1. State College Area High School
Parent Night
and
Curriculum Showcase
January 18, 2017
Hello - I am Curtis Johnson the High School Principal. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Parent Night and Curriculum Showcase. Tonight you will get information to assist you with the transition of your child from the middle school to the high school.

2. This Evening’s Agenda Time Session Location Welcome and Introductions
Ninth Grade Learning Community
Scheduling Guidelines from Counselors
Auditorium
(for upcoming Gr. 9 Parents and Prospective Parents)
Curricular displays: English, Science, Social Studies, Math, CTC & Elective Courses
Counselors available for consultation/questions
Auxiliary Gym
Counseling Office
6:30
7:30- 8:30
To get us started tonight, let me give you a quick overview of tonights agenda and then I’ll turn it over to Christina Manning, the 9th grade principal to give you further information about the 9LC. This first session is for incoming 9th grade parents. If you are 10th, 11th, and 12th grade parent, we will have an informational session after this one at 7:30 pm. For now, please us this opportunity to visit our elective showcase in the auxiliary gym. In this session, you will learn about the 9LC and the scheduling process. Afterwards, you will be able to visit our curricular displays in the Auxiliary displays. The counselors will also be available in the counseling office. I would now like to invite Christina Manning to the podium.

3. 9th Grade Learning Community
Cohort (Teacher Teams) made up by content areas: English, Science, Social Studies, and Health/PE
Cohort teachers have collaborative time to focus on individual student achievement/struggles, analyzing data, and working on transition curriculum for their shared students.
Elective teachers and non-cohort teachers will be invited to join collaborative time as much as possible
Transition curriculum infused into the content of the 4 cohort teacher’s current curriculum: Citizenship, Strategies for Success and Healthy Future
The 9LC was adopted by our district to act as an invisible safety net for our incoming freshman. It’s designed to promote a successful transition for our ninth grade students by providing a system that encourages responsive teaching and learning, and allows teachers to collaborate in order to help students reach their potential, establish healthy relationships, and discover their strengths and passions in a safe and welcoming learning environment.

4. “No 9th Grade Student Left Unknown”
Students:
have same elective choices offered to all.
schedules will look the same as any other student.
will not have “team” activities.
Begin exploration of college and career options with introduction of SLCs (Student Learning Communities)
Look for information on the 9LC Student Orientation
Christina -9LC

5. Meet the Coordinators
Director of Secondary Curriculum, Jacquelyn Martin
Director of CTC/Technology: Dr. Sharon Perry
English: Christine Merritt
Science: Tod McPherson
Math: Bill Harrington
Social Studies: Jackie Saylor
Health/PE/DE/FCS: Steve Kurzinger
Music: Paul Leskowicz
Art: Danielle Crowe
World Language: Rick Polka
Counseling: Susan Marshall
Jacque - Introduces all Coordinators

6. Course Selection and Registration for Class of 2021
January 2017
Susan Marshall - Head Counselor, grades 9-12
Steve Guthoff - 9th grade Counselor (A-K)
Jack McCurdy - 9th grade Counselor (L-Z)
Susan *

7. General Registration Timeline
January: teachers share information about courses within their department and discuss course recommendations with students.
February 1, an sent home with course recommendations from current teachers and with directions to make your course requests for the school year.
Parents/Guardians may contact teachers with questions regarding course recommendations.
Students and/or parents/guardians can make appointments with their current school counselor with questions re: scheduling and registration, long term planning, etc. *

8. Registration Timeline continued...
Student course requests are due by March 3, 2017 through HAC
Aug : schedules can be viewed online with a limited window to request course changes. An will be sent to all students with directions on how to view schedules and with directions about how to request course changes.
**Schedule changes are very restricted after August 11, 2017.
*FRESHMEN ORIENTATION IN AUGUST

9. Mental Health Initiative:
Healthy Points of View
Short Term: What you need to know to effectively plan your classes for next year?
Long Term:
What you need to know & think about in order to effectively plan for the next four years of high school?
Mental Health Initiative:
RETHINK the purpose of High School and the college admissions process .
Getting in to college is NOT the finish line of life.
*Help your child identify and work toward their goals. Take healthy risks.
*Help your child find ways to participate and discover skills – club/activity at school or in the community, elective classes, etc. *

