Carson City's Pioneer High School adds more science to the menu
Students and teachers raised the bar for themselves at Pioneer High School. The school introduced two new science classes on campus that were previously only offered online.
Physics is now offered as the result of PHS student Cody Neal's lamentations during Chemistry class last year that Pioneer did not offer Physics.
This prompted a student survey and chemistry teacher, Kristin Steinkraus, to ask if she could teach this class during the 2020-21 school year.
Needless to say, administration was overjoyed as an ex-science teacher, and the long needed proposal and interest was fully supported. It proved to be a popular choice on the course interest survey given to students at the end of the school year and there are several students enrolled in the course this fall.
Mrs. Steinkraus is also working with Ms. Gingrich, our Algebra II teacher, to align curriculum between the two subjects. This will allow students learning algebra concepts to also experience practical application during physics.
Though the lab experience is a bit different this year, students and teachers are making the best of the situation and using their creativity. Students are given roles to minimize handling and using the same materials.
In this hands-on physics lab shown in the photo, Cody Neal sketched and directed design while Seth Taylor built and shared design input.
We are proud of our student body at Pioneer who have expressed interest in moving themselves out of their comfort zone. They are exploring new science classes in physics, engineering, and anatomy & physiology due to student interest and efforts to keep building on the STEM curricular offerings on campus. By, Kristin Steinkraus, Science Teacher