Northwest High School:Opportunities for

Excellence

“All for one

and

one for all”

Incoming 9th Grade Parent Meeting

Administrative Team Mrs. Lance Dempsey, Principal

The Men in Black Mr. Matthew Niper, Assistant Principal Grade 9 Mr. Matt Paushter, Assistant Principal Grade 10 Mr. Tim Britton, Assistant Principal Grade 11 Mr. John Robertson, Assistant Principal Grade 12

Instructional Leadership Team Mr. Mike Bednarcik, Health & PE Resource Teacher Dr. Suzanne Borenzweig, Career & Technology Ed. Resource

Teacher and Ulysses Signature Coordinator Ms. Berdett Coleman, Special Education (ED) Resource

Teacher Ms. Aimee Conway, Mathematics Resource Teacher Ms. Lona Crist, World Languages Resource Teacher Ms. Theresa Dethlefsen, Resource Counselor Ms. Karen Guthro, Special Education (LAD) Resource Teacher Ms. Cindy Kruglak, English Resource Teacher Mr. Rob Smith, Social Studies Resource Teacher Mr. Rich Menendez, Science Resource Teacher Ms. Lorrie Moten, Fine Arts Resource Teacher

Parent Organization Leaders

Ms. Pattrice ParkPTSA President

Ms. Dena NicholasBooster Club President

Outcomes Meet members of the Northwest HS Leadership

Team Learn about our outstanding academic

programs Know and understand the MCPS high school

graduation requirements Acquire information about 9th grade registration Ask questions about the transition from middle

school to high school Obtain detailed information about course

offerings in selected academic departments

Welcome to Northwest! 2057 students and 215 staff members Outstanding academic programs including:

22 Advanced Placement classes to give students the opportunity to earn college credit in high school

Dozens of elective courses for students to explore wide-ranging interests

Ulysses Signature Program 3 academy programs

Amazing facilities Northwest Class of 2012 earned over 11 million dollars

in scholarships! 7 classes each day with one lunch period! New classes each semester Over 90 extracurricular opportunities (including clubs

and sports) Theme: “All for One & One for All”

MCPS Highlights Northwest

MCPS Highlights Northwest

Percent Enrollment in Honors/AP Courses

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-130

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

77 78.483.1 83.7 85.3

Enrollment in AP Courses

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-130

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

563 619670

868 885

Series1

AcademiesAcademy of Biotechnology

Visit the breakout session for more information

Academy of Commercial & Fine Art Visit Visual Arts breakout session for more information

National Academy of Finance Visit the breakout session for more information

Contents of FolderLEFT SIDE Ulysses Signature

Program Brochure Academy

Information Meeting Evaluation Extracurricular

Activity List

RIGHT SIDE Agenda Copy of Tonight’s

PowerPoint Presentation

Articulation Information Booklet

Sample Registration Card

Grades & Credits

Grades & Credits Students take 7 classes each

semester. Each class is worth ½ credit, and a

student must pass the class (with a grade of A, B, C, or D) to receive the credit.

A student should earn 7 credits each year (3.5 credits per semester) if he/she passes all of his/her classes.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Students receive a GPA each quarter

and semester in addition to a cumulative GPA.

The cumulative GPA is based only on the semester GPAs.

Students also receive a weighted GPA and an unweighted GPA.For Honors and AP classes, a student receives an

additional GPA point for earning an A, B, or C.

Calculating a Student’s GPA

To calculate unweighted GPA:

Multiply each A by 4Multiply each B by 3Multiply each C by 2Multiply each D by 1Multiply each E by 0

Add all of the results, and divide by the total number of classes.

To calculate weighted GPA:

Honors and AP courses

5 for each A4 for each B3 for each C1 for each D0 for each E

Eligibility

To participate in extracurricular activities, students must maintain, at all times, a 2.0 GPA with no more than one E.

All 9th grade students are automatically eligible at the beginning of the school year.

Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements3 Categories

• Credits• Student Service Learning

(SSL) Hours• High School Assessments

Graduation Requirements22 credits total

• 4 credits of English• 4 credits of math (including one

credit in algebra 1 and one credit in geometry)

• 3 credits of science (including 1 credit of biology and 1 credit of physical science)

Graduation Requirements

• 3 credits of social studies 1 credit in US History 1 credit in National-State-Local (NSL)

Government 1 credit in Modern World History

• 1 credit of fine arts• 1 credit of physical education• ½ credit of health education• 1 credit of technology education

Graduation Requirements

• Program Completer

Option 1: 2 credits in foreign language

Option 2: 2 credits of advanced technology education

Option 3: 3-9 credits in a state-approved career and technology program

Student Service Learning (SSL)

