AP 2-D Art and Design (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C762XF/C762XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Seniors only, by permission of the instructor, with a recommendation of six to eight previous art classes with a grade average of “B” or better.
Course Description:
Create a 2-D Design portfolio demonstrating skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas. Portfolios include images and writing documenting inquiry-guided investigation through sustained investigation of practice, experimentation, and revision of individual works. Must exhibit personal maturity and independent work habits, and accept the committed challenge of a rigorous studio art program. Along with the chance to receive college credit and/or advanced placement for college, develop artistic skills while preparing a portfolio of art for college or work. AP portfolio exam submissions are required, conducted through formal evaluations according to national standards of performance.
*Course Fee*
Studio Art, 3-D (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C765XF/C765XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Seniors only. A regimen of six to eight classes within or related to the fine arts will be recommended by the supervising instructor. The student must have maintained a grade average of “B” or better in these classes. He/she will also exhibit personal maturity, independence in study/learning and an interest in pursuing a fine arts career. A self-promotional portfolio is the culminating project for each student.
Course Description:
This portfolio is intended to address sculptural issues as related to depth and space. Design involves purposeful decision making about how to use the elements and principles of art in an integrative way. For this portfolio, students are asked to demonstrate proficiency of 3-D design through any three-dimensional approach, including, but not limited to, figurative or non figurative work that makes use of (appropriates) other artists’ works (including photographs) and/or published images must show substantial and significant development beyond duplication. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP 2-D Art and Design (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C762XF/C762XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Seniors only, by permission of the instructor, with a recommendation of six to eight previous art classes with a grade average of “B” or better.
Course Description:
Create a 2-D Design portfolio demonstrating skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas. Portfolios include images and writing documenting inquiry-guided investigation through sustained investigation of practice, experimentation, and revision of individual works. Must exhibit personal maturity and independent work habits, and accept the committed challenge of a rigorous studio art program. Along with the chance to receive college credit and/or advanced placement for college, develop artistic skills while preparing a portfolio of art for college or work. AP portfolio exam submissions are required, conducted through formal evaluations according to national standards of performance.
*Course Fee*
AP Music Theory (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C728XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Grade of “B” or better in Music Theory and Composition I and instructor’s approval.
Course Description:
AP Theory is a continuation of Music Theory and Composition I and will be offered second semester. A student who takes both Music Theory and Composition I and AP Music Theory will be prepared to take the Advanced Placement Exam for Music Theory. AP Music Theory will expand concepts explored in Music Theory and Composition I with additional practice in ear training, sight singing, and rhythmic and melodic dictation. The course integrates aspects of melody, harmony, texture, form, history, and style. The course progresses to include creative tasks, such as the harmonization of a melody, composing a musical bass line, and the realization of figured-bass notation. Additional course objectives include study of secondary dominants, compositional forms, chord modulations, in-depth melodic structure and composition, and general review of baroque, classical, romantic and early twentieth-century terms, styles, and characteristics. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
AP Computer Science A (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C063XF/C063XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of an introductory programming course (Computer Programming or AP CSP) AND Java.
Course Description:
This course prepares students for successful completion of the Advanced Placement Computer Science A examination given by College Board. Computing skills and object-oriented programming in Java are the focus of this course. Topics covered include static classes, arrays, recursions, encapsulation, inheritance, composition, and polymorphism. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
AP English Language and Composition (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C123XF/C123XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of Honors English 10 or by permission of the instructor. This course is for juniors.
Course Description:
Analyze nonfiction prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts to become skilled writers who can compose for a variety of purposes. Examine the way traditional conventions and resources of language contribute to effective writing. The course emphasizes the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing through the critical analysis and interpretation of these texts. Student writings will encompass the use of argument, synthesis, and rhetorical strategies. Students are required to take the AP exam.
*This class includes the required Cathedral composition curriculum, so these students will not take a separate Composition class.
AP Seminar (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C162XF/C162XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors in Honors English.
Course Description:
AP Seminar is a foundational, year-long course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies and foundational literary texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic work and performances. Students synthesize information from multiple sources and develop their own perspectives in research-based essays and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Students will develop skills needed to analyze and evaluate information and to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. This elective course is not a traditional English class and does not meet the Cathedral English requirement. It is a required course for the AP Capstone diploma program.
*Course Fee*
AP Research (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C163XF/C163XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to seniors who have completed AP Seminar.
Course Description:
AP Research allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem or issue of individual interest. Students design, plan and conduct a year-long, ethical research-based investigation to address a research question. Students understand research methodology, document their processes and curate artifacts for their portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000 to 5,000 words accompanied by a performance or exhibition of the final product and a presentation with an oral defense. This elective course is not a traditional English class and does not meet the Cathedral English requirement. It is a required course for the AP Capstone diploma program.
