The Road to High School

1. The Road to High School Parent Presentation

2. So Many Options!

3. Where to Start? We Must Keep the End in Mind!

4. Career? Fields of Study? College?

5. High School Graduation: One Destination! Requirements: 26 credits 4X4 - Four of each: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies

6. 7 classes x 4 years = opportunity for 28 credits, plus any credits earned in middle school. 26 miles to Graduation

7. Earning Credits • Full year courses can be averaged to gain full credit Example – English I: Semester One Semester Two Avg. 65 + 75 = 140140 / 2 = 70 1.0 credit is granted Poor attendance can cost you credits!

8. Two Major Routes D R Distinguished Recommended

9. 16.0 core 1.0 PE 1.O Fine Art 2.0 World Lang. 0.5 Comm. Appl. 5.5 electives 26.0 credits 16.0 core 1.0 PE 1.O Fine Art 3.0 World Lang. 0.5 Comm. Appl. 4.5 electives 26.0 credits * Plus four Advanced Measures The Plans Recommended Distinguished

10. The Distinguished Achievement Plan also Requires . . . A combination of any FOUR of the following advanced measures: -A score of three or above on an AP exam -National Merit Commendation based on PSAT score; limited to one measure from this category -A grade of 3.0 (B) or higher on courses that count for college credit (dual credit) -Original research/project; limited to two measures from this category

11. The Freshman Core English – Regular, Pre-AP, or GT Math – Algebra I or Pre-AP Algebra I Geometry or Pre-AP Geometry Science – Biology or Pre-AP Biology Social Studies – World Geography Regular, Pre-AP, or GT

12. Rigorous Coursework A student should select the most rigorous courses he/she is capable of completing. Colleges look for rigor. Students with higher level courses are generally more prepared for college level work.

13. GPA & Ranking A GPA is calculated for every student beginning with the first high school course a student takes (including those taken in middle school) • The grade point average, more commonly known as the GPA, is calculated on both an unweighted and a weighted scale. • The unweighted GPA is calculated using all high school courses. • The weighted GPA is used for class ranking purposes and is based on a scale which gives a higher weight to upper level courses: Advanced Placement (AP) = up to 7 points Pre-AP = up to 6 points Regular courses = up to 5 points • The weighted GPA is calculated using only the following subjects: English, Math, Science, Social Studies (including Economics), and Foreign language. (*Including these courses taken during middle school)

14. Top 10% Rule Under legislation approved in May 2009 by the Texas House as part of the 81st Regular Session (Senate Bill 175), UT-Austin (but no other state universities) was allowed to trim the number of students it accepts under the 10% rule; UT-Austin could limit those students to 75 percent of entering in-state freshmen from Texas. The university would admit the top 1 percent, the top 2 percent and so forth until the cap is reached, beginning with the 2011 entering class.

15. Physical Education credit • PE courses listed on the course request sheet (EXCLUDES Health) • Band (fall semester, ½ credit) • ColorGuard (fall semester, ½ credit) • Drill Team (fall semester, ½ credit) • Cheerleading ( ½ credit) • Sports (Full year, 1 credit) • Dance 1 (Full year, 1 credit) Dance 1 will also give students a fine art credit at the same time!

16. ~ Football ~ Volleyball ~ Basketball ~ Soccer ~ Baseball /Softball ~ Wrestling ~ Cross Country /Track ~ Swimming /Diving ~ Golf ~ Tennis Sports offered…

17. If selecting a sport… Select the sport which occurs first in the school year.

18. Fine Arts Art (all courses) Dance Drill Team Band Choir Orchestra Theatre Arts I Floral Design AP Music Theory Color Guard/Winter Guard

19. World Languages Spanish French A fee is required for this Language Mandarin Chinese German

20. Electives We asked the students to select 8 electives (including alternates) in order of preference #1 being the TOP choice Students will have four core classes plus three electives each year. Consider required electives first and then interests.

21. -Agricultural Mechanics -Health Science -Animal Science -Architectural Design &Construction -Banking & Finance -Business Management -Computer Programming -Education -Engineering Technology -Family & Community Services -Floral Design & LandscapeManagement -Media Technology -Pre-Veterinary -Sales & Marketing Career Clusters(or Career Pathways)

22. Need Rigorous Academics AND Relevant Career Education The pathways are merely a guide!

23. Pacing the Journey… 6 credits = Sophomore 13 credits = Junior 19 credits = Senior And again… 26 credits to reach the FINISH LINE!!!

24. Ways to gain extra miles… Summer School Correspondence Courses Dual Credit

25. Important Dates January 27th- Course selection forms due to Middle school counselors March 30th – Last day to submit changes

26. BNHS Counselor 9th Grade – Paige Smith psmith04@nisdtx.org 817-698-5689

27. Steele Accelerated High School Steele is located near downtown Roanoke in the old Roanoke Elementary School. The school building was completely remodeled prior to opening. Beginning with the 2012-13 year, Steele will take applications for incoming 9th grade students • Steele will provide students with opportunities for acceleration which could enable a student to graduate from high school early • Steele will also have additional Dual credit opportunities beyond those of Byron Nelson and Northwest high school.

28. Interested in going to Steele…Important Dates to Remember: • Applications are due to your middle school counselor by Friday, February 3rd. • Once your application is complete, the counselor from Steele will contact you to set up a meeting to talk to you about attending Steele. • If you have more questions about Steele, contact the counselor at Steele: Teresa English, 817-698-5810, TEnglish@nisdtx.org

29. Thank you for your attendance tonight and your involvement in your child’s educational journey! The BNHS Counselors