Welcome to OCHS!

CLASS OF 2014

High School vs. Middle School

Classes earn a credit. Credits earned determine grade-level placement and graduation status.

More responsibility is placed on the student.

There are more elective course options.

There are more extracurricular opportunities (sports, clubs).

Different Types of Courses

Core classes – the specific English, Math, Science, Social Studies courses required by the state.

Electives – courses (sometimes in a sub area) that students can choose to take. These can be academic, CTAE, fine arts or PE

Academic Electives – additional required courses that must be from English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language or selected CTAE courses.

What Do These Terms Mean??? AP – Advanced Placement. These

are college- level courses sanctioned by the College Board. Students who score well on the nationally standardized test in May can earn college credit. Courses expose students to college rigor.

CTAE – Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education. Formerly known as vocational classes. These course are open to all students and teach real-world skills in addition to academic content.

New Terms, cont. EOCT (End of Course Test) –

State- mandated final exam which counts as 15% of a course grade. Given in 9th Lit, American Lit, Biology, Math I, Math II, US History and Economics.

GHSGT (Georgia High School Graduation Test) –Five- part test taken during the junior year. Tests writing, English, math, science and studies. Students must pass all parts to graduate.

Pathway – Sequence of career-focused courses offered in the CTAE Department. Allows students to increase depth of knowledge in a chosen career area.

New Terms, cont.

Graduation Requirements English (4 units required)

9 Lit/Comp (can be honors) 10 Lit/Comp (can be honors) American Lit/Comp (can be honors) English Lit/Comp or AP English Lit/Comp

Math (4 units required) Math I or Accelerated Math I Math II or Accelerated Math II Math III or Accelerated Math III Math IV or equivalent (such as AP Calculus

and AP Statistics) Math I, II, and III have optional support

classes which count as academic electives and provide extra assistance.

Graduation Requirements, cont.

Science (4 units required) Biology Conceptual Physics or Physics Chemistry or other 3rd science (such as

Earth Systems) 1 additional science course. Students

can choose from the sciences or from a selected list of CTAE (Career ,Technical, and Agriculture Education courses) This 4th science can be taken any year.

Graduation Requirements, cont. Social Studies (4 units required)

American Government (can be Honors or AP) World History (can be Honors or AP) US History (can be AP) Economics (can be AP)

Health and Personal Fitness (1/2 unit of each required)

CTAE, Fine Arts or Foreign Languages (3 total units required) 3 units from any of these areas – it is

preferred that all be from the same pathway/area

Students planning to attend a four-year college need to take at least TWO classes of the same foreign language (THREE is preferred). Two foreign language courses are preferred by most two-year schools.

Graduation Requirements, cont.

Academic Electives (3 units required) Three additional academic courses from

any academic area (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language or selected CTAE courses)

Additional Electives (5 units required)

28 total units required (students have the option to earn up to 32 units while at OCHS)

CTAE Elective Opportunities Agriculture Broadcast Video Engineering Commercial Design Business and Computer Science Marketing Family and Consumer Sciences Healthcare Science Work-Based Learning

Fine Arts Elective Opportunities

Visual Art Chorus Dance Drama Band

Foreign Language Opportunities

French German Latin Spanish Students are encouraged to sign up

for two levels of Foreign Language in the same year.

What Academic Support Is Offered at OCHS?

Graduation Coach – D’Arcy Flanders. She works with students who are struggling and/or not on track for graduation.

Warrior Period – 30 minute period in the middle of the day used to provide remediation/tutoring, enrichment, test preparation, and study time. Each student is assigned a teacher advisor who serves as a mentor.

How Do I Know What My Student Should Take?

When students bring home their registration forms, recommendations for core classes will already be made by 8th grade teachers.

Teacher recommendations are accurate.

The goal is to create a balanced but challenging schedule for each student. However, what this looks like will be different for each student.

Honors Courses Designed for talented, motivated, high-

achieving students Provide valuable preparation for AP courses Placement is made based on teacher

recommendation Emphasis is on deeper content knowledge

and understanding Students do not have to take honors courses

in all areas--they can specialize based on their strengths

Students should take these courses if recommended for them

Athletic Eligibility

All 9th graders are eligible to participate in sports their 1st semester of high school.

After their first semester, students must pass 2.5 out of 4 classes each semester and be on track for graduation to remain eligible to participate in sports.

Registration Process

Students should have registration forms with core recommendations

Work with your student to select enough electives for a total of 8 courses and 3 alternates Please choose courses and alternates

carefully!! Students will turn in forms on

Thursday, January 21. Students will register on Friday,

January 22. Students MUST have signed form to register.

Where can I find Registration Information?

Go to the OCHS Homepage and select “2010-2011 Registration Forms”

From this page, you can see the “OCHS Course Catalog” and “Rising Freshman Course Offerings”

For a copy of tonight’s power point and handouts, go to the OCHS webpage and select “Counseling” at the top left. Then choose “Parent Night Information”

Thank you for being here!!!!

We are excited about your student becoming an OCHS

WARRIOR!!!