Stonehill Science Saturdays

March 11, 2008

AP Students Come Prepared
Chris Levasseur, the chemistry lab instructor, graduated from Stonehill in 2003 and now teaches at Holliston High School. He called the AP high school students "very independent, with a strong background in science."

"We're teaching 12 labs specific to the AP exam," Levasseur explained. "They're recommended labs, using technology the students would not have access to."

Kathleen St. Laurent, chairman of the Science Department at Coyle and Cassidy High School, said the biology lab complements her high school program. The biology lab instructor, Dacey, works closely with teachers at Coyle-Cassidy and Brockton High to learn where students are in the curriculum and to prepare the labs for them ahead of time, she said.

"Steve is an amazing instructor," said St. Laurent. "He makes it look easy. He has a way of capturing their attention. On a Saturday morning, to have these high school kids here and so into it, it's really amazing."

Dacey, who graduated from Stonehill in 1999 and teaches at Xaverian Brothers High School, called his students "awesome."

"I'm very impressed that, even that first week, they're really wired, even at 8:30 a.m. Then you can't help but be wired yourself," Dacey said. "As soon as the experiment starts, everyone comes alive and moves around the room sharing things. It runs itself once you get them going."  more...