Hoover High School HHS Class of Course Selection

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Maryann Primrose Jordan
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1 Hoover High School HHS Class of 2016 Course Selection Spring, 2012

2 The basics Students and parents choose seven classes in 9 th grade: four core classes (English, history, math, and science) and three elective courses. Most likely, two of those electives will fulfill graduation requirements in physical education and computer competency. In the core courses, your child s 8 th grade teachers will make a recommendation for their content area for your student. EXPLORE test scores can assist you in deciding which classes are best for your student.

3 How will I use EXPLORE test results to assist in selecting the appropriate classes? Throughout this presentation, suggested EXPLORE scores that correlate to certain classes are given. These recommendations are based on research connecting EXPLORE scores with a 75% chance of making a 3 or higher on an AP exam. For students enrolling in a Pre - AP or IB-level class, it is expected that they will eventually be taking an AP class and exam.

4 Core Required Course: English 9 English 9: This is a regular course. Students will complete assignments in reading, writing, and grammar in English 9. Pre-AP English 9: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more in-depth analysis of text than a regular course. If your student did well this year (an A/high B semester average or above) and is willing to take on an extra challenge, Pre-AP English 9 may be for your student. This course is for students who plan to take AP English in 11 th and 12 th grade. Pre-IB English 9: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more in-depth analysis of text than a regular course. This class is only for students who are anticipating participation in the IB classes later in high school and have a very high English average for the first semester in 8 th grade. It is recommended that students who decide on Pre-IB discuss this decision with their English teacher and the IB coordinator, Mr. Brad Coltrane.

5 What is the main difference in English 9 and Pre-AP English 9? Pre-AP English 9 is for motivated students who scored 13 or above on the English portion of the EXPLORE testing, who scored 15 or above on the Reading portion of EXPLORE testing, and who are: willing to do additional reading outside of class; critical readers; effective writers in a variety of modes; interested in evaluating and improving their analytical composition skills; and, intending to move to Advanced Placement level English classes later in high school.

6 What about Pre-IB English 9? Pre-IB English 9 is for highly motivated students who scored 15 or above on the English portion of the EXPLORE testing, who scored 17 or above on the Reading portion of EXPLORE testing, and who are: willing to do additional reading outside of class; critical readers who are interested in examining literature from a universal perspective; effective writers in a variety of modes; interested in evaluating and improving their analytical composition skills; willing to participate in class discussions; also interested in taking Pre-IB World History (as this is a corequisite course); and, intending to continue in the IB program throughout high school.

7 Core Required Course: World History 9 World History 9: This is the regular history class for 9 th graders. Most incoming students take this course. Pre-AP World History 9: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more in-depth analysis of text than a regular course. If you did well this year in History (an A-high B semester average or above) and you are willing to take on an extra challenge, Pre-AP World History 9 may be for you. Pre-IB World History 9: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more in-depth analysis of text than a regular course. This class is only for students who are anticipating participation in the IB program later in high school. Students should have had a very high average in History and English as an 8 th grader (A average) in order to consider this course. It is recommended that students discuss this decision with their history teacher and the IB coordinator, Mr. Brad Coltrane.

8 What is the main difference in World History 9 and Pre-AP World History 9? Pre-AP World History 9 is for motivated students who scored 15 or above on the Reading portion of the EXPLORE testing and who: are interested in completing independent reading and research; read and write at an advanced level; are self-disciplined in their studies already; and, intend to move to Advanced Placement level history classes later in high school.

9 What about Pre-IB World History 9? Pre-IB World History 9 is for highly motivated students who scored 17 or above on the Reading portion of EXPLORE testing and who are: willing to do additional reading and research outside of class; able to apply their advanced critical thinking skills in order to examine challenging reading texts from a universal perspective ; willing to participate in class discussions; also interested in taking Pre-IB English(as this is a corequisite course); and, intending to continue in the IB program throughout high school.

10 Core Required Course: Math Algebra 1: This is a regular course. This is the course that most incoming 9 th graders take. Students who take this course are most likely taking Pre-Algebra as an 8 th grader or are taking Algebra 1 and have a C average or below. Geometry: For students who are successfully taking Algebra as an 8 th grader. Three Geometry options are available. Descriptions on next slide. Algebra IA & IB: For students who struggle in 8 th grade math and need more time to build a strong algebra foundation. This course will occur over two periods. Explore score of 12 or lower in math.

