The Harrisonburg High School electives fair was held March 18 in the auditorium side commons. Several teachers and students brought out large poster boards and TVs to advertise their elective options to the rising freshman class. People from all sides of the Harrisonburg faculty attended, as well as a large number of middle schoolers.

The fine arts programs; such as band, visual arts, theatre and dance; were situated towards the front of the cafeteria. Other electives, such as Newsstreak, debate, French and computer science, were scattered around various parts of the cafeteria. Massanutten Technical Center sent a representative to the event, who helped introduce upcoming students to the options offered by MTC. JROTC had a demonstration located in the back, complete with their signature gun-twirling routine.

While the many elective options were showcased to the students and their parents, the primary focus of the event was to get families accustomed to assimilation into the high school. Flyers were handed out that included schedules and information about the different types of diplomas. Parents were educated about the intricacies of the schedule system and the elective requirements for graduation.

Michelle Waligora, a senior member of the debate team, helped disseminate information regarding the debate class.

“I was there to promote debate and answer any questions that parents and prospective students might have,” Waligora said. Throughout the night, parents and kids would approach Waligora and ask questions regarding the various strains of debate and the logistics of being a team member. As debate is offered as a class and as an extracurricular, Waligora helped explain the different options to the families.

“I chose to go because I care about the future of our team, I also felt that as a captain I had a responsibility to represent my team,” Waligora said.

All photos by Aubtin Heydari.