By Staff Writer: Jada Boprie

Each fall, students at Howell High School come back to school with a brand new schedule of classes they chose in the spring. Right now, we are in the middle of scheduling, which started on Feb. 18 and will continue until March 14. To help students choose their classes this year, the staff and administration organized a Course Selection Fair to introduce students to the classes they are considering for the 2014-2015 school year. HHS has held course selection fairs in the past, but this year had one significant difference in the organization of the fair.

For the first time, HHS went through a day of assembly schedule to have the fair at the end of the school day. The assembly schedule for HHS means shortened hours. Instead of 1st hour ending at 8:25, it ends at 8:16. This pattern is repeated for every class until there is about an hour left at the end of the day for an event. Usually, the time left at the end is for pep assemblies or similar gatherings. In the past, the Course Selection Fair has been held in the evening.

While this is the first time in several years the fair was held during the school day, most students and teachers agree that they liked it this way.

The hour for the fair was split into three 15-minute intervals. Students were able to choose three separate classrooms they wanted to visit for 15 minutes each to listen to a teacher’s presentation. There were more than 50 teachers talking about classes, including Out of District and Dual Enrollment opportunities.

There were presentations for 11 AP (Advanced Placement) classes. Students are apprehensive of AP classes and often get cold feet. Receiving in-depth information about the classes gave students a better idea of how difficult the class would be, and whether or not they can handle it.

Another one of the benefits of the presentations was that students got to meet the teachers and ask questions, as opposed to reading the class summaries in course selection packets or asking a guidance counselor. Students found it helpful to talk to the person who will actually be teaching the class.

Ms. Gabriella DiNatale, who teaches English and has been at HHS for years, believes this year for the fair was the best so far. Since students could choose which classes they visited, they were much more enthusiastic about attending the fair.

“They were actually interested, and that was exciting,” Ms. DiNatale says.