11 Core Required Course: Math, continued Geometry: This is a regular course. You will find the class pace a little slower than the pace in Pre-AP Geometry. This course is possible for students who are taking Algebra I in 8 th grade but aren t sure they are ready for the pace of Pre-AP Geometry. However, this is an advanced math course, so, whether Pre-AP level or not, the concepts will be advanced. Pre-AP Geometry: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more in-depth analysis of the concepts than a regular course. If you did well this year (an A - high B semester average or above) in Algebra I, you scored 17 or above on the Math portion of the EXPLORE testing, and you are willing to take on an extra challenge, Pre-AP Geometry may be for you. Geometry Math Team: This is a very advanced course and includes participation in after school and weekend Math Team competitions. If you are doing very well in Algebra I or in 8 th Grade Math Team, scored 19 or above on the Math portion of the EXPLORE testing, have math as a serious interest and possibly see mathematics as a future field of study, and are willing to take on greater math responsibilities, then you might want to consider Geometry Math Team. Students making the jump to Math Team from Algebra I are encouraged to discuss this decision with their current math teacher and the Math Team teacher, Mrs. Bonnie Campbell.

12 What is the main difference in Geometry and Pre-AP Geometry? Pre-AP Geometry 9 is for motivated students who scored 17 or above on the Math portion of the EXPLORE testing and who: have mastery of Algebra I concepts; show talent in mathematical problem-solving and logic reasoning; can take mathematical concepts and apply them to new problems; are self-motivated to EXPLORE math topics; and, intend to move to Advanced Placement level math classes later in high school.

13 Core Required Course: Science Biology: This is the regular science class for 9 th graders. Most incoming students take this course. Pre-AP Biology: This is an advanced course that will move at a brisk pace and will require more indepth analysis of text than a regular course. If you did well this year in Science (an A-high B semester average or above) and you are willing to take on an extra challenge, Pre-AP Biology may be for you. Students who plan on participating in the IB program or in Engineering Academy are encouraged to take Pre-AP Biology.

14 What is the main difference in Biology and Pre-AP Biology? Pre-AP Biology is for motivated students who scored 20 or above on the Science section and 15 or above on EXPLORE testing and who: have strong reading and writing skills; can apply their literacy skills to produce cohesive, structured writing; utilize higher-order critical thinking skills; are self-motivated to complete independent research projects; possess strong study habits and have a strong work ethic; and, intend to move to Advanced Placement level science classes later in high school or participate in the IB program or Engineering Academy.

15 Electives You will need to select three electives on your course registration form. Rising 9 th graders are expected to fulfill their physical education and computer competency graduation requirements as ninth graders. You will need to select two alternate electives. If you select an application only class and are not accepted, you will be signed up for one of your alternate elective classes.

16 What about PE? Physical Education is an elective that 9 th graders should take. Students must take 1 year-long PE course for 1.0 credit in order to meet graduation requirements. As a ninth grader, students can take: Physical Education LIFE: This class is for students that are not participating in a sport in 9 th grade. Athletic PE LIFE, Boy or Girl: This class is for students that are participating in a sport in 9 th grade. Only students that have participated in a school-sponsored sport during 8 th grade can register for this class and begin the year in Athletic Weight Training. Students that did not participate in a sport in 8 th grade but make a team in 9 th grade will be moved into Athletic Weight Training when the team s roster is complete. Cheerleading does NOT have a separate course number anymore!!! Students making the freshmen cheerleading squad will be clustered in an Athletic LIFE-Girl course. Students participating in Band, Dance Team, or Flags as a freshman do NOT have to take PE. Marching Band, Dance Team, and Flags meet the requirement for Physical Education credit.

