Assuming no previous experience with computers or computer programming, CS1 introduces students to the infinite possibilities of computer science and the art of programming. Students will use multiple programming languages to learn to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Programs and projects are inspired by real-world applications of computer science to the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. To end the year, CS1 culminates in a gratifying final project: a highlight of many students’ coding experiences at Menlo. CS1 is offered Pass/No Pass, rather than for a letter grade. 

Watch a video about Computer Science at Menlo here.

Watch a video overview of this course here.

Eligibility requirement: 9th graders in CS1 must be in AGA. 9th graders in IGA must be approved by the CS department.

Building off of the foundation laid in CS1, CS2 dives deeper into the field of computer science while expanding students’ programming skills. Students begin the year learning Java, one of the most popular and important programming languages. Students will learn about new topics, such as classes, objects, inheritance, and recursion. As the year progresses, CS2 challenges students to work on progressively larger and more creative programming projects. This culminates in the final project: a month-long endeavor to design and program a video game complete with mouse and keyboard input. In addition, students will be given significant preparation for the AP Computer Science A exam.

Watch a video about Computer Science at Menlo here.

Prerequisite: CS1

Advanced Calculus I (H) is a rigorous mathematics course that prepares students for challenging college level calculus courses. We encourage students who have been successful with the previous Introductory Calculus courses to consider the Advanced Calculus class the following year. Advanced Calculus I (H) can be thought of as a turning point in a student’s study of mathematics, as the course demands a highly developed ability to think abstractly and aptly draw on skill sets developed in previous courses to tackle the calculus tasks before them. Teachers are dedicated to encouraging the development of a self-reliant learning style with strong inductive, deductive, and abstract reasoning skills to serve students well in a collegiate environment. 

With some independent preparation, students who take this course may feel equipped to take the AP Calculus AB exam.

Prerequisites: Recommendation from Introductory Calculus teacher or completion of Introductory Calculus Honors.

Advanced Calculus II (H) is a year-long course in which the content of a standard year-long college-level single variable calculus course is covered. The course begins with a review of the concepts of a limit and a derivative and their underpinnings. From there, it moves on to explore techniques and applications of limits and differentiation, analysis of functions, antiderivatives, Riemann sums, definite integrals (and their applications to modeling, area, length, and volume problems), integration techniques, solving and finding approximations to solutions for first order ordinary differential equations, the calculus of polar and parametric curves, sequences, tests for convergence of infinite series, power series, and Taylor series.

With some independent preparation, students who take this course may feel equipped to take the AP Calculus BC exam. This class is meant to prepare students to take a multivariable calculus class upon completion and offer them the same level of preparation for that multivariable calculus class as a standard college calculus course; therefore, it covers some content beyond the scope of the AP Calculus BC examination.

Prerequisite: Placement in this course requires the recommendation of the student’s Introductory Calculus (H) teacher or the recommendation of the student’s Introductory Calculus teacher with a strong performance on an additional placement test.

In Advanced Topics, students begin applying their programming skills in a truly project-driven course. After taking at least two years of computer science at Menlo, students are ready to tackle applications fields of computer science such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cybersecurity, and more. While engaging with these new topics, students learn new programming languages—such as Javascript and SQL—while working with advanced data structures and algorithms. Choice plays a big role in the class, as students spend significant periods of time working in teams on a variety of ambitious programming projects. Topics vary from year to year, so the course may be taken more than once.

Watch a video about Computer Science at Menlo here.

Prerequisite: CS2, or App Design and permission from instructor

Advanced Topics in Mathematics is designed to provide students who have completed the traditional calculus sequence with the opportunity to continue their mathematical studies, deepening and broadening their understanding and preparing them for the possible further study of mathematics. Topics covered may include multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, topics in discrete mathematics, and calculus-based probability theory.

Prerequisites: Completion of Honors Introductory Calculus plus either concurrently enrolled in Advanced Calculus II (H) or have completed Advanced Calculus II (H).

