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Religion 10 - Sacred Scripture
Suffused with extensive reading of the Bible itself, this course is designed to enable each student to become a life-long student of Sacred Scripture. Beyond reading stories and lessons, the students will learn the context provided by the different types of writings in the Bible, how to use resources to enrich their understanding of the Scriptures, and about the integral relationship of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the magisterial teaching of Holy Mother Church as they grow as Christians throughout their lives.
Prerequisites: None
Optional Religion 9 - 12th Grade Course: Mary, the Fairest Lady and the World's First Love
De Maria numquam satis: “Of Mary, there is never enough.” She is the cause of our joy, “our life, our sweetness, and our hope,” and the one “solitary boast” of mankind. She is the golden thread that runs through Scripture from beginning to end, and Jesus is for eternity intimately and totally united to her. Who is this Woman? What is her role in Salvation History, in our own lives, and in the world? Who is she to God? What is our relationship with her, and what should our relationship with her be like in practice? Why do we need to be intimately united to her? This course will be a sort of portrait of Our Lady, so that we may come to know her better, and more fully belong to her like Jesus Himself does.
This course will include: a foundational understanding of Mary in the Old and New Testaments; Mary in the Sacred Tradition of the Church (particularly the 4 Marian Dogmas and the Doctrine of Mary as CoRedemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate); Mary as our Mother, and as Queen; Mary in the lives and writings of the Fathers and Saints of the Church; St. Joseph in the life of Mary; Mary in art and poetry; in her apparitions (those approved by the Church); and the crucially important realm of Marian consecration. Open to all 9th-12th-grade students, as well as mature 8th-grade students.
Prerequisites: None
Latin 2
In Latin 2, students will conclude Familia Romana from Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina, while becoming comfortable with the Latin verb system, including all the various moods of the Latin verb (imperative, subjunctive, indicative, and infinitive). By the end of this course, students should be able to read a simple continuous narrative using most Latin forms of the verb and be able to identify the various types of subordinate clauses that are used in the Latin language. (Scope: Lingua Latina, Chapters 19-35; ancillary stories)
Prerequisites: Latin 1 or Latin 1A and Latin 1B
Spanish 2
Students will build on the foundations that were laid in Spanish. Spanish 2 will delve deeper into grammatical constructions. Fluency will continue through studying Spanish literature, music and poetry.
Prerequisites: Spanish 1
Geometry
This course will emphasize the study of the properties and applications of common geometric figures in two and three dimensions. Students will work with parallel and perpendicular lines, circles, congruent triangles, polygons and quadrilaterals, similarity, right triangles and trigonometry, transformations, area, and volume. Inductive and deductive thinking skills are used in problem-solving situations and in the writing of proofs. Applications to the real world are stressed.
Along with live class meetings Monday – Thursday students will complete their daily assignments using an online homework and tutorial system, Mathxlforschool. Access to Mathxlforschool is provided by Queen of Heaven at no charge. An online edition of the textbook is available through Mathxlforschool, as well as flash animations, video lectures, and other ancillaries.
Students will be required to complete daily assignments, submit quizzes and exams. Also, in order to keep algebra skills strong, there will be weekly assignments reviewing many of the skills learned in Algebra I. Participation in class is required.
Prerequisites: QHA Algebra I or Placement Exam. A placement test is administered, as needed, to determine readiness.
Geometry (Honors) Option
The honors math program allows students to earn the honors designation on their transcript by doing additional work beyond the regular classwork and exploring additional concepts not covered in the class. Honor students attend regular classes throughout the week (Monday-Thursday), doing homework and taking quizzes and tests according to the class requirements. In addition, students will be assigned work in IXL Math to be completed each week. At the end of the year the honors grade will be combined with the grade from the regular class for the final grade on the transcript with the honors designation (80% regular class grade/ 20% honors grade). Each week there will be a 1-hour peer-assisted study session (Fridays 12 Eastern Standard Time) in which students can work together on any of the concepts covered that week (the teacher will be present, but the session is run by the students). Attendance at the study session is not required.
Prerequisite: Students must have earned an A or B in their previous math class.
History 2
In previous years the history sequence was a 3-part "Church and the West" course. The format has been changed to a 2-part "Western Civilization" course while still emphasizing the Catholic Church's pivotal role in the development of Europe and the history of mankind.
History 2 will pick up where History 1 left off. After the savage warfare and destruction of society caused by the Protestant revolt, Western nations collapsed into a period of skepticism and belief in science as a panacea to humanity's problems. This "Age of Enlightenment" spurred continual dissent against tradition and lead to a series of revolutions which promised the glories of "liberal democracy" but which inevitably created more and more centralized governments and initiated the waging of relentless wars for ideological, rather than dynastic purposes.
