Academics

The AP English Language and Composition course align with the introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum, which requires students to develop evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays that proceed through several stages or drafts. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Throughout the course, students develop a personal style by making appropriate grammatical choices. Additionally, students read and analyze the rhetorical elements and their effects in both fiction and non-fiction texts, including graphic images as forms of text, from many disciplines and historical periods. The texts that students analyze are drawn primarily from American literature. Throughout the year, students will examine these texts through the lens of several thematic units - focusing on race, modern technology, and the environment, among others. Students enrolled in AP English Language and Composition are required to take the AP exam in May. Summer work required.

This course is centered on the four central concepts to be mastered in the first-semester college course in calculus: limit, derivative, definite integral, and indefinite integral. For each concept, students are asked to know the precise definition and be able to apply the concept and its associated skills to a variety of novel problems. There are three ways that these concepts are presented to the student: graphically, algebraically, and verbally. Students enrolled in AP Calculus are required to take the AP exam in May. Summer and Winter Break work required.
Prerequisite: Precalculus

AP Physics C–Mechanics is a year-long course following the curriculum dictated by the College Board. Students learn and are expected to apply differential and integral calculus as it is relevant to the topics studied in mechanics. Early emphasis is placed on differentiation in the study of the relationships between position, velocity, and acceleration. Integration is emphasized most in the study of work and energy. Lab work is built into the curriculum and makes up a large portion of the class. Students are required/encouraged to take the AP Exam in May.
Prerequisite: Calculus AB, Physics. May be taken concurrently with Calculus only with teacher approval.

This class takes advantage of CRMS's unique location to study and examine the natural world in a relevant, hands-on way. The course is designed to be the equivalent of a college-level course with extensive field and laboratory work that requires organization, planning, and critical thinking skills. Covered topics include ecology, population dynamics, earth science, and human impact at local, regional, and global levels. Students engage in the content by monitoring the health of the Crystal river using a macroinvertebrate survey, wrestling global population policy in a mock UN debate, and collaborating in group projects about climate change and invasive species. Students enrolled are required to take the AP exam in May. As an AP course, students should expect extra reading and homework. Summer and Winter Break work required.
Prerequisite: Biology, Chemistry and must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in Algebra II