New classes pilot at HHS

When Sophia Koritz, senior, entered her first day of AP Spanish Literature and Culture, she felt intimidated and curious knowing that it was the first ever class to run at HHS.

“I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with the class, but our teacher, Señora Foster, made us feel a lot more comfortable. Because it’s the ‘test year,’ she made us excited for the class and even gave us little journals to enter in,” Koritz said.

Taught by Mrs. Kimberly Foster, World Language, AP Spanish Literature is one of three courses that is piloting at HHS this year. These new classes provide students with new learning opportunities, but can also come with many challenges.

AP Spanish Literature and Culture was designed for students who have completed CiS Spanish 5 and Spanish 6, particularly those in the Juntos program, to continue taking rigorous Spanish courses at HHS. According to the course’s syllabus, the class will be conducted only in Spanish and covers literary works from Latin America and Spain through a range of historical periods from the medieval era to today.

Another new class offered this year is Multivariable Calculus, taught by Mr. Brent Hering, Mathematics. According to Hering, although the class does not offer college credit, it provides students with valuable exposure to high-level college math after AP Calculus BC.

“What students are going to experience is going to be the exact same as a college-level multivariable calculus class, but in the high school. We’ll look at why things are the way they are, give students proof exposure, and topics in three dimensions, which is often more related to engineering,” said Hering. “But it’s really about continuing to challenge students in the high school level as much as we can.”

Hering said one of the challenges of teaching a class for the first time is knowing course material well enough to understand how to effectively teach it. Despite this challenge, he feels the students’ desire to take the class easily motivates him.

“It’s probably been about 20 years since I took multivariable calculus myself, so I will definitely take some time to review some content and bridge that gap…But I know there are a lot of amazing students in the class who can help each other out and make it easier for me,” Hering said.

Koritz said because the class is new and only available to certain students, she appreciates the engagement of a smaller class size.

“Since it’s a small class, I’m looking forward to a lot of one-on-one time with the teacher and being able to work in groups and connecting with a close-knit class,” Koritz said.