With the start of the school year, students have enrolled in new classes. What they may not know, however, is that Junction City High School has added a new course that has never been offered before.

This year Animal Science has been added to the student course book. The new class is taught by Mrs. Miller who can be located in the SET hallway. Animal Science is an all year class and has taken the place of the semester-long zoology class. This year it is only available to juniors and seniors. Animal Science not only teaches students about the agricultural aspect of animals along with animal reproduction and food, but it also focuses on the veterinary side of animal science and practices. Animal Science has been incorporated into the school curriculum to offer a career-focused education.

“I’m really excited to teach Animal Science and I’m really excited about the high enrollment for this class.” Mrs. Miller said. “There are a lot of kids who want to work with animals, and this is my favorite class to teach.”

Additionally, Animal Science was added into the school’s course book because there wasn’t really a class that students could take to help prepare them for a career in either agriculture or as a veterinarian. This made it difficult for students to learn the necessary material to be properly ready.

“The purpose of this class is aimed for those students who want to go into the animal industry,” Mrs. Miller explained, “but don’t really have a class that helps prepare for that. What I love about this class is that it is both a science elective and a career-oriented class.”

While the class is considered “Career Oriented”, Animal Science doesn’t teach topics concerning one specific field or career. Animal Science covers two vastly different fields, but the central idea is animals. There is a wide range of topics covered and everyone will learn something applicable.

“This year Animal Science is covering a broad range of topics in the animal industry,” Mrs. Miller said. “So we’re looking at what is agriculture, what is animal science, and what are the sectors that make up animal science as a whole. Topics such as animal welfare vs animal rights, animal terminology, and basic veterinary procedures will be covered.”

However, it’s important to note that the school was not able to add Animal Science without consequence. In order for Animal Science to be created, the Zoology class had to be terminated. Zoology teaches students about various topics including the biology, anatomy, and physiology of animals. Within the class, students were offered opportunities to dissect animals and physically see how an animal’s body functioned. “Well personally, I am a little sad,” Mrs. Landes said. “Zoology was my favorite class to teach. I think Zoology was such a great class because there was no buy in, the class was instantly interesting. However, I don’t know much about Animal Science. Switching the classes could end up being a smart decision.”

While it may be debatable whether it was a smart move to terminate a class, some students will agree that it was definitely the right choice to create the Animal Science class. Animal Science is the only natural science class to purely cover animals. Specifically, animal production and care.

“Animal Science takes learning to a whole different level,” Jeff Walter, a senior currently enrolled in Animal Science, said. “You get to learn about animals in a different point of view, instead of being a scientist, you can see from a veterinarian’s side and a farmer’s side.”

Along with understanding what information a class can teach, it’s important to note the prerequisites. While the only prerequisite noted in this year’s course catalog is biology, there are some classes offered that can be taken before Animal Science that can aid in student understanding and material comprehension. Mrs. Miller plans on getting a class put in place next year for freshmen and sophomores so they can be fully prepared as juniors to take Animal Science.

“Microbiology will definitely be helpful to take before enrolling in this class,” Walters said. “Microbiology helps you understand the science of animals and the science behind how everything works. It’s broken down to the microscopic level.”

Animal Science offers interesting new insight and information to the Junction City High School. The new class is an exciting addition for students who have yet to have their needs met with classes in the natural science fields.

Along with excited students, a passionate teacher is not something that will be missed from this classroom. “I have a degree in Agriculture Education,” Mrs. Miller explained. “It’s awesome to be able to share my love for agriculture and my knowledge about Animal Science to get kids excited.”