Tenth Grade

Learning to Embrace Challenging Material with the Support of Classmates and Faculty

The tenth-graders are increasingly learning from each other in the class discussions facilitated by their teachers in all their courses. Some highlights of this year will be running Chemistry experiments that make things change color, burn brightly, smell sweet, or turn cold so they can be eaten (icecream); using sixteenth-century counterpoint techniques to compose original pieces of music; and capping four-years of Latin by translating passages from Virgil’s Aeneid.

Curricular Overview

Humane Letters Seminar (2 Semesters)
Students study the history, literature and political philosophy of England and Europe from 1066 through the mid-20th century, continue to develop their writing skills and mature as seminar participants. See our reading list for the literature of the course.

Scripture I (Old Testament) (2 Semesters)
Students engage in a close reading of large portions of the Old Testament and discuss them in seminar format. After a thorough look at the story of Creation, they study the major figures, covenants, and central promises made to Abraham, David and the prophets, as well as Job and Ecclesiastes. The class is focused on seeing what God is revealing about Himself, as well as discerning what the passages might have meant in their original context. The students work with the literary and historical clues within passages to arrive at reasonable interpretations for metaphors and images.

Latin IV (2 Semesters)
Students engage in a short review of grammar, then move to translating Caesar’s De Bello Gallico (The Gallic War), Cicero’s Oratio Primain Catalinam Habita (First Oration Against Cataline) and Virgil’s Aeneid. The goal is for students to translate fluently and to grow in appreciation for the subtleties, beauty, complexity and precision of language.

Chemistry (2 Semesters)
Students study the structures, properties and reactions of substances at the atomic and molecular levels with small-scale labs and demonstrations providing a physical experience of chemistry. Topics include atomic theory, ionic and covalent bonding, stoichiometry, reaction rates and equilibrium, classifying and predicting reaction types, and organic chemistry and biochemistry, with an emphasis on understanding the structures of proteins and DNA. The emphasis on organic and biochemistry is to provide a connection between the life sciences and the physical sciences.

Precalculus B and C (2 Semesters)
Students study exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometry, polar coordinates, parametric equations, and vectors. They develop proficiency with problem solving techniques that allow them to deepen their understanding of the substance and structure of mathematics and to utilize it to address real world problems.

Music IV (1 Semester)
Students focus on composition and theory through a study of 16th-century counterpoint techniques while continuing to study and perform choral music. The semester culminates with the composing of their final projects and the performance of the choir at Fine Arts Night.