01•28•10registration guide 14-15soundtrack: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by � e Rolling Stones

A guide to registrationA guide to registrationA guide to registration

Every January, Rock Canyon

students decide what they

want to be doing 8, 12, and

15 months from now. Plan-

ning for the future can be

di� cult, so The Rock is doing

its part to help with a guide

to registration.

AP B? or AP C?

More romance

Other options

Keep it classy

AP Computer Science

Music with Mrs. Dale

More art

To AP or not to AP

Official off hours

A list of the new classes

being o� ered next year

• Art Experience I

• AP Computer Science

• Italian I

• Photojournalism

• Contemporary Literature

• Literature of Film II

• Creative Writing II

• Senior Studies

• Music Theory

• Voice Class

• Shape Up

• Global Science

• Rise of the Nation State: England

Current Sophomore and Juniors can only sign up for six

classes this year without permission from either Assistant

Principal Stacey Reindau or Gregg Doan.

This was done to save money by requiring fewer teachers,

because fewer classes would need to be taught.

With a new AP Physics class being o� ered next year,

which should you take?

Med prep and DCSD Career and Technical

Education programs: These are not for lazy

students. They are accelerated programs for

college bound students that prepare you for

the work world. Talk to your counselor now if

you are interested in either of these programs.

AP Physics B: Will cover both classic and

modern physics, including mechanics,

waves and more. A good understanding of

Algebra II and Trig is necessary to take this

class. Expect both online and book work. This

class encourages working in groups. AP Physics C: Will cover mechanics, which

includes energy, Newtonian physics, rota-

tion and more. Must be enrolled in or have

completed Calculus. The AP exam is only 90

minutes, half the length of a normal AP exam.

This class also encourages collaborative work

and has online homework and book work.Source: Anna Tesdahl

Music Theory and Voice Class will be taught by Julia Dale.

Music Theory will teach the elements, chords, harmonies,

and forms, in hope that they will be able to compose on their

own. This class will be hard without a background in music.

Voice class will teach proper vocal technique through sing-

ing various genres, songs from diff erent time periods, and

languages. “It will improve anyone’s singing,” said Dale.

Source: Julia Dale

Your options include AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconom-ics, and regular econ. You need to take at least one of these to graduate. Micro focuses on product markets, the role of governments in promoting greater effi ciency, and individual decision makers. Macro focuses on economics as a whole, covering natural income, price determination, international economies. Regular economics is a basic simplifi ed, general guide to economics. Source: Tim Marshall

In this class students will explore programming methodol-

ogy, logic and the study of data structure, and abstraction.

Although there is a textbook, most of this class is done on

the computer and requires intensive computer work in and

out of class. Students are encouraged to take the AP exam at

the end of the year. Source: Janna Robinett

For students who have already

passed level three of another for-

eign language, Erin Toews brings

you another romance language,

Italian. It will be a fun class that

shouldn’t be too hard.

Source: Erin Toews

We will explore 2-D and 3-D

projects and art form. There

will be a pointillism project,

a scratch board animal,

a contour line painted

self portrait, and a stone

sculpture in Art Experience.

Source: Drew Walter

For the students not inter-

ested in the traditional English

classes, Literature of Film II,

Creative Writing II, and Contem-

porary Literature will be off ered

next year.

Source: Jack Kennedy

Level two

Reworking your writingAP Language is easy because you get to do a lot of

your learning in class, and vocab through songs. It

is hard because it’s all new material, there is a lot to

learn, and students should expect a lot of writing.

“ You have to get used to being told how much

you suck but it’ll make you a better writer,” said

Brandon Cooper ‘11 .“It really prepares you for successful writing, which

you will use your entire life,” Camille Tan’ 10 said.

Source: Jack Kennedy

Mathematically mindbending“[AP Calculus] is tough, but if you plan to go into medicine,

it’s mandatory,” said Nick Decherd ‘10.

“If you’re not going to use calculus in your major, don’t waste

your time. It’s one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken,”

Leann Slavin ‘10, said.“You either get it or you don’t, and if you don’t, there is no

hope for you,” said Michael Clark ‘11.

“This ain’t no putt-putt,” said Mr. Koy

Senior Studies is so sexy

This is not an easy cakewalk class. It will focus on

some learning in the classroom, but a lot of time in

the community doing independent projects that

include internships, service, and research. There will

be rigor and high expectations, but a lot of free-

dom. It will be two periods long with 60 kids, and

will be worth two credits. Source: PJ Stahley

Unconventional mathReasons to Take AP Statistics or Statistics: Useful subject matter, excellent curriculum (one of the better AP tests), teacher with advanced statistics background (Ph.D.), and the many uses of statistics: fi nancial markets, insurance, credit cards, quality control, sports, medicine, social sciences, journalism, symbiotic relationships to the computer age, computer intelligence. The math is fairly simple because computers and calculators do much of the work.Source: Jason Dunkle

It’s all about the green

AP Environmental Science will be going through a third teacher change, and

will be taught by Geoff rey Brinker next year. It is considered one of the easier AP

classes, but is also known as one of the classes that changes lives.

“The class interested me just because I love science. I was surprised how much I

liked it; it actually makes me want to help the environment instead of just talking

about it,” said Megan Spradling ‘10. Sources: Nick Laatsch, Geoff rey Brinker

Finding a whole new worldRise of the Nation State: England is being taught by Lissa Stahl and will address diff erent aspects of the country of England. Starting the semester off learning about the Magna Carta and monarchies, students will also explore fun topics such as studies on the various kings and queens and focus on the diff erent battles that took place. There will also be a unit on Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and their controversy. Modern-day England will also be discussed. Source: Melinda Emch and LIssa Stahl

Hard and complicated “[AP Chemistry] is ridiculously hard and compli-cated, but if you spend enough time and eff ort on it, it’ll be worth it,” said Andrew Wilt ‘10. “It’s Honors Chemistry three levels up. You need good, logical reasoning skills for the class and it is essential for science and medical majors,” Dave Ferguson said.

Real life mathematics

Math of Money is a class that will challenge you

to understand how math works in pertinent, real

world situations. It covers everything from buying

houses and doing taxes to balancing check books

and investing in the future. “Math of Money is

a great class that involves math that people use

in real-life situations. From calculating a tip to

fi nancing a house, Math of Money teaches real-life

fi nancial math necessities,” said Zach Stickney ‘10.

Source: Tony Koy

The far eastern classModern Asian History curriculum covers many topics about the Asian Nation in the 21st century, includ-ing economics, problems after the Cold War, and historical and cultural aspects. It is in its second year and is taught by Suzi McKay. Sources: Suzi McKay and Melinda Emch

Information compiled by Alex Rowe, Paige Hesen, Laura Romer, Daniel Wheeler, Rachel Curtright, Jenn Burton, Erika Guilbault, and Curtis Stuck