Matanzas High School

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Art & Design are:

• Communication: An essential purpose of any piece of art and design is to communicate, from the simplest sketch to the most complex work. Artists and designers need to understand that the relationship their work builds with the audience is influenced by many things, including their chosen media and methods. Effective communication is also essential for operating in today’s art and design world, which demands collaboration and engagement with wider cultures and movements.
• Creativity: Creativity is at the heart of an artist or designer’s processes. It pushes them to question, investigate, experiment and take risks to create work that is original and meaningful. Creative practitioners use curiosity, imagination and innovation to solve art and design problems in new ways.
• Intention: An intention is the starting point of any project, from which an artist or designer starts to develop ideas. An intention or purpose can come from a brief, proposal or research, while at other times it might begin as an idea or feeling. Though an intention is the reason to start a project, it is important to understand that the intention can evolve as work develops.
• Materials and processes: Experimentation with materials and processes builds confidence, and helps develop awareness of spatial, textural and color relationships, which are fundamental to art and design. A skilful artist or designer selects the materials and processes that communicate their message in the most effective way.
• Critical reflection: Critical reflection is the ongoing process that helps artists and designers to learn what works and what doesn’t. Artists and designers need to evaluate how the materials, techniques and processes they choose affect how their work communicates meaning. This process can help work become more relevant and coherent.
• Research and context: First-hand research helps artists and designers to develop their ideas and refine their practice. Actively researching and responding to other practitioners, cultures and creative movements gives the artist or designer a broad view of the world. An artist or designer can use this to improve their practice and understand how their work connects with its intended audience.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE exam in the spring, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 0101370

Course Description

AICE Biology is an advanced Biology course designed to help students dive deeper into complex biological topics, develop effective skills for scientific communication, and apply this knowledge in a laboratory/practical setting. This course reviews key concepts including cells as the units of life, DNA as the molecule of heredity, and a review of basic mammalian anatomy and physiology.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: Pre-AICE Biology

This course has a prerequisite of 9th grade regular or Pre-AICE level Biology. Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2000321

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Chemistry are:

• Atoms and forces: Matter is built from atoms interacting and bonding through electrostatic forces. The structure of matter affects its physical and chemical properties, and influences how substances react chemically.
• Experiments and evidence: Chemists use evidence gained from observations and experiments to build models and theories of the structure and reactivity of materials. Theories are tested by further experiments and an appreciation of accuracy and reliability is gained.
• Patterns in chemical behavior and reactions: Patterns in chemical behavior can be identified and used to predict the properties of substances. By applying these patterns, useful new substances can be designed and synthetic routes created.
• Chemical bonds: The understanding of how chemical bonds are made and broken by the movement of electrons allows us to predict patterns of reactivity. Appreciation of the strength of chemical bonds leads to the understanding of a material’s properties and its uses.
• Energy changes: The energy changes that take place during chemical reactions can be used to predict the extent, feasibility and rate of such reactions. An understanding is gained of why and how chemical reactions happen.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: Pre-AICE Chemistry

 Students must sit for the AICE exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2003371

Course Description

Cambridge International AS & A Level Drama encourages learners to develop their skills in performing, devising and researching a wide range of theatrical styles and genres. They learn to communicate with an audience through practical and creative work on performance texts and their own devised material, both as individuals and in groups. Underpinned by theoretical and practical study, they learn to research, analyze, create and interpret, and to become skilled, well-informed and reflective theatrical practitioners who enjoy drama.

Additional Information

Cambridge International AS & A Level Drama provides a foundation for the further study of drama or related courses in higher education.

