1、Basic curricular structure必修课

• Science 自然科学(usually three years minimum, including biology, chemistry, physics)

• Mathematics 数学(usually three years minimum, including algebra, geometry, algebra II, and/or precalculus/trigonometry)

• English语言 (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, etc)

• Social Science社会科学 (various history, government, and economics courses, always including American history)

• Physical education 体育(at least one year)

2、Electives(选修课)

Common types of electives include:

• Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film)

• Performing arts (drama, band, chorus, orchestra, dance)

• Technology education ("Shop"; woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair, robotics)

• Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design)

• Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading)

• Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine)

• Foreign languages (Spanish, French are common; Chinese, Latin, Greek, German,and Japanese are less common)

3、高中GPA 举例：

• GPA,就是grade point average，学业平均成绩。A=4,B=3,C=2,D=1,F=0, 每门课的各个任课老师给出学年ABCD后，学校把整个高中的所有科目的成绩都平均起来，得到一个值，叫做unweight GPA。

• 然后因为学校有不同等级的课，AP补助2分，Honor补助一分，regular没有补助，最后，再把这些所有补助的分数加起来，除以15，得数加到unweight GPA上，得到一个值称为weight GPA。每个学校不同，我们学校就是用weight GPA排名(class ranking)，所以导致了选课的竞争。

4、学期、假期、考试

其他要点：

• 一年三个学期：9月初－12月中旬；1月初－3月初；3月下旬－6月初

• 4个假期：X’mas, Thanksgiving, Spring break, Summer vacation。

• SLEP：针对母语非英语的学生的语言测试

• SSAT：美国中学入学测试

• PSAT：SAT预考，10年级、11年级学生均可参加；美国学生参加可获得“国家奖学金”

5、美国私立中学一天的日常安排

Day schedule:

• 7:00-7:25 a.m.: breakfast 早餐

• After breakfast, students are expected to return to their dorms, clean up their rooms, and finish their dorm jobs. Morning assembly, which is a time when students and faculty members have a chance to make announcements, begins at 8:00 a.m。

• 8:10 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m.: academic classes  上课

• 3:00-6:00pm: afternoon activity: athletics, music, or art

• 6:00pm:day students go home and boarders have a family style dinner;

• After dinner-7:30pm: free time

• 7:30-9:30pm: upper school students study at study hall;7:30-9:00pm for middle school students;

• When study hall ends, students have some free time on campus, but must return to their dorms before 10:00 p.m。

• Lights out for middle school students is 10:00 p.m.; for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, it is 10:30 p.m.; and for seniors and postgraduates, lights out is 11:00 p.m。