By Feature Editor: Hannah Snyder

Springtime is quickly approaching and that means one thing in the halls of Howell High School – class registration. For most high school students, the pleasure of picking which classes to take can be very stressful. There are so many rules, tips, and overwhelming information to know in order to pick the right classes each year.

Upcoming Sophomores:

Welcome to the basics of our high school: the 10-12 building. This place is where everything happens, so get ready. You’ll quickly learn which staircases take you where, what bathrooms to use and avoid, and most importantly, how to stretch your five-minute passing time to get you from one side of the building to the other while still managing to stop at your locker. This is the year where all your basic techniques and high school survival tips will be learned.

You’re at school to get an education, not just survive, so don’t get too caught up in the overall aspect of being here. Your 10th grade schedule should have the basics: math, English, history and science.

Geometry is the standard for most sophomores, along with English 10, U.S history, and your choice of Physics or Chemistry.

I recommend taking physics if you know you’re good at Geometry and Chemistry, and if you succeed in Algebra. But let’s be honest. If you’re not a science person both could be tricky.

Don’t forget that these classes are the basics and AP classes are always an option. If you think you’re good at English, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to consider into World Literature.

“Each student is individual so making the decision to take advanced classes is up to them. They should talk to Ms. Jackson or their current teacher to see what’s best for them. Teachers can make sure they’re ready to take the next step up to AP,” says HHS 10th grade guidance counselor, Ms. Jen Starkey.

Upcoming Juniors:

Fifty percent done, good job. In my opinion, the most important year of your high school career is 11th grade. You’ll be taking the ACT, looking into colleges, and creating how you want your last two years at HHS to be.

While registering for classes be prepared to sign up again for your math credit, English, science, government, and Economics classes.

By now you should know what math and English courses will be best for you. For English, you can take 11th grade English or Advanced American Literature. Math gives you a much larger variety of choices though. Depending on your skill levels you could take the standard Algebra II or advance and take PDM, FST, Intro to Probability and Statistics. Get ready to finally be able to pick which science is best for you to take. For some students, all they want is to steer away from the world of Chemistry or Physics. A good option and change to your average science class is Criminalistics. The course will focus less on the average science curriculum and teach you the basics of criminal justice and the factors within it.

Junior year is your chance to really challenge yourself and show colleges what you can do. Take it seriously and push yourself. In the fall of your senior year, you’ll most likely be sending out your transcripts to future college choices. Your transcript will reveal every class, grade, absence, nearly everything you’ve ever done in high school.

Upcoming Seniors:

You finally did it and made it to the end.  It’s your turn, your time to shine, so get excited. So many students envision senior year as their blow-off year. However, it’s important to remember that this is also the pass that’s allowing you to finish and carry on your life. Although you don’t have many required courses, you still have a large responsibility.

You’ve been working your entire life to get to this milestone, so why slow down? Don’t take the easy courses just to get done and out of here. You’re required to take one math credit, English credit, and the rest of your day is basically up to you. Although, don’t get your hopes up and think you can only come to HHS for two hours and then go home. All students are required to have a full seven-hour schedule.

It’s not required that you take a fourth year of history or science but it’s always an option. By now you’ve probably taken a majority of the electives offered at HHS so go out of your comfort zone and sign up for Astronomy or World Religions – anything to keep you engaged in school and continuing your education.

“Junior year grades are inevitably what get you into college, but really, senior year grades are the ones that keep you there,” says HHS 12th grade guidance counselor, Ms. Deborah Solowczuk.

Ms. Solowczuk cannot stress enough the importance of senior year, and she’s 100% right. Colleges will request your final transcript after graduation and they want to see your success, not your failures throughout the year.

Don’t forget that in order to graduate all students need a semester of Physical Education and Health, and two semesters of a Visual, Performing, or Applied Arts class. The class of 2016 and beyond is also required to take two years of the same World Language class.

Regardless of your grade level, high school is important. I think the entire HHS staff would agree with me saying all they want to do is watch each of us walk across that stage on graduation day. Don’t let them down.