By the end of March, the majority of freshmen, sophomores and juniors will have solidified their schedules for the 2011-2012 school year.And, as they meet with their guidance counselors to finalize their schedules, they have the opportunity to consider several new classes that will be offered in the upcoming school year: Sports Medicine, Creative Writing, Leadership Training and Avid.
Sports Medicine, which will be taught by athletic trainer Esther Horner, will focus on medical professions, anatomy and physiology of skeletal and muscular systems, types of injuries and injury prevention.
However, contrary to primary thoughts of students, “the class will not teach students how to tape injuries,” Horner said during the electives fair in February.
Though this might deter some students, others wait in anticipation for the class to begin and were eager to jump on the opportunity to take the course.
“I find the subject area of sports medicine very interesting,” junior Ryan Medric said. “I can’t wait to finally learn about something that I’m interested instead of something that I have to take.”
Medric noted watching an open heart surgery and seeing a cadaver as things about the class that he looks forward to the most.
Also new to the courses offered is AVID, a program offered to rising sophomores.
“At Marshall, AVID is a program for students who are focused on college while taking at least one honors course,” guidance counselor Kim Upadhyaya said.
The class is “designed to help support students who have that goal,” Upadhyaya added.
Creative Writing will allow students to experiment with different and more abstract writing styles that are not taught in required English courses along with studying backgrounds of a variety of writers.
Sophomore Gillian Lee wanted to take Creative Writing “because [she] had another spot for an elective and [she] wanted to take more.“
“It ended up not fitting into my schedule,“ Lee said. “I really would have loved to take the Creative Writing course.”
For students looking to hone their organization and time management skills, Leadership Training is a possible option for next year. The course will focus on helping students understand leadership styles, planning skills, relationship building and problem solving.
When asked whether or not the classes would negatively impact course participation in current classes, Upadhyaya responded that “any new course can only benefit the school.“