Dayne Lyster

The science department prepares for a new curriculum for students.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is trying to improve its classes for students every year. For the 2025-2026 school year, BSM has changed their class options. The departments for each subject are the people who decide on which classes are going to be changed or added each year. The biggest class changes this year are from the science department. Physics is no longer a graduation requirement for students, and Earth Science is a new requirement. Video production and jewelry design are also some of the new class options offered to students for next year’s classes.

A class idea might not get added to the class options if it is too similar to existing curricula from the department. Administration weighs in on required classes, but it lets individual departments decide on electives. Certain classes, like the English class, Shakespeare, and the fine art garage band, are often not run during a school year. If there are not enough students who register for a class, then the teachers do not run that class. These classes then remain on the registry for the next year. “If the departments want to offer something similar to something that’s already being offered… then there might be a pushback on the department… if not enough students decide to take the course it just doesn’t run. It gets offered, but we can’t run it if there are only five kids that sign up for something,” counselor Heidi Wessman said.

BSM is a private school, so they do not have to directly align themselves with the Minnesota public school board, which has Earth Science as a requirement. BSM’s science department has decided to add earth science as a graduation requirement for freshmen. This is partly because of the public school’s requirement, but also because of the value that the teachers see in Earth science. The class will teach students about the different interconnected systems of the world, such as hydro and geological systems. “Public school students in Minnesota have to take earth science… so we as a department, looked at kind of what’s best practice, and we decided to bring earth science into it… Students need to be aware that the Earth is one system, and it’s all interconnected,” science teacher Mark Peterson said.

The other major change to classes this year is the removal of physics as a graduation requirement. This is because the science department felt like students should be able to explore more options and career paths in high school. Students may be more curious about a different science class depending on what they want to do in college. Most college majors don’t require high school physics to earn a degree, so it seemed unnecessary for BSM to require students to take physics in high school. “The science department thought that it gave students more flexibility for their senior year to choose an elective that they would be curious about, instead of everybody just saying you are going to take physics,” Peterson said.