By TIMMY OXLEY

Danville High School

Intersession at DHS is approaching fast, but few at this school or in our community actually know the ins and outs of this week-long extracurricular activity. Because of this, we have decided to ask people who have been teaching at this school for a while — Mr. Otto and Mr. Kremer — to explain to us what Intersession is.

Mr. Otto, an English teacher at our school who has seen the development of Intersession, said “Intersession at DHS was the result of an innovation brainstorm between Carmen Coleman (our former superintendent), Ed McKinney (the high school’s principal at the time), some teachers (including myself and Danny Goodwin), and a group of students.”

Mr. Kremer, Math Department chair, added: “We wanted the students to take more control of their own learning and wanted them to help develop their own experiences in and out of the classroom. We tried many ways of doing that, but I think Intersession was easily the most successful of them and is a big part of the reason we have continued to have it each year.”

Essentially, Intersession is a week of hands-on, interactive learning where students get to take a break from their normal classes and pursue learning that fits their interests and aspirations. Intersession boasts many interesting activities, ranging from courses on starting your own business to Batman and from ping pong to college application help. Additionally, students are given an opportunity to spend a week off-campus in internship-like settings. This year, Intersession is taking place at DHS from Feb. 11 to 14.

I also asked departing seniors on their opinions regarding Intersession. They all agreed that Intersession gives freedom to students to pursue their own interests. Senior Garrett Glaze says that Intersession “gives us freedom.” Another senior, Ben Harper, described it as a “welcome diversion.”

Sophomore Ellie Dampier says that Intersession is a “good opportunity to experience different hobbies and find new interests.”

Fellow sophomore Emily Barringer says that she’s “excited for the opportunity to go off campus to explore my opportunities for the future.”

Barringer will spend Intersession week shadowing at her mother’s job in the business sector.

Personally, I believe that Intersession is all of the things that the students above described it as. I think that it is a time for students to follow your interests and find skills that you didn’t even know you had.

Timmy Oxley is a sophomore journalism student at Danville High School.