January 2016

WHS School Counseling Team

Website: www.whscounselingcenter.com

Twitter: @WHSCollegeReady

School Counseling Staff Mrs. Babb—Registrar

Mrs. Shobe—Counseling Secretary

Counselors:

Mrs. Busack & Mrs. Vondersaar Last Names A & IEPs

Mrs. Larrison Last Names B—E

Mrs. Ulsas Last Names F—L

Mr. Doherty Last Names M—R

Mrs. Johnston Last Names S—Z and EL students

What to Expect During Scheduling

Choose your classes and register in

Power School by January 18th

Jan. 20-Feb. 5 Counselors will meet with you individually

to go over course requests

Late April: Schedules are distributed

May: Schedule changes may be made

with a Schedule Change Form signed

by a parent

May 20: Schedule Change Deadline. After

this date, no changes will be made, with few

exceptions, per the WHS Schedule Change Policy

Building Your Schedule: What You Need To Know!

All Seniors required to take English, Math and US Govt & Econ

You will need to select 15 credits—NOT 15 classes—plus two alternate credits

Prepare yourself for college: schedule a

rigorous course load for your Senior Year

Discuss course options with

teachers…which levels are the best fit for you

and your abilities?

It Starts with Your Transcript

• Diploma Track

• Graduation Requirements

• Total Credits

• GPA

• Grade Trends

Use your transcript to review:

• Some courses cannot be taken twice… be sure you’re not signing up for a class that you have already taken!

• Some exceptions to this are… retaking a class for a higher grade or Adv. PE classes

New Classes for 2016-2017

Strength & Conditioning Coaches may recommend Strength &

Conditioning for your schedule

If so, you will see Strength & Conditioning in your Course Requests in Power School

You have the option to keep those in your list of course requests. If you do not wish to take the recommended Strength and Conditioning, please let your counselor know when you meet to go over your course requests.

Diploma Tracks at Westfield High School

Core 40

Core 40 with

Technical

Honors

Core 40 with

Academic

Honors

All student will graduate with one or more of

these State of Indiana Diplomas

AP Capstone

Diploma

WHS students may

graduate with the AP

Capstone diploma, in

addition to an Indiana

Diploma

Core 40 Diploma 42 Total Credits Required

English 8 Credits Total (2 credits each year) English 9, 10 and 11 (Or AP Lang & Comp/AP Seminar)

English 12: 2 credits can be mixed and matched English 12-7 and 12-8

Creative Writing, Speech or Contemporary Lit

ACP Speech & ACP Composition

ACP Composition & ACP Literary Interpretation

AP Research (Required for AP Capstone)

AP Lit & Comp

Core 40 Diploma Mathematics 6 Credits in grades (9-12)

Algebra I (2 credits in Honors, Regular or 3-trimester)

Geometry (2 credits in Honors, Regular or 3-trimester)

Algebra II (2 credits in Honors, Regular or 3-trimester)

Students must take either math or a Quantitative Reasoning (QR) course EACH year of high school, including Senior Year

Core 40 Diploma Science 6 Credits

Biology (2 credits in Honors, Regular or AP Biology)

Physical Science (2 credits of ICP, Chemistry or Physics)

2 additional Science Courses

Social Studies 6 Credits 2 credits of World History or 2 credits of Geography and

History of the World or AP World History

US History (2 credits in Regular or AP US History)

Government (1 credit in Regular or AP US Govt.)

Economics (1 credit in Regular or AP Micro or Micro/MacroEconomics)

Core 40 Diploma Physical Education 4 Credits

PE I and PE II (1 credit each)

Health (1 credit)

Advanced Health or Advanced PE (1 credit)

Electives 12 Credits

At Least 5 Credits of Directed Electives:

World Languages

Fine Arts

Business/Technical

Graduation Requirements: Academic Honors Diploma 47 Total Credits Required

Complete all Core 40 Requirements, plus:

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at graduation

No Grade Below a C- in any class required for either Core 40 or AHD

Two college-level courses through AP or ACP classes, or specific SAT/ACT scores prior to graduation

6-8 World Language Credits

(3 years of one language or 2 years of two

different languages)

2 Additional Credits in Math

(Pre-Calculus or AP Stats)

2 Credits in Fine Arts (Art, Music or Theater)

AP/ACP Courses Advanced Placement (AP)

