Well, congratulations! You’ve made it through the first year of high school. Only 3 more years to go. Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet, it’s time to think about your sophomore year. When deciding on classes for your sophomore year of high school, consider courses that interest you. Start thinking about what you would like to do as a career and try to find classes that help you achieve that. However, the bottom line is that you pick courses you are comfortable with.  Below, you will find current Sophomores’ opinions on some courses they are in.

Caleb Evans

• AP US Government & Politics

In my freshman year, I took AP US History. I would say that AP US Government involves more collaboration and less independent study than AP US History. This course requires students to learn lots of vocabulary words and court cases. However, considering that this is an AP class, the workload isn’t too strenuous. For someone who doesn’t enjoy politics, I actually enjoy this course. Mrs. Hoetzlein-Sirman is an outstanding teacher who takes great pride in teaching and makes sure that you are primed for the AP test at the end of the year. There are many chances for extra credit in class, and Mrs. Hoetzlein-Sirman provides retake opportunities on most quizzes. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone who wants an AP class in their schedule.

• Honors Precalculus/Trigonometry

I am taking Honors Pre-Calc & Trig after I took Honors Algebra II and Honors Geometry last year. Like most math classes, the content starts out as mostly review and cranks up as the year goes along. This course can be difficult if you don’t pay attention and take notes. Also, there is homework almost every night. However, Mr. Johnson is a wonderful teacher who makes time to help students who are having trouble. He is an “old-fashioned” teacher who does things in a unique but effective way. This course is great for anyone who wants to complete Calculus II by the time they graduate high school. A benefit of taking this course is being eligible for dual enrollment. This means that by taking this course you can receive college credit. Dual enrollment gives you the advantage of earning college credit for a course you would do anyway, and at a cheaper price than normal. To accomplish this, you need to enroll in CSM. If you take this class, there will be more information about how to do this.

Ava Halsey

• Journalism I

There are so many electives that you can choose to take during your time at Huntingtown High School. Options are thrust out left and right for every little thing you could think of –  culinary arts, women’s history, and even film analysis. One of these electives that I chose to take was Journalism I, taught by Mr. Allen. I would consider it my favorite class this year. It’s a bit of a smaller class, and so things are a little more tight-knit. However, I appreciate that aspect. It’s really nice to learn a bit more about a select few students as we tackle the same subject together.   Mr. Allen teaches in an informative and comprehensible way, and you get a lot of freedom about what you would like to write. In the class, you get to go over many things such as article analysis, fake news, photography, ethics and even watching films about stories that have taken place in the profession in the past. The elective is perfect for those who would like to improve their writing or just get to know a bit more about how being a journalist might work.

Ashley Whitley

• Financial Literacy

I was anxious about going into 10^th grade because I was transferring schools, not knowing anyone and having to change all my classes again. I thought financial literacy was an extra math class, so I figured it would be a little hard, but I was wrong. Financial literacy involves the ability to understand how to make financial choices so you can both make and grow your money. You learn how to navigate the financial marketplace with self-assurance, and you gain the tools to tackle things like loans, credit cards, and investment opportunities. Financial literacy is an important class to take because it gives us the knowledge and skills we need to manage money. After about a week of that class, I passed every test and got good grades on all my assignments. That’s not to say that it’s a super easy class. I had some struggles and asked my teacher for some help. But if you pay attention to what the teacher is saying and what’s in the videos, you should get a good understanding. You learn how to manage your money when you’re older and you learn what to do with banks and how to maintain a steady financial balance, so you don’t have debt. You also learn how to handle checks, 401k’s, and to understand about organizations that are there to help you. I highly recommend this class.

Camilo Riano

• Accelerated Physics/Chemistry

This year I took Accelerated Phys/Chem. This course requires a student to do more work since it is an accelerated course; however, it’s nothing an incoming sophomore can’t handle. This course is really fun and engaging. It is a great course to help transition from a regular class into an AP course. It gives a broad coverage of two major sciences. I am a big fan of this course and would recommend it to anyone wishing to major in a science.