Shady Side Academy - Academian Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Feathers . . . he science department un- derwent relatively few changes this school year. The most obvious was the expan- sion ofthe science office engulfing the purple couch area. Even with this added space, Mr. Weill, a chemistry instructor, felt that there must be a more efficient classroom layout. The courses offered by the de- partment ranged from general biol- ogy up to organic chemistry, giv- ing the students a wide spectrum of sciences from which to choose. As Mr. Diehl put it, The courses are designed to respond to student needs. Smaller class sizes this year enhanced student-teacher in- teraction, thus making up for what teachers believed to be insufficient lab time. The students and teach- ers also enjoyed outside activities in their courses. This year, the physics classes went to Kennywood for amusement park experiments utilizing the princi- ples of physics. The Birds of the Shady Side Campus taught by Mr. Sayles was a highly successful course involving students directly with the oftentime unutilized Shady Side natural environment. Students met during the day to look for and identify different birds in the area. Upcoming changes include a new introductory course and the departure of Ms. Sines. According to Mr. Reiland, chairman of the sci- ence department, the new intro- ductory course is still in the plan- ning stages and won't appear in the curriculum until 1990. lt would be a mixture of no specific science with an emphasis on methods of problem solving. Mr. Reiland also added that This program would serve as a stepping stone into any of the disciplines. With Ms. Sines' departure, the science department will lose one of its precious, committed teachers. This gap, however, will not present a large problem. Mrs. Meyers, with her expertise in biology, will take over Ms. Sines' responsibilities. ln the far future, look out for more changes in the curriculum and a restructuring of class time geared for more personal experi' mentation rather than book learn- ing. Be prepared to think like a sci- entist! Enjoying a combination of fresh air and aca demics are Birds of the Shady Side Cam JG Scigucw pus students Darah Himmelhoch. Matt Braidic and Andy Howat as Mr Sayles in st ucts in the background

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Engrosscd in llurrir-l Arnowk llir- Dull lllclltt'l, sr-nlor Alex Kam slurlit-s Arm-iirfiri itlc--als Ili Mr. Harold llc-nd:--rsliol s lf-rm II rift!- Q class, Visions of Ame-rica: Thr- 'T wvnlir-ili Rfwlf lrirrri lm lu-r 7.pfzm'.li l ivxllmrilf nal mil Century, Ayfilfi flllllllll fi ntiirly lrfill in M lIIYllIrll Ilfill Famous Sonnets and Saga A reaytivity is defined by it fWebster as an artistic or intellectual inventive- ness.l'iiStudents have a need to ex- press tigemselves through writing. Pifter receiving a solid writing base in Ill and lV form literature courses, they alterable to express their cre- ativity and individualism through eiective courses which they choose themselves. . f Mosistudents first come in con- tact with the English Department throught thethird form English course, which emphasizes descrip- tive, riarratjve, and expository writing skills as well as the devel- opment off literary vocabulary in the first term. ln the second and third terms, development of writ- ing skills is achieved through the discussion of literature such as The Odyssey, Grendel, and The Oncerand Future King. in the fourth form English coursei. students continue to devel- op their reading, writing, and speaking skills as they chronologi- cally survey English and Ameri- can literature from the Renais- sance to the Modern era. Among the literature covered in the course are The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge, Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitz- gerald. When asked about the course, most sophomores re- sponded positively. Alan Parfitt felt it was a pretty good courseg it was more challenging than the freshman course. After two years of developing solid reading and writing skills, ju- niors and seniors enter the elective program, restricted only by corn- position and distribution require- ments of courses in genres of com' munication, prose, drama, and po- etry. Llpperformers are free to choose among varied courses to make their experience as interest- ing as possible. For example, students who took Mr. l-lendershot's American Stud- ies in Literature, not only were able to read authors such as Whitman, but also went to Poe Night with Mr. Hendershot. They sat in a candlelit room which created an eerie and spooky Poe-like atmosphere ac- companied by the somber music of the Alan Parsonls Project along with some Pink Floyd. As Peter Ackerman put it, it was IN- TENSEY Buddy Hendershot is the most passionate, volatile, sensu- ous man that exists. Darah Him- melhoch also took American Lit- erature, but Darah disagreed. This clearly demonstrates the variety of student interests and the need for freedom of choice. Another elective course, Cre' ative Writing with Mr, Murphy, ex- plored the use