Yesterday,  April 11th, 2016 marked the start of Miami Country Day’s first ever pre-registration period. “The period will start with a personalized envelope for each student filled with placement recommendations, and a one page detailed description for each course with an estimation of how much work you should expect each week in the course” explains Academic Dean, Mr Bronish, “We want to give students and parents as much information as possible to lead them to making the right course decisions.”

The pre-registration period will last from Monday, April 11th to Friday, April 22nd. If a student is not content with the recommended placements received in their personalized packet, they may browse the various courses in the course catalogue with detailed descriptions and pick the class that they feel is right for them. Once the student chooses their classes, or chooses to stick with their recommended classes, they can wait until the registration period, which ranges from April 25th to May 1st. During the registration period, the students confirm their placement in these classes online.

During pre-registration, students should discuss their course options with their parents and teachers to select their recommended classes, or other new courses based on what is required of them and their work level.

As a new year arrives, new classes offer new opportunities and new learning experiences. Ms. Robert, the Math, Science, and Technology Department Chair offers: “We will be opening two new classes next year- Honors Precalculus, and Honors Integrated Math III.  These will allow more students to have access to honors level courses in math. The courses will cover many of the same topics as the College Prep level courses but the topics will be covered in greater depth and more emphasis will be placed on real-world applications of mathematical concepts and skills, as well as critical thinking and problem solving.”

Mr. Lovett and Dr. Lightfoot will both be teaching new humanities seminar classes, one covering 20th century cultural movements and the other Latin American history, respectively. Humanities department chair Mrs. Gallup shares “Students should be sure to read the short forms carefully for all courses, especially the new courses that are offered, so they can decide which course might most interest them. In the 2017-18 school year, we will again offer Latin American History, in addition to Ancient Civilizations, a course which will be taught by Mr. Brennan…Students should plan to talk to Dr. Lightfoot and Mr. Lovett to get a better understanding of each of the new courses and how the research process will be integrated throughout the school year.”

There are various other new classes added to the course catalogue, along with old classes which have been removed such as Contemporary Literature. All of this information can be found in the packets that were given out during advisory on Monday with detailed descriptions of each course that will be available next year.

With about half of the Upper School still lacking the required number of service hours, Mr. Bronish reminds students, “If a student has not completed their service requirement by April 30th they will not have their course registration processed until they are turned into Mrs. Sennett. This only applies to current 9-11th graders. If there is a question about their service hours or a student claims they have them completed, please contact Mrs. Sennett.” He adds, “If [juniors] do not have their S.A.R.A. program done by May 4th, they will not have their registration processed…and everybody by next Friday April 15th, needs to make sure that they have returned to their advisor the parent return letter, stating that they got the packet at home.”

The courses you choose in the next week are going to be with you for months, and The Spartacus reminds you to think before you decide, and choose your courses wisely.

Happy Course picking!