SRVHS Parent Information Evening March 2, 2004

1. SRVHS Parent Information Evening March 2, 2004 Advanced Honors Advanced Placement

2. Introduction • Welcome • What are advanced courses? • Why take advanced courses? • School-wide expectations • Student and Parent expectations • The College Board • UC and CSU • Course expectations • Panel Discussion

3. Parent Academic NightsDates to Remember • March 23: incoming 12th grade • March 24: incoming 10th grade • March 25: incoming 11th grade • March 31: incoming 9th grade

4. Placement Tests Dates • Math: done in class • Sign-ups in the Counseling Office for the following courses: • Social Studies • A.P. U.S. History,   March 11 • AP Euro March 15 after school in room B2 • English (3:30 PM-> E-Wing) • March 10th: current SRVHS students • March 17th: incoming 9th graders • All other courses please check in course newspaper for pre-requisites All waivers are due in the counseling office by Monday April 5th by 3:30 PM

5. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? • Advanced/AP classes differ from the regular college preparatory classes in their:     • Pace (i.e., faster, more intense) • Depth and complexity of assignments • Higher standards of evaluation • Emphasis on product rather than process

6. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? Advanced or Accelerated (9th & 10th) • Lower division courses that cover more curriculum and moves at a faster pace than College Prep courses. • These courses do not receive additional weighed points in student GPA.

7. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? Accelerated and Advanced Course offered at SRVHS: • Advanced English 9 & 10 • Accelerated Biology • Advanced Algebra 2

8. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? Honors Courses • UC certified courses contain specialized and extended content, and additional workload intended to encourage students to take demanding coursework in high school. • Weighted grades • Limited number of UC certified courses permitted in 10th grade (4 semesters)

9. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? Honors courses offered at SRVHS: • Honors Chemistry • Honors Physics • Honors Microbiology • Honors Trig/ Math Analysis • Honors French 4 • Honors Spanish 4 • Honors German 4

10. What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP? Advanced Placement • College Level • Access with Multiple Measures (prerequisites, tests, prior course grades, teacher recommendations) • AP Exams in May • Fees ($90 each for the 2003 exams) • Score range (3-5 passing and may receive college credit) • Universities will publish whether they accept exams for credit. This fall check on-line at www.collegeboard.com

11. AP courses offered at SRVHS: What is Accelerated, Advanced, Honors or AP?

12. Why take advanced courses? • Challenging curriculum for the accelerated student • Prepares student for university work; the more challenging the student's high school program, the better prepared he or she will be for university work. • Makes student competitive in college selection process • College Board research indicates it is not the high school course grades or cumulative GPA that determines success at the college level. It is the rigor of courses taken in high school that is the best predictor of success.

13. School-wide Expectations • Highly motivated students • Highly qualified students (very proficient readers, reading well above grade level and critical thinkers) • Independent learners • Computer Savvy a big plus! • Take AP Exams

14. Student and Parents • Student placement appropriate • Students encouraged to stretch academically and artistically • Students have a fundamental interest in learning that subject not just for the grade or college applications • Parents and students should avoid over-scheduling (maximum number of courses per semester matched to student’s interest, motivation, and adequate time).

15. The College Boardhttp://www.collegeboard.com/ap/students/index.html • Internationally valid testing • Some universities do give credit, some do not, check on-line • The Value of AP — there's more to AP than trying to get a "passing" grade on the exam; you'll work hard in an AP course, but you'll get back a lot in return. • Sophomore Standing — a list of colleges that will let you start college as a sophomore, if you meet their AP requirements. • Scholar Awards — the criteria used to grant awards in eight different categories. • International Diploma — for students who are considering applying to a college outside of the U.S. and Canada.