Course Number: 0400346

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language are:

• Text and context: A text can be defined as a single, coherent unit of language, from the briefest spoken utterance to a book published across several volumes. However, no text exists without context; students of the English language must always consider how a text’s meaning is informed by the circumstances not only of its production, but also of its communication and reception.
• Meaning and style: The study of English language involves developing a range of strategies for exploring the complex ways in which different linguistic elements come together to create meaning. Whether producing their own texts or analyzing texts produced by others, students of the English language must consider how choices regarding form, structure and language also interact to create a distinctive style.
• Audience: Students of English language must learn to identify and analyze the strategies writers and speakers use to communicate with their intended audience(s). Likewise, they must be able to predict, recognise and analyze the various responses these strategies might elicit.
• Creativity: Whether writing artfully for a specified purpose and audience, reading deeply between the lines of a challenging text, or developing strategies for acquiring the language in the first place, users of the English language must demonstrate creativity in a range of forms and contexts.
• Diversity: Constantly subject to a range of influences – whether personal, social, geographical or otherwise – the English language exists in a range of competing and overlapping forms at any given moment. This extraordinary diversity offers a rich opportunity for analysis, comparison and exploration.
• Change: The phonological, morphological, semantic, syntactic and other aspects of the English language are liable to change over time. Students of the English language must analyze these changes and explore in detail the factors that drive them.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1001550

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language are:

• Text and context: A text can be defined as a single, coherent unit of language, from the briefest spoken utterance to a book published across several volumes. However, no text exists without context; students of the English language must always consider how a text’s meaning is informed by the circumstances not only of its production, but also of its communication and reception.
• Meaning and style: The study of English language involves developing a range of strategies for exploring the complex ways in which different linguistic elements come together to create meaning. Whether producing their own texts or analyzing texts produced by others, students of the English language must consider how choices regarding form, structure and language also interact to create a distinctive style.
• Audience: Students of English language must learn to identify and analyze the strategies writers and speakers use to communicate with their intended audience(s). Likewise, they must be able to predict, recognise and analyze the various responses these strategies might elicit.
• Creativity: Whether writing artfully for a specified purpose and audience, reading deeply between the lines of a challenging text, or developing strategies for acquiring the language in the first place, users of the English language must demonstrate creativity in a range of forms and contexts.
• Diversity: Constantly subject to a range of influences – whether personal, social, geographical or otherwise – the English language exists in a range of competing and overlapping forms at any given moment. This extraordinary diversity offers a rich opportunity for analysis, comparison and exploration.
• Change: The phonological, morphological, semantic, syntactic and other aspects of the English language are liable to change over time. Students of the English language must analyze these changes and explore in detail the factors that drive them.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: AICE English Literature 1
Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1001551

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

• Genre: Exploring the characteristics of different text types: for example, tragedy, comedy and satire.
• Context: Exploring the relationship between a text and its historical, social and cultural backgrounds and the ways in which this can illuminate the reading of a text. In response to unseen texts, consider the ways in which a text’s meaning is shaped by conventions of form alongside those of language and style.
• Style: Analyzing the ways in which choices regarding form, structure and language interact to create a distinctive style, for different forms and genres.
• Interpretation At A Level: Evaluating and explaining different ideas within a text and using different critical readings to explore an understanding of texts and to help support literary arguments.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1005370

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

• Genre: Exploring the characteristics of different text types: for example, tragedy, comedy and satire.
• Context: Exploring the relationship between a text and its historical, social and cultural backgrounds and the ways in which this can illuminate the reading of a text. In response to unseen texts, consider the ways in which a text’s meaning is shaped by conventions of form alongside those of language and style.
• Style: Analyzing the ways in which choices regarding form, structure and language interact to create a distinctive style, for different forms and genres.
• Interpretation At A Level: Evaluating and explaining different ideas within a text and using different critical readings to explore an understanding of texts and to help support literary arguments.

