1. Welcome to Westford Academy 8 th grade Parent Night

2. Tonight’s Agenda  Introduction  Overview of Westford Academy website and Program of Studies  Curriculum Coordinators review offerings by department  Course recommendation process through iPass  Closing/FAQs  Coordinators available for individual questions

3. Westford Academy website Program of Studies 2016-2017 Program of Studies 2016-201 Freshman Course Selection Link Freshman Course Listings Link

4. Honors or College Level? Flexible Levels English History and Social Studies Math Science Fixed Level World Language

5. A successful honors student: Has a teacher recommendation Has a passion for content Is very organized Works independently Manages a fast-paced curriculum Participates in class discussion Reads and understands complex text Uses evidence to support a claim

6. Ms. MaryKim Bourdeau Curriculum Coordinator, Science Department

7. WA Science-Grade 9 offerings Required – Biology Elective Option Intro to Engineering I and II

8. Ms. Amy Moran Curriculum Coordinator, World Language Department

9. World Languages French German Latin Mandarin Spanish Fixed Levels

10. Ms. Janet Keirstead Curriculum Coordinator, English Department

11. English Required: English 9 Elective: Journalism I

12. Mrs. Libby Porter Curriculum Coordinator, History/Social Studies Department

13. Planning for Social Studies Grade 9 World History II Choice of Levels

14. Ms. Cathy Coughlin Curriculum Coordinator, Mathematics and Computer Science

17. A second math course is an elective – Doubling up costs you another elective Opt-out testing – Skip Geometry Honors, (Take Algebra 2 Honors in 9 th ) If you choose this option you will need to take a math course off campus your senior year. We do NOT recommend opting-out – Date for test out is March 17, 2016 (2 hour test) Contact Ms. Coughlin at ccoughlin@westfordk12.us – Skip Intro to Programming, (Take Java Honors) this is only recommended if you have taken a programming course – Date for this is March 15, 2016 (after school at WA, will need to write a program) Contact Mrs. Trehan at atrehan@westfordk12.us

18. Mrs. Andrea Mejia Curriculum Coordinator, Visual and Performing Arts Department

19. Westford Academy Theater Arts  Elements of Theater Westford Academy Visual Art  Foundations of Art/Visual Art I  3D Animation and Modeling  Image Editing

20. Westford Academy Music Performance Ensembles  Concert Choir  Concert Band  Orchestra  Dual Ensemble Applied Music  Intro to Guitar  Piano Lab  Songwriting  Lyric Writing  Electronic Music  Music in Film  Elements of Ukulele

21. Business/DECA electives Many opportunities for grade 9 Must be enrolled in one half year business elective to participate in DECA – Pathways to Business Success – Marketing – Management – Accounting I – Microsoft Certified Specialist

22. Course Selection Process Review Freshman course listing and descriptions/prerequisites in the Program of Studies online Complete worksheet with required courses and 1 st choice and 2 nd choice electives Login to iStudent and complete the following steps…

25. Log in to iStudent STEP 1: Log into iStudent using your username (active user ID) and password. The username is the same as the username you use to log into Active Directory to access your home folder and your files. Example: 19lsmith (the year of graduation and (in most cases) your first initial and your last name).The first time you log in, your password will be your four or five digit student ID. You will be prompted to change it to something you can remember and we suggest using your googledocs password. You should keep this password in a safe place and you should NOT share your password with anyone.

26. Online Scheduling Process Click on iStudent Recommendations

27. Once you log in, you will see your current teachers’ recommendations. Check Approved next to every course you plan to take next year. You must click on this box on the bottom to acknowledge that you have reviewed all recommendations.

28. Once you’ve checked all of your choices and the box at the bottom, click on the Submit button.

29. If you wish to select a course other than the one your current teacher recommende d, do not click on Approve. Instead, enter the number of your choice down below. In this example, the teacher recommende d Latin II, but the student wants to switch to Spanish I.

30. After you click submit at the bottom, the screen will show Spanish I Approved. Latin II not approved.

31. Electives Electives are courses that students choose to take. Electives are available to give you the opportunity to explore areas of interest. Enter your elective choices and include alternates in case your first choice electives are not available. Electives available to incoming 9 th graders are listed on the scheduling worksheet.

32. Students entering Grade 9 will have one or two first choice electives. Enter the course ID # for your 1 st choice elective. Click on the magnifying glass to look up a course ID number.

33. Be sure you choose electives that are available to 9 th graders. Click +Add if this is an elective you wish to request.

34. Although the screen says “Please Select 6,” incoming 9 th graders pick no more than two electives and two alternates. Use scheduling worksheet to determine choices so that total credits are a minimum of 32.5 and a maximum of 35. Enter your one or two first choice electives here and click Submit

35. The first choice electives now appear Next to the first choice entry, click on Add Alternate

36. Type in course number for Alternate or use Search button to select, then click Submit

37. Alternate now appears for first choice elective Now click on Add Alternate to left of second elective

38. Example of completed electives; two first choice electives and alternates for each

39. Final Steps

42. Some FAQs… How involved should I be with my child’s course selections? How many honors course should a student take? Is there summer reading? What is the timeline on that? How much homework can students anticipate nightly? When will students get their schedules? How can my child prepare now for success in high school?

43. Questions?