by Karina Correa | tech editor
With the course selection window approaching, there is some information students need to be aware before and after doing their selection.
“So we like for students to think about what are their goals for what they wanna do after high school because they might have an idea of what they might want to work towards, that will help them pick the right classes to prepare them, or it’s okay if they don’t know what they wanna do after high school but maybe they have an area of interest that they want to explore,” Counselor Courtney Tarbox said. “That helps us with helping them select electives and then just knowing kinda deciding if there’s a certain area where they wanna challenge themselves by taking honors, or you know, more advanced class.”
Later in the month, students will have the chance to talk to their teachers about their choice.
“We are gonna have a kickoff day – January 19, and then also on the 20th we are going to ask students and teachers to have this kind of conversation of what classes would be good for next year,” Tarbox said.
Students are encouraged to try new courses or even advanced classes, such as honors, AP, Dual Credit, and On-Ramps.
“[Courses] depend on the student and their area of interest. I think that’s one of the best things we have at Johnson. We have so many different electives and areas that I think a student can really find whatever they’re interested in and passionate about,” Tarbox said.
There are classes where not too many students request it, if this is the case, it will not be given, and the counselors will pick the alternate the student has chosen.
“So we do offer a lot of classes, and if not a lot of students request that class it just doesn’t make, it is not given as a class the next year,” Tarbox said. “That is a reminder to students that it’s really important to select alternate choices for electives because that might happen if they pick something that doesn’t make, we need to have a backup choice.”
A student might have all their credits but empty blocks on their schedule; as much as some might love to retake an elective, they will not be able to, instead, they have to pick a class they haven’t taken.
“Courses cannot be repeated for credit, that’s like a state rule. Students are not allowed to repeat a class if they already have the credit,” Tarbox said.
New courses are in the progress of being added to the course card.
“There will be new courses, be sure to check the course card when you get it on January 19,” Tarbox said. “Students just need to check their course card for those courses.”
There are a total of 26 credits students need to have to graduate. That information will be given on the 19th, along with the course card.
“[If a student doesn’t turn in their course card, their counselors will pick for them. Counselors will be meeting with students through their English classes between January 24 through February 9. They should be meeting with their counselors during their English class one day in that window, but if they were absent and still didn’t turn anything in to their counselor,” Tarbox said. “We will send a pass to try to visit with them, but we ultimately will put something in for them if they don’t complete it.”
The course selection window will open on January 23.
“…that is also the day of the course fair, and of course, that’s a great opportunity for students to come to talk to different clubs and organizations that are tied with like classes as an extracurricular activity, and to find out about a lot of the different electives and the things they might like to take,” Tarbox said.
The event will be from 6-8pm in the gym, cafeteria, and upper foyer.
“The deadline to make any changes to the course selection is usually the last day of school for students to let their counselor know, so May 26 is usually the deadline,” Tarbox said.
