Picking senior classes is the big discussion around Massapequa High School these days. You can’t walk the halls without hearing, “What classes are you taking next year?”
The process of choosing classes and electives for senior year is a difficult one. Students and guidance counselors in the high school dedicate an endless amount of time into picking the suitable classes for twelfth grade.
Massapequa High School offers many electives and different opportunities for a great learning experience. Senior year is the cornerstone of this phrase. For some students, classes chosen will coincide with a career choice.
Most students will try to make their schedule somewhat difficult; at the same time, they want some slack because it is their senior year after all. Junior Jamie McKessy said, “I want my senior year schedule to look attractive for college. However, I do want an out period.” Jamie wants to make her college application look good but she is a regular sixteen-year-old teenager. She still wants to have a fun time in her last year at Massapequa.
Guidance counselors are doing their best to help students move in the right direction during their senior year experience. Guidance counselor Ms. Parks said, “I want to give students classes which make sense in regards to their previous grades and work ethic.” She continued, “A student who has failed every grade since kindergarten shouldn’t be in a SCALE class while a student who is a candidate for valedictorian shouldn’t have three out periods.” It all really depends on the student and what he or she can handle based on previous grades.
Ms. Parks will also try to look at the pattern of grades in a specific course. She said, “If a student is doing poorly in a particular subject, I might recommend a less rigorous course.” Guidance counselors will push, but only if it will benefit the student.
Current seniors are relieved that they have gone through this process already. They understand this process better than anyone because they lived through it a few short months ago. “Picking AP biology led me to my career choice so I can’t complain,” senior Jamie Macchia said. Jamie and his guidance counselor worked hard to figure out that he should go into AP biology and it definitely worked out for him.
There’s no doubt that choosing senior classes can be stressful. However, with the right tools, support, and effort, it can be a little less painful. It could even introduce you to a career choice or a new interest.