WOODBURY — As students at Nonnewaug High School experience their opening weeks of a new semester, pressure compounds as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors must now begin selecting their courses for next year.
“Something that stresses me out in the process of picking out my courses for next year is if a class gets full and you can’t take that course,” said Scarlett Ivey, a sophomore at NHS. “This makes me nervous because some classes are graduation requirements and if the spots are full, you can’t take that class which can be stressful.”
Beyond selecting courses that address graduation requirements, students are also thoughtfully considering classes that will help when looking at life beyond high school.
“I think my classes will benefit me when I apply for college,” said freshman Sophia Gorton. “As a freshman you don’t exactly feel that it is important, but it will help you in the real world someday because of the skills you learn in certain classes. Plus it will help when applying to college someday as well.”
Paul Laedke, a counselor in his first full year at Nonnewaug, has seen students struggle over the years when it comes to class registration.
“During the registration process, I believe students may be stressed about workloads of particular classes,” said Laedke, “what requirements are needed for graduation and different personalities of classmates that they will interact with.”
Despite the stress in the atmosphere, NHS staff members have noticed a trend over time with the students.
“During my limited time at Nonnewaug, I have noticed that many students attempt to take as many required courses as possible during their underclassmen years so that they can manage a lighter course load as juniors and seniors,” Laedke said.
For NHS’ senior class, advising underclassmen about the course selection process is a critical element they can provide in addition to the support the guidance department provides.
“I’ve done this a million times,” said senior Grace Schmidheini, who is now considering several colleges. “I now understand better the number of credits that I need and what kind of classes I need to take because I know this will prepare me for when I go to college because it helps me understand the general idea of what it [class registration] will look like and how to go about it.”
Although a stressful time period of the school year, Laedke offers good advice to overwhelmed students in the process of selecting courses.
“I want students to enjoy school, ” said Laedke. “Yes, enjoy school. It is important to have a balanced schedule that allows you to challenge yourself academically but also provides opportunities for students to prepare for the academic demands of high school. When possible, a study hall or elective that may be less rigorous is a good option for students that are feeling overwhelmed by the courses they are taking.”
NHS faculty members have been creating course recommendations for underclassmen using a variety of factors, including using data from the winter NWEA testing to determine appropriate placements. The course registration portal will open for students on Feb. 6 and remain open through most of the month.
