Story by student reporter, Mikayla Jordan
Recently, Thomas County Central High School took a day to celebrate some of the rigorous classes on its roster and the students serious about academics who take them.
Friday, Feb. 24, was AP Day. In honor of the day, TCCHS held a special breakfast for current AP students and shadow opportunities for potential AP students.
AP classes are offered at TCCHS because they provide “a tremendous opportunity for students who want to really show top-flight colleges they are serious about academics,” Advanced Placement Coordinator James Rehberg said.
“AP Day is held to celebrate students taking Advanced Placement courses and reward and recognize them in front of the entire student body,” he added.
The day started off on a light note with administrators greeting current AP students and offering them breakfast from Chick-fil-A.
“It's a nice way to begin the day,” Rehberg said. “Plus, it’s a reward for all the hard work they've put in for the classes.”
Several students went to the breakfast, spending the time socializing with friends or some of the AP teachers that attended.
“It made me feel like all my hard work and efforts had earned me something great, and nothing is greater than free Chick-fil-A,” participant Brianna Parker enthused.
Parker takes both AP World History and AP Biology this year because they offered a “new learning environment” as well as “potential college credit” with the passage of the AP exam at the end of the school year.
The opportunities AP classes offer are what draw students to the courses and is why TCCHS encourages participation in them.
“I encourage students to take AP classes to challenge themselves and broaden their horizons,” AP Literature teacher Stacey Mitchell said. “The rigor of an AP course helps prepare students for classes they will take in college.”
During AP Day, underclassmen who have not taken an AP course were prompted to attend AP classes and experience them for themselves.
“Perhaps someone who has never considered AP sees what's going on, realizes someone they know is in AP, and starts asking how they can become involved,” Rehberg said. “It's also a fun day where students can visit the classes to learn what happens, where they can see that it isn't impossible to learn and excel there.”
Underclassmen were assigned to visit ongoing AP classes on campus and participate in assignments and activities. It gave them the opportunity to determine whether AP classes were something they wanted to pursue in the future.
“I feel like AP Shadow Day helped me expand my horizons as a student,” sophomore Dev Patel said.
Patel felt AP Day “helps incoming AP students prepare themselves for the challenges ahead of them” and that it helped him see that he “needs to prepare [himself] more for the classes [he] will choose to take.” He looks forward to joining AP Biology and AP Calculus next year.
Senior Daniel Winchester encourages students to consider adding AP classes to their schedule next year.
“AP classes let you enter into a wider variety of courses and you get college credit for them,” he said. “Though they can be a lot of work, they’re completely worth it in the long run.”