*Course Fee*
AP English Literature and Composition, LS (Advanced Placement) (Language Support) (Academic)
C635AF/C635AS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors who have completed English 9 LS, English 10 LS, and Fundamentals of Writing. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
Course Description:
AP English Literature and Composition engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of classical literature. The college-level course includes intensive study of novels, poetry, and plays. Writing is an integral part of the course. Students who enroll in this course should be highly motivated and should work well independently and in small groups. Participation in class discussions is an essential element of this course. There is an additional fee for this course.
*Course Fee*
AP English Language and Composition, LS (Advanced Placement) (Language Support) (Honors)
C636XF/C636XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to seniors who have completed English 9 LS, English 10 LS, Fundamentals of Writing, and AP English Literature and Composition. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
Course Description:
AP English Literature and Composition engages highly-motivated students in the careful reading and critical analysis of nonfiction prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. Students demonstrate their ability to synthesize information with skill and for a variety of purposes in this college-level class. Independent writing and participation in class discussions is an essential element of this course. There is an additional fee for this course.
*Course Fee*
AP Precalculus (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C0411XF/C0411XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Honors Algebra II with a “C-” or above and teacher recommendation OR Academic Algebra II with an “A-” or above and teacher recommendation.
A graphing calculator is required. (See calculator information under “Mathematics Department.”)
Course Description:
Build deep mastery of modeling trigonometric, polar, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions by examining scenarios through multiple representations. Investigate and use binomial expansion and sequence.
AP Calculus AB (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C042XF/C042XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Honors Precalculus with a “B” or better and by teacher recommendation.
A graphing calculator is required. (See calculator information under “Mathematics Department.”)
Course Description:
This course reviews and expands the concepts of precalculus such as graphs and modeling of functions. It explores limits and their properties, continuity, basic differentiation rules with applications as related rates, extrema, concavity, and the Mean Value Theorem. It also develops integration techniques and applies them in fields such as accumulation functions, area, and volumes. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Calculus BC (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C043XF/C043XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
AP Calculus AB with a B or better and by teacher recommendation or by a Precalculus Honors teacher’s recommendation.
A graphing calculator is required. (See calculator information under “Mathematics Department.”)
Course Description:
This course explores all the topics of differential and integral AB Calculus with additional emphasis on integration techniques, finding arc length, applying Euler’s Theorem, and solving logistic differential equations. The course also includes the study of calculus on vector-valued functions,parametric and polar equations. Special emphasis is given to divergent or convergent sequences, intervals of convergence, and error analysis. The study of power series, MacLaurin and Taylor Series complete the course. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Statistics (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C044XF/C044XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of Honors Algebra II or an “A” or “B” in Academic Algebra II and teacher recommendation.
A graphing calculator is required. (See calculator information under “Mathematics Department.”)
Course Description:
Learn to summarize data using graphs and numerical summaries by emphasizing how to use the formulas used in the study of statistics. Interpret data in the context of real-world problems and explore how to appropriately collect data. Design experiments to generate data, and then use probability to make conclusions about populations based on acquired samples. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Physics 1 (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C442XF/C442XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Recommended for students proficient in Geometry and prior math classes. Concurrent enrollment in Algebra II highly recommended.
Course Description:
AP Physics I is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. The topics covered include Newton’s Laws of Motion, forces, momentum, energy, waves, and more. Students must take the corresponding AP exam at the end of the year.
AP Physics 2 (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C443XF/C443XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of AP Physics 1.
Course Description:
AP Physics 2 is an algebra-based college-level physics course. The topics covered include fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, circuits, optics, as well as quantum, atomic, and nuclear physics. Students must take the AP exam at the end of the year.
AP Biology (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C438XF/C438XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Biology I. Recommended for Juniors and Seniors with a “B” or above in Honors Biology or “A” in Academic Biology. Sophomores MUST have completed Honors Biology with an A and obtain teacher recommendation. Summer assignment prior to day 1 of class.
Course Description:
NOTE: Summer work required. AP Biology is a highly intensive college-level course designed to prepare students for the AP Biology exam and to provide exposure to a rigorous college-level curriculum by applying concepts and skills. The two main goals of AP Biology are to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and to help students gain an appreciation of science as a process. The course is fast paced and requires time management skills along with daily preparation. The course covers a variety of topics ranging from the cell, biochemistry, genetics and ecology, evolution and plant science. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Chemistry (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C447XF/C447XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Biology I, Honors Chemistry, and concurrent enrollment in Precalculus or Calculus.