Additional Information

Pre- Requisite AICE English Literature 1 AS - Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1005375

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

In this non-lab science course, you can expect to learn the following:

1. sustainability
2. the water cycle
3. the atmosphere
4. basics of ecology and ecosystems
5. the application of the scientific method to the collection of reliable data (This section is the only lab section of the course)
6. how environmental data is collected free of bias
7. ways to mathematically analyze data including Lincoln index, Simpson's diversity index, and ACFOR scale, how big data is collected
8. Human population analysis by country including calculating population density and dependency ratios
9. explaining how the age structure of a population impacts that population
10. evaluate ways to manage human population growth
11. Biomes and the importance of conservation of biodiversity
12. describe and evaluate practices as well as legislation about how biodiversity is managed
13. human impacts on ecosystems including describe and explaining / evaluating human impacts in Antarctica and tropical rainforests
14. describing food security including describe and evaluate practices used to manage food security
15. describing energy security including describe and evaluate practices used to manage energy security
16. describing waste management practices, including describe and evaluate practices used to manage waste production and sustainability
17. describing global water supplies including describe and evaluate practices used to manage global water supplies
18. describing acid deposition including describe and evaluate practices used to manage acid deposition
19. describing photochemical smog and other air pollutants, including describe and evaluate practices used to manage air quality
20. describing ozone formation and depletion including describe and evaluate practices used to manage the ozone layer
21. outlining climate change, difficulties caused by climate change, and describing and evaluating practices used to manage climate change.

Additional Information

 Students must sit for the AICE exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2001381

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-international-as-and-a-level-history-9981/

Cambridge International AS and A Level European History explores the past from a diversity of perspectives, including social, economic, political and cultural. Learners develop transferable skills. These include the ability to evaluate historical evidence, present clear and logical arguments and assess different historical interpretations of an argument. Learners develop an understanding of historical concepts such as cause and consequence, and significance.
The key concepts for Cambridge International AS and A Level European History are:

• Similarity and difference The patterns of similarity and difference that exist between people, lived experiences, events and situations in the past. 
• Cause and consequence The relationship in history between events, circumstances, actions and beliefs (cause) and the result, event or action that follows (consequence). 
• Change and continuity How some aspects have changed over time (change) and how some have stayed the same (continuity) within a given time frame.
•  Significance The importance given to events, individuals or ideas from the past. One person’s view of historical significance may not be the same as another’s, and views may change over time. 
• Interpretations How the past is interpreted and presented by historians.

Additional Information

This is an elective credit. 
Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1700372

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. The aims are to enable students to do the following:

• develop understanding and use of English language in the context of contemporary topics
• encourage and appraise a broad range of topics
• develop a wider awareness and knowledge of contemporary issues through reading
• develop independent reasoning skills
• develop the skills of interpretation, analysis, evaluation and persuasion
• develop skills in writing structured and developed arguments, and present reasoned explanations
• develop the ability to present a point of view clearly, and consider and reflect upon those of others.

Learners will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of issues in these three broad topic areas:

1. Economic, historical, moral, political and social
2. Science, including its history, philosophy, ethics, general principles and applications; environmental issues; technology and mathematics
3. Literature, language, the arts, crafts, and the media.

Learners consider topics within local and international contexts. Learners should be able to draw upon knowledge and understanding gained from studying other subjects. Through the study of these broad topic areas, learners develop effective reading and writing skills in English. They work with information, ideas and opinions. They analyze and evaluate opinions and ideas. They also learn how to build an argument. These skills are all highly transferable and will help learners in other subjects they are studying, and equip them for higher education or employment. Candidates following this course should be encouraged to develop a range of skills.

• Application of information: Candidates should develop the ability to identify, select and apply appropriate information to respond to a task. They are encouraged to understand different points of view on a topic. Candidates should use information as evidence to support an argument with examples and to develop ideas.
• Reading: Candidates are encouraged to read widely for general understanding and develop skills to identify relevant information from a variety of sources. Candidates should develop a wide range of vocabulary in English and the ability to understand the use of English words and phrases in context. They should understand how information is presented and how the English language is used to convey implicit as well as explicit meaning.
• Analysis and evaluation: Candidates should develop the ability to analyze data, interpret information and offer key points. Candidates should learn skills of evaluation. They should go beyond observing or summarizing the evidence. They should learn to draw out inferences, understand the implications of a course of action, develop and draw out the significance of an argument and examine other points of view. Candidates should learn to make supported judgements. Writing: Candidates should develop the skills to write in accurate English in a clear, coherent and structured way, including essays. They should also learn to write shorter responses for a variety of purposes. These might include explanation, description, summary, analysis, evaluation and persuasion. Candidates should learn to use a range of vocabulary, appropriate spelling, grammar and punctuation, and use of register, to communicate information, ideas and opinions appropriate to the task.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1009400

