Arena

From Staples High Wiki

Arena is an event held at the end of the year, following the last day of finals, during which students sign up for their classes for the upcoming school year, while additionally selecting their teachers and which periods they will take their classes.

Since 2005, Arena has been held in the Auditorium Lobby (prior to 2005, the Cafeteria), on the first and second days following the last exam. Students entering their senior year attend Arena on the first day; students becoming juniors are split up between the two days of Arena, and students becoming sophomores attend the second day.

Students with accountabilities cannot attend Arena, but accountabilities can be made up on the day of the student's Arena scheduling. If a student does not go through Arena, his or her schedule will be automatically generated by a computer.

How Arena works

Students are given a specific time to go to Arena, with each time slot exactly ten minutes apart. When the studen't time slot comes, they student goes to the Arena entrance, where they are given a specific card outlining all of their classes that they had signed up for in March. After being registered, the student must go to each of the class assignment departments in Arena to receive an assignment card, which tells the student which teacher, room number, and during which period he or she will be taking the class. The exact number of cards given for each class is determined by the student capacity for that class. Only after a student has successfully signed up for each of the classes given on the header card can the student turn in the cards the student received to complete Arena.

Conflicts are very common throughout the arena, as students must complete their schedule without any overlaps in periods. Since certain classes, like Symphonic Band, are only offered one period, students taking that course cannot sign up for anything else that period. Any students who have conflicts can talk to their respective guidance counselor to attempt to resolve them. Any unresolvable conflicts during Arena can be resolved at "Mini-Arena", an event that is held on the opening day of Westport public schools, and is held for Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.

Tips

• Get to arena on time, or early if you have accountabilities to clear up.
• Crying has been proven to be an effective method to gain access to a desired class.
• Singleton classes are classes that meet only one period--get those last.
• Plan alternate schedules in case the class period you want is full.
• If you are told that a class is full or unavailable, check back later because there may be more openings left that they "forgot" to mention.