Student schedule changes; Selecting classes for next school year

     With the new year rolling in, students will begin to decide on their classes for the next school year.

     At the end of January, freshmen will receive a presentation in their government class about picking their new schedules. “We are going to give them about a week and a half, [then] return and collect their courses,” Mrs. Heinze.

     Freshmen now have to take an additional half-credit of health, so they need a full credit to graduate. “There are some changes in some completers and pathways, so we are finalizing those through the county,” Heinze starts. “It affects just the freshmen because the upperclassmen are graduating [under] the old program.”

     Sophomores will be selecting their classes in February and juniors will be soon after in early March.

Parent signatures are no longer needed for schedules.

     Graduation paths for current freshmen and eighth-graders are changing. Sophomores and upperclassmen will be unaffected by these modifications. “They have to take either a college course or do an internship somewhere,” Heinze explains.

     There are also new additions to courses such as journalism. Students will be able to earn certifications for programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro to allow themselves to be employed in media fields.

     English teacher, Mr. Orth believes this addition of an extra half-year of health is a good thing. “For a lot of kids, especially if they are not going to college or any further education after high school, it’s really the only education they’ll get in things that are lifelong from health and nutrition.”

     “Take care of the classes that you need to graduate, and also incorporate classes of interest in when you can,” Heinze says. “That allows flexibility for when you’re a senior if you want to do a part-time schedule or college classes. 

     Orth recommends students should pick classes based on what they want to pursue, and not necessarily go for as many AP classes as possible. “I would encourage kids to think hard about the schedules they make,” he says. “There’s a lot of wheeling and dealing that comes part-way through the year with kids either dropping advanced classes, going part-time, [or] switching to take an HCC class. Once they set the master schedule up, all that jockeying creates some real class imbalances. I have senior classes that now have 32 kids in them that started as a class with 25.”

     As for juniors deciding whether or not to take college classes, Orth mentions whether or not college credit is what matters to students. He says if you are planning to take the AP class solely for the credit, you are better off taking a college class at HCC for it. “Your AP credit relies on one test,” he explains. “Not all colleges take the AP credit, but to get credit in a college class, you just have to pass.”