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Geography are:

• Space: the implications of spatial distributions and patterns of a range of physical and human geographical phenomena.
• Scale: the significance of spatial scale in interpreting environments, features and places from local to global, and time scale in interpreting change from the geological past to future scenarios.
• Place: the importance of physical and human characteristics which create distinctive places with different opportunities and challenges.
• Environment: how the interactions between people and their environment create the need for environmental management and sustainability.
• Interdependence: how the complex nature of interacting physical systems, human systems and processes create links and interdependencies.
• Diversity: the significance of the similarities and differences between places, environments and people. Change: the importance of change and the dynamic nature of places, environments and systems.

Additional Information

This is a Social Studies elective. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2103410

Course Description

Cambridge International AS Level Global Perspectives & Research encourages transformative learning, whereby learners become more aware of their own beliefs and assumptions and more able to be self-critical. This leads to an increased willingness to modify their standpoints and be open to different views and ways of thinking. In short, this course will develop learners who are capable of understanding, assessing and taking action on global issues with competence and confidence. By studying this course learners will develop research skills that will enable them to obtain information, evaluate its reliability and usefulness and use the evidence gathered to construct their own arguments and lines of reasoning.

Through well-defined stages, called the Critical Path, learners will be encouraged to apply a logical approach to thinking and reasoning. By following this path, they will be able to analyze the structure and context of arguments, assess the impact and limitations of evidence and make well-reasoned judgments. Learners will build skills in organizing and communicating their findings in appropriate multimedia formats. By developing thinking and reasoning skills, as well as research and communication skills,

Cambridge International AS Level Global Perspectives & Research will enable learners to meet the demands of the twenty-first century and to make a successful transition to higher education, employment and lifelong learning.

Additional Information

This is an elective credit. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1700364

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/554602-2022-2024-syllabus.pdf
Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology encourages learners to meet the needs of Higher Education courses in Information Technology as well as employers. Information Technology (IT) is the application of technology to process information. In a world where IT is constantly changing, individuals increasingly need technological and information literacy skills that include the ability to gather, process and manipulate data. The impact of IT on society is enormous and as the percentage of businesses and households connected to communication networks such as the internet grows, so does the need for individuals who understand these new technologies.
Impact of IT The application of technology to process information impacts all aspects of our lives. The enormity of the impact can be seen in industry and commerce, transport, leisure, medicine, in the workplace and the home. Communications using technologies have made the world seem smaller. 

• Hardware and software Hardware and software interact with each other in an IT system. It is important to understand how these work, and how they work together with each other and with us in our environment.
• Network Computer systems can be connected together to form networks allowing them to share data and resources. The central role networks play in the internet, mobile and wireless applications and cloud computing has rapidly increased the demand for network capacity and performance. 
• The internet is a global communications network that uses standardised communications protocols to allow computers worldwide to connect and share information in many different forms. The impact of the internet on our lives is profound. While the services the internet supports can provide huge benefits to society they have also introduced issues, for example security of data. 
• System life cycle Information systems are developed within a planned cycle of stages that cover the initial development of the system and continue through to its scheduled updating or redevelopment. 
• New technologies as the information industry changes so rapidly, it is important to keep track of new and emerging technologies and consider how they might affect everyday life.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: IT Fundamentals
Prerequisite: Computer & Network Security Fundamentals

Course Number: 0200490

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

In AICE marine science, you can expect to learn about:

