The eighth Grade Course Information Night is being held in the Huntley High School Performing Arts Center on Jan. 24, 25, and 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Crowds of eighth graders and their families file through the athletic entrance, picking up their respective red folders with all of the course information they will need for the next school year.

After picking up their folders, the families pack into the PAC, quickly filling every open seat.

The freshman dean and respective freshman counselors file onto the stage, Renae St.Clair, Amanda Henk, Shelly Kish, and Principal Scott Rowe leading the way.

Rowe walks up to the podium on the stage, picking up the microphone as the crowd begins to settle down.

He begins by welcoming the incoming class of freshmen as the class of 2021. which is followed by applause and cheers from the audience.

His speech begins with announcing the obvious: high school is overwhelming, especially as a freshman. He advises the incoming freshmen to connect with someone in the building and to join extracurriculars, whether they be fine arts, clubs, or athletics.

Overall, this information night served the purpose of preparing next year’s incoming freshmen for their classes, and specifically how to choose said classes.

“I feel like the information night helped because I learned about the different academies and different classes I would be able to take,” eighth grader Bella Hopkins said.

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An important point of the night was telling the freshmen that they would be in control of which classes they would like to take. This was emphasized to assure the incoming class that they have a multitude of choices that fit every kind of student.

While a majority of classes were discussed, graduation requirements were skipped for the purpose of not overwhelming the eighth graders, which is understandable because they had already received a lot of information.

“I feel more prepared because I know what my options for classes are and how the school day is going to be,” Bella said.

The night continued on and blended classes, a very popular option among HHS students, was introduced.

“I’m looking forward to having more time to get to my classes and having blended classes so I can get out of classes more often,” eighth grader Sydney Hopkins said.

After the discussion on blended classes ended, Renae St.Clair and Amanda Henk talked about Project Lead The Way, the Medical Academy, and the Engineering Academy.

“Something I am looking forward to next year is being able to have a blended class and do independent work,” Bella said. “I am also eager for the opportunity to take medical classes through the school.”

The night wrapped up and all of the families were encouraged to go to the East Gym to ask more questions and purchase HHS spirit wear.

“The information night kind of helped me because I already knew a lot of stuff about high school,” Sydney said. “But it did help me understand blended classes and my schedule a lot more.”