This course introduces students to several topics in secondary mathematics, including functions and their transformations, inverse functions, inequalities, quadratic functions and their transformations, polynomial inequalities, exponential functions and sequences and series.  Students should elect to take this class if they are looking for an approach to algebra 2 that will allow them to study specific topics for longer periods of time. This course prepares students for Precalculus but not Advanced Precalculus.

Prerequisites: Completion of AGA or AGA (H) or completion of IGA plus recommendation from IGA instructor.

This course introduces students to several topics in secondary mathematics: Functions and their transformations, Inverse Functions, Inequalities, Quadratics, Polynomials, Exponentials, Radian Measure and the Trigonometric Functions, Logarithms, Probability and Combinatorics, and Sequences and Series. Emphasis is placed on process, depth of understanding, and the development of mathematical intuition, not on memorization of rote facts. Students are encouraged to use mathematical methods that are meaningful for them.  From this course, students can move on to either Precalculus or Advanced Precalculus.

Prerequisites: Completion of AGA or AGA (H) or completion of IGA and recommendation of instructor. 

This is an Honors course in Algebra 2. Topics studied include those listed for Algebra 2 plus a thorough treatment of rational functions, principles of end behavior as a precursor to studying limits, modeling with trigonometric functions & inverse trigonometric functions. Problem Sets are designed to challenge students depth and flexibility of understanding, in addition to their mathematical creativity.  This course prepares students for Advanced Precalculus or Honors Precalculus.

Prerequisites: Recommendation from freshman math instructor in conjunction with the department chair.

A primary goal of the freshmen math program at Menlo is to shape a student’s conception of what it means to study mathematics. We want students to shift from thinking of their teacher as a sole locus of knowledge, to thinking that mathematics is a subject in which each student can construct his or her own mathematical understandings. To that end, the AG&A class is, by choice, textbook free. Within each unit of study, students are given daily problem sets from their teachers. New definitions are explained in the context of new problems. Students spend little to no time “taking notes” in a traditional sense. Class time is devoted to students solving problems and engaging in meaningful discussions about these problems, either with a nearby peer, in a small group of peers, or, sometimes, as an entire class. Because any study materials the students have are in large part self-created (they must work through the written problems, rather than reading a textbook author’s solution), we find that the materials are both relevant and meaningful. Topics studied include but are not limited to: systems of equations, angles in a plane, properties of quadrilaterals and regular polygons, properties of parallel lines, problem solving with circular sectors, triangle congruence, polygon similarity, right triangle trigonometry, coordinate geometry, transformations, graphing lines, and finding volumes of solid figures.

Prerequisites: Placement into this class happens via departmental placement test,  or via completion of IGA.

Honors Analytic Geometry & Algebra covers the same course content as the non-honors course. Students move through basic principles and new concepts quickly, spending less time gaining basic practice, and more time engaging with larger multi-step problems. The Honors Analytic Geometry and Algebra course is as much a course in mathematical problem-solving as it is a course in traditional Euclidean geometry.

Prerequisites: Place into this class via departmental placement test.

“Applied Math and Statistics: Business Applications” is a project-based course designed for students who want to master quantitative reasoning through interactive apps and simulation tools as opposed to depending exclusively on manual derivation and algebraic manipulation. Students will analyze, model, and solve practical problems from a variety of domains such as personal finance, sports analytics, economics, engineering, life sciences, and social media. Students will learn to navigate uncertainty, evaluate risk, and make data-informed decisions in their personal and professional lives.

Prerequisites: completion of Algebra 2; not designed for students on track to take Honors Calculus

This course introduces students to the elements of differential and integral calculus, placing particular emphasis on applications drawn from economics, finance and the life sciences. It is designed for those interested in managerial studies, business, economics or the life sciences. We will feature units on financial literacy, investment mathematics, consumer loans, income taxes, budgeting, and retirement planning. This course is different from other calculus courses in its focus on problem solving over rigorous theoretical depth, modeling over abstract theory, and the use of technological tools over lengthy computations.

