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AP Calculus
AP English Language
AP English Literature
AP European History
AP U.S. Government
AP Physics
AP Psychology
AP Spanish Language
AP Studio Art
AP U.S. History

11073. AP Calculus AB (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 12. Prerequisite: D or better in first semester and C or better in second semester of Integrated Mathematics IVP/Honors. This course is designed for the accelerated student planning to take the AP Exam in Calculus. The lectures, problem sets, and tests are at a level comparable to those in a college freshman Calculus course. The course prepares the student for 1st and 2nd quarter Calculus at the collegiate level. Topics include a review of functions, differential, integral Calculus, and series.

10524. AP English Language and Composition (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 11. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor or recommendation of AP Language and Composition teacher; summer reading required. An Advanced Placement course in English Language and Composition intends to create skilled readers and writers. Students will read prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines and rhetorical contexts, and will communicate in writing for a variety of purposes. Both the reading and writing assignments will help students become increasingly aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way rhetorical devices, generic conventions, and resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. The course will challenge and enable students to read complex texts, to analyze and understand them at a higher level and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity in order to communicate effectively with mature readers. Students will be required to write in formal and informal contexts in an attempt to gain authority and learn to take risks in writing. Assignments will reflect an intense concentration on language use, seeking to enhance a student’s ability to appropriately use grammatical conventions with sophistication, as well as to develop stylistic maturity. Reading is the best way to nurture such maturity. As such, students will be asked to spend as much time reading and analyzing others’ prose as composing and refining their own.

10533. AP English Literature and Composition (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 12. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor or recommendation of AP Language and Composition teacher; summer reading required. This course is designed to offer students an in-depth, analytical study of British, American, and world literature. This study culminates in the taking of the AP English Literature exam and, ideally, prepares students for college reading and writing courses. Students will study from various forms of literature, including poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and excerpts from longer texts. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. English should be a strength or passion of students, and their desire to be challenged should be strong. To succeed in this course, hard work and time management are essential, as well as the willingness to participate in deep thinking and discussion about language and literature.

12061. AP European History (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grades 10, 11, 12. Prerequisite: AP teacher recommendation. This course covers Europe from the Renaissance to the reunification of Germany. Students do a considerable amount of reading in the major text and supplementary sources. The goal of the program is to develop an understanding of the history of ideas and an ability to analyze historical evidence and express historical understanding in writing. The main themes of focus are Intellectual and Cultural History, Political and Diplomatic History, and Social and Economic History. The course prepares students for the AP Exam in European History and is designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course where students earn college credit.

12053. AP US Government and Politics (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 12. Prerequisite: AP teacher recommendation. This course provides accelerated students the opportunity to take an in-depth, college-level study of government and economic systems. It provides vital knowledge of political science and economics domestically and globally. The course prepares students for the AP Exam in Government. There is a required AP Project in the second semester that entails a significant in-class and out-of-class time commitment. This course can earn high school graduation credit for Economics and Government.

11572. AP Physics I (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 12. Prerequisite: Integrated Mathematics IVP or higher (can be taken concurrently) and C or better in Chemistry P or Medical Chemistry P. This course is a collegiate-level physics class that follows the College Board’s “Physics B” course of study. Topics include mechanics, heat, waves, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics. Course work includes problem sets, labs, and projects. Laboratory work is closely integrated into the curriculum. Students can take the AP examination to earn course credit at most universities.

14081. AP Psychology (A-G approved)

Length: 1 year; grades 10, 11, 12. Prerequisite: AP teacher recommendation. This course introduces students to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students learn the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with sensation and perception, states of consciousness, learning and thinking, motivation and emotion, abnormal psychology, social psychology and the physiological basis for behavior.

13015. AP Spanish Language and Culture (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grades 11, 12. Prerequisite: B- or better in Spanish 3P, or completed appeal form and teacher recommendation. This is a college-level course in which advanced students improve and refine the skills acquired in the first three years of language study. The main objective is for students to increase their competency in oral and written communication. The course also provides exposure to quality, authentic, level-appropriate written texts, including newspaper and magazine articles, literary articles, literary texts, and other non-technical writings that develop students’ reading abilities. Extensive preparation outside of class is necessary. Students learn the bilingual skills necessary to function in a job setting and become able to interact with native speakers. AP students are expected to maintain their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students in this course test for university credit by taking the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam. A grade of B or better in this course, or a 3 on the AP Language Exam earns a student special recognition at graduation.

*Generally speaking only juniors and seniors belong in 4AP. The average class size is 25 students.
*In order to be successful students need to be hardworking, motivated, detailed-oriented, punctual and dedicated. They need to demonstrate maturity, initiative, and commitment.

*Textbooks used: Abriendo Paso Lectura, Abriendo Paso Gramática, AMSCO Three Years, Album

13513. AP Studio Art Drawing, Two Dimensional Design (A-G approved)

Length: 1 or 2 years; grades 10, 11, 12. Prerequisite: Art P or Studio Art P, or instructor approval for students who have not taken an art course. This course is for any student wishing to continue art studies after high school, or with a passion for the arts, wanting to complete a college-level course while still in high school. Students will complete a portfolio for review that can be focused in a variety of art subjects including: drawing, painting, illustration, animation, photography, video game/character design, sculpture, jewelry design, fashion design and more. This is a demanding course with one project being produced every two weeks and will require some out-of-class time.

12033. AP US History (A-G, NCAA approved)

Length: 1 year; grade 11. Prerequisite: AP teacher recommendation. The course provides accelerated students the opportunity to undertake an in-depth, college-level study of American history from the colonial era to the present. Writing, critical thinking and document analysis skills are emphasized. The course prepares students for the AP Exam in US History and is designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course where students earn college credit. This course can earn NHS graduation credits for US History.

With regards to AP US History, it is the best environment, the deepest coverage, and most significant skill boost a student will gain in the social sciences. To be successful a student must have or develop the skill of quiet contemplation. Simply, a successful student is able to put in hours per week preparing to understand the content of the course. There is no secret formula, no set number of hours, and no tricks to success; only hard work succeeds in the end. The average class size has been in the mid-twenties for the past several years and the class regularly exceeds the national pass average of 48%.