8th Grade Parent Orientation First Flight High School April 27, 2016

What Makes 9th Graders Successful? Motivation Attitude Organization Parent Support Sense of direction/purpose Attendance

Hybrid Schedule A combination of 55 min. year-long classes and 90-min. semester classes Better transition for entering 9th graders More time to learn concepts and practice Less of a gap between sequenced courses Coincides with NC graduation requirements Students can still accelerate as necessary

Sample Schedule First Semester 1st Period English I 2nd Period HWorld History 3rd Period HPE 4th Period Art I 5th Period H Earth Science Second Semester 1st Period English I 2nd Period Marketing 3rd Period Math I 4th Period Art I 5th Period H Earth Science

Frequently Asked Questions What determines 55/90 min. classes? Teacher recommendations and course selections – we will determine #s of sections and schedule students to best meet their needs; high school staff How many credits will I need to graduate? 24 credits out of a maximum potential of 28

FAQs continued How do we decide which and how many honors classes to take? Go with the students’ strengths Look at teacher recommendations and be honest about the work ethic Consider extra curricular activities and go for a balance

Course Placement Guidelines Grades and End-of-Grade scores are considered in placement decisions as well as guidelines for core areas in the slides that follow

English and Social Studies Critical thinking/problem solving skills Work ethic/work habits Reading level/comprehension Writing skills Ability to apply what they are learning Attendance Attitude towards academics

Science Ability to form a hypothesis Natural curiosity Ability to work in groups Performance in lab work Emphasis on higher order thinking skills

Math Consider factors for English and Social Studies + Ability to show work – a must for higher levels of math

Graduating Future-Ready Freshmen entering high school in 2009-2010 now affected by the state’s Future-Ready Core Students have options to select the best path to meet life goals Strong academic foundation is provided 2 kinds of requirements: course requirements and NC Graduation Project

Course Requirements English – 4 credits Science – 3 credits (Earth, Biology and a physical science) Social Studies – 4 credits (World History, Civics and Economics, 2- American History courses or AP US History + one additional SS) Health and PE – 1 credit

Future-Ready Core continued Math – 4 credits (Math I, Math II, Math III and a 4th math aligned with student’s post high school plans) A student in rare instances may be able to take an alternative math course sequence – in place of Algebra II and 4th math World Language – not required for graduation but required for admission to UNC system

Future-Ready Core continued 8 elective credits – 2 of any combination from either CTE, Arts, World Language; 4 strongly recommended from one of the following: CTE, Arts, any other subject area (e.g. math, science, social studies, English)

Secondary Attendance Policy Highlights Bring a note within 3 days of being absent Be present for at least 2/3 of a class period High school attendance is by period Any student missing more than 5 days has exceeded the attendance requirements

Athletic & Driving Eligibility Based on NC High School Athletic Association policy, an athlete must have passed a minimum of three full credit courses that semester in order to be eligible for sports; DCS will be providing attendance policy information State law requires a student to be passing 70% of courses attempted in order to receive a driving eligibility certificate or keep their driving permit or license

NC Scholars Requirements 4 Levels of English 4 Maths (Math I, II, III and one beyond III) 3 Sciences (Earth, Biology, and Chemistry or Physics) 4 Social Studies (World History, Civics, American History Healthful Living (HPE) 6 Elective credits to include 2 levels of World Language, 4 elective credits constituting a concentration from one of the following: CTE, Arts, World Language, any other subject area 3 Higher level courses taken during jr/sr. year, which carry add. Quality points such as AP, dual enrollment, adv. CTE, online courses, other honors above designated courses Graduation Project 3.5 Grade Point Average Unweighted

Minimum Admission Requirements of the UNC System To enroll in one of the 16 public universities making up the UNC System, students must meet the following minimum requirements; however, some have higher requirements: High School Diploma or Equivalent 4 levels of English 4 units in Math (Math I, II, III + one beyond Math III 4 units in Social Studies, including American History 2 units of one Foreign Language 3 units in Science, including at least 1 life/biological, one physical, and one additional lab course * in addition, it is recommended that one world language and one math unit be taken in the 12th grade

New for Freshmen Entering High School – 2015-16 Grading Scale will be 10-point Honors courses will be weighted an additional .5 quality point AP courses will be weighted 1 additional quality point COA (available in 11th/12th grades) courses will be weighted the same as AP courses

Building a Transcript Starts in 9th grade HS courses taken in middle school count as high school credits but do not count in GPA Grade Point Average is determined by credits earned, grades and quality points; each grade is assigned a quality point, ex. World History – 96=4.0; Honors World – 96=4.5 A (90-100) = 4.0 C (70-79) = 2.0 B (80-89) = 3.0 D (60-69) = 1.0

Choosing Courses Make course selections carefully First choices will be honored if possible Alternate course selections are as important as first choices Courses will be offered based on demand and teaching staff availability Conflicts arise in the master schedule

Making Good Choices Direct questions about teacher recommendations to the 8th grade subject teacher 9th graders have five classes they must take – decisions on whether a student should take an honors or regular class are best made from the input of the student, parent and teacher

Schedule Changes Teaching staff is employed and assigned based on course registration Schedule changes will be made only under certain conditions: *student is scheduled for a course for which he/she did not register or which was not selected as an alternate *student does not meet the prerequisite *student is academically misplaced or there is a computer error

Freshman Core Courses English I or I Honors English II H* Math I Math II – regular/honors Math III honors* Earth Science or Honors Earth Science Biology or Chemistry* Honors World History

Freshman Electives Career Management Health and PE* Microsoft IT Academy Intro to Computer Science Personal Finance Marketing Core Sustainable Construction Health Team Relations Parent and Child Development Game Art & Design* Adobe Visual Design Drafting I Health and PE* Intro to Publications Creative Writing Speech Communications Life Skills & Sports** Strength Training** *HPE required **must have HPE first

Freshman Electives cont. Glee Chorus Concert Choir – teacher recommendation Band Jazz Band String Orchestra (7-8 a.m.) Theatre Arts I Visual Arts I

Registration Schedule April 13 – FFHS counselors went to FFMS classes May 3-4 – FFHS counselors meet individually with 8th graders May 13 – signed registration forms due to social studies teachers

Scheduling Process Tally of students signed up for courses Tally of teacher recommendations Sections determined by number of sign ups and staff availability Develop master schedule Schedule individual students

Questions?