1. How to graph / The scientific method
2. Density, layers, and mixing of ocean water
3. Basic chemistry and biology (macromolecules)
4. The development of the theory of plate tectonics
5. How sedimentation, weathering, and erosion create ecosystems
6. How plate boundaries create features on the ocean floor
7. Types of littoral zones made by weathering sedimentation and erosion
8. Tides
9. Ocean currents
10. El Nino
11. Symbiotic relationships in our oceans
12. Differences between photosynthesis chemosynthesis and respiration
13. How nutrients cycle within the oceans with an emphasis on the carbon cycle
14. Classification of marine life, including features about macroalgae, marine plants, chordates, echinoderms, crustaceans, bony fish, cartilaginous fish, as well as how to make an use a dichotomous key to identify these creatures
15. How biodiversity creates stable or unstable ecosystems
16. How to use the Lincoln Index, Simpson's diversity index, Spearman's rank index, and ACFOR scale to measure and quantitatively compare diversity of ecosystems
17. Learn about specific ecosystems such as the open ocean, sandy shore, mangrove forest, tropical coral reefs, and rocky shores.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE Exam, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2002515

Course Description

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Music are:

• Rhythm: Rhythm is the organization of time in music. This may be free, flexible or more measured or metrical.
• Melody/Line: Melody/line is the horizontal shape in music. It is important to understand the way melody/line works in contour, phrase structure and motivic analysis. An awareness of melody/line also helps in appreciating large scale thematic relationships.
  • Harmony: Harmony is the vertical relationship in music. Harmony is an essential tool. It shapes and directs the music. Harmonic relationships may include consonance and dissonance, key relationships, and the idea of tonality in music.
  • Form: Form is the formal architecture of music, both small- and large-scale. An appreciation of form leads to understanding the shape of musical structures and the musician’s use of materials over a larger span of time. It is a navigational tool – form provides signposts for musical events.
  • Texture and timbre: Texture – how different lines or parts relate to one another, and timbre – how instruments/voices combine at times in special or characteristic ways, provide significant and meaningful ways to understand music. Texture and timbre relate to elements of instrumentation, ensemble, thickness or clarity, orchestration and sound color.
  • Tension and resolution: Tension and resolution provide direction (the ‘pull’ of the music), whether through melodic intensity, harmonic function, intensity of dynamics or formal shape. Musical enjoyment or value arises in relation to musical tension and resolution.
  • Continuity and change: Continuity and change is central to music. Nearly every aspect of music has been subject to change over time, sometimes gradual and sometimes abrupt. Sensitivity to this feature provides an essential means to understand and interpret a work.

Additional Information

Students must participate in the AICE Exam which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1300395

Course Description

The course emphasizes critical thinking and the application of psychological theories to real-world situations. Students will engage in discussions, case studies, and practical experiments, honing their ability to analyze human behavior from multiple perspectives. 

Additional Information

This is a Social Studies elective. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2107360

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

Cambridge International AS & A Level syllabuses in Spanish aim to:

• Develop the ability to understand Spanish in a variety of registers
• Enable students to communicate confidently and clearly in Spanish
• Form a sound base of skills, language and attitudes required for further study, work and leisure
• Encourage positive attitudes to language learning and a sympathetic approach to other cultures and civilisations
• Support intellectual and personal development by promoting learning and social skills.

Additional Information

Successful completion of at least Spanish 2. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 0708538

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-international-as-level-sport-and-physical-education-8386/
Cambridge International AS Level Sport & Physical Education provides some of the essential skills required for employment or to continue studying physical education or sports science at university. Learners are also able to use their learning in other related courses such as biology, psychology and sociology. The examined component provides knowledge and understanding of the scientific and sociocultural aspects of sport and physical education and the coursework component allows learners to explore two physical activities in depth.
The key concepts for Cambridge International AS Level Sport & Physical Education are: 

