As class registration opens, high school students may be asking themselves, “What electives should I take next year?” Northwood High School offers plenty of electives, arguably so many that it may be difficult for students to choose only four–eight, if you add the alternative options. Staff Writer Nellielou Errett asked Northwood students about the best electives to take.
There are a wide variety of Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes that are offered at Northwood. Many of the CTE classes fall under Family and Consumer Sciences, agriculture, computer sciences, construction, carpentry, accounting, animal science, Apparel and Textiles Production, Microsoft Excel, Career Management, Biomedical Technology, nursing, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, hospitality, health sciences, programming, fashion merchandising and Business and Finance.
Northwood senior Tori Castellano explained why the agriculture courses at Northwood are interesting to her.
“Ms. Brickhouse and Ms. Smith really work on getting hands-on learning [for students.],” Castellano said. “[A few examples of] hands-on learning [include working] with the chickens and going on trips to Lowes.”
If you are interested in any of the agriculture classes you can email Ms. Brickhouse at galew@chatham.k12.nc.us and Ms. Smith at ljsmith@chatham.k12.nc.us.
The language electives students can take at Northwood are French and Spanish. Northwood sophomore Lex Mansour enjoys the Spanish electives and is currently taking Spanish lV this spring semester.
“[Spanish] is easier than a lot of languages,” Mansour said. “You get to learn about culture from Central and South American countries. Being bilingual is also very helpful for jobs, or just in everyday life.”
If you are interested in taking any Spanish courses you can contact Mr. Lupoli at clupoli@chatham.k12.nc.us.
There are also elective options where you can be physically active or learn about sports health. Health and Physical Education is a required freshman course. The HPE Department also offers Advanced Physical Education, Sports Medicine and Weightlifting. Northwood junior Noah Vick says that Weightlifting has overall been his favorite class to take at Northwood.
“It promotes a healthy lifestyle while at the same time getting you in better shape,” Vick said. “By doing so it helps you feel better about yourself and can improve your mental health.”
If you are interested in taking Weightlifting you can contact Coach Gary at tgary@chatham.k12.nc.us and Coach Homolka at chomolka@chatham.k12.nc.us.
There are also a variation of performing, visual and creative arts classes. Options include Marching, Concert and Symphonic Bands, dance, Theatre Arts, Vocal Music and visual arts.
Northwood junior Brenna Brown says that she loves the dance classes at Northwood because the “whole [Dance] department is so positive, and everyone is so kind and fun to be around.”
If you would like more information on the dance electives at Northwood, contact the following teachers: Ms. Oakes at knorwood@chatham.k12.nc and Ms. Cohan at rcohen@chatham.k12.nc.us.
Northwood also provides core enrichment classes for students that might be interested in English, Science, Social Studies or Math. These include Creative Writing, Journalism, Yearbook, Speech and Debate, Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, Honors Chemistry and Honors Physics. AP courses and Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) courses are offered at Northwood, including AP Psychology and AP Chemistry. To apply for a CCCC class, you must contact your counselor to see if you are eligible to enroll in the Career & College Promise (CCP) program. You also must be a rising junior or senior to be in the program and take classes.
To see a full list of electives, click HERE. If you have any questions about class registration for the 2021-2022 school year, contact your designated counselor.
Graphic by Nellielou Errett.