The clash of malignant materialist worldviews would culminate in the genocidal conflicts of the 20th century which left Europe in ashes; culturally and morally bankrupt, and under the sway of financial and political interests antithetical to Christian teaching.
The role of the Catholic Church will be examined, as the 400-year period surveyed witnessed endless assaults against the Church's authority and the diminution of Her influence in human affairs. Despite this, there is a great concentration on the achievements of Catholic thinkers, fighters, clergy and the devout throughout the course.History 2 (Honors) Option
The History 2 honors program is designed for students who would like to delve into history through primary sources. In addition to the regular coursework, students will be assigned a primary source document each week and will answer 1 or 2 questions based on the content. The grade earned by the student in the History 2 honors program will be averaged with the History 2 grade for a final grade on the transcript. Honors students will receive an honors designation on their transcript for the course. This would indicate to colleges that the student has taken a more advanced history course. The additional weekly work should take 1 –1 ½ hours for completion. Cost $275.
Prerequisites: History 1 or Demonstrated Equivalency
Biology / Logic
Biology studies the full range of biological topics, introducing students to the basics of human corporeal structure and physiology: cell structure and function, metabolism, genetics and the organ systems. The course also examines the life processes of other organisms: viruses, protists, archaea, fungi, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The companion course in logic introduces the basics of correct reasoning. The aim of the course block is to ground students in the Aristotelian-Thomistic doctrine of man, i.e., that the human being is a body-soul composite whose soul is rational.
Labs: Lab participation is incorporated into the coursework.Completion of 16 labs is required for lab credit.
Prerequisites: Physical Science is recommended but not required.
English 2
This course is closely correlated with the History 2 course. Students study the assigned literature in English 2 while simultaneously studying the same historical period in History 2. Literature studied in this course, in this order, include the following: (Confirm exact texts on the QHA Textbook page for Grade 10.)
- Aesop, The Complete Fables
- Homer, The Odyssey
- Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus
- Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics
- Virgel, The Aeneid
- Augustine's Confessions
- Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Townsend Library Edition)
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue (Norton Critical Editions)
- Hawthorne, A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)
- Cicero, On Obligations: De Officiis (Oxford World's Classics)
- Dante, Purgatory(Modern Library Classics)
Course components include:
- Attendance at a once a week live, discussion session (one session also meets for History 2) and give evidence of class preparedness for each week’s homework (Students receive a participation grade.)
- Submitting objective, auto-scored weekly or semimonthly quizzes
- Completing 4 required essays (3 are also required in History) - 7 total essays, one submitted each month
- Take an exam (open book) at the end of each quarter over the assigned books
This course helps prepare students with the pre-writing of monthly essays by use of the Socratic discussion method in class and the posting of answers to discussion threads located in the course management system. It is recommended that students who need help with essay writing obtain composition assistance.
Composition Assistance
CA is for students enrolled in QHA English or history, which require students to
write bimonthly essays. CA provides one-on-one instruction on each writing assignment.
Starting a month prior to the due date, the student prepares and submits a series of drafts to
the CA instructor for review, up to four total following a structured schedule:- Week 1: the student brainstorms the essay topic and creates a structured outline.
- Week 2: the student writes a first draft of the essay, focusing on a sound thesis statement and 3-4 body paragraphs led by strong topic sentences.
- Week 3: the student continues to refine the body of the essay as well as the introduction, conclusion, and “Works Cited” section.
- Week 4: the student polishes the essay for one last examination by the CA instructor.
The CA instructor reviews each submission and provides feedback to the student in the form
of written comments and edits that guide him to strengthen the essay. Instruction focuses on
key elements of composition including thesis development, argumentation, evidence, flow,
grammar, and syntax. The teacher responds to the student within 48 hours (excluding
weekends and holidays) using the QHA course management system. CA is appropriate for
high school students of all ages and skill levels.Prerequisites: None
Required Texts:
- None mandated, but the course does have optional enhancement lessons
that use two workbooks ($48). These lessons consist of weekly reading and exercises that
teach grammar, self-editing, and other concepts of good writing. They take the student about
an hour per week to complete and are a highly recommended supplement to the CA course.
Math or Latin Tutoring
Math or Latin assistance is a once a week, one hour a week, individual tutoring session. Students will log into Adobe Connect each week and spend the hour one-on-one with the teacher working through homework problems, preparing for upcoming tests or quizzes or reviewing math concepts covered in class. Assistance can also be used for those students seeking more challenging work than what is covered in the classroom. The student will use a microphone and webcam, as well as write on the “whiteboard.”
At the start of the school year, the student and teacher will agree upon a time and day of the week for the tutoring sessions which will cover all 36 weeks of the Queen of Heaven Academy academic year.
Math and Latin assistance are available for all grades and all levels.
Prerequisites: None
Required Texts:
- None Required.
