Cahatol now teaching AP Chemistry class

As 32 students filed into room 1010 on the first day of school for Janny Cahatol’s sixth-period AP Chemistry, she greeted the class — a majority of whom were juniors she had taught the previous year — with two labs and a 50-minute lecture that covered the first month of Chemistry Honors.

After 12 years of teaching Chemistry Honors here, Cahatol will be teaching one period of AP Chemistry in addition to her four regular sections of Chemistry Honors.

The change is because the science department expanded the number of AP Chemistry sections from three to four. Kathy Nakamatsu is teaching the other three sections of the class.

Although Chemistry Honors and AP Chemistry have many overlapping topics, students in the AP Chemistry class are gearing up for a college-level test in May, so to ready her students, Cahatol created completely new material.

“I worked all summer long — I would be writing my lecture notes, researching, reading from 8 in the morning until 10 or 11 p.m.,” Cahatol said. “The great thing about doing all of it is that I loved it. I love learning more and more about stuff I haven’t even thought of since I took it in college.”

While Cahatol and Nakamatsu ultimately have the same goal of preparing their students for the AP test, Cahatol is taking a different approach by preparing new course material that resembles her teaching style for Honors Chemistry, instead of giving her students Nakamatsu’s lectures, labs and assessments.  

As for material beyond the overlap between the two classes, Cahatol is taking a more in-the-moment approach to teach her students the material in class by building on top of topics already covered in Chemistry Honors. New areas of study will be heavily emphasized, and subjects previously touched on will be quickly reviewed.

Cahatol’s first group of AP Chem students have been appreciative of her efforts. For those who Cahatol taught last year in Honors Chemistry, having the same teacher for two years in a row has provided a sense of familiarity.

“I was really excited when I learned Mrs. Cahatol was my AP Chem teacher this year because she’s able to break down very complex subjects into very simple concepts,” junior Kyle Yu said. “After already being in her class, I know how her system works, so I could study more effectively for her tests and take better notes.”

Cahatol and her students will essentially take the same plunge into AP Chemistry this year. And although Cahatol does not know whether she will be teaching AP Chemistry again next year, she is upbeat about her changed schedule.

“I think it’s going to be a pretty intense year in that I will be working long hours throughout the year to make sure that my students get a quality course, but I am really looking forward to the challenge,” Cahatol said. “I think they are going to have a lot of fun.”