Every year new courses are added and taken from subject selection choices. For the 2025/ 2026 school year the possible new courses are Microbiology Honors and AICE Geography 1 AS.
These 2 courses are not certain that they will be offered because it will depend on the number of students that sign up for them and if the teachers who are qualified to teach it have the time to do so. Mr. Pendola said “The question at this point is not so much if we have the interest in the class but whether we have enough space in the master schedule to offer it. If the teachers who are slated to teach the classes have a full load of periods for their other classes, we will not be able to add the classes to the schedule.” This could be a disappointment to some students because many upperclassmen were looking forward to taking it and some lowerclassmen had interest as well.
JC Nadal, freshman at MAST, said “I do have interest in taking AICE Geography 1 AS as an elective. The only reason why I may hold back is because there are other classes that would help me get the credits I need for the path I want to take.”
Both of these classes have different benefits to them. Mr. Pendola also said, “Each class has a unique set of things that make it beneficial to our students.”
Some of the benefits to taking AICE Geography 1 AS is if you are in the Cambridge program or working towards the Cambridge diploma it can be used for the Science or Humanities credit. It is also a college level course, so it will give you an additional college credit that most colleges will accept.
Some of the benefits to taking Microbiology Honors are that it could help students get a better understanding of working in STEM. It would also teach students more about the scientific process and how this information applies to research and development.
Samantha Hightower, a freshman at MAST, said that Microbiology Honors does not personally interest her with her ideal career, but it does sound like a cool class. However, she said that AICE Geography 1 AS sounds more appealing. “I think it’s important to know where places are for travel, future reference, or to stay updated about what’s going on around the world.”
Leila Gasca, a sophomore, said “I wanted to choose microbiology since that’s what I am interested in.” She didn’t end up choosing it because she had other courses that better fit her goal and she wasn’t sure that she would get to take the course.
