As we dive into our senior year, we can’t help but feel that each class has its own vibe. Here’s a list of some of our memorable classes—ones that we’ve already taken and ones that we’re in this year—each with its own tune, reflecting the highs, lows, and everything in between.
Junior Year:
AP Biology with Rendell – “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
The infamous biology class with Mr. Rendell. One day, you are learning about cell organelles, recalling seventh grade knowledge of the mitochondria — powerhouse of the cell! But next, you are discovering the steps for glycolysis? Since when are we counting ATP molecules? Rendell lectures go by quickly, covering chapters at the speed of light, until you are sitting at your desk with a hefty multiple choice test sitting in front of you. As Mr. Rendell puts on the 40-minute timer on the big screen, every question makes you want to neatly close the packet and take the next plane to a beach — as far away from the test as possible. But you know that you gotta be strong, just keep pushing on. AP Biology is always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes you’re gonna have to lose. But, despite facing the challenges of the Rendellian biology course, the best memories are made laughing during labs, bonding over late night studying, and having off-topic conversations about the color sweatshirt someone is wearing. It’s the climb that makes this course one of the most difficult yet memorable.
APUSH with Hegarty – “Try Everything” by Shakira
From the moment you open up the textbook, you know you’re in for a long ride. You start with a bundle of energy, promising yourself, I won’t give up, no, I won’t give in, ‘til I reach the end. But then, you realize that the end is 34 chapters away and you might be in trouble. One day, you’re studying the Jacksonian Era, only to find out during the test that you confused it with Jeffersonian democracy. Oops. Every week, you dread Friday—DBQs you barely scribble to, SAQs that make you question whether you read the right chapter, and multiple-choice questions that all sound right but somehow aren’t. So you push forward, grinding through the Progressive Era, WWI, The Great Depression, and every war you can think of. By the time you get to Vietnam, you’re so deep in the trenches that everything is a jumble. But it doesn’t matter. Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up. When it’s all over, you’re exhausted but weirdly proud. Maybe you didn’t remember all the presidents in order. Maybe you don’t know what Hamilton was yapping about. But it doesn’t matter because you made it through the hardest class of high school and survived.
AP Lang with Whitehead – “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
The world of Whitehead is one filled with surprises at every turn. Not only is he a great teacher, but he’s also a painter, poet, musician, and mushroom collector. However, despite the fun in-class discussions, you will soon find yourself facing numerous days of in-class essays, with the [pen in your hand,] ending unplanned, staring at the blank page before you. Especially when he arrives at the Transcendentalism unit talking about bears eating humans, it makes you want to just open up the dirty window and let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. But don’t mind the bears and strange stories of people who disappear in the woods—you will find AP Lang to be a cheery class. Everyone’s voices matter in discussions as no one else can speak the words on your lips. So as you wrestle with essays and fend off bear nightmares, remember this: Mr. Whitehead’s class is as interesting and unpredictable as his mushroom collection. By the end of the course, you will be leaving with a few questions on human morality, a handful of new phobias, and, most importantly, better writing skills. Yet I can assure you that you will certainly never look at a blank page, or a forest for that matter, the same way ever again.
AP BC Calc with Laux – “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC
The year starts off nice and easy, with a review of limits and continuity from precalc. But soon enough, you’re saying bye, bye, bye to simple algebra, easy-peasy functions, and ‘nice’ math. You can say bye, bye, bye to any sense of comfort or social life you may have had. Every time we think we’re getting the hang of it, Laux hits us with a new kind of derivative or some wild integration technique that makes our head spin. I know, I know—you don’t wanna be a fool. But, if I had to be honest, Calc BC left some of us feeling exactly like that. After furiously scribbling through pages of complex problems, convinced we’ve nailed it, we’re hit with the classic, heartbreaking realization that we forgot a +C. Every late night cram session and half-finished homework has us humming I know that I can’t take no more, it ain’t no lie. But, I don’t know if I really come to see that life would be much better once you’re gone. And it might sound crazy, but once you move on to stats, you’ll miss the old Calc days (more below). You’ll long for the adrenaline rush of tackling the toughest integrals (like the one we postponed until February 7, iykyk), or the satisfaction of finally understanding the chain rule after what felt like a million tries. It’s bittersweet, especially because we had to say bye, bye, bye to Laux. But, even as we say goodbye, the memories from that class will linger long after the formulas fade from our minds.
Senior Year:
Stats with Hu – “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter
… make sense! At the start, you tell yourself, I know I have good judgment, I know I have good taste, thinking you’ll breeze through sampling and experimental design. But, when normal distribution comes along, you’ll feel delusional for thinking it would be easy. Deep down you start to realize maybe it’s not that funny and ironic that only you feel that way. Heartbreak is one thing, but nothing crushes your ego more than when you’re recalculating z-scores for the millionth time while studying the night before the test. I know, I know, everyone makes mistakes. But, just don’t in this class. Please, please, please don’t prove I’m right about how hard stats is. Jokes aside, if you don’t want to embarrass yourself, make sure to lock in for the Question of the Day worksheets and study hard for the infamous quarterlies. When you see the generous curve, it might bring you to tears. So, thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Hu!
Physics with Berman – “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
When you first step foot into his room, you might feel as lost as a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world. As the weeks go by, you dive into the world of forces and kinematics. Every time you solve a problem, you feel that spark of excitement. Trust us, don’t stop believin’, hold on to that feelin! Because when test days come, things may get a bit bumpy. You’ve studied hard, but the nerves kick in. You stumble over terms like displacement and velocity, and your mind races through the equations, unsure of which ones to apply. When the bell finally rings, you let out a sigh of relief, the weight of the exam lifting from your shoulders. Even if the road ahead is daunting, just know you can hop on the midnight train and leave with the thrill of accomplishment.
Peers with Capone and Barker – “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars
After a rigorous weekend of training over the summer, the senior peer leaders arrived on the first day, equipped to welcome the freshmen. Wearing our meat-colored Peer shirts, we are there if you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea. Homework help? Friend group issues? Stressed about high school? You can count on (us). Through this unique class, you have the chance to bond with your classmates as you discuss sensitive topics, open up about what excites you, and play fun games. And, of course, eat snacks and play SPLAT! (easily our favorite part). You can truly count on your Peers to help guide you through your high school experience, and perhaps, you will want to be a Peer too!
Science Research with Firnberg – “Yummy” by Justin Bieber
Our brainstorming sessions can get intense, but nothing breaks the stress like sharing a bag of gummies or crunchy grapes within Ms. Firnberg’s science research room. From students eating canteens of pasta to slurping on chocolate milk, we science research kids are hard at work finishing our papers while maintaining full stomachs. Any time you walk in, you can bet there’s a chorus of munching and crinkling happening (alongside the science talk, of course!). We’re hungry for knowledge, and just starving in general, especially when we got that yummy-yummy food sitting in our overstuffed lunch boxes. After being with the same group for three years in a row, we’ve grown comfortable to share our eating habits and cravings with one another and enjoy a period to delve into the science experience with a good bite to eat. Some of our snacks are sweet and science is sweeter, but the friendships we make are the sweetest.
Reflecting on our time at THS, our high school journey has been one filled with many laughs, tears, and of course, piles of snacks. You can’t go wrong with any course offered, and the teachers are always there to support you. So grab some headphones, say hi to your teachers, and enjoy every moment of it, because it goes by extremely fast.
