New courses trickle into Milton
Seven new courses are set to be added to next year’s schedule, not including two existing courses that are changing titles and one that will become a PC NOW course.
Two of these courses are set to begin next semester, with even more changes to come to those two courses by next school year.
According to Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz, Musicality, taught by Music Teacher Ms. Alyssa Williams, and Modern Combo, taught by Music Teacher Mr. Eric Bergmueller, will run in the next semester.
Musicality is a course that has run in the past, but never on its own, said Mr. Rantz. In the past, musicality was included in Band, he said. He added that if students took Band all year, every other day was devoted to Musicality, with its own grade separate from Band. He said this year will be the first time Musicality will run independently.
Although Musicality will run with 13 students, next year its name will be changed to Music Appreciation to more accurately reflect the course content, Mr. Rantz said.
According to Mr. Rantz, Music Combo is a brand new course to Milton. The overall goal of the course is to “essentially create a rock band and teach different elements of creating a band,” said Mr. Rantz.
Musicality and Modern Combo were added to the schedule out of necessity, said Mr. Rantz. He added that more electives were needed during the blocks in which they will run, and it is “good to give more flexibility in the music electives and add more variety to the music department.”
Mr. Rantz said Modern Combo is not yet board approved, so the class is currently considered Guitar. He added that it is on the agenda for approval at the January board meeting. There are currently 18 students enrolled in Mr. Bergmueller’s second semester Guitar class.
According to Mr. Rantz, the Modern Combo course was suggested by Mr. Bergmueller through an official course proposal.
All new courses must go through this proposal process, in which the teacher must explain student objectives, course content, a timeline, applicability, data supporting the need for the course, a syllabus and a sample unit plan, he added.
In addition to the courses coming next semester, five new courses are set to be added to next year’s schedule. According to Mr. Rantz, these courses are Advanced Concepts of Physical Education, Lifetime Fitness, Ancient Civilization, Food Science and Safety, and Medical Terminology.
Milton’s 2020-2021 Course Book, found on the district webpage, provides course descriptions for each course Milton offers.
Medical Terminology “provides an overview designed of basic techniques of medical word building. It also provides a study of anatomical, physiological, and pathological terminology with emphasis on word structures and definition of root words, suffixes and prefixes from Greek and Latin.”
In Food Science and Safety “students will complete hands-on activities, projects, and problems that simulate actual concepts and situations found in the food science and safety industry, allowing students to build content knowledge and technical skills. Students will investigate areas of food science including food safety, food chemistry, food processing, food product development and marketing.”
Ancient Civilizations “teach[es] students about the political, economic, and cultural traditions of ancient groups that have formed the foundation for modern civilization. Students will explore major contributions to civilization beginning with Ancient Egypt and ending with Feudal Japan in the 16th century.”
Advanced Concepts in Physical Education “will provide learning opportunities for students to further develop skills and knowledge related to sports. Students will acquire knowledge and skills in recreational, athletic, and other activities.”
Lifetime Fitness “will provide students with an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of cardiovascular fitness and lifelong physical activities. Students will develop training strategies in selected lifetime sports.”
Mr. Rantz said that because these courses aren’t guaranteed yet, there are no teachers set for them. Food Science and Safety is the only course of these five that has not received board approval yet, he said. He added that it is on the agenda for the January board meeting. According to Mr. Rantz, if a course isn’t approved it is likely due to “budget constraints or personal concerns.”
Mr.Rantz said two existing courses will be changing. Computer Education Teacher Mr. Seth Reitz’ Intro to Programming course is becoming a PC Now course, he said. Mr. Rantz added that due to changes at Penn College, PC Now Social Media in Business and Society will be replacing PC Now Information Technology in Society, taught by Business and Computer Education Teacher Mrs. Jamie Emery-Seibert.
