Crash Through the Courses

Eliana Fulton
January 16, 2023

As course selection approaches students begin scanning through their course catalogs, and searching to find electives and classes that will fit their interests. College Park houses a myriad of experiences through several niche classes waiting to divulge an individual’s creativity and talent.

On February 2, the CP Showcase will take place, allowing students to talk to teachers and participating students as they explore new classes. With most core courses counselors and teachers will provide advice and recommendations for next year.

“Underclassmen will hear a classroom presentation from our counselors between January 17-24 about course selection. Complete instructions will be given for students and their parents to refer to when choosing their courses for next year,” counselor Ms. Florian said.

While, according to Ms. Florian, there are course descriptions available in the Academic Guide, there will be more opportunities for students to ask questions.

“Students and parents are encouraged to attend CP Showcase Thursday, February 2, at 5:30-7:00 pm. There, they can talk with teachers about classes and attend information sessions about relevant topics,” Ms. Florian said.

One class that parents and students may want to learn about is Culinary Arts. Students in culinary classes are able to prepare and cook their own food as well as obtain a Food Handler’s Certificate.

“I love getting to cook with all of my peers and learning about other people and the recipes we make,” junior Claire Grimes, a Culinary 1 student said.

Senior Zoe Yu has taken both AP Comparative Government and Politics and AP Seminar, two elective classes that offer advanced academic knowledge.

“I think that Comparative Government was an amazing class to take as a humanities elective because it really gave me a good idea into not just looking into the United States Government but also how different how governments work in other countries and being able to compare it to our own,” Yu said.

For more hands-on career knowledge students are also able to take many agriculture courses including Small Animal Management and Agriculture Structure Design and Fabrication.

“I like small animal management because it’s a really fun class,” junior FFA member Miranda Ordonez said. “You get to interact with animals and learn a lot about how to take care of them.”

There are even credit courses offered for off campus classes such as Cosmetology or Collision Repair and Refinish at Oak Ridge and Conroe High School.

“We learned how to weld, how to take paint off cars, and we even did a project with metal sheets,” junior Collision Repair student Gael Castillo said.

For upperclassmen who have fulfilled prerequisites, some classes offer lab time or practical course experience, otherwise known as practicum. One of these courses is Audio/ Video Production 2 with Lab.

“It teaches you a lot about editing software such as Adobe Premiere and Audacity,” senior Brayden Ivy said. “It’s a very fun class and I think if anyone is vaguely interested they should take the class.”

Practicum, while primarily taken by medical tracked students, is allowed in Animation, Career Preparation, Marketing, Fashion Design, Business Management, Hospitality, Culinary Arts, Architecture, and more.

“We pick the projects we want to do rather than being provided with them. My group designed a gingerbread house for our most recent final and next we’re putting together a giant dollhouse,” senior Practicum of Architecture student Isabella Woodhead said.

For more information personal counselors as well as the college and career center are willing and able to help.

“Students can graduate from high school with extensive career and technical classes and licenses, or years of experience developing their gifts in fine arts or athletics, or having had the opportunity to try many things and see where their interests land,” Ms. Florian said. “I love that we can give our students such a wealth of opportunities here!”