Environmental & Natural Science Magnet
The Award
NOT JUST COLLEGE & CAREER READY... COLLEGE & CAREER CONFIDENT
Our magnet strives to offer the students in the Environmental & Natural Science Magnet a curriculum that will prepare them to be familiar with college level research and to solve the global environmental problems of the 21st century. Students will have access to LMU research opportunities though our LMU Family of Schools relationship, outdoor learning labs such as our aquaponics system and student-sustained garden, college level research equipment for on-campus botanical and ecology studies, and complex local ecosystems like the Ballona Wetlands.
The teachers in the magnet, regardless of the discipline, offer environmentally themed curriculum, field trips and project opportunities.
The elective pathways support work or research skills in areas that support current and future environmental issues.
Check out the ENS Prezi Presentation in the Magnet Resources Locker.
ELECTIVES & ADVANCED COURSES
Students will have access to an extensive array of A-G courses, including thematically-aligned courses related to environmental and natural science. We offer courses such as Green Construction, which has an emphasis on sustainable building materials and alternative energy utilization, Plant and Soil Science, which emphasizes urban gardens and different kinds of soil abatement techniques, and AP Environmental Science. These courses can help students prepare themselves for careers related to global environmental issues and local ecosystems or get a solid foundational knowledge of current global issues. We also proudly offer an exclusive Black Studies course that first came to fruition in 2012!
DISTANCE LEARNING
The Environmental and Natural Science (ENS) Magnet at Westchester Enriched is dedicated to teaching high school students about environmental and natural phenomena that comprise their everyday world. While our ultimate goal is to create college and job confident students, we also aim to ensure that our students have the basic science literacy needed to make informed decisions as participating members of society when they graduate.
ENS is kind of like a small school within a larger school. It provides students with a traditional high school experience with access to a variety of sports, Advanced Placement classes, and clubs. But the structure is smaller and more intimate, which allows the teaching staff to easily manage and track student progress. Often, ENS students will have the same teachers twice throughout their high school tenure. Having the same teacher multiple times can foster strong teacher-student relationships; create consistency in student learning; and increase the depth and complexity of the content taught.
The magnet is designed to support the Environmental and Natural Science theme, but students also have the opportunity to create programs that specifically support their interests. This provides students leadership building opportunities that enhance a student’s readiness for college. For instance, in recent years, the students built and maintained a fully functional aquaponics system; they set up game cameras to track and record the movement and behavior of local wildlife on camps; and gained real-world experience advocating for policy changes at the school, district and city levels.
Our curriculum teaches basic skills such as organization; web research and resource discernment; and personal responsibility, the foundations on which college success is be built. Our distance-learning program includes participation in citizen science projects; social-emotional learning; the integration of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction techniques; and technological literacy. Our ENS staff is a cohesive and experienced team.
CLUBS AND EXTRA CURRICULAR OFFERINGS
- Garden Days
- Mindfulness Club
- ASPEN Club
- Green Nation
- Campus Biodiversity Surveys
- Beach Clean-Up Days
- Citizen Science Projects
- Anime Club
- GSA
