Choosing courses for your next year of high school can sometimes be confusing since most classes at Leyden are trees that just keep branching out. Classes like Culinary Basics, extends to Pastry, Cuisine, Personal Chef, and Advanced Catering 1 & 2. The business classes all lead to the potential of Business Incubator. We as high school students have been picking our classes since January of eighth grade, most of us have been picking classes that lead to something greater or pick classes just because they’re easy. A decision like this may not seem big, but it can and will affect how your remaining years of high school go.

Student Madelyn Virzi, is one of the few freshmen who is actually prepared and ready to start her sophomore year. “ I want to take AP Gov, because I like learning about the government and although it seems no one really does, it has always interested me. So for that reason I would like to learn with more of a challenge.” This will be Madelyn’s first Advanced Placement class. Taking your very first AP class can be kind of stressful, but there are so many opportunities once you complete it.

On the other side is Danny Determann, a junior that is preparing for his senior year. Being a junior in high school can be very stressful, but with the right people, it can be a breeze. That’s how Danny sees it. “I am pretty much ready for senior year I have all my required classes almost finished.”  Some of the required classes to graduate East Leyden are four years of english and p.e., three years of math, two and a half years of social studies, two years of science, one year of fine/applied arts, and half a year of digital literacy and consumer ed. There are a few new classes that have been introduced to sophomores and above; Latin American Studies, Spanish & Latin American Film, Digital Music Production, and Bilingual Chemistry.

Being an underclassmen at times can be taxing, but it is all worth it in the end. Ask seniors, they have a good idea about all the classes that Leyden has to offer. Also listen to your teachers recommendations because they’re the ones teaching you and seeing how you learn and how much work you can actually handle.