of imagination through exercises and discussion with visiting writers about their work. Craig Czury, a poet, read some of his works and tried to give constructive criticism to the stu- dents. Jill Weaver inot affiliated with chickeni, another visiting writer, was viewed by some as someone who couldn't write. Ai- though her efforts for constructive criticism were appreciated, Nancy Kim summed, up the situation with, lf she dropped off the face of the Earth, l really ,wouldnt care . . . sad, but true. Hopefully next year the visiting writers will have some better luck. One of the more innovative elec- tive courses is Advanced Composi- tion with Mrs. Eldridge. The course approaches writing through discussion and analysis of student papers by peers. The ex- perience gained by the students in the application of constructive criticism is then used in an off- shoot program of the English De- partment, fthe Writing Center. There the students known as scribes use the same methods learned in Advance Composition to draw out the writing potential of each student who asks for help. The Writing Center was headed by co-directors Linda Wei and Owen Rescher in 1987-88. The co-direo tors for 1988-89 are Todd Green and Jason Adler. The elective program is not only effective because it allows the stu- dent to choose his or her course, but also because. it incorporates the teacher in the decision making process by allowing him or her to design the course according to his or her interests. Overall, the Eng- lish Department has been effective in offering support, diversity, and interesting choices for students of all forms. Languages!English 19

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X fi Confusion or perhaps more likely dis- gust covers the face of Nina Coslov as she and her lab partner, Haroon llyas, perform a chemistry experiment. First level chemistry courses usually spent at least two days per cycle in the labora- tory. The computer is a nf-ressary tool for students Nlatt Majewski, AJ Eiiglan, and Phil Joyce, as all three work hard at the keyboard. NYT I 41 unctions and i 6 hangs-s was a de- ! r partrnental word , y M -this year for both the ,mathematics and computer science sections pf SSA's curricu- luma ongoing addition of new teachers and betterment and modi- fication of facilities helped to make these-fftwo departments. stronger than ever brefore, Mrs. Danielle Meyer, a comput- er sdiedce instructor, agreed, The factfthdt there are more computer basic and advanced to choose from, and the increased use of the word processors has en- ticed people into the computer lab. f'lfhis..year we had our first indepen- A deny study ini computer scienceg Jordan Karp, a sixth former, stud- ied spreadsheets and other busi- lnteptly studying the screen, Linda Wei worylts on a programwduring a paced Pascal class, ness related programs. I think we are going to see a lot more of this interest and initiative in computers at the Academy in future years. Senior David Riley who was en- rolled in the Advanced PASCAL course taught by Dr. John Sutuia, department head of computer sci- ence, stated, A definite improve- ment in the computer department has been the addition of the lBM's. Cory Jacques, a junior tak- ing the same class, added, The computer department has satis- fied my needs. l know that l am getting a college level PASCAL courseg it's really helped me to think logically. . The math departments impact on the school was equally impres- sive this year. Approximately fifty' five students, more than ever be- fore, were enrolled in Advanced Placement Calculus courses. Ms. Christine Czapleski, an instructor, said, Our school has a great AP record for its size. Although i have only been here for two years, l am truiy impressed. This year also marked Shady Side's best record for the math team, advised by Mr. Meier. At the fourteenth annual Westminster Colleges High School Mathemat- ics competition on October 3, 1987, Shady Side finished first and second in Division One schools in New Wilmington. The winners were Benjamin Wu, Rondal Evans, Matt Steffora, Jerry Lynn, Linda Wei, Valia Djafari, and Owen Rescher. However, senior Darah Himmel- hoch thought that the department could be improved, and she of- fered some advice for the teach- ers, l think the system needs to be more personalized. l'rn not too lll'S sure why i'm taking BC Calculusl do not understand what the appli- cation of advanced mathematics to life reaiiy is ... Chris Foster, a sixth former in Calculus A agreed that the system is run pretty well and that, There were some major changes this year. Things occurred on a cosmic scale. The differences were like black and white, night and day, east and west, and Mrs. Mathis and Mr. Pavlovichf' Overail, students found that they were challenged by both de- partments this year. Most acade- mians felt that as long as additions and improvements are continuous- iy made, Shady Side Academy wiil continue to produce young people with a good conceptual under- standing of mathematics and a strong foundation in the increas- ingly complex computer field. Mathematics!Computer 21