WELCOME 8 TH GRADE PARENTS! Introduction to the High School Course Selection Process
Targets for Tonight’s Session Assistant Principal, Jackie Thornton Director of Student Services, Karen Lemanski ● Understand the NCHS course selection process ● Review courses available for freshmen ● Explain placement into Honors and Academic Support Classes ● Provide Question and Answer Session
Naperville Central School Improvement Goals ● All students and all staff will feel safe and respected at Naperville Central High School. ● Through engagement in effective collaborative teams, NCHS staff members will ensure high levels of learning for all students.
Course Selection TIMELINE ● Jan. 8 or 9 – Your student will receive course recommendations from Junior High teachers ● Starting at 3pm on the 10 th your student will be able to enter classes into the Infinite Campus portal (instructions in Program Planning Guide) ● Take time to review recommendations and the Program Planning Guide
Course Selection TIMELINE ● J anuary 10 th -- Freshman Family Orientation ● January 26 th – District 203 students: Your student should have all course requests into Infinite Campus by this date. ● February 1 st – Private School families turn in enrollment forms (District office) and course selection sheet in the main office at NCHS.
Course Selection TIMELINE Counselors meet with students for very brief individual contacts to review and finalize course requests ▪ Jefferson – January 31 ▪ Kennedy – February 5 ▪ Madison – February 6 ▪ Lincoln – February 7
Graduation Requirements Begin with the end in mind! Students must earn a total of 21 credits including: ● 4.0 Communication Arts ● 2.5 Social Studies ○ 1.0 U.S. History (typically junior year) ○ 0.5 American Government (typically sophomore year) ● 3.0 Mathematics ○ 1.0 Algebra ● 2.0 Science ● 1.0 Career & Technical Education (info. at Frosh Family Orientation) ● 0.5 Fine Arts (info. at Frosh Family Orientation) ● 0.5 Health (sophomore year) ● 0.5 Consumer Ed. (junior or senior year) ● 3.5 Physical Education Completion of the state assessment - SAT junior year
College Admission (minimums) Colleges and universities have minimum requirements for admission. Typical requirements are: ▪ 4 years English ▪ 3 years Social Studies ▪ 3 years Mathematics (4 years preferred) ▪ 3 years Laboratory Science ▪ 2 years Foreign Language, Music, Art, or Technical Arts * Admission requirements will vary by college.
College Preparation We encourage all students to take courses that will prepare them for success at the college level. Specifically, we’d like all Naperville Central Students to take a course in both of the following categories prior to graduation: ● Advanced Placement or Dual Credit ● Blended or Online Learning
Advanced Placement Courses (AP) ● AP courses are endorsed by the College Board as college-level courses that students take in high school. ■ Earning a passing score on the College Board’s test that accompanies each course can translate into college credit. ■ These are college-level courses with college-level resources.
Dual Credit Courses ● We partner with the College of DuPage to offer students several courses that allow them to earn credit for the COD course while students attend the class at NCHS. ■ Many courses in our CTE department ■ Upper-level Spanish course
Why Blended & Online Courses? Did you know that the top six college and universities attended by District 203’s 2016 graduates offer a combined total of 2350+ online courses? ● Because we know that proficiency in use of digital learning tools and confidence in an online learning environment are important skills that will contribute to this success, Naperville Central will be increasing the blended and online learning course options available for our students.
What is Blended Learning? Face to Online Face Learning Blended Learning Instruction freegoogleslidestemplates.com
Typical Freshmen Courses Semester 1 Semester 2 Period 1 Period 1 Comm. Arts Comm. Arts 7:45–8:35 Period 2 Mathematics Period 2 Mathematics 8:41-9:34 Period 3 Science Period 3 Science 9:40-10:30 Period 4 Social Studies Period 4 Social Studies 10:36–11:26 Period 5 Period 5 PE PE 11:32-12:22 Period 6 Lunch/LINK Crew Period 6 Lunch/LINK Crew 12:28-1:18 Period 7 Elective Period 7 Elective 1:24-2:14 Period 8 Period 8 Elective Elective 2:20-3:10
Course Recommendation/Selection Sheet Your 8 th Grade Teachers will initial their recommendations
Course Numbers
We are a comprehensive high school Learn more about freshmen course options in CTE and Fine Arts As a reminder, our graduation requirements include 1.0 CTE and 0.5 Fine Arts courses
Communication Arts Students are required to take one of the following courses: ● English 1 ● Honors English 1 Both courses are college preparatory and aligned to the Common Core State Standards. In addition, both courses ● Stress all aspects of literacy: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language ● Encourage critical reading and analysis
English 1 ○ Students who felt reasonably challenged in middle school and want to continue at a proportional level of difficulty. OR ○ Students who would benefit from increased focus on foundational literacy skills in order to build competence and mastery.
Honors English 1 ▪ Students who display a deep passion for reading and writing. ▪ Students with exemplary performance in all junior high Language Arts courses. ▪ Students who desire additional challenges and appreciate rigor. ▪ Students who participate regularly and actively in classroom activities and discussions and appreciate multiple viewpoints. ▪ Students who persist in challenging situations and accept the challenge of open-ended tasks. ▪ Maintain accelerated task commitment and energy when learning.
English 1 or Honors English 1? Please keep in mind … ● There is a summer reading project associated with Honors English 1. The project is due on the first day of class in August. ● Students do not need to take Honors English 1 to take other weighted courses during their four years at NCHS. ● If a student performs well in English 1 and gets his or her teacher’s recommendation, he or she can move to Honors English 2 or Honors English 2: Journalism during sophomore year. ● We want students to take the right course freshman year!
Science ● Principles of Biology & Chemistry ○ This inquiry based course demonstrates the interconnections of Biology & Chemistry. ● Chemistry ○ This course is a standards-based study of fundamental chemistry concepts based on the Next Generation Science Standards. ● Honors Chemistry ○ This honors course is designed for the accelerated science student is recommended for Honors Geometry.
Honors Chemistry Successful Honors Chemistry students: ● Embrace challenges. ● Complete homework on a daily basis, including reading assignments. ● Do not rely on rote memorization. ● Show formulas and work when completing math problems. ● Are able to synthesize information and solve unique problems without prior practice. ● Are self-advocates for learning and will come in for extra help as soon as a need arises.
Social Studies ▪ World Cultures ▪ This course focuses on the concepts of geography and the study of elements of culture for both historical and contemporary global issues. ▪ World History 1: Ancient History and World History 2: Medieval History ▪ Recommended for students interested in man’s transition from pre-historic times through the Renaissance. ▪ AP World History ▪ This accelerated, college-level course invites students to take a global view of historical processes with emphasis on the last 1000 years. ▪ This course has a summer reading assignment.
World Cultures ● This course incorporates the political, economic, social, religious and historical perspectives that help students answer the essential question, “What factors shape culture?” for each global region. ● Students learn and apply the skills of reading, writing, interpretation of maps and graphs, source analysis, and research to the study of cultures throughout the world. ● Students must take notes independently on informational readings, evaluate and question sources, and demonstrate their knowledge through tests and written assignments.
Ancient/Medieval History ● An analysis of man’s political, economic, social, spiritual and intellectual development provides a foundation for critical understanding of history beginning with the four River Valley civilizations and ending in the year 1450. ● Inquiry-based discussion take place in class each day and students are expected to take notes independently. Discussion is based on reading and nightly review of material. ● Unit assessments consist of both objective and short answer tests. ● A true history course.
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