Looking back
March 21, 2022
As a senior this year, I have taken a plethora of classes here at NKHS to dip my toes in the water of
all the career paths that have crossed my mind throughout these past four years. Looking back, I have reflected on the classes I have taken and noticed I wished I knew what I was getting into prior to signing up. I also have come to realize that there are classes I feel like I missed out on. So, I created a list for underclassmen:
all the career paths that have crossed my mind throughout these past four years. Looking back, I have reflected on the classes I have taken and noticed I wished I knew what I was getting into prior to signing up. I also have come to realize that there are classes I feel like I missed out on. So, I created a list for underclassmen:
Freshman year I felt lost in the wide arrangement of classes NKHS had to offer — I was still very
unsure of what I wanted to do after high school (in my head I thought I needed to know), so I tried
a wide variety of classes ranging from chorus to yoga.
unsure of what I wanted to do after high school (in my head I thought I needed to know), so I tried
a wide variety of classes ranging from chorus to yoga.
Chorus was very different at NK than it was at Wickford Middle School. In middle school it was a
very relaxed class in which we chatted most of the time and did not take the course seriously. Going
into high school I thought it would be the same: an easy class where I could goof off in and get an
easy A. I was unbelievably humbled by the fact that I was so so so wrong. Chorus at NK is far from a
joke. It is a class that teaches you far more than singing. In this course I gained the valuable lesson of
teamwork. Mrs. Caiazza, the chorus teacher, taught very challenging pieces that could not be
done without everyone’s effort. Not only did I gain the importance of teamwork, I gained the
feeling of true accomplishment when performing the pieces we worked so hard on. Although this
class was very different than expected, I am so grateful I took it and have carried the lessons I learned
from it throughout my high school career.
very relaxed class in which we chatted most of the time and did not take the course seriously. Going
into high school I thought it would be the same: an easy class where I could goof off in and get an
easy A. I was unbelievably humbled by the fact that I was so so so wrong. Chorus at NK is far from a
joke. It is a class that teaches you far more than singing. In this course I gained the valuable lesson of
teamwork. Mrs. Caiazza, the chorus teacher, taught very challenging pieces that could not be
done without everyone’s effort. Not only did I gain the importance of teamwork, I gained the
feeling of true accomplishment when performing the pieces we worked so hard on. Although this
class was very different than expected, I am so grateful I took it and have carried the lessons I learned
from it throughout my high school career.
Another elective I took freshman year was Wellness/Healthy Living. I had absolutely no idea what to
expect in this class but was placed in it with no other option of switching out. This class was
probably the most surprising class I have taken. I had no interest in what was being taught and on
top of that I was the only freshman in a class full of seniors. In this class we learned the fundamental
information on how to take care of our bodies and practiced meditation and yoga. I soon came to
love the class and the relaxation it gave me. I used the meditation/ yoga practices we learned in class
throughout my everyday life. This class helped me tackle my anxiety and allowed me to make
friends with seniors.
When it came time for sophomore year, I believed I wanted to be a writer. I loved writing and
English class so much that I was actually excited when we were assigned essays. In my sophomore
year I took Journalism and cooking classes — my dream was to write my own cookbook.
I knew I loved journalism because of the internships I had done over the summer, so I was very
excited to take journalism class with Mrs. Kenworthy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how the
class was run. This class uses such a big mix of teamwork and independence. As a team we worked
together to create “waves” of articles and worked hard to format the newspaper in the way we
wanted while working independently when writing and creating our articles/ multimedia pieces. I
loved how different article writing is compared to MLA format. I believe every student should take
part in this course at least once in their high school career based on the amount of knowledge you
will gain from it. You not only learn how to write an article but you also learn how to interview/ be
interviewed (a very important skill needed in life), how to properly research topics you may be
interested in, how to be a part of a team, and how rewarding it is to see your name in print. As a
senior and editor-in-chief of the Current Wave, I am so grateful for the opportunities I have gained
from this class and the lessons taught to me from Mrs. Kenworthy. My love for journalism only
continued to grow, which led me to create a journalism club here at NK. This way you can still gain
these experiences even if you do not get placed in the class.
class was run. This class uses such a big mix of teamwork and independence. As a team we worked
together to create “waves” of articles and worked hard to format the newspaper in the way we
wanted while working independently when writing and creating our articles/ multimedia pieces. I
loved how different article writing is compared to MLA format. I believe every student should take
part in this course at least once in their high school career based on the amount of knowledge you
will gain from it. You not only learn how to write an article but you also learn how to interview/ be
interviewed (a very important skill needed in life), how to properly research topics you may be
interested in, how to be a part of a team, and how rewarding it is to see your name in print. As a
senior and editor-in-chief of the Current Wave, I am so grateful for the opportunities I have gained
from this class and the lessons taught to me from Mrs. Kenworthy. My love for journalism only
continued to grow, which led me to create a journalism club here at NK. This way you can still gain
these experiences even if you do not get placed in the class.
ee
In that year I also took Basic Foods and Advanced Foods. These classes were not only very fun but
educational. I learned a lot of safety information in this class about food and cooking. Not to
mention you eat what you cook!! I loved basic foods because it gave me a huge amount of
knowledge on the fundamentals of cooking. However, advanced foods was a fantastic class because
we cooked food from all different cultures/countries. This was special to me because my family was
from a different country. It felt great to be able to cook some of the foods I am familiar with. I also
enjoyed the teamwork that came with this class because you cook in groups. Mrs. Hammersley does a
great job at teaching these classes and made it extremely enjoyable.
