Classy advice

Before my high school career wraps up, I would like to share some of my favorite classes I have taken. There are a variety of different classes I have selected, including math, English, electives and more.

Classy advice

Photo by Quinn Martin

Creative Writing

Creative Writing is taught by Sheri Seyka, a class I am taking this semester. Although I have not completed the whole course, this class provides a lot of room for creativity (hence the title). There is a very wide range of content–we have written stories about ourselves, playwriting, mythology and more. I would recommend this class for people who are looking for a lot of in class work time for assignments, and not a lot of homework. 

Portrait

Portrait is the class of the student newspaper! Cody Harrell teaches the class, but the staff has a very hands-on learning experience. Going into this class I was worried because I didn’t know how to write news, but the first six weeks of the class teaches the new students how to write while the returning staff are able to start the first paper. I never knew I was interested in journalism until I took this class and it is a super cool experience to be able to share people’s stories with the school. I would recommend this class for people who are looking for a unique and creative environment in a classroom space.  

AP Statistics

Jeffrey Burgess is one of the few math teachers that I am able to quickly understand what we are learning from. I am taking AP Statistics with him this year, and it has been one of my favorite math classes. Stats is a very different type of math, so there isn’t much prior knowledge needed for this class. After taking AP Calc and struggling from a year of online learning, AP Stats helped me gain my love for math again. This math class is a refreshing new take on the subject. We learn about sampling, distribution, proportions, and more. I would recommend this class to people who are wanting to take a more laid back AP class. 

AP Psychology

I took AP Psychology my junior year with Jade Bennett. This was also a relatively easy AP class compared to others that I have taken. If you are interested in how the mind and emotions work then this would be a great class to take. I have always been interested in psychology, and this class led me to decide to major in psychology in college. This class involves a lot of understanding as well as memorization of terms. It was always a great class to go to after lunch, we got a lot of individual work time as well as free time. I would recommend this class to people who are looking for a social studies class that is less history-based. 

AP Environmental Science

AP Environmental Science wasn’t my first choice for a science class my sophomore year. I had scheduled late and there was no more room in the science class that I was required to take. They had to bump me up so I could complete my requirements for high school. John Heinrich was super helpful when I was falling behind or needed any help with assignments. Although I took this class during online school, we were still able to complete hands-on experiments. We were given seeds to plant, and were able to go on nature walks as well.  I would recommend this class to people who want an easier AP science option.

 Economics

Although Economics is a required class for the completion of high school, it is still one of my favorite classes I have taken. Jillee Horn creates a learning plan that consists of no tests, being replaced with creative projects. These projects would usually take me one to two class periods to complete. The content is very understandable and also teaches things we will need to know once we are adults, such as taxes. The class consisted of lots of note taking but there was very little to no homework. Horn is also one of my favorite teachers!

 

Class Recommendations from other seniors:

“I would recommend AP World because I think it is something that everyone really enjoys just because Mr. Pontoni is a great teacher and its content is super relevant and can be applied later [in life],” Iyla Blundell (12) said. 

“[The classes I really liked are] wind ensemble and AP Euro, they were both really nice to be in, I miss a lot of the classes I’m not in anymore.” Evan Johnson (12) 

“[I like these classes] partly for the teacher’s, like Ms. Mueller because she’s super fun and I also love learning about the human body and how things work. [I also] really like French, I love learning French and I just think it’s a phenomenal language.” Maisie Minnick (12)