Mathematics

villamaria March 10, 2014

The goal of the Mathematics Department is to develop the mathematical talents of each student. Our curriculum encourages academic excellence and fosters a love of learning, critical thinking, analytical reasoning, precise expression and a healthy spirit of achievement. It challenges each student according to her ability by offering courses that provide a well-rounded background in fundamentals as well as honors and advanced placement opportunities Emphasis is placed on applications at all levels of instruction. As a college-preparatory school, we strongly recommend that all students take four years of mathematics, and we require each student to own a TI-84 graphing calculator.

Courses

  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Statistics
  • Honors Calculus

The following are offered at CP and Honors Level:

  • Statistics
  • Pre-Calculus
  • Geometry
  • Algebra 2
  • Algebra 1

Honor Societies

Mu Alpha Theta, which is sponsored by Mathematical Association of America and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, is an organization which strives to promote scholarship, enjoyment and understanding of mathematics among high school and junior or community college students. Candidates for membership must have studied mathematics at an honors or AP level sophomore and junior year, maintained a cumulative mathematics average of “A-” during the five semesters prior to induction with no grade lower than “B+”, and have a conduct grade no lower than Needs Improvement (N) for 90 days prior to induction. Members must maintain the standards that were used as a basis for their selection. A member who fails to maintain an “A-” average at the mid-semester will be issued a written warning and be granted one-half semester to bring her grade to the minimum “A-”. In addition, any violation of the Academic Honesty Policy will result in dismissal. Candidates must intend to study mathematics at the honors or AP level senior year. Juniors and seniors are inducted after the completion of the first semester. Members must participate in meetings and service hosted by Mu Alpha Theta throughout the year.

Pennsylvania Mathematics League hosts monthly contests to challenge and motivate students who have an interest and ability in mathematics. The contests are conducted by mail and supervised by the school moderator. Each contest is a thirty minute, six question test for which participants may use a TI-84 calculator. Members are required to attend five out of six meetings, work on the test for the full thirty minutes, and be open to discussion after the contest. On the High School contests, an interested 9th or 10th grader should be able to solve 3 to 5 of the 6 problems. The 6th question is challenging for the most gifted students. The key is to encourage students to enjoy a challenge and to learn from it to find problem-solving discussions stimulating. The names of the students with perfect scores and the highest cumulative scores across the state are published each month in the County Summary Report. The schools with the highest scores are also listed.