St. Dominic is opening a new world of knowledge filled with different classes and courses for the 2016-2017 school year. Options such as Modern American History and Apologetics are greeted with praise, and seniors are wishing they could stay one more year just to take these classes. Now with the new need for a Physical Science credit, student’s ACT scores are sure to fly sky high next year.

Ideas for new classes were presented by teachers last year to Mrs. Eaton. The new classes worked their way to final approval, and if accepted, would be available to students the following year.

In past years, St. Dominic did not have options for students who wanted to dig deeper into theater, directing and recent American history. Teachers Mrs. Melfreya Findley and Mr. Brandon Westlake proposed new ideas to fill the needs, including the new advanced theater class and Modern American History class that will be added to the course booklet. Adding advanced classes like these will help students explore what they are interested in and prepare them for their future.

“It is those kinds of things. They will hopefully broaden a few kids’ minds for what they want to take in college, and give you a bunch more choices,” said college guidance counselor Mrs. Darla Strecker.

The new Physics/Physical Science graduation requirement will be implemented into the curriculum next year, beginning with current sophomores. Those who have already taken Physical Science freshman year have already completed the graduation requirement. The new Earth and Physical Science class will be for juniors only, implemented so they can complete the necessary credit. These two classes are added to boost overall success on the ACT, giving students at St. Dominic a better chance for higher scores.

“We kind of need to start realizing that that is a bit of a gaping hole for not just our school but all schools. The Physical Science requirement will teach a good chunk of what the [ACT] tests cover. If we put it at approximately the junior level, it is fresh in minds, so it hasn’t been two years since you’ve taken it,” said Mrs. Strecker.

Other new options this upcoming year include Theatre Appreciation, Spanish Communications, Principles of Engineering and Advanced Studio and Directing Theatre. These are all courses created to fit the need of students at St. Dominic. Hopefully, students will take advantage of these innovative courses to explore what fields they are interested in.

With all of these new changes, St. Dominic hopes to make students’ education exceptionally better. The addition of more class opportunities will allow students to be more prepared to face their upcoming futures.