Northwood offers students a myriad of opportunities to explore and develop their interests into passions. Here are just a few of the many elective classes an incoming freshman has available to them at Northwood along with remarks from students who have taken these electives.

Over 80% of the student body at Northwood is a part of the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program. Out of the various options available, an example VAPA class is Visual Imagery, a year-long introductory class for students interested in exploring the techniques of photography and its art form. Students learn and engage with basic and advanced camera functions, the rules of composition and digital image editing.

“I chose to take Visual Imagery freshman year because I was interested in the idea of capturing a moment and saving it forever,” senior Andrew Seidler said. “As I learned more about photography, it quickly turned into a passion of mine that I’ve chosen to pursue as a career.”

Also included in the VAPA Program are the year-long vocal music courses that guide students in learning the language of music, developing performance abilities and discovering history, culture, language and fitness through the lens of music. Although most freshmen begin in Treble Clef and Bass Clef, open enrollment classes, auditioned choirs, including Bel Canto, Concert Chorale, Viva Cantar and Chamber Singers are also offered.

“I took choir because I’ve been singing as a kid and Northwood’s choral program allowed me to improve my skills and share that experience with other singers,” junior Krish Mehta said.

Additionally, Northwood offers a Career Technical Education program that allows students to explore careers they are interested in pursuing by taking courses during high school. A class under this program offered to freshmen is Foods, a semester course that provides students with foundational nutrition and wellness knowledge, basic food preparation skills and information about the relationship of diet to health. Some of the other food-based courses students can take after freshman year are Introduction to Culinary Arts and Advanced Culinary Arts.

“I took Introduction to Culinary Arts because you can learn everything about the food you create, including the science behind it at a molecular level,” senior Adam Fujiwara said. “My favorite dish was making tomato soup from scratch, which I still cook for my family today.”

Lastly, there are a variety of world language classes of different levels including Spanish, French, American Sign Language and Korean. In each language class, students are given the opportunity to learn and improve their speaking, pronunciation, listening and writing skills that are applicable beyond a classroom setting.

“I like taking Spanish because I get to learn new songs in Spanish and it is very different in high school than in middle school,” freshman Jonathan Kang said. “There are a lot more learning opportunities and exciting ways to absorb the culture along with the language.”

Further information on the elective courses in terms of prerequisites and curriculum can be found in the Program of Studies on the Northwood website under the Academics tab.

We hope that you’ll be able to find your passions and interests through Northwood’s electives.