10. Minimum Graduation Requirements
4 credits each of English and Social Studies
3 credits each of Science and Math
Physical Education Classes 9-12 (1.5 credits)
Health/Wellness Classes in 9th or 10th & 11th or 12th Grade (2 courses)
In-class Driver’s Education
Community Service (20 Hours)
Electives (8.25 credits)
Total of 25 credits
See page 7 of course selection guide. *

11. Helping your student to request courses:
8th - 11th grade counselors will be meeting with all students in Social Studies classes to present course registration information and help with the course selection process during February th.
2/3/17: Current 12th grade counselors present to PFMS 8th grade students.
2/10/17: Current 12th grade counselors present to MNMS 8th grade students.

12. Helping your student continued...
2/14/17: State High and Delta counselors and Registrars Office present registration process to Charter, OLV, and private schools/families. 1:30pm in North Auditorium
Second week in March: course requests snail mailed home for one last look and opportunity to change requests for next year.
March 30, 2017: HAC Course Request Window closes.

13. A/B Block Scheduling and 9th grade schedules:
Day A Day B
Math
English
3.1 LUNCH (30 mins)
*Phys Ed 9 (Fall)/*Health 1 (Spring)
4.1 World Language (if college bound)
World History
6.1 Band Choir
7.1 Science
7.2 LUNCH (30 mins)
7.3 Science
8.1 Elective(s)
sign up for 6.5 full blocks at a minimum
*Semester Courses
Please see page 7 in the Course Selection Guide for essential 9th grade scheduling guidelines ! *

14. Additional Considerations
If your child is planning to attend college, they have their own and different requirements (and it depends on what you want to study):
World Language – typically two years are required as a minimum.
Math - Trig/Precalc. for Science, Eng, Business, IST
Science - are you pursuing health/medical careers? Do they require specific courses?
Fine Arts - all colleges in California require one year/credit
You need to do your research. *

15. Additional considerations continued...
Requirements For NCAA – 16 Core Courses for Division I & II (NCAA.org)
look for the NCAA designation in our course selection guide.
Homework & extra-curricular load should be considered.
(See page 7)

16. Reading and Using the Course Selection Guide:
Year long courses that meet every other day for a full block (90 mins) = 1.0 credit.
Semester long courses that meet every other day for a full block = .5 credits
(Music) courses that meet every day, year long and for a half block (45 mins) = .5 credit.
Advanced and AP Science classes that meet for a full block every other day for one semester and everyday during the other semester = 1.50 credits.
Page 8 covers Community Service and the Keystone Exams in more detail.
Page 9 contains a Graduation Planning Guide for those of you that want to start mapping out the next four years of high school.
First half of the Course Selection Guide is curricular courses listed alphabetically by department and second half is CTC courses where many additional elective courses can be found. *

17. Using the Course Guide continued...
F= Fall semester class
S= Spring semester class
Y= Year long class
*PREREQUISITES MUST BE FOLLOWED!

18. Symbols found in the Guide What do they mean ?*

19. HOW TO REQUEST COURSES
Log on to Home Access Center
Recommendations will be pre-loaded.
Choose electives by priority.
You must have at least 6.5 credits on your schedule.
Changes to recommended courses require parent signature on the course recommendation change form (see your counselor or download it from the website).

20. Remember Follow your teacher recommendations.
Discuss recommendations with them if you need more information.
Talk with your current counselor if you have more questions.
Talk over your course selection with your parents/guardians. *

21. Reminders continued...
You are building your high school transcript which will be used for college, job, military and scholarship opportunities. Grades count!
Get involved In clubs, sports and activities.
Your mental health matters! Schedule with balance and planning in mind.

22. Contact Information
Thank you for attending! Feel free to or call us with questions:
Counseling Offices:
(814) South
(814) North
for general questions