Ocean Springs High School

9-11 Grade Course Selection Presentation

Overview • Types of Courses Offered

• Graduation Requirements

• Institutions of Higher Learning Entrance

Requirements

• Accessing the Greyhound Guide and Course

Request Screens

• Schedule Change Policy

• Frequently Asked Questions

Types of Classes Offered • Regular – requires an average amount of work and has a

moderate level of difficulty; all regular coursework meets college prep requirements

• Honors – these courses are taught on an accelerated level; they are rigorous and will prepare students for AP and IB courses

• Dual Credit – MGCCC college class; Open to grades 11-12; Course follows all college curriculum, policies and procedures; Both HS and college credit awarded upon successful completion. College admission requirements apply

• Advanced Placement – college level course; participating colleges may grant credit to students who have performed at a qualifying level on AP Examinations

• International Baccalaureate (IB) – most rigorous academic program at OSHS; IB classes begin in 11th grade

Graduation Requirements

Must also Pass state assessment for: • Algebra 1 • Biology I • English II • US History

University Admission Standards, Continued

• You can be admitted to a Mississippi university by meeting any of the following criteria:

o Complete the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) (listed on the following page) with a minimum 3.2 high school grade point average (GPA) on the CPC; or

o Complete the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) with a minimum 2.50 high school GPA on the CPC or a class rank in the top 50%, and a score of 16 or higher on the ACT* (Composite); or

o Complete the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) with a minimum 2.00 high school GPA on the CPC and a score of 18 or higher on the ACT* (Composite); or

o Satisfy the NCAA standards for student athletes who are “full-qualifiers” under Division I guidelines; or Students who do not meet the above criteria are nonetheless eligible for admission. Such students must participate, however, in an on-campus placement process at the university of their choice.

• *In lieu of ACT scores, students may submit equivalent SAT scores.

• Out of state or private universities should be contacted for admission requirements.

How do I know which classes I’m

missing for graduation? • Click on the Graduation Progress button on the

Parent/Student Portal

• Classes in dark green are complete

• Classes in light green are in progress (student is

currently taking the class, but final grade not

awarded)

• Classes in white have not been taken and are

needed for graduation

Example of Graduation Progress Screen:

Greyhound Guide • The Greyhound Guide can be found on the Parent

Portal Log-In screen or on the high school website

• It includes:

o Course description details

o Graduation requirements

o 9th and 10th grade course of study for students who plan to enter the IB program in grade 11

o 11th and 12th grade program of study for International Baccalaureate Courses

o Requirements to enter a four year university in Mississippi

Consider the following when requesting courses:

• College entrance requirements

• Your personal areas of interest

• Classes that will match up with your future program

of study in college

• Finding a balance – which combination of classes

will challenge you, but won’t overload you?

• Consider obligations outside of school, such as

family, work, and athletics

Considerations, Continued

• Make sure to think about your requests and choose

wisely.

• If you are unsure about a particular course

selection, consult with the current teacher of that

course or a counselor

Alternates • There may be a chance that one of your primary

requests will not work in your schedule

• Alternates are substituted if one of your primary requests won’t work in your schedule

• Students should choose alternates that they would be happy taking

• If you choose a class as a primary request, do not list it again as an alternate. o Do not list classes you have already passed in your alternates

o Listing the same classes in both the primary and alternate sections does not increase your chances of getting in the class

o If counselors run into a schedule conflict, they will not have any legitimate alternates to choose from

Steps to Get to the Course Request Screen

• Go to the OSSD website – www.ossdms.org

• Click on parents

• Click on Parent & Student Portal

• Log-in using your student ID and password

• Click on left

Course Requests for 2015-2016

• The course request screen will be open today

through 11:59pm on Tuesday, March 3rd

• All course requests and changes should be entered

by this deadline

• Counselors will make selections for students who do

not meet this deadline

Steps to Access the Course Request Screen

Example of 10th Grade Course Request Screen:

Schedule Changes • The school administration uses course requests provided

by students to determine teaching assignments and personnel that need to be hired each year