• Applied anatomy, exercise physiology and biomechanics An understanding of the structure, functions and interrelationships between the skeletal, muscular, circulatory and respiratory systems is essential to analyse how the human body moves in sporting situations and to explain how it adapts to exercise. An introduction to biomechanics enables learners to understand the effects of forces and motion during practical performance. 
• Skill acquisition An understanding of skill acquisition allows learners to explain how movement skills are developed. Models, theories and concepts have been proposed to explain motor skill development and elite sporting performance. Learners will be able to critically evaluate and apply these models, theories and concepts of skill acquisition to specific sporting situations.
• Sociocultural influences An understanding of the sociocultural concepts of sport and physical education is essential to have an appreciation of the role of physical activity in society. Sociocultural influences, which include regular participation and excellence in sport, have an impact on the changing nature of sport. The use of performance-enhancing drugs and violence in sport are issues that negatively affect sport. Commercialisation of sport increases the pressure on performers as sport becomes big business. An understanding of the use of technology in sport and an ability to evaluate new technology is necessary to achieve success in sport.
• Performance in physical activity Showing effective performance in physical activities requires the use of a range of skills, techniques, tactics and strategies. Learners apply their theoretical learning to physical activities in order to improve and refine how they perform.
   

Course Number: 1503360

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The Thinking Skills subject content is divided into two parts, Problem Solving and Critical Thinking. The Problem Solving content is presented in four areas:

• Organize information
• Process information
• Analyze data
• Consider wider problems.

Problem Solving is about making use of the information available to deduce further information, draw conclusions and make choices and decisions. Very often problems will involve numerical information, but problem solving is not a test of mathematics. Only basic numeracy is expected, although these numeracy skills are a vital part of the toolkit for solving many problems. Confidence in working with numerical information and performing mental arithmetic is therefore important for developing efficient problem-solving skills, but the focus of the syllabus is to develop the problem-solving skills themselves.

Students are expected to have basic numeracy skills, including understanding of percentages, ratio and proportion. They should also understand the simple statistical measures of mean, median and mode, and be able to represent the chances of something happening in precise numerical terms (i.e. as a fraction, decimal or percentage). Simple algebraic skills can be a very powerful tool for problem solving, particularly for more complex problems. These skills include the ability to represent and manipulate information, and relationships between pieces of information, concisely and efficiently. However, these algebraic skills will never be assessed directly; the focus of the syllabus is on developing the student’s ability to make valid problem-solving insights and deductions, whether they make use of these tools or not. The Critical Thinking content is presented in four areas:

• Evaluate and use evidence
• Analyze reasoning
• Evaluate reasoning
• Construct reasoning.

Critical Thinking is about judging the value or usefulness of evidence, and understanding how sound arguments are constructed. Students will encounter a broad variety of topics, often reflecting real-world situations or subjects of debate. Although a student’s own thinking about a topic sometimes makes a valuable contribution to their critical thinking – for example, when constructing an argument – knowledge of the topics themselves will never be assessed directly.

As in the real world, some topics may be controversial, and students may have pre-existing feelings about them. However, the focus of the syllabus is on the student’s ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, and not on whether one point of view is morally superior to another. Students should develop the skills to accurately judge evidence and argument by the relevant criteria, draw logical conclusions and suggest plausible explanations, and construct persuasive arguments with clear structure that make valid use of the evidence available.

Additional Information

This is an elective credit. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 1700372

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

Key concepts

• Global and growing: The travel and tourism industry is a global industry. Changes in political and socioeconomic circumstances and technological developments contribute to the continuing growth of the travel and tourism industry and its importance to many national economies.
• Change and development: A key feature of the industry is its dynamic nature. The only constant is change. Exciting new enterprises, products or services are often developed in response to economic, political, social or technological change.
• Customer focus: Travel and tourism organizations provide products, services and facilities to meet customers’ needs. In order for travel and tourism providers to be successful, they must adopt a strong customer focus. This means they must really understand who their customers are and how they can best meet their needs.
• Sustainability and responsibility: The travel and tourism industry has close links to destinations and so has a vested interest in ensuring environmental and sociocultural impacts are managed. Responsible management means that any developments must maximize the positive, and minimize the negative impacts of tourism.

