8 th Grade Forecasting West Salem High School

WELCOME WSHS CLASS OF 2017

Celebrating Our Accomplishments  1 National Merit Commended Scholar for the class of 2013  13 Valedictorians and 6 Salutatorians in the class of 2013  3 Million dollars in scholarships awarded to last years grads  State assessment scores had significant increases in Reading, Math, Writing and Science  Several athletic teams were league champions  ASB led several community service projects  Outstanding Music Department  Marching Band – Regional Champions  Wind Ensemble – State Champions  Orchestra – 2 nd in State  Choir—6 th in State  West is a “Green School”  Solar panels  Wind generator  Recycling program  Student leadership groups have a commitment to improve our community

Academic Opportunities  AP, Honors and College Credit Now  Freshman Honor Recommendations will come from 8 th grade teachers based on certain criteria  West’s philosophy allows students to enter Honors or AP classes anytime a teacher recommends them.

Middle School Tour....  Walker – March 14 th and 18 th  Straub – March 18 th and 19 th

What is Forecasting?  Choosing your courses for the following school year  Every year you’ll do this in the spring  It’s not a schedule, just course selection  This helps determine what and how many classes we offer at West Salem High School

Choosing Courses....  West is on a 7 period day = 14 classes for the year ( 7 each semester)  Freshman will already have 5 year long classes chosen:  English, Math, Science, Social Studies and PE/Health  This leaves them 2 year long courses or 4 semester courses to choose

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Choosing alternates....  Extremely important to have 5 other courses that your student is interested in taking  Alternates are almost always used due to scheduling conflicts  Building the master schedule is a huge and long process

Course Descriptions....   Click on Counseling Center  Click on Registration Bulletin

Bookmark this website!  College Visits  Scholarship Information  Planning Handbook  College Admission Test  Career Information System (CIS)  Graduation and College Requirements

Graduation Requirements  24 total credits *4 English *3 Mathematics (Algebra I and higher) *3 Social Studies *3 Science *1 Physical Education *1 Health *3 Fine Arts *6 Electives  Essential Skills  PEP (Personal Education Plan)

Essential Skills  Class of 2017 will need to demonstrate proficiencies to graduate  Essential Skills are state reading, writing and math assessments

College Requirements  Must have C or higher in core courses  English 4 years  Mathematics 3 years – through Algebra II, strong recommendation to take 4 years of math.  Science 3 years  Social Science 3 years  Second Language 2 Shall include two consecutive years of study in the same second language. If students begin a foreign language in middle school, at least one full year must be taken at the high school level.

Career Information System    Direct link from home page of WSHS  Great free resource  Career information  Skills assessments  Scholarship Searches  College Searches  Full length practice PSAT, SAT and ACT test

Recognize the challenges  High School is more demanding and requires more time and commitment  Middle school approach doesn’t work for most students  Your transcript is a permanent record  Grades are cumulative and do not start over every 6 weeks

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Tools for Success  Regular attendance  Planner  Regular study time and place  Build relationships with teachers and counselors  Communicate with teachers and your parents  In- Touch

Taking Care of Business Day – August 14, 2013  Register  Picture ID  Locker  Draft Schedule  Buy yearbook & ASB card together on this day and receive a discount!

Freshman First Day....  Tuesday, September 3 rd, 2013  Special Activities  Only freshman on campus

OSAA Athletics & Activities  Fall -  Football  Volleyball  Boys/Girls Soccer  Cross Country  Cheer  Dance  Winter -  Boys/Girls Basketball  Swimming  Wrestling  Spring -  Baseball  Softball  Boys/Girls Tennis  Boys/Girls Golf  Track & Field Eligibility Requirements

Clubs and Activities  Anime Club  Culinary Club  Environmental Club  Equestrian Club  Fencing Club  First Tech Challenge (Robotics)  French Club  French Honor Society  German Club  GSA  Lacrosse  Latino Club  Mock Trial  National Honors Society  Rotary Interact Club  Speech and Debate  Students for Change  Teen Action Team  Water Polo  West Side Writers  Young Life  Zoo Crew

Academic Support....  Supervised after school tutoring for freshman only  Teacher availability after school  Athletics study table

It’s A Great Day To Be A Titan!