Mitchell High School
Science

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome

          The Mitchell High School Science Department wants to welcome you to an excellent opportunity to join us in exploring the different areas of science.  There are many choices available to you in the classroom and beyond.  Mitchell has a full curriculum that allows students to follow their interests and meet the state requirements for basic science literacy.  There are many extra-curricular clubs and activities that support the science program.  Be sure to read the course and club descriptions in the online course catalog for more details.

          We have two freshman science courses of Physical/Earth Space Science and Honors Physical/Earth Space Science that present a large portion of the material required by the State Science standards.  As sophomores they will take General Biology or General Biology Honors to learn the remainder of the material required by State Standards.  Then the department selection of courses are available to students to strengthen their science knowledge and expand their curiosity.  Human Anatomy and Physiology, Geology, Environmental Science, Oceanology and Astronomy are available as well as the traditional science options of Chemistry and Physics.

Course Options

Here is a complete list of the course offering in science at Mitchell High School.  Four semester hours of science are required for all students to graduate.  Six or more semester hours are required by most colleges and universities.  Some courses have prerequisites to meet please see the catalog for detailed course descriptions.

Freshman:

  • Physical/Earth Space Science

  • Honors Physical/Earth Space Science

Sophomore:

  • General Biology

  • General Biology Honors

Sophomore and Upper Classman:

  • AP Biology

  • Environmental Sciences

  • Human Anatomy & Physiology

  • Honors Human Anatomy & Physiology

  • Geology

  • Oceanology

  • Introduction to Engineering

  • Digital Electronics and Design

  • Physics

  • Honors Physics

  • General Chemistry

  • College Prep Chemistry

  • Honors College Prep Chemistry

  • AP Chemistry

Juniors and Seniors:

  • Astronomy

  • Honors Astronomy

Science Clubs

Mitchell HS has several science clubs for students.

MESA:  Math Engineering and Science Achievement.  This club encourages students who are a minority (this includes females) in the field of science to increase their science and engineering skills through activities and competitions.  Students are required to have a strong academic standing with no lower than a 3.0 GPA.  They compete with other high school MESA programs locally and in state competitions by building boats and other products.  College scholarships are available through MESA.  It's a great club for minority students who like science.

Science Olympiad has teams that compete in regional and state competitions doing various scientific tasks.  The tasks address all areas of science and encourage student problem solving skills.  One of the events is Reach for the Stars where students demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts of math and astrophysics relating to stellar evolution.  With the Mitchell planetarium students can really prepare well for this event.  Another event is Water Quality where students are challenged in the areas of aquatic ecology water treatment and management and the effects of pollution.  Students interested in physics and engineering can compete in the event Scrambler.  Students are to construct a device for carrying an egg 22 meters as fast as possible and stop as close to a barrier as possible without hitting it.

Students can also compete in the regional bridge building competition.  Students try to construct the lightest strongest bridge possible.  The competition is regional as well as at the state level.

Science Awards

Several awards are given each year to recognize MHS students that excel in science.

     Outstanding students are recognized in areas of biology, anatomy, and chemistry.

     The Bausch and Lomb award goes to outstanding junior in science but is received upon graduation.

     The Colorado School Of Mines Achievement award goes to the outstanding junior science student.

     The Science Department also gives Departmental honors to the graduating  seniors that have received top grades in science: 6 A's or 5 A's and 2 B's for 6 semesters of science at Mitchell (two or more in Honors or AP courses); 6 A's and 2 B's in 8 semesters of science; or 7 A's and 3 B's in 20 semesters of science.

Click Here for Mitchell's Course Catalog

 

Mitchell High School Mission

The parents, students and staff of Mitchell High School believe that all students will learn in our safe, academically rigorous environment, which is driven by high expectations and standards-based instruction. Our Staff will work with parents and community members in developing students who are responsible, literate and caring citizens. 

We value our diverse student body. We will collaborate in our learning community to address the various educational needs of our students. We accept no excuses for failure as we prepare students for post-secondary experiences.