WOODBURY — As the big decision arrives for eighth-graders to choose what high school they want to attend, Nonnewaug staff strive to keep as many kids in Region 14 as they can.
On Oct. 30, eighth-graders from Woodbury Middle School entered the NHS gymnasium to view electives they can participate in if they decide to come to Nonnewaug. There were many options on display, including music, art, world languages, business, video production, culinary arts, digital design, and journalism.
“We hope to show the students it’s really just all the uniqueness of the different programs we have to offer here at the elective fair that makes us stand out,” said Nonnewaug principal Mykal Kuslis. “Obviously, pretty much any high school you go to is going to have english, science, social studies, right? I think it’s a good way to get the students early on to come see what the school offers.”
Genna Riggi, who teaches digital arts, had some good feedback on the afternoon.
“I think overall it went well,” said Riggi. “I had a slideshow of artwork. I also had a video of students working, and I had a couple of students here who were talking about their experience and perspective in the courses I teach.”
Amongst the importance of the day there was a few lighthearted moments involving the character of the upcoming class of 2029.
“They were so quiet,” said Riggi. “Yeah, and I told them all, I don’t believe them to be that quiet, and they all laughed, but no, they were great. I think their attention mostly was on the presentation.”
Following the positive feedback from Riggi, culinary teacher John Dominello thought the experience was valuable.
“I thought it went exceptionally well,” said Dominello. “It’s always extremely well organized between the guidance department here and the guidance department at the middle school. We have nine minutes to talk about our elective. It was extremely organized.”
Nine minutes seem short, but Dominello was able to fit in all the information he needed.
“Everybody came down every nine minutes,” said Dominello. “We had a colored brochure that explained all five levels of culinary arts.”
Classes like Dominello’s peaked students’ interest when they came to the election fair; still, Kuslis wants to keep in mind new elective additions that could improve the program further.
“It’s a good way for us to judge too, you know, where we may need to offer more electives next year,” said Kuslis. “Do we need to offer new classes or things like that? So overall it went really well.”
