Brand new AP classes will be available to students during the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. These classes will include AP Physics 2, AP Human Geography, and AP Computer science. However, one AP class will be discontinued as a result of these new courses — AP European History.

A regular AP Physics course is currently available to students taught by Mr. Woods. With the new AP Physics 2 class, it will focus more on the algebra aspect of the subject and thorough investigations based on fluids, thermodynamics, electrical force, field, and potential, etc. In order to take AP Physics 2, the student must have completed AP Physics 1 before and should have taken or been currently taking a pre-calculus or an equivalent class.

AP Human Geography will introduce students to the systematic studies of patterns and other processes that have transformed human understanding, use, and alteration of the planet’s surface. No required courses are needed to enroll in this course but College Board states that students who have previously taken geography, world history, and earth science may find it easier to grasp the concepts and other applications used within the curriculum. A regular geography class is currently offered on campus and is taught by Mr. Donoho; AP Human Geography will be an extended branch of that subject.

The final class being added to the list of college-level courses is AP Computer Science. This course will allow for students to thrive in future STEM careers through fundamental principles, helping them build an understanding of computing and computational thinking. Counselors and the College Board highly recommend students who are interested in taking this course to complete at least one year of algebraic math in high school.

These new courses led the counselors to host an AP fair last month to recruit students for these classes. Next year’s incoming seniors, juniors, and sophomores will have the opportunity to enroll. “I really wish these classes were available to me when I was a sophomore or junior. It would have given me a wider variety of the type of AP courses I could have taken,” comments senior Giselle Negrete.

With these new additions, the one AP class that will no longer be available on campus beginning next year is AP European History. This course allows students to learn how to analyze and interpret historical facts and evidence to achieve an understanding of significant European developments. AP European History is currently taught by Mr. Conacher who also teaches world history and economics.

The three new courses will launch next school year and will be available to students who are interested in enrolling. AP European History will finish its final year on campus and will be discontinued next school year. The counselors encourage you to stop by their offices if you wish to enroll in any of the AP courses.