Dean of Academic Leadership
FACULTY – SCIENCE & FINANCIAL LITERACY
Thomas Warfel
Mr. Thomas Warfel is a science teacher, finance educator, and soccer coach at Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. He earned a BA in Geology from Occidental College and a MS in Earth Science from Syracuse University. He has published research using fission track dating to study early human fossil bearing rock formations from Ethiopia and the tectonic history of the Denali Fault in Alaska. What sets Thomas apart is his insatiable desire to better understand this incredible world and his eagerness to share his knowledge with those around him.
YEAR 5
My Courses
Financial Literacy
In this course, students will analyze real-world financial decisions that they can expect to make after graduating high school. They will learn how to use debt (credit cards, student loans, mortgages), some of the pros and cons of different career paths (trade school, college, graduate school), how to create a budget, the basics of investment philosophy (stocks, bonds, index funds), and how to plan for retirement (401K, IRA, HSA, social security).
Physics
In this course, students will learn about the physical laws and patterns which guide our universe. We will study motion (velocity, acceleration), forces (gravity and electromagnetism), and energy (potential and gravitational). We will study the ways in which these fundamental interactions produce the wonderful world we share.