To prepare students for the next upcoming school year, the school hosted a Curriculum Night on Jan. 28. Students and teachers alike presented the school to upcoming freshmen and ninth through 11th graders with performances, teachers’ boards and verbal explanations.

The event gave students an opportunity to meet course teachers and see classes they can attend, having a chance to not just meet counselors, but also future teachers. Students could learn about  courses, as well as programs they are able to attend, so they could have a deeper understanding on whether they should take the course next year. For the school, helping students figure out their courses early will help regulate teaching resources. This will determine students’ demand for each subject and class.  

Counselor Andrea Fuhrer, the college and career counselor of Hagerty High School, was a main host and participant in the event. Fuhrer was part of the Curriculum Night staff, and she explained why curriculum night was set so early before the next school year.

“[The event is] their opportunity to find out in the deeper discussion with the teacher to see if it’s a working plan for them,” Fuhrer said.

Though the event is called “Curriculum Night,” it started with showcases of several school programs. The choir, jazz band and two levels of dance performed for parents and rising freshmen.

Following this, it was time for students to pay a visit to courses. Most courses were set up in the cafeteria and the old gym (building 4), including most AP and Fine Art courses. AP Precalculus teacher Aglaia Christodoulides was located in the old gym, but she did not observe many students there with the goal of seeing core courses.

“With all the opportunities that students have, parents are going to be more interested in electives and unique courses that aren’t largely chosen,” Christodoulides said. 

Curriculum Night provided a large stage for unique electives to show themselves to students and parents, letting them get a feel for how those classes are. Also, it is not only the teachers’ stage, but also students’ time to introduce themselves to the class they’re in. 

Senior Jerry Liu is currently enrolled in Modeling & Simulation class, and he advertised for the class all across the campus, guiding interested students to their classroom and introducing the class.

“I just want to introduce that experience to upcoming students for them to experience it as well,” Liu said.

Students, such as middle school graduates and current Hagerty students, had a wonderful experience and gave feedback. Ethan Silverstre and Jacob Gair are a pair of friends who came to the Curriculum Night.

“Once I’ve seen it in person, I feel like I’m a step below a lot of people, and that just makes me want to go higher,” said Silverstre. 

“I was not expecting the classes to be that different. [This event] helps to meet the team, the teachers, and see if they match, if they’d be good for me,” said Gair. 

The main purpose of the night was to help with course registration. Students will soon finish selecting courses, factoring in credits and graduation requirements, then will have time to meet with their counselors one-on-one to discuss their selections from late January to early February, so that students and counselors will be able to check specific requests for classes in person.

For the middle school graduates, class choices for their freshman year are all listed in the form to make these forms user-friendly and accessible for new coming freshmen.

Current ninth through 11th graders have a lot more freedom in course selection. Students can access the Hagerty High School website to access full course information, course names and course numbers to write on their form.