“I think some kids probably don’t realize the opportunities that we have in the building,” said Assistant Principal John DeStefano. “They get so focused on academics that they forget there are other things they can do as well that are just as meaningful and will help them be just as productive as they move on in life.”

Indeed, FHC is home to some of the most academically fit students in the state. Such an academically adept environment often means the elective courses FHC has to offer are cast in the shadows, unbeknownst to the student body.

With this problem growing more relevant as class registration season approaches, counselors wished to devise a solution.

“We want to give our elective courses an opportunity to speak to students right now as they’re looking at what kind of schedule they might want to put together,” DeStefano said. “A lot of times our elective classes don’t get that opportunity. So it’s really [important] to showcase those elective classes to our students.”

Thus, the Department Showcase was born.

“They implemented something like this at FHE- I think for the last couple of years, they’ve done it- and found it to be very successful for the elective programs,” DeStefano said. “So I think our counselors were intrigued, and they had some discussion and said, “We really believe this would be beneficial for our student body as well.ai??i??”

In short, this idea, borrowed from FHE, entails an entire morning dedicated to educating students about the various elective opportunities FHC has available. This will all play out tomorrow morning when seniors are encouraged to take a two-hour delay. Freshman will meet with the counselors first, while sophomores and juniors hear from elective representatives, then vice versa.

Elective teachers will take this opportunity to showcase their classes, from foreign language to music and everything in between. Many of these teachers are eager for the chance to present to possible future students.

“[The Department Showcase] was brought up [to the teachers] about a month ago by our counseling department,” DeStefano said. “The feedback was really positive… I think by large, people are excited to be able to talk about what their passions are.”

Then, after hearing from the counselors and elective teachers, all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be given thirty minutes to meet with any teacher that piqued their interest.

“The hope is that they will go, speak [to various teachers], and get a little bit more information about the elective they heard that they’re interested in,” DeStefano said.

As a whole, the FHC staff hopes tomorrow’s event will introduce students to various course options through listening and speaking to our many enthusiastic teachers, in turn creating a more stimulated and impassioned student body.

“It’s the presentation that draws the people in,” DeStefano said. “So I think when you get people who are passionate about what they do- and kids hear that- that certainly draws them in. It’s easy to open up a catalog, read through it, and say, “Yeah, I like that class.ai??i?? But if you hear our teachers who teach these classes speak passionately about what they love, that tends to draw kids into that more. So I think they’ll have an opportunity to share that. I do believe it will affect elective [registration] numbers a little bit. My hope is that the electives will have a little bit more robust numbers in the fall.”