With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, students will be left to think about what classes they are going to take in the upcoming school year. Several students will be looking to take classes more advanced for their age. There are many different options students can take advantage of to help accelerate their learning and high school experience. The three opportunities Cannon Falls High School offers are Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), Advanced Placement (AP), and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. On Monday, January 14, students and parents were invited to attend a meeting presented by Principal Tim Hodges and guidance counselor Kirsten Hoffman explaining the many opportunities available to students.
AP classes are college level classes that allow students to get a higher level experience with whatever subject they choose to take. Cannon Falls High School offers several different AP courses, unlike many schools its size. Calculus AB, Biology, Physics 1, U.S. History, World History, U.S. Government, Language and Composition, and Language and Literature are all AP classes that are offered at CFHS. Humanities is a high level honors course that is available to juniors and seniors, and gives students the opportunity to take an AP exam for Art History. Advanced Placement courses are a unique possibility for high school students in Cannon Falls, which is something that many take advantage of. Riley Iverson, a tenth grade student, takes both AP Biology (AP BIO) and AP U.S. History (APUSH). “AP BIO is a really fun class and the labs you get to do are probably my favorite part in the class,” Iverson explained. She went on to say that she wouldn’t recommend APUSH to those who don’t love history, because the course is extremely challenging.
PSEO allows certain tenth through twelfth grade students to earn college credits while still in high school. There are certain enrollment requirements for courses depending on the college or university. Activities through CFHS are still available to students if they take PSEO, because they will still be enrolled in Cannon Falls. CLEP is also an option for high schoolers. Several CLEP exams correspond with CFHS classes, and give students the chance to take higher level tests. Cannon Falls High School is a CLEP site; therefore students can take the exams at school without having to commute to a different location.
Every year, eighth graders get the opportunity to pick the classes they want to take their freshman year. They have four hours of the day that are taken up by the necessary classes for graduation. “9th graders will register for Communications 9, World History 9, Earth/Space Systems 9, and a math course assigned for the whole year,” Hoffman stated. The rest of the three are open for elective classes that they are allowed to register for. Language classes, physical education and health, concert band/choir, shop and agriculture courses, and business classes are several of the available electives incoming ninth graders are able to register for; they also have the option to have a study hall during one or both of the semesters.
Mrs. Hoffman will be going over registration beginning on January 31 and students will receive registration materials. February 18-21 will be registration dates for next year’s classes.
