Westwood offers a variety of courses you can take during your freshman year. From Sports to Fine Arts to Air Force JROTC, deciding between them can be quite the challenge. According to a poll sent out to all the 8th graders, the most popular course was computer science. 

“For me, deciding what classes to take was not that hard because I’m just continuing what I did in middle school. I only had to choose the levels of core subjects,” Mrunali Rajiv 8 said. 

Deciding what electives to take with so many to choose from can be quite a challenge. Some people are already set on what they want to take all four years, and some people have no idea what they want to do and are just going with the flow. Most parents also help out by making suggestions and saying what they think would be beneficial for later in life. 

“I’m taking athletics as a double-blocked elective. I’m not quite sure what to expect though. I’m already used to having athletics every day so I don’t think that it’s gonna be that different,” Isla Wilson 8 said.    

There are a lot of changes going into high school, not just the elective options. There’s also a bigger student body, a new campus to find your way around, and more work overall. One of the bigger changes for Canyon Vista students going on to Westwood is the bell schedule. At Canyon Vista, we have the same eight periods every day and the bell rings every around every 45 minutes. But at Westwood, they have A days and B days with four classes every day. The bell only rings around every hour and a half. 

“I’m excited and scared for high school because it’s going to have more people and be a bigger school. There’s gonna be a bunch of perks too though, like it starts later, you can make new friends, and there’s a lot more things to do,” Nima Buyo 8 said.