17 What about Computer Applications? Most students should choose to take Computer Applications during 9 th grade. The name of the course is Business Technology Applications. Students who took the class Computer Applications in 8 th grade will fulfill the computer competency graduation requirement. All 8 th grade students will also have the opportunity to fulfill the computer competency graduation requirement by scoring an 80% or better on the Computer Competency Test which will be given in the latter part of 8 th grade. To fulfill the graduation requirements of computer competency in 9 th grade, students can take: Business Technology Applications Finance Academy 1 (You must be accepted into Finance Academy in order to enroll in this course.) Engineering Academy 1 (You must be accepted into Engineering Academy in order to enroll in this course.) Information Technology Academy 1 (You must be accepted into the IT Academy in order to enroll in this course.)

18 What about the third elective? Students have many choices for the third elective. Some students join an academy or take a foreign language. These classes count as their third elective. Some students with an interest in pursuing the arts throughout high school often start their arts classes in 9 th grade. Students will need 1.0 fine arts credit during high school to fulfill the graduation requirement. Students deciding to take an arts class in 9 th grade might take: Choir Art Theater Concert/Marching Band (Students must try out and be accepted to participate in band.) Jazz Band (Students must try out and be accepted to participate in Jazz band.)

19 Does every student join an Academy? No, but it is a great way to meet new students and develop your personal interests in that field of study. Students must apply and be accepted in order to join all academies except Health Science Academy. Students who enter an academy as a ninth grader are expected to continue with their academy studies throughout high school. Academies do require their students to maintain specific academic and behavioral standards. To learn more about the requirements of each academy, please contact the academy director. Students who anticipate participating in an academy throughout high school need to join as a 9 th grader. Most academies do not allow students to join in later high school years. The following are the academies offered: Engineering Academy Finance Academy Health Science Academy Information Technology Academy Law Academy

20 Could a foreign language be my third elective? Yes, many students decide to begin their foreign language studies in ninth grade. In ninth grade, students can take: French 1 Latin 1 Spanish 1 Students that have already successfully completed Spanish 1 or French 1 may take: French 2 Spanish 2 (Note: Successful completion means an A-B average in Spanish 1 or French 1 and your current teacher s recommendation to move on to Spanish 2 or French 2)

21 What are other elective choices? Some students begin to study in a field they are interested in and that might lead to a career later on. Some of these courses that students may choose to take are: Television Production, Introduction Family Consumer Sciences Law Academy 1 (Must be accepted into Law Academy in order to enroll in this course.) Health Sciences Academy 1 (Please note this class also fulfills the health graduation requirement.) Engineering Academy 1 (Must be accepted into Engineering Academy in order to enroll in this course.) Finance Academy 1 (Must be accepted into Finance Academy in order to enroll in this course.) Information Technology Academy 1 (Must be accepted into IT Academy in order to enroll in this course.)

22 Do I have other options for electives? Students who scored 12 or below on the EXPLORE Reading test should take Reading Intervention as a 9 th grader. Also, students who have participated in Study Strategies or a Reading class with an Instructional Support teacher as an 8 th grader may need to continue to get extra academic support in 9 th grade by taking: Foundations Reading Study Strategies English Language Learner Class* *This class is for students who are learning English as their second language.

23 Advice on choosing electives Students should first fulfill graduation requirements that need to be taken care of in ninth grade. It is expected that students will have fulfilled the physical education and computer competency graduation requirements by the end of ninth grade. The ONLY exception to this would be in the event a student needs specific classes to assist them in success for core classes. Consider your child s interests. Consider your child s extra-curricular activities. Consider possible career goals. If your student is planning on going into the medical field, for example, he/she might benefit from joining the Health Science Academy as a ninth grader. Consider your child s EXPLORE test scores. Your test scores may indicate you need to take certain intervention courses in reading and/or math.

24 How do class choices now impact Grade Point Average later? Students will get their first calculated Grade Point Average (GPA) at the end of 9 th grade. GPA is considered for college admission as well as entrance into high school honor societies and in deciding on class Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Advanced classes (Pre-AP, AP, Pre-IB, or Math Team) receive special weight towards GPA. In other words, grades from these classes are worth more when GPA is calculated. Any Pre-AP course earns an additional 0.25 credit. Pre-IB courses earn an additional 0.25 credit. Math Team earns an additional 0.5 credit.

25 HHS Course Selection Guide The course selection guide lists all the courses offered at Hoover High School. The complete course guide can be viewed on the Hoover High School website.

26 Please contact the 9 th grade counselor or administrator if you have questions

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