Additional Information

This is an elective. This course requires students to independently plan and carry out a field trip and outside work is required. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2102410

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International and American AS & A Level History are:

• Cause and consequence: The events, circumstances, actions and beliefs that have a direct causal connection to consequential events and developments, circumstances, actions or beliefs. Causes can be both human and non-human.
• Change and continuity: The patterns, processes and interplay of change and continuity within a given time frame.
• Similarity and difference: The patterns of similarity and difference that exist between people, lived experiences, events and situations in the past. • Significance: The importance attached to an event, individual or entity in the past, whether at the time or subsequent to it. Historical significance is a constructed label that is dependent upon the perspective (context, values, interests and concerns) of the person ascribing significance and is therefore changeable.
• Interpretations: How the past has been subsequently reconstructed and presented by historians. American option: The history of the USA, 1820–1941
• The origins of the Civil War, 1820–61
• Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–77
• The Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1870s to 1920
• The Great Crash, The Great Depression and the New Deal policies, 1920–41

Additional Information

Typically taken in the 11th grade year. Students must sit for the Cambridge AICE Exam, which may be after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 2100500

Course Description

Pre-AICE/IGCSE Biology helps learners to understand the biological world in which they live and take an informed interest in science. This course aims to review several of the major concepts that are essential to the study of life, including cells as the basic unit of life, DNA as the molecule of heredity, and review of ecological principles and relationships. Learners also develop an understanding of the scientific skills essential for progression to Cambridge International AS Level Biology.

Additional Information

EOC exam counts for 30% of overall course grade.

Course Number: 2000322

Course Description

Pre-AICE Chemistry is a laboratory-based science course with mathematical applications designed to prepare students for the AICE Cambridge equivalent. Students will be introduced to the study of the composition, properties, and changes associated with matter. Laboratory activities, research, technology, and effective communication as scientific investigations will be integral components of this class. Successful completion Pre-AICE Chemistry will give students a solid foundation in chemical principles and concepts and develop strong critical thinking skills.

Additional Information

Honors and Advanced Level Course Note: Advanced courses require a greater demand on students through increased academic rigor. Academic rigor is obtained through the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation of complex ideas that are often abstract and multi-faceted. Students are challenged to think and collaborate critically on the content they are learning. Honors level rigor will be achieved by increasing text complexity through text selection, focus on high-level qualitative measures, and complexity of task. Instruction will be structured to give students a deeper understanding of conceptual themes and organization within and across disciplines. Academic rigor is more than simply assigning to students a greater quantity of work.

Course Number: 2003372

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Drama are:

• Communication: Drama is about communicating meaning to an audience through verbal and physical performance. Such a performance requires a company of actors, designers and director to stage a production in a chosen performance space at a given time.
• Performance processes: A performance may consist of a realization of an existing play, an original piece of devised work, or a combination of the two. It requires all members of the company to work collaboratively to interpret or create dramatic material, to negotiate the journey through rehearsing and refining this material, and to present the final performance with confidence and authority to an audience.
• Practical skills: The staging of a successful dramatic performance requires a wide range of well-developed practical skills. The overall theatrical vision for the performance is realized through performers playing a role bringing their characters to life, and the integral work of designers.
• Genre, style and structure: Drama practitioners work in a style that expresses the concerns of their own times and cultures, or they adopt conventions from other contexts. They choose the genre, style and structure that best suit their dramatic intention, which may variously promote, challenge, or influence aspects of the cultures in which they live and practice.
• Research and critical reflection: Drama practitioners use research and critical reflection to prepare, refine and evaluate their work. Research and critical reflection is the ongoing process that helps performers, directors and designers to discover what works and what does not. They need to research the work of established practitioners, estimating its significance and evaluating their own success in achieving a vision for performance. 

Additional Information

Students are required to participate in rehearsals and performances outside the school day to support and extend learning in the classroom.

Course Number: 0400345