In that year I also took Basic Foods and Advanced Foods. These classes were not only very fun but
educational. I learned a lot of safety information in this class about food and cooking. Not to
mention you eat what you cook!! I loved basic foods because it gave me a huge amount of
knowledge on the fundamentals of cooking. However, advanced foods was a fantastic class because
we cooked food from all different cultures/countries. This was special to me because my family was
from a different country. It felt great to be able to cook some of the foods I am familiar with. I also
enjoyed the teamwork that came with this class because you cook in groups. Mrs. Hammersley does a
great job at teaching these classes and made it extremely enjoyable.
My junior year of high school, AKA when the Covid-19 bomb hit, I felt like I missed out on some
of the classes I took since they were online.
Last year, my electives were Democracy and Journalism. Democracy class was a very interesting class
where I learned a significant amount of knowledge about the government and laws that are in our
country. However, I felt like I did not enjoy the class as much as I would have if I was in person.
Since it was online, I had a hard time grasping the information we were learning through Google
Meet. I also had to create my Democracy project online which, although did make it easier, I felt like
I did not enjoy making it. However, Mr. Lindsay did a great job in trying to make the class as
interactive and enjoyable as he could based on the circumstances.
I again decided to take journalism junior year; however, it was far less enjoyable my junior year
because of Covid. I missed the interactive aspect of being in person where we could all collaborate. I knew I loved journalism because of the internships I had done over the summer, so I was very
excited to take journalism class with Mrs. Kenworthy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how the
class was run. This class uses such a big mix of teamwork and independence. As a team we worked
together to create “waves” of articles and worked hard to format the newspaper in the way we
wanted while working independently when writing and creating our articles/ multimedia pieces. I
loved how different article writing is compared to MLA format. I believe every student should take
part in this course at least once in their high school career based on the amount of knowledge you
will gain from it. You not only learn how to write an article but you also learn how to interview/ be
interviewed (a very important skill needed in life), how to properly research topics you may be
interested in, how to be a part of a team, and how rewarding it is to see your name in print. As a
senior and editor-in-chief of the Current Wave, I am so grateful for the opportunities I have gained
from this class and the lessons taught to me from Mrs. Kenworthy. My love for journalism only
continued to grow, which led me to create a journalism club here at NK. This way you can still gain
these experiences even if you do not get placed in the class.
In that year I also took Basic Foods and Advanced Foods. These classes were not only very fun but
educational. I learned a lot of safety information in this class about food and cooking. Not to
mention you eat what you cook!! I loved basic foods because it gave me a huge amount of
knowledge on the fundamentals of cooking. However, advanced foods was a fantastic class because
we cooked food from all different cultures/countries. This was special to me because my family was
from a different country. It felt great to be able to cook some of the foods I am familiar with. I also
enjoyed the teamwork that came with this class because you cook in groups. Mrs. Hammersly does a
great job at teaching these classes and made it extremely enjoyable.
My junior year of high school, AKA when the Covid-19 bomb hit, I felt like I missed out on some
of the classes I took since they were online.
Last year, my electives were Democracy and Journalism. Democracy class was a very interesting class
where I learned a significant amount of knowledge about the government and laws that are in our
country. However, I felt like I did not enjoy the class as much as I would have if I was in person.
Since it was online, I had a hard time grasping the information we were learning through Google
Meet.I also had to create my democracy project online which, although did make it easier, I felt like
I did not enjoy making it. However, Mr. Lindsay did a great job in trying to make the class as
interactive and enjoyable as he could based on the circumstances.
I again decided to take journalism junior year, however, it was far less enjoyable my junior year
because of Covid. I missed the interactive aspect of being in person where we could all collaborate
and come together as a team to create our “waves.” Being online made the class feel less exciting
because instead of creating a newspaper and printing, we only published online which did not feel as
rewarding. Mrs. Kenworthy made the class as interactive as she could on the Google Meets in hopes
to make the class feel as much “normal” as she could. I still loved the class but let’s just say I am very
happy to be back.
rewarding. Mrs. Kenworthy made the class as interactive as she could on the Google Meets in hopes
to make the class feel as much “normal” as she could. I still loved the class but let’s just say I am very
happy to be back.
Now that I am a senior, those of you who are also seniors know how stressful applying to colleges is
and how scary the “What is your desired major” box is. Although I took a wide range of classes
throughout high school, I feel unprepared for the world. Personally I feel like NK does not offer a
wide enough range of classes. For example, I am majoring in Pre-Med or Pre-PA, but the only
health elective NK has to offer is Anatomy. I feel like we are lacking health-related classes which
makes it difficult as a senior to know what direction I want to go in.
North Kingstown’s CTE program offers a fantastic amount of business classes. However, for the
students who wish to pursue a career in the healthcare field/science, I feel like we are at a
disadvantage. For example, Chariho High School offers classes such as Meteorology, Animal science,
Biotechnology, Wildlife Management, and even offers a health career/EMT college credit earning
program.
Another observation I had is the amount of language classes NK provides. NK offers Spanish,
German, Portuguese, and French. However, Chariho High School offers all of those languages along
with Chinese and Italian.
North Kingstown High School has a fantastic reputation and is a wonderful school that rightfully
earned the Blue Ribbon Award. However, it is lacking classes that would benefit students
tremendously. As a senior reflecting back on my high school years, I feel as though I was deprived of
life experiences that other high schools, like Chariho, had that allowed them to dip their toes in the
water and try a plethora of classes to further their education.
Loading ...