Prerequisites: Completion of Advanced Precalculus, completion of Precalculus with a B- or better, or permission from the department.

In Coding with AI, you’ll use AI tools to create real products: card games, board games, and apps that solve problems you care about. You’ll learn to direct AI to write code, then read, debug, and refine it until it works. In the first semester, we will design and build physical games, including coding for a handheld game system. In the second semester, we’ll design web and mobile apps, taking an idea from concept to working prototype. No programming experience is required. Just bring your creative ideas and a willingness to keep iterating until you succeed.

No prerequisite, year long

Integrated Geometry and Algebra is designed for students who enter the ninth grade needing additional review and practice in foundational algebra skills. Although the focus of the first several units is on developing mechanical proficiency, we expect students to move beyond basic procedural competence to develop a strong conceptual understanding of the material. In addition, students will learn how to document their work and how to study effectively for assessments in mathematics. Beginning in the second quarter, the curriculum is integrated with geometry through examination of the following topics: points, lines planes, angle types and angles formed by parallel lines with transversals, triangle types, congruence, similarity, trapezoids, applications of the Pythagorean Theorem, solution of Pythagorean inequalities, basic right triangle trigonometry, circles, tangents to circles, 3-D solids surface areas and volumes. The course ends with an introduction to functions, quadratics and factoring.

Prerequisite: Place into the class via departmental placement test

In this course students will explore the precalculus topics of exponential and logarithmic functions, polynomial and rational functions, analytic trigonometry, and conic sections. Emphasis will be placed on careful derivations, problem solving, and applications. In addition, students will begin the study of differential calculus, including limits, continuity, and the concept of a derivative. Additional topics may include the study of probability, sequences and series, polar coordinates, and parametric equations. This course prepares students for AB Calculus.

Prerequisites: Recommendation of Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 with Trig teacher. 

This challenging course is aimed at the independent learners who are comfortable with handling symbolic language and abstract thinking challenges. Students work together in small groups in an effort to discover new concepts and explain new ideas from multiple perspectives. The course is aimed at honing the individual student’s mathematical creativity and providing a broad base of skills prior to taking advanced calculus courses and higher. There is greater emphasis on formal justification and proper notation. Students begin the year by engaging with contest level math problems that address many of the topics from Honors Algebra 2. In addition to extending previously studied topics such as transformations of functions, quadratic maximization, graphing rational functions, and exponential and logarithmic functions, the course includes a thorough introduction to differential calculus, going beyond and deeper into what is covered in the Introductory Calculus course. In addition, the course covers an extension of trigonometry, including trigonometric identities, the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines, parametric and polar functions and their graphs, an exploration of methods of proof, and a thorough treatment of vectors. This class prepares students for BC Calculus.

Prerequisites: Recommendation of Honors Algebra 2 Teacher

Building on the algebraic skills acquired in previous classes, this course attempts to deepen and strengthen students’ conceptual understanding and computational fluency. We extend and reinforce key algebraic concepts in the definition, application and manipulation of polynomials and rational functions, refining students’ graphical skills and exploiting technology as an aid to visualization and as an invaluable tool in tackling more complex problems. The heart of the course is devoted to a thorough presentation of the elementary transcendental functions: exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, and inverse trigonometric functions. During the second semester students also explore some topics from discrete mathematics including sequences, series, elementary counting techniques and probability. This class prepares students for Calculus during their senior year

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Algebra 2.

“Probabilistic Modeling and Machine Learning” is a project-based mathematics and probability course that exposes high school juniors and seniors to the theory and application of selected Machine Learning algorithms. In this course, students will learn the relevant subsets of probability theory, statistics, calculus (concurrent enrollment in a calculus class required), and linear algebra necessary to predict, categorize, consolidate, and analyze in a variety of contexts using Machine Learning tools. Students will both study algorithms that underpin Artificial Intelligence, and work with Artificial Intelligence to implement those same algorithms to solve data driven problems.

Prerequisites: Completion of Honors Algebra 2, Introductory Calculus, or Introductory Calculus (H)