By Yisbel Morales

Among McCaskey’s vast variety of courses to choose from, many science-related classes are offered. This not only includes high school subjects such as Chemistry and Biology, but also college courses such as the Group 4 sciences — IB Biology, IB Chemistry, IB Physics, and the recently added IB Computer Sciences. As the course lists grow longer and longer, a new course has recently been approved: IB Marine Sciences.

IB Marine Sciences is an upcoming course introduced to McCaskey by Mr. Mendez, a Biology teacher with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marine Biology. Students of Mendez know that he is extremely passionate about Marine Science — his room is filled with stuffed animals such as whales and sharks. With his lifelong passion being Marine Biology, Mendez describes his drive for introducing the class, saying “This course allows me to share that passion with students and prepare them for potential careers in biology.”

McCaskey’s first IB Marine Sciences course will run beginning in the Fall of 2024. Students will complete the same requirements as any other IB class such as the IA and a Group 4 project. The class is most similar to IB Biology and shares some similarities to IB Environmental Systems and Societies. Labs will be included, and the overall teachings of the class include ocean processes and how they support marine life and ecosystems.

As IB Marine Sciences is still developing as an additional, administration has yet to declare if any teacher other than Mendez will be teaching the classes as well as how many sections are needed. IB Marine Science is a desired class — after a survey within Mr. Coonan’s AP class, it was determined that about 80% of survey participants would like to take the class, so it is likely that more sections will be required. The exact amount of requests is currently unknown. More information will be released as the year progresses. In summary, IB Marine Sciences will be a beneficial and intriguing addition to the course list of McCaskey, providing both students and educators with the opportunity to dive into their interests regarding marine biology and science.