As the underclassman plan out their schedules for next year, a fun component of scheduling is choosing electives! When it comes to choosing electives there may be difficulties due to not knowing what exactly is included by taking that class. Students should ask themselves questions before choosing their elective like, ‘Will this benefit me? Does this interest me? How does this help with the credits I am required to have? Do I want an advanced diploma?’ These are some basic questions, but before finalizing their schedule for the next year it is important for students to talk to their parents first and get their opinion. It may also be helpful for them to talk to their counselor, who can help figure out what class will fit the students requirements and interests. Getting a feel for electives that seem interesting or that can even help with decisions for the future is very important.

There are many electives to choose from at Battlefield. Just of few of those include, AP Psychology (grades 11-12), Weight Lifting (grades 11-12), Journalism (grades 9-12), Creative writing (grades 9-12), Art (grades 9-12), Photography (grades 10-12), and Yearbook (grades 9-12).

AP Psychology is an amazing class if students are interesting in learning about why people are the way they are. Students are taught about different parts of the brain and how it reacts in different situations, types of mental illnesses, experimental procedures that have been done to provide a deeper explanation of how humans interact with their surroundings, and much more. The class’s learning environment is very interactive, but still can be challenging due to it being an AP. Zamantha Balado, a senior who took AP Psychology as a junior, says, “I decided to take AP Psych because my mom is a behavioral therapist, so I wanted to learn more about what she did for a living. Now I just love the fact that I now know why humans do what they do and how people react to those actions.” Zamantha was able to take her curiosity of the human psyche and turn it into a learning experience that sparks more thought provoking ideas about the human mind.

Once Freshman and Sophomore year are over, the years of being required to take Physical Education (PE) are over. Weightlifting is a class that keeps you active, but also gives the opportunity for students to work on their muscles. In this class they get to lift weights and grow towards their personal physical best. Senior Danielle Nisbet, who is currently in weight lifting, explains her reasoning for taking the class by saying, “Initially I just wanted to use the class for strength conditioning for shot put and not necessarily for my physique. I just really wanted to work on getting stronger and better at my sport.” She continues to say, “I like that I’m the only girl because I feel like a lot of the guys have respect for females now that do it where as in the beginning I felt they lacked that a lot.” Danielle was able to go in looking for a way to tone her muscles for her sport and ended up gaining the respect of others in her class for being the only girl in the class and performing well, which encouraged her more. Hopefully more girls will join in on this elective and be able to have the same experience Danielle had.

Journalism is taught by Mr.Bridges and is a writing elective that focuses on writing articles for the school’s magazine and journalism website. This class teaches you how to write unbiased newsworthy articles. These news articles are not necessarily written about hard hitting world news, they can also talk about the fun things that are going on at Battlefield and stories about its students. Students will get the chance to interview their peers for quotes to get a Battlefield students perspective on their topic. In Journalism 1 you are taught the basic vocabulary words and writing skills, but as the years go on, there are opportunities for the writers to become editors, design editors, website editors, etc. The class is super fun and engaging and students will get to learn more about what goes on at Battlefield while also getting an outlet to talk about the news going on in the world today!

Creative writing is also taught by Mr.Bridges and offers the opportunity for student to work on their writing as well. Instead of writing news articles, this class focuses more on bringing out creativity through storytelling. They will be assigned to write poetry and short stories. When Mr.Bridges assigns the short stories some are required to have a certain writing exercise included in them and other times there will be free write short stories. At the end of the year they make a literature magazine, around winter break students submit a article they find is their best and have the opportunity to be published.

Doodling on papers in the middle of class may be fun, but actually getting to be in an art class where the sole purpose is to let creativity fly is why taking Art as an elective is an amazing choice. Starting freshman year students are able to take Art 1 where they learn color theory and different techniques to enhance their drawing abilities. Projects throughout the year test different skills learned in the classroom and allow students to see their imaginations come to life on the paper. As they continue their high school career, students can go on to taking Art 2 through Art 5 if they choose. Each level offers new experiences to bring out more creativity and gives an outlet to those who want to express themselves in new ways.

Photography is another form of art that some students may be interested in. This class teaches students new and different ways to take better photos.This course introduces the study of black and white photography as an art medium.  Light, design, lens, camera, film, and darkroom techniques are taught to students, along with the history of photography and related career opportunities giving students a rounded view of the basics of being a photographer.

Yearbook is an elective where students get to make the yearbook. The things that are included in this class are taking photos, getting quotes from other students, and picking the design of the yearbook. Also, students will be assigned certain roles to enter all of the data for the year. This consists of the student’s school photos and names, the seniors and their quotes, sports, and clubs. Pam Barrett, a junior who is currently in Yearbook, states, “What interested me in taking yearbook is that I love photography. Now that I am in the class, I am skilled in more than just photography but also in design, like graphics and copy such as captions.” Yearbook features many opportunities for students to work on what interests them the most when it comes to designing and putting together the schools yearbook.

These electives are a few of the most popular, but there are so many other choices for students here at Battlefield to pick from. When called down to the counseling office for scheduling, if there are any questions about other classes or electives, feel free to ask the counselor. Electives can be very exciting and fun, especially when it is something that peaks one’s interest!