Course Description:
This course is a one-year program (may be taken as a junior or senior). It provides an advanced treatment of topics in Chemistry designed in accordance with the course objectives of organization and Advanced Placement Chemistry curriculum. A college textbook is used as a supplement to the classroom lectures and laboratory experiments. The goal of this course is to allow students to pass the Advanced Placement Chemistry exam. Class time is arranged such that approximately 25% of the class time is spent on laboratory and problem-solving activities related to the laboratory experiments. The remaining 75% is lecture, inquiry-based learning activities, and problem-solving. During the course, students will be expected to maintain and regularly update a laboratory notebook and keep up with corresponding readings in the textbook. All students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Environmental Science (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C454XF/C454XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
A grade of “B” or better in Biology I AND Chemistry I/Physics I, or permission of the instructor. Concurrently in Academic Algebra II or higher or with permission of the instructor.
Course Description:
The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. The course is interdisciplinary. It embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are several major unifying constructs, or themes, that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science. Students are required to take the AP exam in the Spring.
*Course Fee*
AP U.S. History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C523XF/C523XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to students who have completed AP World History, AP European History, or AP Human Geography. Juniors and seniors who have not completed AP World History, AP European History, or AP Human Geography should be in Honors English.
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide students with analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. Students will learn to assess historical materials – their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance – and to weigh the evidence and interpretation presented in historical scholarship. The course develops the student’s skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in an essay format. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Microeconomics (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C545XF/C545XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors in AP or ACP English or in an AP math course or by permission of the instructor.
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. It places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets and includes the study of factor markets and of the role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. AP Microeconomics focuses on how economic decisions are made by individual people, businesses, and government. This course focuses on the individual markets and how businesses are structured and compete against one another. If students are looking to choose between this and AP Macroeconomics, those who are interested in business and accounting would enjoy this course more. While in this course, students will partake in class discussions, debates, simulations, and small group interactions. Some student projects assigned in this course will include a stock market simulation, entrepreneurship group project that creates a business, and creation of a personal and/or family budget. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Macroeconomics (Advanced Placement)(Honors)
C547XF/C547XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors or seniors in AP or ACP English or in an AP math course.
Course Description:
AP Macroeconomics is a one semester course that focuses on the economy as a whole. Macroeconomics is the study of measures of economic performance like unemployment, inflation, national income accounting, etc. Special attention is focused on basic economic concepts, measurement of economic performance, national income and price determination, the financial sector, inflation, unemployment, and stabilization policies, economic growth and productivity, and international trade and finance. If students are choosing between this course and AP Microeconomics, those who are more interested in international relations, politics, the influence of the Federal Reserve, and how government affects the economy as a whole, AP Macroeconomics will be more interesting. Some student projects assigned in this course will include a stock market simulation, monopoly boards representing other countries’ economies, and creation of a personal and/or family budget. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Psychology (Advanced Placement)(Honors)
C550XF/C550XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to all Seniors. Open to juniors in AP English Language and Composition.
Course Description:
AP Psychology is a two semester course designed for college-bound seniors who wish to earn college credit for Introductory Psychology or wish to explore Psychology in greater depth than a traditional high school course. To accomplish this, the course provides instruction in each of the following 14 content areas: History and Approaches, Research Methods, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, States of Consciousness, Learning, Cognition, Motivation and Emotion, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Testing and Individual Differences, Abnormal Psychology, Treatment of Psychological Disorders, and Social Psychology. The goals of this course are to teach the foundation for the study of psychology, to teach skills necessary for a successful collegiate academic career, including critical thinking, language, and study skills, and prepare students for successful performance on the Advanced Placement exam for Psychology. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Human Geography (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C501XF/C501XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Honors or AP English or by permission of the teacher.
Course Description:
AP Human Geography is a year-long course that focuses on the distribution, process, and effects of human population on the planet. Units of study include population & migration, culture, political geography, economic development, industry, agriculture, and urban geography. Emphasis is placed on the geographic models and their application. Case studies from around the globe are used to compare the situations in the United States, other countries, and even locally. Internet activities and journal articles are used to explore a number of topics. Writing assignments, research, and outside readings will be required. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Art History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C702XF/C702XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Academic or Honors English.
Course Description:
This course is an equivalent to an introductory college art history survey. The focus will be on developing students’ art historical skills as they examine and analyze major forms of artistic expression from a variety of cultures from ancient times to the present. This course involves critical thinking and will develop an understanding and knowledge of diverse historical and cultural contexts of architecture, sculpture, painting, and other mediums that are utilized throughout our world. Visual analysis is a fundamental tool for the art historian. The course will also emphasize understanding how and why the works of art function in a context, considering such issues as patronage, gender, and the functions and effects of works of art. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring. Note: This course fulfills the fine arts graduation requirement.
*Course Fee*
AP African American Studies (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C502XF/C502XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors.
Course Description:
AP African American studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and African diaspora. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*