by Max Hernandez, Staff Writer
There are two types of people in our school; the ones who meticulously plan out the classes they want to take, and the ones who barely know what this school has to offer. Seeing as I’m the former, I thought I’d share some wisdom on how to navigate our program of study here at Morristown. This article will serve as a simplified guide to choosing the classes that are right for you while filling your requirements. It can be hard to figure it out, and many people go into the guidance office with no clue about what they’re hearing, so here’s the run-down on pretty much every class you can take here.
Types of Classes
Aside from the ELL/bilingual classes, there are four types of courses you can take. These include A-level, honors, AP, and post-secondary. The primary difference between these is the rigor and speed of the content and learning. Note that the classes you take don’t determine your intelligence, only the amount of work or detail you feel you can handle or want in a particular subject. Pushing yourself to take a class at a certain level won’t do you any good, so stick to classes where you feel you can excel, as it will always look better to have a high grade in an A-level course instead of a low grade in an AP.
Required Classes – Core
In order to graduate, you will need a specific amount of credits across different subjects. Here’s where I’ll break down the exact classes you need to take at a bare minimum. First off, your English classes. English is the ONLY class that you’ll need four years of. There will be classes dependent on your grade level for each year, with your senior year opening up to various electives (but still required). Math, science, and history all require three classes, which usually span from freshman to junior year, but can be doubled up on to complete the credits sooner. Math requires you to complete algebra 2, but no matter when you complete that class, you will still need three years overall. This means that if you take algebra 2 freshman year, you will still need to take two more math classes at a minimum once you finish algebra 2. History requires world history, US history 1, and US history 2, plain and simple. Science requires one biology class, one physics/chemistry/environmental science class, and one additional laboratory science class. This is typically completed by taking physics, chemistry, and biology, but as long as you take biology and two laboratory science classes, your credits will be completed. This means that you don’t necessarily need to take physics or chemistry. The options for science credits are… a lot… so I’m organizing it into a table based on grade level. Each box under the grade level will represent a class you can take for credit, and classes that provide college credit will be highlighted green.
| Freshman Year (Grade 9) | Sophomore Year (Grade 10) | Junior Year (Grade 11) |
|---|---|---|
| Physics A or Honors | Chemistry A or Chemistry Honors | Biology A or Biology Honors |
| AP Physics 1 | Biology Honors | Science Credit Elective |
| Earth and Space Science | Science Credit Elective |
You might be wondering, what are the science electives? There are some that don’t count for general science credits, but some do. These consist of
- AP Biology (requires completion of biology)
- AP Chemistry (requires completion of chemistry, taking or already took precalculus)
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Physics C (requires completion of physics, taking or already took calculus)
- Anatomy & Physiology PS (requires completion of AP biology)
- Human Biology
- Environmental Science A
- Environmental Science Honors
- Medical Terminology Honors
- Patient Care Communication Honors
- Dynamics of Healthcare Honors
In summary, as long as you take one year of bio, and two years of any other science, you’re pretty much all set. I’d recommend just taking physics/chemistry/biology though, as it’s easiest to track. You do you tho, moving on. You need a minimum of one year taking a language, either Spanish, French, Mandarin, or Italian. Colleges like seeing several years, so if that’s the path you want to take, then multiple language classes (under the same language) is your best bet. You’ll then need four years of gym and health, nothing for you to do about that.
Required Classes – Electives
You thought the science choices were a lot? Get ready for the electives. In total, you need one year of visual/performing arts (VPA), one year of career/consumer/family/life skills (CCFL), and half a year of financial literacy (FL). There are a ton of electives that don’t count towards these elective credits, so be aware of that when picking electives. I’m pulling out another table, for the organization, to outline the electives that actually WILL give you these credits. Some of these courses are half year, meaning they’ll only give you half of the required credits (aside from financial literacy, which only requires that half year), so these classes will be denoted with a star. Additionally, each financial literacy class can also count as CCFL credit, so if business is your jam, you can bulk up on those for your CCFL classes. Again, classes that give college credit will be highlighted green.
| VPA | CCFL | FL |
| Acting 1* and 2* | Culinary Arts 1, 2, 3, and 4 | Sports & Entertainment Marketing* |
| Creative Writing | Life Design Lab 1, 2, 3, and 4 Honors | Entrepreneurship* |
| Public Speaking * | Statistics A | International Business* |
| Symphonic Band A or Honors | AP Statistics | Business Organization & Management |
| Wind Ensemble A or Honors | Computer Science Essentials | Business Finance & Marketing Honors |
| Orchestra A or Honors | AP Computer Science Principles | Personal Finance* |
| Concert Choir A or Honors | AP Computer Science A | AP Macroeconomics |
| Guitar | Marine Biology* | AP Microeconomics (prerequisite: AP Macroeconomics) |
| Piano | Astronomy* | Supply Chain Management 1 Honors |
| Music Theory & Harmony | Principles of Engineering Honors | Supply Chain Management 2 Honors |
| AP Music Theory | Forensics* | |
| Music & Technology | Neuroscience* | |
| Bach to Rock & Beyond | Nanoscale Science & Engineering Honors | |
| Broadcasting 1, 2, and 3 | Aerospace Engineering Honors | |
| CAD 1, 2, and 3 | Engineering & Robotics 1 and 2 | |
| Graphic Design 1, 2, 3, and 4 | Alternative Energy & Sustainable Design | |
| Photographic Imaging 1, 2, and 3 | Wood Design 1, 2, 3, and 4 | |
| Visual Art 1 and 2, 3 Honors | ||
| Ceramics | ||
| Drawing | ||
| Painting | ||
| AP Studio Art |
That’s a solid rundown of the classes you’ll need. Obviously, this isn’t every single class you can take, but with this base knowledge of the program of studies it should be fairly simple to figure out the rest. The full list of classes can be found on our school’s website, called Program of Studies.