75 SSL hours are required Activities have to be approved SSL hours earned in middle school

count toward the total School Coordinator:

Mrs. McCarthy-Redd, Counselor

High School Assessments(HSAs)

Four Exams Algebra I Biology English 10 NSL Government (Pilot)

Registration Process

Distribution of Registration Materials

Earlier Today: Roberto Clemente MS – Thursday, January 24 Lakelands Park MS – Thursday, January 24Tomorrow: Kingsview MS – Friday, January 25

Registration materials include:1. A registration form with 9th grade course offerings

on the back2. MCPS Course Bulletin3. An application for participation in the Ulysses

Signature Program 4. Information about an academy program

Registration Forms Students select 7 classes for each semester. Recommendations made by middle school

teachers are listed on the registration form. If you would like for your child to be enrolled in

a course that has not been recommended, please write a note indicating that and attach it to the registration form.

Due Thursday, January 31st at RCMS and LPMSDue Wednesday, February 6th at KMS

Articulation Booklet Page 2 - Important Dates

Wednesday, May 22– 7:00 pm in the NWHS AuditoriumIncoming 9th Grade Parent Meeting & Activity Fair

Friday, June 14 – 7:25 am in the NWHS AuditoriumIncoming 9th Grade Student Orientation

Page 3 – Staff Member Contact List

Page 4 – Counseling Dept. Contact Info.

Page 5 – Grade 9 Course Offerings

Pages 6-19 – Departmental Information

The Ulysses Signature Program

Mrs. Lance Dempsey, PrincipalDr. Suzanne Borenzweig, Coordinator

• A four-year program, admission by application only

• A small learning community

• A creative, dynamic approach to learning across the academic disciplines

The Ulysses Signature Program

• An opportunity to engage in real-world research

• A practicum for authentic presentation skills

• A home in your home school

The Ulysses Signature Program

Ulysses Program Expectations

• Genuine interest in research and research projects

• Commitment to four-year program

• Willingness to explore MCPS curriculum with Ulysses approach

• Emerging independence• Respectful community

member• Active community

participant• Recommended for

honors or AP: English, History, and Science

Ulysses Program Course Sequence

Grades 9 & 10• Signature Honors English

9 & 10• Signature Honors Physics

9, Biology & Chemistry• Signature Honors US

History or AP US History• Signature Honors NSL

Government or AP Government

Grades 11 & 12

• Signature Honors or AP Modern World History

• Signature AP Bio• Advanced Research*• Senior Research

Project*

Ulysses Science Course Sequence

Two Science PathwaysPhysics Recommendation Biology Recommendation

Grade 9: Honors Physics Honors Biology; HSAGrade 10: Honors Chemistry Honors ChemistryGrade 11: AP Biology; 3 on AP Honors Physics or AP ClassGrade 12: AP Science of choice AP Science of choice

Ulysses Biology

Fall Semester• Research Paper

on invasive species; pill bug project

Spring Semester• Inquiry Project on

student designed, implemented, and analyzed scientific experiment

Ulysses Biology NightTuesday, April 30, 2013

Field Trips!• Holocaust Memorial

Museum• National Museum of the

American Indian• National Geographic

Society• Maryland Science Center• Baltimore Aquarium• Koshland Science

Museum

• Lansburgh Theatre• Corcoran Gallery of Art• Library of Congress• National Archives• Hillwood Museum• National Zoo• Folger Shakespeare

Library and Theatre

Grade 11• Advanced Research Through

Technology• Research Methods• Annotated Bibliography• Literature Review• Final Project in Research

Design

Grade 12• Senior Research Project

Class• Project Requirements• Mentor• Oral Presentation• Exhibition• Ulysses Fair• Portfolio

Colleges/Universities

• Amherst College• Barnard College• Brown University• Bucknell University• Colgate University• Columbia University• Cornell University• Dartmouth College• Fashion Institute of

Technology• MIT• New York University

• Rhode Island School of Design

• Stanford University• New York University• University of Michigan• University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill• University of Southern

California, School of Architecture

• University of Virginia• Yale University

Application Process

• Recommended for honors: English, History, and Science

• Application due February 15, 2013

• Essay• 2 teacher

recommendations

In The Land of Cupcake

By Vankelia Tolbert

Personal APPrentices A Study of Mobile

Applications

By: Jitesh Nadimpalli

Interracial Identity

By Kelly Puyear

So…What Are You Anyway?

THE KING AND ANNEErik Whipp

Making the GrAde but Missing the

POINT The Flaws in Today’s American School System

Adjua K. Jones

+

POINTLESS

Ulysses Fairs• January 9 -10, 2013•April 24 - 25, 2013

7:30am – 2:00pm(closed for lunch 11:00 – 11:40)