Each student at SI is required to complete 75 hours of service before their senior year; students must complete 15 service hours during their Freshman Year. It is our mission for students to engage in service they are passionate about, while also having them venture outside of their comfort zones and into their local communities.
9th Grade Science
As a general goal, we want our classes to train students to be effective critical thinkers. At every level, students will be presented with scientific concepts and asked to apply them to novel situations through inquiry activities and lab practicals. Students are encouraged to collaborate with classmates and work in cooperative groups.
Frosh mainly pursue these goals through the study of biology. They learn basic biological concepts including ecology, evolution, genetics, life systems. Students are encouraged to identify these concepts in their everyday life as well as identify contemporary issues related to science (eg – pollution, climate change, drug/pharmaceutical manufacturing).
9th Grade Math
Frosh do some form of Algebra (1st or 2nd year algebra). Very rarely we do have a freshman who has completed first and second year algebra and geometry. In that rare instance, we do place students into Precalculus Honors as a frosh.
9th Grade English
Frosh are presented with a course of study that exposes them to the forms of literature: the short story, non-fiction essay, poem, drama, and novel. Students are also presented with various writing assignments that will start them on the process of building a personal writing style. The subjects for these assignments move from the students’ own experiences to topics related to their reading, and the movement during the course of the year is from narrative and descriptive writing to writing that is more expository in nature.
By the end of the course, the student will have written approximately 10-12 papers in a variety of rhetorical modes including creative, descriptive, narrative, expository, and literary analysis writing. The student will also have completed at least one multi-paragraph expository essay.
9th Grade Social Science
The frosh requirement, Introduction to Ethnic Studies is a one-semester course, designed to develop a student’s understanding of identity formation and systemic inequalities.
The Social Science Department endeavors to produce a learning environment where young men and women, in the tradition of St. Ignatius, become aware of their responsibilities to God, themselves, and their fellow human beings. Courses allow students to delve deeper into history, providing them with a better foundation to base their understanding of current events. Each course will also develop writing and critical thinking skills in ways that promote cross-disciplinary understanding. Lastly, our course catalog will help to foster a growth of students’ cultural competence by providing variety in perspective and sources in the hopes of developing cultural humility, a key tenet of Jesuit philosophy.
9th Grade Arts
SI Students are required to complete two semesters of Arts classes, typically taken during sophomore and senior years. However, many students join our Performing Arts programs in their freshman year. Before and after school students can take a variety of classes, most of which are by audition only, including Chamber Singers, Orchestra, Fall Play, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Mixed Chorus, Fall Play, Technical Theater, Stage Crew, Dance Workshop & the Spring Musical.
9th Grade Religion
Frosh students explore the complexity and depth of human experience from a Catholic perspective. Guided by the Catholic belief that people encounter Divine Mystery in and through relationship with the world and other people. Special focus will be on forming students to do a faith that does justice, exploring questions of inclusion, conscience, culture and identity. Toward this end, all students participate in the Frosh Retreat in the context of this course. The retreat includes a service project and reflection activities organized by the Campus Ministry Department. Finally, students will conclude the year examining the relational and sexual dimension of human experience, probing ancient wisdom for guidance in discerning how to live towards greater healing and liberation.
9th Grade Language
A year 1 language student will be introduced into their target language and culture. Year 1 is an introductory level, exploring foundational language learning skills.
Year 1 also marks the start to developing students’ interpersonal, interpretive and presentation skills through basic topics in students’ lives in and outside of school.
9th Grade PE/Wellness
The frosh year is centered around wellness including physical, social and mental health while introducing concepts of mindfulness, meditation, self-awareness and nutrition. Students put these concepts to action as they progress through the semester both in the classroom and in exercise spaces.