By Reed Jaworski and Kallen Prosak<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s half-way through yet another year at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, and students have already began to think about what their class schedule next year. However, misinformation causes misunderstandings in every class, making it difficult to know what to take.<\/p>\n
In J-DHS, one is required to get a mandatory amount of art and music credits before graduating. To fulfill this requirement, students can take one of of the following courses:<\/p>\n
Ceramics
\u201cIf you like the hands-on making process of things, you should definitely take Ceramics,\u201d said freshman Ryan Mandelis. In Ceramics, students gain an appreciation for ceramics, understanding how \u201cwe interact with it, like plates, dishes, and cups,\u201d said J-DHS Ceramics teacher Steven Pilcher. According to Mr. Pilcher the students are able to make \u201cutilitarian, functional work.\u201d Students learn about expressing themselves, as well as being creative through the ceramic process. \u201cAny student at J-DHS is a good match for this class,\u201d said Mr. Pilcher. Students should take Ceramics because they learn to have \u201cappreciation for what goes into a piece of art, whether it in a gallery or showcase,\u201d said Mr. Pilcher.<\/p>\n
Photo 1
In Photo 1, students get introduced to black and white photography by learning how to set shutter speed and aperture on an SLR camera. \u201cThey have to learn to develop prints in the dark room which can be quite difficult,\u201d said J-DHS Photo 1 teacher Lisa Troubetaris. However, Photo is not a class to be taken easy and lightly. Students should take this class only if they have a \u201cwillingness to do work out of class,\u201d said Mrs. Troubetaris. Sophomore Alexander Ferlenda agreed with Mrs. Troubetaris when he said, \u201cit is a fun class, but the work is annoying.\u201d Although anyone can take this class, it is geared towards people who value \u201cart and self-expression. (Students) should take this class because it allows people to improve their picture taking skill,\u201d said Mrs. Troubetaris.<\/p>\n
Chorus
If you think Chorus is simply for the musically gifted, you\u2019re wrong. \u201c(This class is for) everyone,\u201d said Chorus teacher Elizabeth Quackenbush. \u201cIt\u2019s for anyone who likes to sing or wants to learn how to sing,\u201d said sophomore Arianna Hege. There are different levels of Chorus you can take: Concert Choir, Women\u2019s Choir, and Chorale. \u201cIn all of the choral ensembles, students learn proper technique, as well as how to perform music well,\u201d said Mrs. Quakenbush. \u201cThis class is fun and the hard work you do in it pays off,\u201d said Hege.<\/p>\n
Band\/ Orchestra
Band\/Orchestra teacher Dan Blumenthal said \u201cAnyone can take band, I\u2019ve got kids who\u2019ve been playing since the fourth grade, kids who have taken off a few years, or new kids.\u201d Freshman Will Potter confirms; \u201cIt\u2019s a good class to take if you want to learn how to play an instrument.\u201d In Band\/Orchestra students rehearse as a group to prepare for the four concerts per year. \u201cIt\u2019s very fun. We have a good time, and it opens up new extracurriculars for students,\u201d said Mr. Blumenthal. These extracurriculars include the jazz band, the pep band, and the pit orchestra for the play.<\/p>\n
Even though you don\u2019t have to take electives besides the mandatory art and music credit, they are better than just sitting in a study hall. There are also several English electives open for students to take. Many J-DHS teachers and students recommend trying:<\/p>\n
Public Speaking
In Public Speaking, students learn \u201cextemporaneous speaking, the process of learning to prepare for speeches with notecards,\u201d said J-DHS Public Speaking teacher Kelly Creamer. Although students have notecards, they are not supposed to memorize the speech or read from the notecards. Students learn how to give informative, demonstrative, persuasive, and entertaining speeches. Anybody can take public speaking, whether they be shy students, or students who are already confident in speaking. For shy students, \u201cbaby steps are taken to alleviate fears,\u201d and \u201cconfident students refine their skills,\u201d said Mrs. Creamer. \u201cI took this class because my mom made me,\u201d said sophomore Riley Foti, \u201cbut I probably would have taken it senior year anyway.\u201d Students should take this class because it has \u201clittle homework, except preparation, and it is fun and informative,\u201d said Mrs. Creamer. Foti recommends students take this class because \u201cit has already made me a better public speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creative Writing
In Creative Writing, students get to spend time free-writing their own works, writing about different prompts, and also focus on various styles of writing, pace, and voice. \u201cAnyone who enjoys creative writing, but cannot find the time for it should take this class,\u201d said J-DHS Creative Writing teacher Matt Phillips. Brian Cieplecki, a sophomore, said, \u201cit\u2019s fun, creative, and beneficial because it releases you from student life.\u201d Students should take creative writing if they \u201creally enjoyed writing, and want to develop their skills,\u201d said Mr. Phillips.<\/p>\n
Drama
Drama is a performance-based workshop class in which students are taught in a non-traditional way. \u201cIn a traditional class you sit down in a chair and work,\u201d said J-DHS English teacher, Joe Goldberg, \u201cbut that\u2019s not how Drama is.\u201d Drama is a mix between prepared and improvisational skits. Collin McKee, a freshman, said that \u201c(Drama) is a class that students think will be easy, but requires an effort.\u201d Prepared skits include monologues and pantomime plays, while improvisational skits are more game-like such as \u201cWhose line is it anyway.\u201d \u201cThe best part about this class is that is draws people from very diverse backgrounds,\u201d said Mr. Goldberg. Drama \u201cshould help (your) public speaking and confidence\u201d and Mr. Goldberg encourages \u201canyone who is interested in performing (to join).\u201d<\/p>\n
Reading Films
In Reading Films, students watch a variety of movies, learning the characteristics and conventions of drama. \u201cIf you take this class you will be exposed to movies you didn\u2019t even know were written,\u201d said Mr. Goldberg, who also teaches a reading films class. \u201cIt\u2019s the best, you get to watch movies all day,\u201d said senior Morgan Pusey. The movies range from western movies to dramas to suspense movies. \u201cYou should take it because its so much fun,\u201d said Pusey.<\/p>\n
Decisions can be tough to make, but students should make them soon, as to get into the class they want. Students should take their time when deciding, taking all choosing factors into mind. Different Social Studies and Science electives will be posted after break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Reed Jaworski and Kallen Prosak \u00a0 It\u2019s half-way through yet another year at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, and students have already began to think about what their class schedule next year. However, misinformation causes misunderstandings in every class, making it difficult to know what to take. In J-DHS, one is required to get a mandatory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jdrampage.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}