The Mathematics Department provides a basis in mathematics that will develop a student's mathematical understanding and meet the individual needs of the student, both immediate and future. We accomplish these goals with the student by working together both inside and outside of the classroom. Students will receive support from all of the department teachers and can take advantage of the Julie Billiart Center and tutoring through the Guidance Department.
1. Read and interpret mathematical concepts and questions;
2. Reason to a logical conclusion and justify the reasoning process;
3. Utilize resources effectively with the intent of becoming a responsible learner and a self-advocate;
4. Make connections between mathematics and other disciplines;
5. Develop an appreciation for mathematics and its role in the world;
6. Solve problems effectively, creatively, and collaboratively, using a variety of tools and techniques;
7. Communicate through oral and written work that is well organized and clear;
8. Respect and respond with compassion to other students, her environment, her teacher, and herself;
9. Develop confidence in her mathematical ability by persevering through challenging material to maximize her mathematical potential;
10. Utilize technology to investigate, analyze, discover, visualize, conjecture, and verify mathematical concepts.
Visit our News and Calendar page for information on math contests, activities, and student software.
Students are placed in their ninth grade math course by the admissions committee. These placements are determined by standardized tests, grades from both seventh and eighth grade, and teacher recommendation. Once placed, a student moves across the table to the right. Sometimes a student placed in regular classes will move to honors classes if she does extremely well in the regular class and/or attends summer school. A student originally placed in the honors program may at some point choose to go into a regular class to make room in her schedule for an honors or AP course in a different subject.
The graduation requirement is three years of math, so the fourth year is considered an elective. However, most students choose to take the fourth year in math because it is required or recommended by colleges.
Most of the mathematics courses have a companion honors course. Placement within the honors course is done by the Mathematics Department. A minimum grade is required to continue in the program.
The purpose of the program is to provide students with a greater challenge, cover concepts in greater depth, and move at a pace that extends the curriculum. To be successful, the students should be able to understand material on the first presentation, learn new concepts on their own, and extrapolate information to solve diverse problems.
Throughout the year use of mental math in both Spanish and math classes help the students to build recall skills necessary for rapid processing in both subjects.
In both science and mathematics the concepts of graphing, reading graphs and unit conversions are covered. Students will work on assignments in both classes that use scientific data to develop an understanding of the real-world application of mathematics. There are currently plans to develop connections with Algebra I and the newly developed Conceptual Physics course from the Science Department.
In both Biology and Geometry, the students will work on three-dimensional objects and will understand how these objects can be constructed from paper. This will give the students exercise in developing spatial reasoning skills.
In Algebra 2 and Honors Algebra 2 and Chemistry the concept of logarithms are taught and related to pH. This helps the students to see math as a tool to help them in other subject areas encouraging the students to take additional mathematics courses.
Graphing is taught in Chemistry, Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus. The same language and emphasis on labels will be made in these classes. By maintaining the same standards, the students will be able to perfect their graphing skills.
In AP Calculus AB/BC and AP Chemistry, exponential growth and decay are studied. AP Calculus AB/BC derives the formula to model these types of experiences, while AP Chemistry applies the formulas to solve complex problems (e.g. half-life, rate laws). In AP Calculus AB/BC and Physics, the relationship between position, velocity, and acceleration is emphasized analytically and graphically.
The NDB math department wants to prepare students for their next math course with the Summer Skill Set, S3. In order to help student retention, the S3 will incorporate key ideas and skills that a student should have mastered and/or have become familiar with from their previous math course. Some S3 materials will provide a glimpse into a student’s next course.
Download 2011-2012 Course Catalog
All students have a three-year Mathematics requirement
*** Does not meet the UC or CSU a-f/g requirements