Scheduling Night for Parents of
Rising Freshmen
Briar Woods High School
Evening Program
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6:45 – 7:30
Presentation

7:30 – 8:30
Scheduling Fair in the
Cafeteria
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Core departments
Elective departments
School Counseling department
Presentation Agenda
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Rising 9th Grade Scheduling Process
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Diploma Types & Graduation Requirements
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Questions? School counseling table
Questions? School counseling table
Selecting Courses for Next Year
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Questions? Department tables
This Information is Online!
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BWHS School Counseling
>>> Student Scheduling for 2016-2017
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Tonight’s parent presentation
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Key points are in red font
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2016-2017 Program of Studies
Worksheets
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LCPS Course Curriculum information

th
9
Rising
Grade Scheduling
Process
Current LCPS Middle School students
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BWHS counselors will visit Eagle Ridge Middle
School on February 3 & 4, and walk students
through their course selections class-by-class.
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The core class will be selected by your child’s
teachers
The BWHS counselor will help your child pick
electives
The middle school will send home your student’s
course selections for your review
You will have until June 10, 2016 to make
changes
Students New to LCPS
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New students usually begin enrolling in mid-April
There is a two week window where we cannot
complete enrollments, first two week of May
The information and materials needed to enroll a
new student can be found on the BWHS and LCPS
websites
New students and their parents will select their
courses with a BWHS counselor when they enroll
Enrollments are by appointment
Diploma Types & Graduation
Requirements
Diplomas

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Standard Diploma
Advanced Studies Diploma

Students who earn Advanced Studies Diplomas should
be better prepared to perform well in college

Plenty of students who earn Standard Diplomas are
successful in college
Diplomas

Diplomas are based on:

Standard Units of Credit – 140 clock hours of
instruction & a passing grade

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Translation: Pass the class, get a credit
Verified Units of Credit – Standard unit of credit
plus passing the end-of-course SOL associated
with that class

Translation: Pass the class and SOL, get a verified credit
Standard Diploma
Academic Areas
Credits
SOL Verified Credits
English
4
2
Social Studies
3
1
Mathematics
3
1
Science
3
1
Health/Physical Education
2
Foreign Language, Fine Arts, or Career &
Technical Education
2
Economics and Personal Finance
1
Electives
4
Student Selected Verified Credit
Total
1
22
6
Advanced Studies Diploma
Academic Areas
Credits
SOL Verified Credits
English
4
2
Social Studies
4
2
Mathematics
4
2
Science
4
2
Foreign Language
3-4
Health/Physical Education
2
Fine Arts or Career & Technical Education
1
Economics and Personal Finance
1
Electives
3
Student Selected Verified Credit
Total
1
26
9
SOL Courses = Verified Credits
Reading (Eng. 11)
Writing (Eng. 11)
Earth Science
Biology
Chemistry
Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
World History 1
World History 2
US History
Diplomas

Freshmen all take the same types of classes
regardless of the diploma they want

We start all students towards the Advanced
Studies Diploma

See the Program of Studies for the “fine print”
details
Additional Requirements

VA Department of Education:
Standard Diploma students must pass a
board-approved “technical education
credential”

There is a credential component within the
required “Personal Finance” class!
Additional Requirements

VA Department of Education:
All students must receive online instruction
while in high school

There is an online instructional component within
the required “Personal Finance” class which
satisfies this requirement!
Virtual Loudoun (VL) classes
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Online classes provided by Loudoun County Public
Schools.
These are the ONLY online credits we accept.
Offered three times/year: Summer, Fall, Spring.
Students take VL for a variety of reasons:
 To take less classes during the school day
 To “catch-up” or “get ahead”
 Due to an illness/they can’t attend school
 To make room for another class
Selecting Courses for Next
Year (and beyond)
The four most emotional topics…
1.
Politics
2.
Religion
3.
Should my child take Honors or Academic
classes in high school?
4.
What’s the difference between Earth
Science and Biology?
Course Options for Freshmen

Please relax!!!
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You have until June 10th to make your final
decision!!!
Course Options for Freshmen
3.
English 9:
World History 1:
Earth Science *:
Honors or Academic
Pre-AP (Honors) or Academic
Research (Honors) or Academic
4.
Math:
Follows sequence
5.
Health & Physical Education 9
1.
2.
6.
7.
Elective – usually a foreign language
Elective
Course Options for Freshmen
3.
English 9:
World History 1:
Earth Science *:
Honors or Academic
Pre-AP (Honors) or Academic
Research (Honors), Academic
4.
Math:
Follows sequence
5.
Health & Physical Education 9
1.
2.
6.
7.
Elective – usually a foreign language
Elective
Math Sequence

See Program of Studies, page 30
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Math 8 >>> Algebra 1
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Algebra 1 >>> Geometry
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Geometry >>> Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 w/Trig
 Algebra 2 w/Trig is for the “easy straight A” math student!
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Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 w/Trig >>>
 Advanced Functions and Modeling
 Advanced Algebra/Precalculus
 Math Analysis
Course Levels – English, Social
Studies, & Science
Academic
Course content and expected student
performance require reading and writing at a
rigorous level.
Academic is a “college-bound” level.
Course Levels – English, Social
Studies, & Science
Honors, Research, Pre-AP
Course content is rapidly paced with additional
depth. Lessons are often designed to be
complex, abstract, and open-ended.
Work Load, freshman survey
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English 9 Academic = 1 hour 29 minutes/week
English 9 Honors = 2 hours 40 minutes/week
Earth Science Academic = 1 hour 32 minutes/week
Research Earth Science Honors = 2 hours 32 minutes/week
Research Biology Honors = 2 hours 40 minutes/week
World History Academic = 2 hours 10 minutes/week
PreAP World History Honors = 3 hours 23 minutes/week
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Algebra 1, Geometry & Algebra 2 = 1 hour 48 minutes/week
Algebra 2 w/ Trig = 2 hours 18 minutes/week
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Foreign Language = 1 hour 21 minutes/week
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Work Load, freshman survey
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All Academic = 8+ hours of work outside of
school

