Agora Days is a four-day week in February, during which students get the chance to teach and learn about classes on things that really interest them. There are some ground rules, such as proposed classes must hold some kind of discussion and have some minimal educational value (the exception being sports classes), but even so there is always a large variety of classes for students to choose from.

This year, Agora Days spans the week of Feb. 21- 24.

In recent years, Agora Days scheduling was held completely online, where students made a list of their top-ranked classes and hoped they got into one of them. Under new Agora Days head Rebecca Murphy, the entire process was made physical. Many students liked at least some of the changes.

One change that was well-accepted was that students signed the class's roster, and could see before-hand if it was full or still had openings. This made it so that students largely knew what classes they were getting when they left Kenney gym after signing up.

Agora Days schedules were emailed out by Murphy back in late January. Any students who haven't gotten theirs should check their emails again, and if they are still having issues then talk to Murphy quickly.

Agora Days this year

Classes this year vary widely; with eight cooking classes, several sports classes, and even two self defense classes. Needless to say, students can take just about any subject they want.

The cooking classes include Mediterranean/European, Cajun, Korean, and more. Of course, the number of cooking classes is limited by kitchen access, and students are only allowed to sign up for one cooking class. Still, there's a lot to choose from.

Senior Maia Gersten (then a junior) has a blast playing Quidditch. (click to enlarge)

The variety of sports classes is also surprisingly broad. In addition to the more traditional basketball, flag football, and volleyball; other sports such as cricket, ice skating, fencing, and even Quidditch are being offered.

Many students are also looking forward to more unique classes, including Improv! (where students play improv games and learn basic skills in improv acting), Live Action Angry Birds (where students will build their own air cannons and actually get to hold a game of angry birds in real life), South Park (where students will watch and discuss the subtle uses of metaphor and references to the modern world in the TV show), and Dance. Eat. Repeat. (self explanatory).

Among the fun and games are a couple of classes on slightly more serious subjects. Several language teachers are holding prep classes for the language trips happening over the summer. Paul Schomer, a member of the local community interested in Agora Days, will be teaching a class on the Holocaust, and Lisa Micelle and the PCC's will be teaching informative classes for juniors, the purpose for which is to help prepare them for the college selection process.