The school offers a variety of science courses, including astronomy, environmental science, and aquatic science. They are now also offering a new course called Earth, Wind and Fire. It is a geo-science course with the UT On-Ramps program. They focus on the study of the earth.

“I recommend [this class],” senior Caitlynn Ladd said. “I love this class, it invigorates me. Join to be invigorated.”

A big part of their class is something called a concept sketch. A concept sketch is a labeled diagram/drawing to review a topic. There are a lot of visuals and diagrams with geoscience. They also observe and work with different types of rocks as a hands-on activity.

“I love [concept sketches] because they’re just a great visual representation of the topics,” Earth, Wind and Fire teacher Kristina Lestik said. “It’s really enjoyable to see the students’ different representations.”

Replacing labs that recreate real world situations, like other science courses do, Earth, Wind and Fire observes and experiments with different types of rocks. The students spend time comparing and contrasting rocks from different environments. Since geoscientists travel to different environments around the world to study the earth, there isn’t a way to recreate that data in a classroom. Instead of hands-on experiments, this class relies on data analysis from the studies and findings of geoscientists in the field.  

“I was surprised to learn that most of the labs we do are just spreadsheets,” Lestik said.

This class is less math-based or lab-based than other science courses offered here. It is more of a concept based science which is more interesting to some students. They can also earn a college credit.

“It is very unique,” senior Antra Kalaria says. “It is similar to APES, but it covers more diverse topics.” 

Earth, Wind and Fire is a follow-up to chemistry and biology. It delves deeper into topics covered in AP Environmental Science and is a different experience than any other science course on campus. 

“I’m hoping more students see this class when they’re picking classes next year because this is a truly exciting one to be in,” Lestik said.