This semester, although it’s half over, a variety of new classes were offered during Pascack Period to the sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

“Chemistry Fun” with Ms. Reese is offered to any students taking Honors Chemistry. Applying information learned in class, students will engage in fun activities, such as making fudge or s’mores.

Another chemistry class is being offered as well: “Advanced Topics in Chemistry” with Ms. Arena and Mr. Nilsen. Students are able to choose their own topic and gain hands-on experience, presenting their research at the end of the year.

Photography, yoga breathing exercises, film clips, and listening to music are all ways to become more mindful, living each moment fully in order to live a happier and healthy life. In Ms. Back’s “Photography as a Mindful Meditation,” students will use photography as well as the other mediums mentioned above in order to become more mindful.

Students can test their knowledge of useless trivia in “Trivia & Game Shows: Battle of the Brains” run by Mr. Judilla and Mr. DelSanto. Students compete against their opponents, wager points against other teams, and can win prizes modes like Jeopardy, Family Feud, and Cranium.

Mr. Rawson’s “40 Years of SNL” will provide an overview of Saturday Night Live in its various forms from its start in 1976. It will examine the show as both a vehicle for social commentary and a phenomenon of pop culture.

For students who attended the “Intro to Networking” course in the first semester, “Computer Networking: Round 2” expands on the topics learned previously. Mr. Paul Zeller’s course will dig deeper into network design and security and will explore what it takes to build a network from scratch.

“Dissecting Disney” with Ms. Farrell will help strengthen students’ abilities to critique film while watching enjoyable animated movies. “When you’re a kid, you don’t see everything in the movies. But when you watch them again when you’re older, you realize so much more.” Farrell said of her class. In addition to watching the movies, the class is going to read documents that talk about the underlying themes in the movies that people may not have noticed as children.

Since there is very little time during English class to work on “independent writing”, “Nonrequired Writing: A Workshop for Aspiring Writers” run by Mr. Morone will allow students to do just that. Writing in a supportive and productive environment with group conferencing and workshopping opportunities will let students’ writing flourish.

Students will learn the basic concepts and principles in the field of strength and conditioning, as well as fitness facility maintenance in “Principles of Strength and Conditioning” with Mr. Cusumano.

For those considering a career in law enforcement, “Law Enforcement: Fundamentals, Issues and Current Trends” run by Detective Sergeant Hampton will provide students with knowledge and understanding. Interactive discussions and guest speakers in various roles of law enforcement will take place.

The student-run LGBTQ+ Issues class is more of a discussion-based class, focusing on topics such as gender equality. The students taking the class are going to be the ones that shape what the discussions will be about for the most part. “We figured that it would be a good idea to have a space separate from the Gay Straight Alliance that meets every week and has the same people come to it,” said junior Charlie Leppert, who runs the class along with Ben Mandel.