All Honors = 12+ hours of work outside of
school
* Freshman Science
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Earth Science – 9th grade course
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Research/Honors
Academic
Biology – 10th grade course
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Research/Honors
Academic is not available for freshmen
* Freshman Science
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Earth Science Honors or Biology Honors
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Most freshmen take Earth Science, 73%.
Skipping Earth Science is not recommended by LCPS/BWHS.
Students who skip freshman Earth Science will miss important
science content – perhaps the most important science content an
involved citizen should have
Students have not had the same level of exposure to this subject in
middle school
Academy of Science students receive Earth Science instruction and
take the Earth Science SOL
Honors Research Biology has a strong research component;
students first learn the research process through Honors Research
Earth Science
Students who skip Earth Science may be able to go “higher” in
science with less concessions (assuming they want to; and
assuming they have the math to do so)
Science: What/When/Ask
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Talk with your child about what science classes they may be
interested in – next year, and beyond. (LCPS/BWHS recommends
Earth Science). What other classes are they interested in?
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Use the plan of studies worksheet/four-year plan to estimate when
your child might want to take those science classes. Can they still fit
in the “other” classes they want to take? – the middle schools will
also do this with your child

Ask: Is skipping Earth Science necessary to meet my child’s goals?
LCPS Science Courses
SUBJECT
GRADE LEVEL
PREREQUISITES
9-10
None
10th grade: Biology
9-10
None
11th grade: Chemistry
10-12
Algebra 1; Algebra 2 recommended
12th grade: Physics
11-12
Algebra 2
11th or 12th: Conceptual Physics
10-12
Algebra 1
11th or 12th: Environmental Science
11-12
Two science classes
AP Biology
10-12
Biology & Co-requisite of Chemistry
AP Environmental Science
10-12
Earth Science & Biology
AP Chemistry
11-12
Chemistry
AP Physics
11-12
Physics & Co-requisite of Calculus
DE Independent Science Research (GMU)
11-12
Two science classes
DE Geospatial Science I (JMU)
11-12
NOT FOR SCIENCE CREDIT
DE Geospatial Science 2 (JMU)
12
NOT FOR SCIENCE CREDIT
9th grade:
Earth Science
Reminders
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A rising freshman course selection worksheet is online
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A plan of studies/four-year plan worksheet is online
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The 2016-2017 Program of Studies is online
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Course curriculum information can be found on the
LCPS website

The middle school counselors and teachers are a great
resource when making these decisions
Course Options for Freshmen
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One more time…
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Please relax!!!
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3-4 honors/academic decisions in 3-4 months!

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English, science, social studies; maybe math
You have until June 10th to make your final
decision!!!
“Lesson in Balance”

The Goal: Challenge the student vs.
Overloading the student

If you figure out the formula for this,
create an app! You’ll make millions!
“Lesson in Balance”
Take the most challenging classes you
can handle.
“Lesson in Balance”
Take the most challenging classes you
can reasonably handle.
“Lesson in Balance”
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How much time do you have available to study and do
homework?
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Do you play sports?
Are you involved in activities – both in or outside of school?
What does your track-record indicate?

Do you complete your work with little prompting?
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How committed and disciplined are you?
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What are mom and dad prepared for? What do you
believe you’re the parent’s role is?
Looking Beyond the Freshman Year
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Student often mix and match honors-level
classes
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Students are not stuck on an honors or
academic “track”
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They can move “up” or “down” from year-toyear in most subjects (notable exceptions are
math and foreign language)
“Lesson in Balance”
Don’t forget to consider the student’s
interests when determining his/her
courses and overall course load!
Course Options for Freshmen

OK… and one more time…

Please relax!!!

3-4 decisions in 3-4 months!


English, science, social studies; maybe math
You have until June 10th to make your final
decision!!!
About that deadline…

While you do have until June 10th….

We cannot make changes to course requests
after the deadline of June 10, 2016.
After the School Year Begins

Elective changes will not be possible
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Academic level changes
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Level change decisions are made case-by-case
Input from a variety of sources will be needed
A class that is “difficult” is not the same as a class that
is “too difficult” for a student!
Changing a level often disrupts the student’s entire
schedule!
Changing a level is often not possible! Class space is
finite!
Agenda

Rising 9th Grade Scheduling Process


Diploma Types & Graduation Requirements


Questions? School counseling table
Questions? School counseling table
Selecting Courses for Next Year

Questions? Department tables – ask the experts!!!
Upcoming Events
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April 8 at 9:15am: BWHS Activities EXPO
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May: Athletics meeting for parents – date TBA
Special education meeting – date TBA
Week before school begins
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Private & homeschool students are welcome! Adult
must sign them in and supervise visiting students
Freshman Student Orientation
Freshman Parent Meeting – meet the principal
Monitor our website and look for our newsletter!
Have Fun at the
Scheduling Fair!
7:30pm – 8:30pm