On Jan. 22nd, Amador Valley High School hosted its annual Curriculum Fair for incoming and returning students. From 6 to 8 p.m., students explored different courses Amador offers as they visited various booths in the large gym.
The fair featured school departments like the Math Department and special elective classes like Comp Civics and Journalism. Through this exposure, students can discover which classes best fit their interests.
At each booth, teachers explain the course details and answer questions from parents and students. Experienced upperclassmen volunteer to help teachers run their booths at the fair.
“I had a really good time last year and same this year, mainly because it was a lot of fun telling parents and students about the pathway that I really enjoyed doing and getting people to be interested in it,” said Kaley Roe (‘24).
Stands had presentation boards and course materials to help parents and students understand the class curriculum. For example, the engineering both had a 3D printer and student-made projects.
“For [the Engineering] stand, we set up different projects that students have made in the classes. Parents and students got to see hands-on projects that we did and really see whether or not they like the program, instead of just reading a basic description online,” said Roe.
Some booths had activities to increase engagement with parents and students. Journalism, for example, allowed students to explore their classroom and look at behind-the-scenes of their media works.
“For example at the journalism [booth], I learned that there were many different aspects to journalism and how it adds to your resume through gained work experience,” said Yashasvi Rekatalli (‘27).
High school is often stressful for teenagers, especially for incoming freshmen who have to adapt to the campus and workload. Resources like the Curriculum Fair make that transition into high school easier.
“We have a lot of time to choose and we should take our time to choose. This fair helped us walk around and see which one suits us and the pathway we’d like to go,” said Caleigh Venzon (‘26).
Parents read through brochures and the Amadon newspaper at the Journalism booth to learn more about the class.
At the Comp Civics booth, Anika Parkhi (’24) answers questions from parents about the class structure.
Japanese teacher Rieko Murphy talks to incoming freshmen about the Japanese Language course curriculum.
The engineering stand displayed a 3D printer for students and parents to see as they learn about the course.
