Science

Ms. Kimberly Beane
Supervisor of STEM, K - 8
e: kbeane@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext 2131

Ms. Corrina Parsio
Supervisor of STEM, 9 - 12
e: cparsio@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext 1241

Mission

The mission of the South Orange and Maplewood School District Science Program is to educate ALL students to:

Make a Life

• Experience the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding the natural world.

Make a Living

• Increase economic productivity through the use of the knowledge, understanding, and skills of the scientifically literate person in careers.

Make a Difference

• Use appropriate scientific processes and principles in making personal decisions.
• Engage intelligently in public discourse and debate about matters of scientific and technological concern.

Goals

The goals of the science program of the South Orange and Maplewood School District are aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science. Therefore, they reflect both science process and science content.

Process

• Develop problem-solving, decision-making and inquiry skills, reflected by:
• Formulating usable questions and hypotheses;
• Planning experiments;
• Conducting systematic observations;
• Interpreting and analyzing data;
• Drawing conclusions; and
• Communicating results.
•  Develop an understanding of how major discoveries and people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology.
• Integrate mathematics as a tool for problem solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories.
•  Understand the interrelationships between science and technology and develop a conceptual understanding of the nature and process of technology.

Content

• Structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.
• Structure and behavior of matter.
• Natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.
• Structure, dynamics, and geophysical systems of the earth. 
• Origin, evolution, and structure of the universe.
• Environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena.