2 You will stay with your assigned counselor all 4 years while you - - PDF document

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You will stay with your assigned counselor all 4 years while you are in high school.

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OUR DISTRICT’S COURSE REQUIREMENTS You must complete certain basic courses that all high school students in Ohio must take. Pickerington Local School District students must take:

• 4 units of English
• 4 units of mathematics (one of which shall be Algebra 2)
• 3 units of science (Integrated Science (1), Biology (1), Elective Science (1))
• 3 units of social studies (World History (1), American History (1), Economics

(½), Principles of Democracy (½))

• ½ unit of health & ½ unit of physical education*
• 4 units of electives**
• 1 unit of Fine Arts***

**Fine Arts: Any course from Music, Art, Theatre, Photography, Graphic Arts, or Advanced Photography

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REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS First, our district requires all students to complete 20 course credits to

• graduate. You will get different numbers of credits for different courses, and

they must add up to at least 20 credits in the required courses. Second, you must take seven state tests. You will take these tests over the four years you are in high school, and each test comes at the end of a specific course. Third, you will pick one of three diploma options to complete your graduation requirements. Here’s the last thing you need to know about tests: All of you, when you reach 11th grade, should have taken or are planning to take a nationally recognized college admission test (such as the ACT or SAT). Taking this test will tell you and our district if you are ready for college and what you still might need to do to become ready, if you see college as an option for you.

REQUIRED STATE TESTS

• Beginning with the Class of 2018 – or those who become 9th graders on or

after July 1, 2014, the Ohio Graduation Tests will not be required.

• Instead, you will take a state test at the end of eight of your courses. That’s

why we call them “end of course” tests.

• The courses are algebra 1, geometry, Biology, American history, American

government, English 9 and English I0.

• These tests will give us a much clearer picture of whether we are giving you

the skills and knowledge you need to be college or career ready when you graduate.

• If you look at all the courses you will take in high school, you’ll find that in

almost all of them you will have a final test.

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PERFORMANCE LEVEL---GRADUATION POINTS Earn these point levels on the tests. These levels translate into how many points you get. Again, remember that you need to earn a total of at least 18 POINTS on the eight tests.

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SUBSTITUTE TESTS

• Students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses in American history or

American government may take tests specially designed for these courses instead of the state end-of-course test for that kind of course, to avoid double testing.

• Students taking College Credit Plus courses in these subjects will use the

course grade, not end-of-course test points, to determine their points earned toward graduation. Information on Advanced Placement Scores and College Credit Plus Grades score conversations: http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohio-Graduation-Requirements/Graduation- Requirements-2018-and-Beyond/18-Points-on-State-Tests

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FLEXIBILITY FOR STUDENTS

• One of the great things about accumulating points from your state end-of-

course test to reach 18 points is that it gives you flexibility:

• A high score on one test can balance a low score on another test. This

flexibility allows for differences in students.

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COLLEGE READINESS SCORE ON A NATIONAL ADMISSION TEST

• In addition, you will take a nationally recognized college admission test (such

as ACT or SAT) in 11th grade.

• If you have already taken the ACT/SAT; does it count? Yes.
• Another option is to take and receive a college-readiness score on a national

test.

• You may take the test before junior year or retake it at your own expense.
• You can earn a high school diploma with your highest score.

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Work Readiness and Skill Credential

• You can learn a skill that Ohio employers need right now, and earn

good pay to live on after graduation or use to help pay for more education.

• Take a serious look now as you are entering high school about the

hundreds of ways you can learn a skill for a job that employers are demanding workers for in the near future.

• When you receive an official credential for this skill, you are halfway to

earning your high school diploma. The other half is to earn a job readiness score on WorkKeys.

• Benefit: You leave high school with a skill so you can live on your own.

You can build on this skill if you want to. The Industry credential and workforce readiness option means that students must earn 12 points through a State Board of Education- approved, industry-recognized credential or group of credentials in a single career field and achieve a workforce readiness score on the WorkKeys assessment.

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There are 2 types of diplomas you can works towards during your time at PHSN. Standard Diploma: By completing your basic high school graduation requirements...you will receive the Standard Diploma Honors Diploma: By completing achieving 7 of the 8 listed criteria...you will receive the Honors Diploma. The Honors Diploma is not automatically awarded your senior

• year. There is an application process that starts the Spring of your Senior year.

Your Cumulative GPA starts now! If you have taken High School credits while you in Junior High...you current have a cumulative GPA that will follow you to High School. If you have not taken any high school credit classes yet...you will start this your Freshman year. It is very important to start taking this process seriously...thinking that you have time to “fix” anything that went wrong your Freshman year can prove difficult as you move through high school. This is a great opportunity to start off strong and begin building a great cumulative GPA

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It is very important that you are flexible and open to new classes. PHSN

• ffers a wide variety of classes to our students. This is the time to explore

your strengths and your weaknesses. One should not shy away from classes that are perceived as difficult or they have “heard” it isn’t good. When registering for you classes, please make sure to read the course registration handbook. There you will find all of the descriptions and prerequisites for every single class option. Don’t sign up just because the name of the class sounds interesting, really read about the class and see if it interests you AND you meet the minimum requirements to take the course. It is imperative that you speak with your teachers to find out the best class for you when going through this process. Your counselor is only here to guide...we cannot tell you what to take. It is those teachers, experts in their subject, that can help you navigate what to choose. They know your work ethic and what can be expected at the next level. *When in doubt, speak with your current teacher. Do not listen to friends. Sign up for classes that interest you and that will push

• you. You will be taking these classes...not your friends.

Course Registration Information page: http://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/pickerington-north-high/courses-and-class- registration/

The PHSN School Counseling department recommends that if you want to go to college to follow the above recommendations. Now, these aren’t carved in stone and this is the MINIMUM...we want our students to go beyond the MINIMUM requirement. We believe that all of our students are destined for greatness and have the ability to step outside of their comfort zone. Try an honors class...explore new electives...take 4 years of science. All of this prepares you for what is to come after you walk across the stage in 2020.

• College Credit Plus courses are taught by teachers who hold

credentials as adjunct instructors at an Ohio college or work directly with college faculty members.

• Successful completion of coursework in the CCP program will earn

students college credit that is accepted by all of Ohio’s universities and colleges and many out­-of-­state and private institutions.

• Location, manner of delivery, and scheduling of courses may vary.
• These are not high school courses – these are college courses offered

for concurrent high school credit.

• Parents and students should expect differences in process and plan

accordingly.

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• Please read the first 10 pages of our Course Registration handbook AND

attend the February 17th College Credit Plus meeting.

• There you will receive all the information you need regarding CCP and the

process from the experts in this area.

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Any time you are looking at making the jump to an Honors level course. You should really speak with your current teacher in that academic area. They know your work ethic and the expectations of the next level. You should always push yourself...but be careful of what you are jumping into.

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Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) programs have become a national priority for schools. Preparing future technology workers, engineers, and scientists is an issue that U.S. Presidents and Ohio Governors have emphasized as critical to global competitiveness. STEM programs integrate math, science, technology, and engineering content with language arts and 21 st Century skills such as problem solving, communication, entrepreneurship and critical thinking. Pickerington’s Biomedical STEM program follows the nationally recognized Project Lead the Way framework. Students are eligible to receive college credit when they are enrolled in the advanced biomedical coursework as juniors and seniors. If you are interested in your son or daughter being involved in our Biomedical Health STEM pathway. It is important to know that this pathway builds on the classes before it. The first section you must choose to start is 285H when you register. You can find more information about this program on page 42 of the Course Guide.

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• Starting next year, PHSN will be starting at 7:55am and run to 2:55pm.

Along with the later start, we will have a new approach to the daily high school class schedule. Rather than have eight periods, the school day will be split into twenty-six 15-minute modules. This will give us significant flexibility to make some classes, such as lab sciences and advanced placement, longer than others. Classes will be three modules (45 minutes)

• r four (60 minutes) long.

The longer day and changes to schedules will allow us to incorporate enrichment and intervention into the instructional day. It will create common teacher collaboration opportunities, increase teacher availability to students and parents, allow for daily teacher professional time, and increase the amount of direct teacher instruction. Because of this added flexibility, lunches will now be 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes. This will be sufficient thanks to the staggered lunch start

• All we want you to worry about is the number of classes you are signing up for

each semester.

• Think of every Yearlong class equalling 2 and each Semester Long class

equalling 1.

• So you will choose at least 5 year long core academic classes (Math, English,

History, Science, Foreign Language) you will have 5 classes 1st semester and 5 classes 2nd semester.

• Now, to round out to 6...you can either add 2 one semester classes

(remember these equal 1)...or you can add one more year long class.

• We have 2 semesters. So you will want to divide the total number of classes

by 2...so if you have 5 year long classes (10) plus 2 semester classes (2) which equals 12...then divide that by the number of semesters we have (2) 12/2 equals 6...you have 6 classes per semester…

• We want the number of classes you are taking over the year to add up to

12….just remember Y = 2 and S = 1

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• When choosing your classes, be careful as to how many classes you
• choose. If you choose 7 classes per semester...you may very likely be

scheduled into that many classes. If you are the kind of student that may need some time in the day to receive help or work on your classwork...make sure to only choose 6 classes per semester.

• Since we lock in your schedules once school starts, it is very difficult to

drop classes to make room for E&I periods throughout the day.

• We want you to push yourself academically, but it is important to know

your strengths and weaknesses. You can find out how to register online by visiting the Pickerington High School North School Counselor page and clicking on the Courses and Class Registration link. There you will find out everything you need to know about registration and how to fix any issues you may encounter.

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