Ernest Seaholm High School - Piper Yearbook (Birmingham, MI)

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Students learn through experimentation rather than from a book. -Gordon white Lab Sciences: Unique in Every Way by K Mylod J. O ' Malley What attracts students each year to lab sciences? Most students continue into their junior and senior year after completing the I.P.S., biology, and chemis- try classes. In both Biology I and II, the ideas and concepts are easy to relate to because they occur in every day life, said senior Katy Hennessy. Junior Maureen McLaughlin added, Physics is a good college prep course and has really disciplined me. Lab sciences also give students a break from the day ' s lectures and composi- tion writing. Scott Milius. a senior chemistry stu- dent, commented, ... by seeing why something happens, I could learn and understand it a lot faster than reading it out of a book or having a teacher explain it. Plus, the microscopes, acids, chemicals. and lasers are not available in other academic courses. Second year biology students spent a uniquely educational day at Bald Mountain Park ' s Trout Creek. They conducted water tests, and took data which they used for future projects. Meanwhile, anatomy and physiology students anxiously anticipated the disec- tion of cats. This is a worthwhile project because you can relate a lot of it to the human body and its functions, explained seniors Tom Fiscella and Rocky Roland. They further added, If you ' re really interested in science, this course is good because it ties the early sciences together. Lab sciences are unique because they each have individual characteristics, but they all get the student directly involved with their subject. In Jim Bedor s second hour physics class, seniors Kiersten Bell and Amy Tikkanen check the inertial and gravitational masses on several objects. IP.S. teacher Renee Moore helps freshman Doug Kessler prepare lor his lab and gives further instructions on the distillation of wood process. 154 LAB SCIENCES

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Jenny Christman, Robin Celmer, and Erik McCor- mick all appear deeply engaged in the assignment they have received for Flex Writing Group. ' Tm excited about Flex. Fm continuing to grow and learn. ' ' -George MUler Flex Demonstrates Enthusiasm by L- Ament and K, Andreae Flex is an outstanding program, stated Flex teachers Swid Kirch- hofer and Marge Rabideau. There ' s more freedom in Flex; you get to do more of your own thing, said senior Tiffany Newgeon. Flex offers a chance to meet students from all grades and learn from them, attested senior Lori Mattutat. All of these individuals were referring to Flexible Scheduling, a twenty-year-old program founded by Dr. John Blackwell Smith, a former superintendent. Flex, combining English and history, meets first through third periods. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are core days, which consist of a movie or a lecture, followed by a discussion group. Tuesday and Thursday are elective days. Flex studied colonial America this year, so the electivcs offered included U.S. Consti- tution and Colonial Women, emphasizing this American unit. Flex students are also required to take a writing group each year, and freshmen must take speech class. Flex also offers special activities such as the Chinese visitors who spoke in Flex this October. Flexmas is another Flex tradition, where students give a talent show and a cake auction, with proceeds used to fund Flex activities. Enrollment this year rose to 243 students, and two new teachers, Peter Shaheen and Elizabeth Heckenhauer, were hired. Typical Flex enthusiasm is shown by Mattutat who said, I think Flex is great and I would never switch back to normal classes. Stressing a personal benefit of the program, George Miller, who has taught Flex since its second year asserted, I ' m continuing to grow and Charles Johnson becomes involved in his assignment and Deep in thought, Rebecca Kaplan attempts to come up with separates himself from the group to perfect his concen- a topic for the Flex paper that Sara Ferryman and Janis tration. photo by Mike Rafleriy Shen have already begun. ACADEMICS 153

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Junior Keith Cox and Sue Hayes weigh several objects for their physics lab while Maureen McLaughlin double checks her completed data sheet. Applied science student April Hiselman looks through an electronic microscope in order to find scuds and daphnia, tiny shrimp-like organisms. Freshmen Dave Coforth, Juliette Jones, Dana Nicholson, and Annabele Sherwood observe and record second day readings on their I.P.S. lab. For Marian McLeod ' s applied science class, freshman Rob Kennedy analyzes micro-organisms taken from a fresh water pond in the Bloomfield Township area. ACADEMICS 155