College-level courses for the prepared student

30 AP Courses offered at WHS All AP classes receive a full

point weight for a C- or higher Students have the opportunity

to receive college credit, based on their AP exam scores

Doing well in your honors classes? Consider AP in your senior year

Take a realistic point-of-view…rigor, but not an overload

Advance College Project (ACP)

Indiana University dual credit classes taught at WHS

Currently 8 ACP Courses offered at WHS

Generally taken in 11th or 12th grade All ACP classes receive a full point

weight for a C- or higher Students earn college credit at a

reduced tuition rate from IU, which may be transferrable to other colleges

Students must have a GPA of 2.7 or higher to enroll for college credit

AP/ACP Meet the Teacher Night on April 27 at 6:30 PM

• Team Project and Presentation

• Research-based Essay and Presentation

• Written Exam

• Counts as 2 AP courses/AP Exams

AP Seminar taken in 11th grade with AP

Language and Composition

• Academic Thesis

• Public Presentation and Defense

AP Research taken in 12th grade

Counts as required English 12 credits

• AP Exam 1

• AP Exam 2

• AP Exam 3

3 Additional AP Courses taken anytime

throughout High School and passing scores on all exams

AP Capstone Curriculum

Your AP Potential

Your PSAT scores can help

determine which AP classes might be a good fit for

you

Letters will be sent out to

students who have a 60% or

higher potential of passing an AP

exam

Your counselor can also talk

with you about AP Potential

Discuss the possibility of AP classes with your

teachers this year

Graduation Requirements: Technical Honors Diploma 47 Total Credits Required

Complete all Core 40 Requirements, plus:

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at graduation

No Grade Below a C- in any class required for either Core 40 or THD

Two college-level courses through AP or ACP classes, or specific SAT/ACT or Accuplacer scores

Earn 6 HS credits in a CTE college and

career prep pathway

Earn 6 college credits from dual credit courses in

CTE pathway

OR Earn a state-approved, industry based certification

or credential

Technical Honors Diploma at WHS

Students at WHS can earn the THD through:

Project Lead the Way 8 credits (4 year) Engineering or Biomedical Sciences pathway,

including the Capstone courses

Business and IT 6 or more high school credits in business & computer classes

6 dual college credits

JEL (Grades 11/12) Pathway designated industry-based certification

OR 6 dual college credits through specific JEL courses

J. Everett Light Career Center at North Central HS Most JEL classes meet during the afternoon:

Students take classes at WHS 1st, 2nd and 3rd period

JEL classes are from 12:00-3:00; students arrive back at WHS around 3:30 p.m.

Transportation provided by WHS, but some courses do require students to have their own transportation

A contract and application are required to take JEL courses; both are available from your counselor

Many JEL classes are available for college credit

J. Everett Light Career Center Courses at North Central HS

Advanced Manufacturing Technology

Animation/Film Production Automotive Collision Repair Automotive Maintenance

Detailing Automotive Service Technology Computer Repair Cosmetology Culinary Arts Dental Assisting Digital Media Arts Early Childhood Education

Emergency Medical Technician EMS, First Responder Health Care Careers Intro to Pharmacology Law Enforcement Manicuring (Nail Tech) Medical Assisting Music/Sound Production Veterinary Assisting Visual Design/Advertising Web Design Welding Work Based Learning

2016-2017 Course Book

• Course Book and Course Offerings List available online at www.whscounselingcenter.com

What to Look for in the Course Book

CHEMISTRY, ADVANCED PLACEMENT (L) (1-2-3) This is a BYOT class

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Chemistry I (1-2) and successful completion of Algebra II (3-4)

Recommendation: “A” in Honors Chemistry I (1-2) and “B” or better in Algebra II (3-4)

A course for grades 11 and 12

Course is at least 25% laboratory

A three credit course

A Core 40 and AHD course

The AP Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year. This course will follow the AP College Board curriculum for Chemistry, which reviews topics from Chemistry I in much greater depth and covers additional content not introduced in first year chemistry. Students who take an AP Chemistry course will develop advanced inquiry and reasoning skills, such as designing a plan for collecting data, analyzing data, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts in and across domains. Students in this class should plan on spending a minimum of 1 hour per night on class work. A comprehensive description of this course can be found on the College Board AP Central Course Description web page at: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/

Title

BYOT,

Pre-Reqs,

Credits, etc.

Description

Your Cumulative GPA: Not happy with it? Now is the time to turn it around!

