School
The AP® Spanish Literature and Culture course provides a college-level survey of texts from Peninsular, Latin American, and US Hispanic authors. In addition to engaging with the texts from the College Board required reading list, students interpret the works within their social, literary, and historical contexts and consider the reasons these works remain relevant in the 21st century. Students build an understanding of form, structure, theme, and literary devices, and then analyze and evaluate the global interdependence that fosters the evolution of Hispanic and Latino literatures. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish and organized around the six themes designated by the AP® curriculum framework. This course prepares students for the AP® Spanish Literature and Culture Exam in May.
*(This course is offered in alternating years and will be offered in 2024-2025)