16. UC/CSU & Honors & AP courses • Honors and AP courses are weighted at the UC and CSU if taken in 10, 11,12 grade. • The university assigns extra points for up to four units of university certified honors level and advanced placement courses. • A maximum of two of the four units may be taken in grade 10. • Grades of D are not assigned extra honors points

17. English Courses • Advanced English 9 • Advanced English 10 • AP English Language (11) • AP English Literature (12)

18. English Course Expectations • Necessary Skills:  In addition to fluency in English, enjoying reading, and having strong work ethic, advanced/AP English students demonstrate:  • Superior reading comprehension and writing skills • Self-discipline and self-motivation • Work that is detailed, precise, and thorough • Academic commitment as well as a commitment to the class • Comfort with ambiguity                     • Adroit shifting between the literal and the abstract • Synthesis of textual information • Aptitude for the analysis of literature

19. English Course Expectations Homework/time commitment:  Varies from instructor-to-instructor and throughout the year.

20. Mathematics Courses • Advanced Algebra 2 • Honors Trig/Math Analysis • AP Calculus AB • AP Statistics

21. Advanced Algebra 2 • Class Content • A rigorous college prep class that includes all of the Algebra 2 concepts • Statistics and Probability • Trigonometry • Course Requirements • Daily Homework • Tests • Semester Exams • Perseverance

22. Honors Trig/Math Analysis • Course Content • A rigorous college prep class that includes college algebra and trigonometry  • Requirements • Daily homework • Tests • Semester Finals • We use a graphing calculator for demonstration purposes. • A TI 83 or 83plus is recommended.

23. AP Calculus • Most important is the desire to succeed and a willingness to work consistently throughout the year • We cover a little more than the typical college first semester of Calculus but take three quarters to do it • We then review for a month and have our final before the AP test in May • The major topics are Differential and Integral Calculus of one variable • Homework daily: 0.5-1 hour/day

24. AP Calculus: What do we do after the AP test in May? • A project • And on Wednesdays we play cricket!

25. Advanced Placement StatisticsStudent Qualities and Requirements • Self-motivation • Responsible • Analysis and Logical Reasoning • Ability to integrate new concepts and processes, building on previous knowledge

26. AP Statistics Course Information • A graphing calculator is required (TI-83 Plus or TI-83 Silver Edition is recommended). • Homework: approx. 30-45 minutes/day • A project is required in the second semester including research, a written report, and an oral presentation

27. Foreign Language • Honors Spanish 4 • Honors French 4 • Honors German 4 • AP Spanish 5 • AP French 5

28. Honors Spanish 4 • Requirements:  Strong interest in speaking Spanish, a C or better in Spanish 3, strong command of basic grammatical structures and beginning understanding of complex structures, ability to skim reading selections for the gist of the meaning without translating, and recommendation of Spanish 3 teacher. • Homework is about 20-30 minutes per evening

29. Honors French 4 • Willing to speak only French in the classroom • Able to communicate ideas in writing • 2nd semester French Literature • Homework: 4 times/week grammar/vocabulary; questions about reading assignments • Summer Assignment, read French magazines, watch French movies…

30. AP Spanish 5 • Requirements:  Must be able to communicate in Spanish comfortably, must have complete command of basic grammatical structures and reasonable command of complex structures, must have an understanding of the uses of the subjunctive, must be able to read for understanding in Spanish, must have at least a C in Spanish 4 but a B is recommended, and must have the recommendation of the Spanish 4 teacher. • Homework is about 20-30 minutes per evening

31. AP French 5 • Class conducted entirely in French • High level of fluency in spontaneous speaking • Knowledge of advanced vocabulary • Ability to read sophisticated material • Ability to write sophisticated essays • Homework: weekly or bimonthly essays and tape recordings

32. Art • Advanced Photography • AP Studio Art

33. Advanced Photography • Pre-requisites: 2 semesters of photography • Portfolio preparation for AP art and/or college application with portfolio

34. AP Studio Art • Advanced Placement Studio: • Students, for the most part, work independently throughout the school year (although there are several assigned projects and written assignments) to complete a portfolio for submission to the AP College Review Board.  • Students are graded individually by teacher critique throughout the year and must complete the AP Studio Portfolio Test to earn AP credit (Art 3 credit is earned for students not completing the portfolio). • There are two portfolios available for completion in AP Studio (Drawing and 2D); a minimum of 18 works is required for each portfolio.

