BALLSTON SPA — Are you ready to rock? At the January 17 Board of Education meeting, Ballston Spa High School Principal Matthew Robinson discussed upcoming courses that will be offered for the 2024-2025 school year, including one called History of Rock. The course, along with several others that resulted from conversations with teachers and students, is designed to achieve the school’s goal of delivering “a meaningful diploma for all students.”
According to Robinson, the music department will be offering a rock history course in which “students will study rock music through performance and composition.” Enrollees will be required to play the guitar, bass, and drums. Robinson said that the “fun, engaging” course could appeal to students who are interested in music but don’t want to participate in band, chorus, or orchestra.
As part of the school’s efforts to combat the decline in physical education participation that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, the PE department will offer Lifetime Yoga and Strength in Motion classes. In Lifetime Yoga, “students will learn the history of yoga, stances, poses, and the many aspects of yoga as a practice.” Students will also be expected to create and demonstrate their own yoga routines. The Strength in Motion course is “essentially a weightlifting course for athletes,” according to Robinson, but any student can participate if interested.
The English Language Arts department will be offering the senior elective Today’s Issues: Fiction and Nonfiction. Students will read and analyze current events and “actively participate in civic discourse,” according to Robinson.
Additionally, the school will offer a CHS Intermediate Algebra course that will act as a college prep math course for students desirous of something more rigorous than Math Applications. Robinson also said that the 2024-2025 school year will be a pilot year for an Advanced Science designation.
