905-687-7301 34 Catherine Street, St. Catharines, ON L2R 5E7

 Overview

Scientific literacy for all is a goal of science education throughout the world. “A scientifically and technologically literate person is one who can read and understand common media reports about science and technology, critically evaluate the information presented and confidently engage in discussions and decision-making activities regarding issues that involve science and technology.” (The Ontario Curriculum, Science, Grades 9 and 10, pg 3).

Being successful in a science based world applies as much to a small-business person, a lawyer, a landscape worker, an auto mechanic or a caterer, as it does to a doctor, an engineer or a scientist. While the specific knowledge and skills needed for each career will be different, the basic goal of thriving in a science-based world is the same.

St. Catharines Collegiate science courses have been designed for a broad variety of students: some serve as preparation for specialist studies in science - related fields, others are designed for students moving onto post secondary education but not in science, and others have been designed for those intending to move into the workplace after high school. The overall intention of all science courses, however, is that all St. Catharines Collegiate graduates will achieve excellence and a high degree of scientific literacy, while maintaining a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world they live in.

Courses

  • Science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Environmental Science
  • Earth and Space Science

Critical Areas of Learning

“Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house” – Jules Henri Poincare

The overall aim of the secondary science program in both Ontario and at the St. Catharines Collegiate is to ensure scientific literacy for every secondary school graduate. This means learning is focused on intellectual skills rather than on just content. The three goals of the science program, which all student learning is based upon, are :

  • To relate science to technology, society and the environment
  • To develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for scientific inquiry
  • To understand the basic concepts of science

All courses in the secondary science program are designed to focus on science as both an intellectual pursuit and also as an activity based enterprise within a social context. Students are given opportunities to learn using scientific investigation skills practiced through experimentation, research, and inquiry. This encourages high levels of critical thinking, so that conclusions are based on supporting evidence, problems are solved, and decisions are made that will extend learning for a lifetime.

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