35. Science • Accelerated Biology • Honors Chemistry • Honors Physics • AP Physics B • AP Biology • AP Chemistry • AP Environmental Science

36. Accelerated Biology • Year long science fair project • Higher level textbook than regular biology • Independent learners, need organization skills, enjoy torturing the instructor (just checking if you’re actually reading this…) • Higher than grade level readers • Computer savvy (Email, Excel graphing, etc.) • Small summer assignment • Homework approx. 2-3 hours/week (if students plan ahead and follow calendar)

37. Honors Physics • Critical thinking, problem solving, ability to apply former knowledge to new situations, perseverance • Study of everyday physical environment, including motion, light, optics, heat, sound, nuclear physics and more • Homework: 5 hours/week

38. AP Physics B • Pre-requisites: B or better in Trig/ Math Analysis; recommended that students concurrently enrolled in AP Calculus AB • intended for students with an interest in engineering, science or the medical field • includes topics in both classical and modern physics • The five general areas covered include Newtonian mechanics, fluid mechanics and thermal physics, electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, and atomic and nuclear physics are required by the College Board • Homework appx. 5 hours per week

39. AP Biology • Freshman College Biology; meets UC/CSU “d” requirement for lab science. • Uses Campbell 6th Edition Biology (widely used textbook) • Summer Assignment (Ecology Unit- 6 chapters; due first day of school) • 12 Required Laboratory Activities by College Board • Homework: 5 hours/ week including extensive reading, 10 formal lab write-ups; post-AP Exam project.

40. AP Environmental ScienceCourse Description • Equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science • Interdisciplinary course embracing topics from chemistry, biology, earth science, population dynamics, environmental quality, resource policy and management, and the environment and society • Designed to satisfy University of California and California State University lab science requirements An E2 Academy Class

41. APES Projects: • Integrated pest management and native species demonstration garden • Water quality monitoring in San Ramon Creek • Solar-powered cooking contest • Man-powered vehicle development and racing. • School-wide energy audit with proposed modifications/ conservation measures. • Atmospheric monitoring • Elementary/middle school docent program • Onsite recycling program

42. Honors Chemistry • Designed for high-achieving, science-oriented students • Extensive quantitative component • Students should be highly skilled in algebra and have passed geometry. • Most Honors Chemistry students are concurrently enrolled in algebra 2. • Essential concepts (i.e. matter, atoms, molecules, etc.) • Five topic areas/chapters per quarter • No summer assignment or chemistry knowledge prerequisites. • Homework requirement – 4 to 5 hours per week.

43. AP Chemistry • Breadth and depth of curriculum requires a high level of discipline and commitment from the student. • Chemistry knowledge prerequisite • Students should have passed Honors Chemistry with a “B” or better. A working • Knowledge of the basics of chemistry is expected at the beginning of the course. • No summer assignment- however, in order to cover all of the material demanded by the AP exam, mandatory work, such as, reading and problem assignments, may be required over school breaks and vacations. • Homework requirement – approx. 6 hours per week.

44. Social Studies • AP European History • AP U.S. History • AP Psychology • AP Economics • AP American Government

45. AP European History • Students need accelerated reading, comprehension, note taking and writing skills • In-depth look at European History • Summer Assignment: short book and essay • Homework; extensive reading 4-7 hours per week

46. AP U.S. History • Study of American History from the colonial era to the present • Strong reading, comprehension, and writing skills • Homework: 3-4 hours per week • No summer assignment

47. AP Psychology • Comprehensive study of general psychology including research and clinical psychology • Strong reading comprehension and critical thinking skills • Homework: 30-45 minutes per night • No summer assignment

48. AP American Government • Commitment to excellence • Analytical skills, essay writing, critical thinking skills, factual recall ability • Lecture based course • Exams, quizzes, essays, presentations, research project • Homework, approximately 6 hours/week

49. AP Economics • The necessary skills are mathematical reasoning and logical thinking. • Homework is ½ hour every night with one test a week. • There is no summer assignment.

50. Placement Agreements • Parent and student signature required • Have up to 6 weeks to drop the course without a grade appearing on the transcript (after 7 weeks; WF) • No guarantee that a substitute course is available; may be placed in study hall. • AP classes build on skills students should have acquired already.  The advanced classes do not provide remediation for under-prepared students. • Master schedule will be very tight next year due to budget constraints, PLEASE SELECT COURSES CAREFULLY AND THOUGHTFULLY