by Olivia Van Arsdale, ’17
With the scheduling for the next school year ahead, it’s time to start thinking about what classes to take
Film Analysis and IB Film
For aspiring filmmakers, or just for those who need to fill a slot on their schedules, it could be worth the time to look into Film Analysis and IB Film.
This year, these two classes were not offered as a result of accidentally being left off the class register. For the upcoming year, the program’s teacher and creator Rikki Santer is hoping to reinstate the classes.
Senior Grant Jones, who has experienced both classes, said he took them to gain more knowledge on the context of film.
“I’ve always been interested in movies and making movies. I wanted to get more of a historical background on it and that class offers more film theory,” Jones said.
Jones also stated that the Film Analysis courses are structured differently from most other art classes.
“It’s more like a language arts class,” Jones said. “Except instead of reading books, you’re reading movies.”
Jones said that his expectations of the class differed greatly from the reality.
“It’s more in-depth than I thought it [would be],” Jones said. “I was like, ‘oh, we watch movies and talk about what we like and didn’t like,’ but it’s so much more than that – you watch a movie and you probably spend a month analyzing it.”
Jones, along with fellow senior Jack Campise, began the Cinema Club after experiencing IB Film. The club has a similar function to Film Analysis, so if the idea of these classes sounds great but doesn’t fit into your schedule, go to room 215 after school on Wednesdays.
For more information on Film Analysis or IB Film, contact either Mrs. Santer or a school counselor.
College Credit Plus
As of this school year, a new higher education option besides AP and IB has come to the high school. CCP, or the College Credit Plus program (also known as ‘dual enrollment’) allows students to take college courses through Columbus State Community College while still in high school.
While dual enrollment has always been offered at UAHS through Ohio State Academy, this is the first year that Columbus State has been involved and also the first year that classes are being held at UAHS.
Currently, the high school is hosting Composition I and II, as well as American Government/State and Local Government, though other classes such as Intro to Psychology, Intro to Sociology, Introduction to Theatre, and Math For Liberal Arts are offered on the Columbus State Campus.
However, transportation is not provided, so a dual enrollment student would be responsible for getting to and from campus in time for classes at the high school.
While AP and IB attempt to emulate college classes, CCP courses actually mirror their counterparts on real college campuses. The core curriculum is designed to follow the syllabus of the same class given on Columbus State campus, and offers credit. For example, taking Composition 1100 is worth three college credits. This also means that one semester of a CCP course is worth a full year of high school credit.
This difference makes it possible for students to earn associate’s degrees while still in high school, like alumnus Toby Kegley did. Toby, having gotten her Associate’s Degree through Columbus State while at UAHS, is now a film student at Ohio University with an internship in Los Angeles.
For more information on dual enrollment, talk to Dr. Kathy Moore in the College Center.