Every February, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors begin preparing for the next stage of their Benet journey by selecting their courses for the next school year. The course selection process is heralded in by presentations from each department and the release of a new curriculum guide. Filled with valuable new insight, students plan their schedule and meet with their counselor to finalize their course requests. The course selection process is particularly exciting for juniors, who have a higher number of options than they did their previous two years. Exploring potential paths for his final year at Benet, junior Brian Mietus said, “I was super excited to make my senior course selections and be able to choose classes that represented and enlightened me.”
While there were some changes, as a whole the Benet course offerings remain mostly the same, attesting to the high educational standards Benet has set in previous years. The mathematics department was the only one to see notable change. Now, rising juniors and underclassmen who are ready for junior-level math will be able to pick between three math courses instead of two. Honors Advanced Algebra 2 with Trigonometry (AAT) returns. This course is recommended for those who would like to take AP Calculus BC. For those who would instead like to take AP Calculus AB, Benet has created the course Honors Algebra 2 with Trigonometry. This course is similar to AAT, but it will feature less material and has a less restrictive prerequisite. Also worth nothing is that CP Intermediate Algebra has now been replaced with CP Algebra 2, though the fundamentals of the former remain in place.
These changes were made because beginning with the Class of 2030, Benet is requiring all students to take trigonometry. Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies the relationships among components of a triangle. Students who learn at the college-prep level will now be required to take either CP Trig/Intro to Calculus or CP Trig/Intro to Stats. Meanwhile, those that are taking Honors Algebra 2 with Trig but do not wish to take an AP math course will be able to take CP Intro to Stats/Calculus their senior year.
The math department’s changes are undoubtedly positive, as Honors Algebra 2 with Trigonometry is a great addition for those who wish to be challenged but do not feel ready to take AAT. Furthermore, the addition of trigonometry as a graduation requirement will set Benet students up for a more prosperous, productive future.