Colleges favorably view the “turn-around” Junior year grades are generally the last

grades that are shown on your transcript as you apply to college

The closer you get to graduation, the more difficult it is to change your GPA substantially

Make a good final impression!

Senior Seminar and Independent Co-op Students may only take one Senior Seminar each

trimester Credit for Senior Seminar does NOT count towards:

Your required number of credits for graduation Athletic eligibility Your cumulative GPA

Consider the colleges to which you will be applying and how they view release periods. The majority of colleges would prefer to see students taking a full course load.

After the schedule change deadline, students may NOT drop a class to take Senior Seminar or Co-op.

Taking the SATs and ACTs Students must register online at the appropriate website

to take either College Entrance Exam

Students should take both exams for their greatest admission opportunity Both exams are accepted at all colleges and universities

Most colleges will use whichever score is highest between the two

Send Scores to Colleges Upon Registration Four free “score-sends” at this time

$11-12 per college to send scores later

SAT: www.collegeboard.com/sat

ACT: www.actstudent.org Fee Waivers Available for Students who Meet Financial Eligibility

Spring 2016 SAT and ACT Dates

TEST DATE REGISTRATION DEADLINE LATE FEE REGISTRATION

February 6, 2016 January 8, 2016 January 15, 2016

April 9, 2016 March 4, 2016 March 18, 2016

June 11, 2016 May 6, 2016 May 20, 2016

ACT

www.actstudent.org

TEST DATE REGISTRATION DEADLINE LATE FEE REGISTRATION

January 23, 2016 December 28, 2015 January 12, 2016

March 5, 2016 February 5, 2016 February 23, 2016

May 7, 2016 April 8, 2016 April 26, 2016

June 4, 2016 May 5, 2016 May 25, 2016

SAT

www.collegeboard.com

Preparing for your SAT and ACT Both College Board and ACT have free test prep on their websites

Sample test questions and short quizzes

Full practice tests

Question-of-the-Day: posted on their websites, Twitter and apps

Khan Academy and College Board have partnered for free Test Prep for the redesigned SAT

Links to your College Board account

Offers personalized practice recommendations

https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

Test Prep services

Can be helpful, but are often costly. Utilize the free services first!

The Redesigned SAT Beginning in March 2016.

Questions more aligned with school curriculum and focus on skills required to be college ready

Optional Writing Section, scored separately from the Writing & Language and Math sections

Check with each college to see if they require or recommend that you take the Writing section

No penalty for guessing

College Admission Reminders Visit College Campuses

Two excused absences per school year

Utilize your breaks!

Shamrock College Rep Day

March 16th in the WHS Main Gym

Greater Indianapolis Northside College Fair

March 16th at the Ritz Charles from 6:30-8:00 pm

College Presentations at WHS

Listen for announcements and sign up in Naviance

Grade 11 College Night Presentation can be found at www.whscounselingcenter.com

College Admission Reminders Many colleges require at least two years of a World

Language

Indiana University and Purdue University require math to be taken in the senior year, at least through Pre-Calculus

Purdue University requires Chemistry for prospective engineering majors

Remember: It is YOUR responsibility to be certain you are meeting all admission requirements for the colleges

to which you will be applying!

Summer College Admission Workshop Tuesday, June 7 —Thursday, June 9

Small group working seminar -

Approximately 30 students Develop resumes for: college applications, scholarships,

recommenders

In-depth training of the college admission process

Advice from Ivy League admission professional

Interview practice and coaching

Develop admission essays within the workshop

Fee: $130.00

Waiver for students who meet income guidelines

Registration form available after Spring Break at the front office

with Mrs. Vollmer–limited to 30 participants

Important Reminders

Have your course requests in

PowerSchool by January 18th

Choose 15 credits and 2 alternates

Counselors start meeting with students on January 20th

Schedules distributed in April.

Schedule Change Deadline: May 20th

Online Scheduling Instructions Use Mozilla Firefox, Chrome or Safari… they work

better than Internet Explorer

Log in to your Power School Account. (Email shobec@wws.k12.in.us if you need your log in info)

Click on “Class Registration” on the left side of the screen, under “Navigation”

Follow directions carefully. Enter 17 total courses/credits (15 credits/2 alternates)

Hit “Submit” when you are done

Online Scheduling Instructions Once courses are submitted, print the list of your

course requests

Go over your course requests with parents

If anything needs to be changed, you can do so prior to the January 18th deadline

Have all requests in Power School by January 18th!!