West Mesa High School - El Chicote Yearbook (Albuquerque, NM)

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lll'llill'l'l5l'l Frogs, fishes, and worms made the science scene this year in biology. Students studied the anatomy of living things and then disected small animals. Here, students are preparing to disect a frog. Discussing plans for an astronomy project in Mr. Sam Allred's General Science class are Renee Stephens, Dennis Obermiller, Kathy Sandoval and Gary Moody, freshmen. 34 Academics Science Department New techniques challenge old ideas Today in our advanced world, science is the key to the future. For it is through research and exploration that the unknown is discovered. At West Mesa the Science Depart- ment tried to provide courses for the interests of all students. General Science, an introduction to the basic laws of astronomy, chemis- try, geology, meteorology, biology and physics was a required course for all freshmen. Biology, the study of life, was a re- quired course for upperclassmen. Upon completion of required science courses, there was a variety of courses for students to pursue. These included Biology II, Chemistry I, Geology I or Physicsl. A new member of the Science Department, Sammy tne Salamander, is shown to biology students.

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English New courses initiated for J unior-Senior choice Paperback books played a important role this year as new courses were initiated in the English Department and juniors and seniors were given a choice ofclasses. Among these classes were Language and Research Methods, Popular Novels, Short Stories 8a Science Fiction, Musical Comedy, Com- munications Media, Oral Expression, and Informative Writing. On the ninth and tenth grade levels, the department felt that many of the basic language arts skills were still needed. West Mesa, John Adams, and Chapparal teachers met together twice weekly with special instructors to work out objectives and a curriculum for these English classes. Stagecraft, Drama I and II, Speech I, II, and III, and Journalism I and II were other electives offered. Humanities classes were usually engaged in group and individual presentations. Reading supplementary contemporary material from the Literary Calvacade for their American Literature class are Chris Harling, Cathy Atencio, and Becky Stewart, juniors. Helping with the sets for Harvey are stage craft students Judy Street and Scott Ware. Using the services of the library, Sharon Sayed, senior, is preparing a paper for a Language 8a Research Methods assignment. Academics 33 gi

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Mathematics Department Courses designed to meet changing world In Calculus, Mr. Bartlett explains the application of derivatives to Lynn Thunborg and Dan Caffrey. ii Distinguishing the differences between 4 geometric solids are sophomores Brent Espinoza, holding a triangular prism, and Martha Martinez, with a hexagonal. prism. Looking on is Doug Lawrence. Mathematics continues to change as the world changes, and West Mesa High School continues to offer a varie- ty of mathematics courses designed to fulfill the needs and desires of as many different students as possible. Upper level courses include Algebra II, Math Analysis and Calculus which are mainly for the college-bound stu- dent. Computer Oriented Mathematics provides basic computer programming of mathematical problems for those in- terested in the everwidening computer field. Algebra I and Geometry provides in- troductory work in the abstract field, knowledge of shapes and sizes, and leaming how to solve problems pre- sented by these concepts. An increase in the number of students taking Business Mathematics has oc- curred and an even larger number is expected next year. This course pro- vides practice in mathematical problems occuring in the business world. General Math I and II and Pre-Alge- bra provide basic concepts and skills as well as pre-requisites for more ad- vanced work. This year some of the teachers have been doing team teaching and it is planned to expand this aspect of the mathematics program. Academics 35