As the academic advising season begins, the electives fair is a way to help students figure out which electives to take along with their core classes. With so many classes being offered, it is sometimes hard to discern the hidden benefits of these courses. Electives fulfill requirements like fine arts, languages and personal finance credits needed to graduate while offering a way for students to discover new interests,  

While some electives need prerequisites or are only offered to upperclassmen, many are open to every grade. An English elective students of all grades can register for is Film Studies. Taught by Mr. Zachary Reves, this year-long class studies films to discuss plot, characterization or vocabulary used in these discussions.

A class for upperclassmen interested in education is Teachers for Tomorrow. This class is flexible to individual students’ interests and introduces them to the main concepts of education.

“What I really like about the class is that we get the opportunity to actually go do an internship. We got to choose an elementary school to go to and work with a class 2-3 times a week,” said senior Elizabeth Droto. “What makes it a good class for aspiring teachers is that we actually get to plan lessons and learn about what it take to become a teacher. It really is like a college class we discuss what we have observed in our classrooms and we found out what it will be like in the college classes. It’s sets the basis for what it is like to teach.”

This class allows students to gain professional experience by requiring an internship outside of the class at a school setting.

Sports Medicine is also offered at West Potomac to all grades. In the course offerings booklet, the class will allow students to “study and apply concepts related to medical professions, anatomy and physiology of skeletal and muscular systems, kinesiology, types of injuries, injury prevention and nutrition.”

Biology serves as the prerequisite of this course, but you can take it as a corequisite as well.  

While choosing classes for next year, make sure to review all the offerings to find the best match for your interests and required classes. A great resource is the West Potomac course offerings booklet.