• When you list a course on your course requests, you are committing to taking that course next year

• Consequently, it is highly important that students think carefully about the courses they sign up for

• Schedule Change Policy (from Greyhound Guide): Schedule changes will only be made based on the following justifiable reasons within the first two days of the term or quarter: o Course that needs to be repeated

o Prerequisite for course not met

o Incomplete schedule or overlapping courses

o Course already taken and passed

o Course requirement lacking for graduation - 12th graders only

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a few questions. How do

I ask my counselor? • Counselors will be in the Career Center on the

following dates/times to assist students:

o Today - Thursday, February 26: All lunches

o Tomorrow - Friday, February 27: Breakfast break

and all lunches

I don’t have internet access and would like to assist my child in requesting his/her classes. What do I do?

• Please go to the counselors’ office on Monday,

March 2nd between 4 and 6 pm – counselors will

have computers available

I am a senior. How do I sign up for early release,

late arrival, or early graduation?

• Select 9941 Early Rel/Late Arr/Early Graduation

under the electives section. They must be selected

by quarter

• Early Release/Late Arrival has no credit value, so

PowerSchool will require you to submit 8 credits of

requests

• Once all course requests have been submitted,

counselors will evaluate the ER/LA requests. If a

student qualifies, they will give them a permission

form.

Early Release/Late Arrival, Continued

• The permission form will give you the following options to select: o Early Release

o Late Arrival

o Early Graduation

• On your permission form, you will list the classes you want to drop in your requests to make room for ER/LA/Early Graduation o Example: If you would like to request early release all year, you will need

to list 2 credits of classes to drop from your requests

• The student and parent must sign the form and return it to the counselors’ office (form must be notarized) by the published deadline

How do I get into a Career Technical

Education Class (CTE)? • CTE Classes are offered in the following areas:

Aquaculture I & II, Engineering and Robotics I & II, Teacher Academy I & II, Marketing I & II, Health Science Core and Health Science II, Construction Trades I & II, Culinary I & II, Automotive Service Technology I & II, and Early Childhood I & II

• Since demand often exceeds space available, CTE slots will be awarded based off of a point system

• Important information regarding CTE courses: The Ocean Springs School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national origin or disability. Selection for the courses will be based on grades, attendance, and discipline record.

CTE, continued • Students will be evaluated for placement shortly

after the deadline for course requests closes.

Consequently, it may not be possible to get a CTE

class added if a student requests the course after

the course request window closes.

• Choose 2 credits of alternates wisely – if you do not

get slotted for your requested CTE course, your

alternates will be substituted

How Do I Sign Up for Athletics?

• If you play a sport or think you will play a sport next

year, sign up for the appropriate Advanced Training

course (example: Advanced Training Football)

• Coaches will send a roster at a later time; if you do

not make the team, we will replace Advanced

Training with your alternates

• A few sports may not be listed (example: Cheer).

The coach for these sports will send us a roster. We

will remove electives from your requests to make

room for these sports.

How Do I Sign Up for a Dual Credit Course?

• Dual Credit is for Juniors and Seniors

• Select the dual credit course under the English, Math, or

Electives menu

• Remember that a fee is involved with each course (Fee

per course for 15/16 school year is $100 per course)

• All courses require a 3.0 gpa (unwieghted)

• College Algebra requires a 19 ACT math subscore

• English Composition I requires a 17 ACT subscore in both

English and Reading

• If you have not taken the ACT (or do not have the

appropriate score), see your counselor to arrange for

Compass testing.

OSHS Counseling Assignments

• Ms. Bobbie Jones (A-D) bjones@ossdms.org

• Mr. Bob Buell (E-K) rbuell@ossdms.org

• Mr. Jason Diaz (L-R) jdiaz@ossdms.org

• Mrs. Karen Gifford (S-Z) kgifford@ossdms.org

• Mrs. Julie Milanese jmilanese@ossdms.org o questions relating to Career and Technical Education – grades 10-12