Academics
Academic Programs

Science

Science at Vistamar

The science curriculum at Vistamar focuses on integrating disciplines that are taught by subject specialists each year. The first year focuses on concrete learning taught through the Physical Sciences, primarily Physics (two trimesters) and Chemistry (one trimester). The second year focuses on more abstract learning through the Life Sciences by beginning with Chemistry (one trimester) then building on students' Physics and Chemistry knowledge with Biology (two trimesters). After the first two years, students have a solid foundation in all three science disciplines so they have the opportunity to take an AP Science course or other advanced work in the science of their choice, including Advanced Topics in Science which integrates Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Students with a passion for and high aptitude in science may qualify to take an AP Science as early as the sophomore year.

Department Objectives:

  • An understanding of how things work through the natural world
  • The skills of critical thinking, hypothesis testing, and inference
  • An appreciation for the tentative and incomplete nature of objective knowledge
  • A command of applied mathematics
  • A framework for organizing and evaluating information about living things and the material universe
  • Consideration of the social and ethical implications of applied science

Course Information

  • Physical Science
  • Life Science (10th grade)
  • Advanced Topics in Science
  • Introduction to Engineering and Inventing
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Modern Biotechnology and Bioethics
  • AP Biology
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP Physics I
  • AP Physics C - Mechanics
  • AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism
  • Advanced Practicum in Science

Meet the Faculty

List of 5 members.

  • Photo of Jeffrey Guckert

    Jeffrey Guckert 

    Department Chair, Science Faculty
    Bio
  • Photo of Josephus Dossen

    Josephus Dossen 

    Science Faculty
    Bio
  • Photo of Terra Hyke

    Terra Hyke 

    Science Faculty
    Bio
  • Photo of Alex Spear

    Alex Spear 

    Science Faculty
    Bio
  • Photo of Shanon Tabata

    Shanon Tabata 

    Science Faculty
    Bio
Vistamar School is a private independent high school in the South Bay region of Los Angeles.

Vistamar School