A Science Center and Day School in Avon, Connecticut dedicated to the improvement of science education for students and teachers.

SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS & TECHNOLOGY The SCIENCE Curriculum challenges and encourages students to question and explore the world around them in a laboratory setting. Our campus includes world-class observatories for weather and astronomy, natural history collections, a planetarium and outdoor areas that give students an opportunity to learn through hands-on investigations. Students study life, earth, and physical sciences each year. Investigative skills, collaborative or small group investigations and problem solving techniques are emphasized. Students use specialized equipment and facilities under the supervision of experienced instructors and scientists who staff the Science Center. Science is also integrated with other subjects. The MATHEMATICS Curriculum strives to promote an appreciation and mastery of concepts and applications. Students are encouraged to appreciate the elegance of mathematics. Integrated with the sciences and language arts, their courses combine enrichment, application, and acceleration. More than 80% of our students complete Algebra II. In addition, some students elect a seminar titled Topics, in which the syllabus is determined by the questions students ask about mathematics. The COMPUTER Curriculum provides students with the skills to effectively and appropriately use many advanced technologies. We have been an external research and development site for Apple Computer, and students learn to use programming languages, integrated software, interactive CDs and videodiscs with other multimedia. They are taught to combine each of these into reports and portfolios in all areas of their studies. A student to computer ratio of 1:1 exists at the Academy. Each student uses computers on an almost daily basis. Language Arts & Social Studies The LANGUAGE ARTS Curriculum is designed to promote literacy and expertise in all forms of communication; reading, writing, speaking, listening, and multimedia. The program encourages diverse and independent ways of thinking, learning, expression, and appreciation of literary experience. Students keep journals and have frequent opportunities to reflect, in writing, on their reading and in other content areas. The writing process is emphasized at all levels. As students progress, they are expected to revise and proofread their work. Throughout their studies, students are exposed to a wide variety of literature. The SOCIAL STUDIES Curriculum provides an overview of American History, World History, and Geography. It enables students to gain an understanding of the chronology and importance of economic, social, political, and geographic changes. Students are guided in an exploration of relationships that might exist on a personal, local. national and international level. The ARTS Curriculum is designed to foster an appreciation for and understanding of art in its various applications and forms. This course involves the students as both an observer and active participant in investigating art as a part of the human experience. Students develop creative approaches to art in many media, integrating their work into other areas and technologies. The art program encourages students to see connections among the disciplines in order to reinforce meaning through a visual perspective. Students will develop their ability to express their feelings and thoughts in art and to observe their environment with sensitivity. The MUSIC Curriculum explores music from its earliest beginnings through rock and electronic sounds of today. Music of other cultures are also studied as they have relationships with our European based heritage. The PHYSICAL EDUCATION Curriculum offers a multi-faceted program with emphasis on fitness, sportsmanship, and the fundamentals of individual and team play. The focus of the program is to provide a "fitness for life" attitude. This year we have begun participating in the Presidents' Physical Fitness Awards program. The HEALTH Curriculum is an issue-oriented curriculum, partly taught by our school nurse, addressing contemporary societal concerns with problem solving procedures. After-school sports include soccer, and basketball.