TEACHING THE SCIENCES IN AN EXPANDING SPIRAL

What makes the sciences interesting and special to Pax et Lumen students is that the students get to study the four major sciences-- earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics-- every year, each one taught for one quarter, and not just for one straight year as done in most schools.

So instead of struggling with chemistry for one year during one's sophomore or junior year, chemistry is taught starting Grade 7 for one quarter, then on to Grade 8 to 10. This gradual but steady lesson exposure of the students to chemistry and all the other three subjects in an expanding, spiral way, year after year, makes them feel "at home" in these higher science subjects.

Pax et Lumen therefore has four high school science teachers, each one an expert in his field, to teach one science each subject through Grades 7 to 10.

Teacher Pete Abad, Pax et Lumen's senior science teacher who brought his teaching experience in Manila to Pax four years ago, will teach the earth sciences, New Teacher Gigi Guion, a UP Oblation Scholar will teach biology, Teacher Giordan, a biology-chemistry major will teach chemistry, and Teacher Rein Valero, who finished a civil engineering course will teach physics. These four specialists will rotate the four different HS classes every quarter.

Added to these courses is Special Science-- an additional science class that is taught twice a week for a total of two hours per week. Special Science Teacher Giordan, who finished his science courses in the US and Australia, covers marine biology, environmental science, conservation biology, genetics, astronomy, paleontology, and taxonomy through the four years, exposing Pax students to various science disciplines and interests. This exposure hopes to enrich a student's appreciation of the world around him.

Students exposed to the very rich science curriculum also develop a discipline on research and on how to study. When they finish their Grade 10, they can boast of a major research project to be mentored by one of the science teachers.

The Grade School students, meanwhile, are prepped for the higher sciences by Teacher Pete, who enjoys teaching the basics of the various science disciplines to the young curious minds with his creative approaches to elementary science teaching.

All these teachers believe that science is an interesting field, and the way they think is a reflection of the thinking discipline that science brings to a person. To them, science develops the curious mind. Everything is a marvel in creation. And as the school often states, one discovers God in nature through science.