The Science Department at Island Trees Memorial Middle School is committed to the academic growth and success of all our students. Our goals are:

1. To stimulate an interest in Science and the world around us.
2. To prepare our students for the standardized tests and High School courses to follow.
3. To teach our students to think critically and scientifically for greater success in life.

The Science department works as a team, sharing all new strategies, planning lessons together, and in holding all of our students to the highest possible standards. Since different children learn in different ways, we strive to teach with as varied an approach as possible. Students at Island Trees learn Science through hands-on learning, cooperative activities, laboratory experiments, independent research, audio-visual support, computer technology, and of coarse -traditional instruction. We constantly modify our instructional strategies by incorporating more effective techniques while continuing to meet the New York State Learning Standards. Every member of our Department is a member of the Science Teachers Association of New York State and we are all judges at the Long Island Science Congress.

The general progression of Science at the Middle School is as follows:

5th Grade- Integrated Science with emphasis on Biology and Physics
6th Grade- Integrated Science with emphasis on Chemistry and Earth Science
7th Grade- Life Science with enriched Chemistry 8th Grade- Physical Science/Earth Science (1 semester of each)
*Advanced 7th Graders will learn parts of both 8th and 7th grade Science
*Advanced 8th Graders will take Regents Earth Science (the standard 9th Grade course)

It is unlikely that your child will come home and tell you that Science is their easiest subject because all of our teachers hold their students to the highest of standards. To put it simply- we push them and they grow. Our results speak for themselves. The majority of our students achieve “mastery” on the ILS Assessment, our Science Olympiad Team has qualified for the State Championships in 13 of the last 14 years, and our Science Fair projects are consistently among the best at the Long Island Science Congress. We welcome you to visit with us and encourage you to ask your child what they learned in Science Class today.