New courses to start off the new school year

Leena Alul, Staff Writer and Media Specialist

Lemont high school is a place of many opportunities. They have options for a plethora of different things. This includes a variety of different sports, clubs that benefit the school and the community, and much more.

Next year they will be introducing four new fine arts courses, one of them being portfolio development. This course is designed to students who intend to pursue art in college. Students will work by putting together an art portfolio to receive the status of an artist. Students will benefit from college professors and learning about a variety of different art programs offered at a college level.

For anyone who is a lover of fashion and clothes, Fashion Design Illustration may be the course for you. This course gives students the opportunity to learn how to design and accessorize clothes. Students will learn how to make illustrations by hand and digitally. This course also teaches about the history of costume and fashion design. Students will design their own fashion collection and then create a portfolio to store all of their creations.

“I think that students at Lemont are so lucky because they have the opportunity to take electives in a very wide range of courses,” said Mrs. Denise Dalton, head of the counseling department.

Many students are aware that math is not a required course senior year. Colleges still look for four years of mathematics, so it is essential that students choose a math elective. A new elective offered next year is College Algebra. In this course students learn concepts such as: numbers and quantities, functions, statistics, geometry, and algebra. This math course is held by representatives of College of Dupage.

With English being a required course for the duration of four years, next year a new English course is being introduced and senior students are given the option to take it as an alternative for English IV Academic. College Writing will be offered to students. This course is held by representatives of Joliet Junior College. Students enrolled in this course and will be exposed to all different types of writing, building,their skills with expository, argumentative, critical analysis, and research writing skills. Transferable credit to JJC is given to students who successfully complete this course for two semesters if the student meets the college placement standards.

For students who are currently enrolled in Spanish I and want to continue with Spanish II next year but desire to challenge themselves with a more demanding course, Spanish II Honors will be offered to students next year. This course will continue to teach students the basics of listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. They also practice communication and pronunciation strategies to improve various skills.  

For students who were enrolled in American Sign Language II and enjoyed it, will fortunately be able to continue with American Sign Language II next year. Students will be able to expand their knowledge on hand shape, location, orientation, movement, and facial body expression.

“If you compare what we offer to what schools around us offer, you guys have more time to take the high school courses that make high school more fun,” said Dalton.

If students have any questions regarding course selection, they should speak to their guidance counselor in the main office.