·Daily Schedule

Curriculum

Our academic program will take a cross-curricular approach in all subject areas, based on the philosophy that the understanding of material is more thorough and meaningful when students experience it in varied contexts. Environmental studies will be integrated in all our studies. As an independent school, Seacoast Academy will provide religious studies for all students. Cooperative learning, the clarity of individual goals, and the primacy of critical thinking are also primary elements of our curriculum.

The acquisition of study and organizational skills is central to our program and will be consistently reinforced in all areas. Students will be expected to master the following skills at Seacoast Academy:

Organization – using a plan book, breaking assignments down into smaller segments, prioritizing assignments and tasks

Note-taking – deciding what is important, summarizing class notes, reading a paragraph for a main idea, writing a brief summary of a reading, keeping an organized notebook

Questioning—processing information and considering how different

perspectives can shape material, gaining confidence in ability to question material, instructors, and peers toward the end of greater understanding

• Close reading of literature – selected for discussion of the relationship between setting (time, place, objects of special interest) and character (personal identity and values) – and including short story, novel, drama (a Shakespeare play), poetry, and some non-fiction.
• Reading emphasis on literal and figurative language, particularly irony, symbol, foreshadowing, and metaphor, while developing an understanding of how writers create meaning through methods of characterization and types of conflict.
• A variety of critical and creative writing exercises stressing the movement fromparagraph-mini-essay-multiple essay, paying close attention to developing criticalthinking skills through inference, evidence, coherence, and language correctness.Special emphasis on different types of opening and closing skills in all modes of written discourse
• Structured exercises in grammar and usage as aids in writing style development and editing.
• Regular vocabulary lessons stressing Latin and Greek roots and using new words in improving diction.
• Speaking and listening through group discussions, oral presentations, and character role playing.

• Abiotic & biotic factors affecting local aquatic & terrestrial ecosystems (including: oceans, wetlands, forests, food webs, water & soil quality, rock cycle, pollution, etc.)
• Atoms & Matter
• Aerodynamics
• Electricity & Magnetism
• Energy & Heat
• Evolution of the Solar System
• Stars & Constellations
• Human Physiology
• Inventions
• Skills: Use of campus as a lab; steps of the scientific method; graphing; data collection & analysis; writing formal lab reports; measuring length, mass, volume, density, & temperature in metric units
• Equipment: Compound microscope, stethoscope, stopwatch, dissecting tools, graduated cylinders, beakers, test tubes, triple beam balance, Probe ware, soil & water testing equipment, circuit building, magnets

7 Science, Levels of Organization

• Characteristics of life
• Intro to cellular biology (Including: Cellular organelles, cell processes, structure vs. function, specialized cells, & classification of cells from different Kingdoms)
• Evolution of life (Including: Adaptations, Kingdoms, natural selection, extinction, primates, & classification)
• Geology (Including: Rock cycle, Plate tectonics, Geologic time scale, & Fossils)
• Environmental studies (Including: Water, ecosystems, human impact, natural resources, & global climate change)
• Final Project: Design an environmental study or public education project based on info learned throughout school year
• Skills: Steps of the scientific method; designing graphs and tables; measuring and converting length, volume, mass and temperature in metric units; note-taking and lab reporting skills
• Equipment: Thermometers, calipers, timing devices, glassware, spring scales, hot plates, chemicals, triple beam balance, Probe ware, soil & water testing equipment, compound microscope

8 Science, Technology

• Development of technology through geologic resources
• Historical perspective of technology (industrial revolution through modern day technological advances)
• History of local resource development (use of waterways for power & transport)
• Simple machines
• Health & Medicine (Including: DNA, Genetics, Biotechnology, Cancer research, etc.)
• Robotics
• Technology & the Environment
• Skills: Problem-solving through experimental design, implementation, & evaluation; lab reporting skills; observing & analyzing data; proper use of lab equipment
• Equipment: Thermometers, calipers, timing devices, glassware, spring scales, hot plates, chemicals, triple beam balance, Probe ware, soil & water testing equipment, compound microscope, machine building materials

The Visual Arts Program at Seacoast Academy has been designed to provide a rigorous studio foundation for all students while at the same time allowing for individual creative expression. Students will learn the value of studio arts practice in its own right, but also come to understand how such study enriches one's whole educational experience. Collaboration with SA teachers across the curriculum will foster such connections.

First and foremost, students are taught to look--to observe the world around them, to note the details and subtleties of the natural world that might otherwise allude them. Students then practice rendering this world, to draw from observation and reality; they draw, for instance, the leaf they see rather than their preconceived notion of what they think a leaf looks like. Composition, proportion, perspective, and modeled rendering are studied and practiced.

This looking also includes referencing artists of past and present; slide shows of master artwork and occasional research projects are part of the curriculum for all grades.

The studio curriculum progresses throughout the school year to include traditional color study, pattern conceptualization, painting, and 3D rendering and sculpting. 8th grade students will also explore photography through digital media and print presentation.

Students graduating from Seacoast Academy will be able to "speak art." They will have had a thorough studio experience, will possess a basic knowledge of art history, and will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of visual art media and practices. Most importantly, they will have the skills to truly see, observe, and assess their visual world.

Students during play rehearsals and stage production for Music Man, Jr. (Feb. 2008), shows set for Mar. 6 @7PM and Mar.7 @1PM