Sarah Bogen ’24
EE Staff Writer
As course selection has recently been underway, the program of studies has been expanded, giving students the opportunity to sign up for new, intriguing classes.
In the upcoming school year, new courses will be available in the subjects of English, history, and science according to the newly released Program of Studies. These courses include the story of self, astronomy, forensics, science research, and Native American history. With the new schedule beginning in the upcoming school year, students will have the opportunity to take more courses of their choosing, including these new, fascinating courses.
Story of Self is a half-year English course available to seniors. This course explores the concepts and influences that work to make us as individuals. This new English course, pending board of education approval, guides students to think introspectively as it is designed to focus on students who may be asking themselves questions regarding their purpose and personal life experiences. This course promotes critical thinking and reflective practices through the narratives explored throughout the semester.
Native American History is a half year elective course available to all grade levels. This course provides students with an overview of Native American history in Connecticut and the northeast. Cultural aspects and relationships between tribes in Connecticut both now and in the past will be explored. This new course will provide students with, “…an understanding of the importance of tribal heritage and identity from a historical perspective”, as stated in the program of studies.
Science Research is a half year science course available to juniors and seniors that is currently pending board of education approval. In this course, students will have the opportunity to conduct research on a field of interest and create their own experiments through this research. Following the research completed within the course, submissions to state or local science fairs are encouraged. This class is an excellent opportunity for students who desire to deeply explore a field of their choosing.
In addition to the more flexible newly added science course, there are more structured science courses as well. Forensics, the application of science to criminal law, is a half year science course available to juniors and seniors. The course will investigate the history of forensic science and apply the learnings to hands-on scientific tests, including lab investigations, in class.
Among these new courses is Astronomy, the study of celestial objects and the universe. This is a half year science course available to juniors and seniors that dives into the history of discoveries made in outer space. However, both of these intriguing new courses are pending board of education approval.
These new science courses will be of large help to students seeking to meet the STEM elective credits with the new schedule.