Welcome 8th graders & Parents!

A Typical Freshman ScheduleEnglish IMath course (Alg. IR, Alg. I, Geometry)Science Course (Biology or Earth Science)Early U.S. History/Civics Health/Driver’s EducationPhysical Education (Weight Training or General

P.E.)Electives (Band, Chorus, Intro. To Ag., Art,

Foreign Language, Business Course, etc.)Study Hall (one only)

Choosing the Right Classes

How do I choose?Think about your interestsConsider career

goals/college goalsIf considering college or

tech/trade school, you will want to take a rigorous curriculum with at least 2 years of foreign language and additional math and science courses.

Talk to your parents/guidance counselor

Number of credits needed for graduation: 24

Note: Although number of credits earned to date may be sufficient for graduation, students must meet certain graduation requirements regardless of credits earned.

Also, remember that these are graduation requirements, not college requirements. Every college has its own requirements.

Graduation Requirements

4 credits of English 3 credits of Social Studies (Early U.S. History, Government,

Modern U.S. History, and 1 credit of an elective social science(s))

3 credits of Math (Must include Algebra I or IR and Geometry or Informal Geometry)

2 credits in Science Consumer Economics (4 years of Ag. Classes will waive this

requirement) Driver’s Education Health ½ credit of a Business or Technology 1 credit from Music, Art, Foreign Language, Vocational, or

Humanities P.E. each year (unless student meets any exemptions in 11th/12th

grade.)

Required Courses for Graduation

Getting behind early makes high school years difficult Success in high school=Success in college

Studies show that students who do poorly in high school have a lesser chance of succeeding in college

Eligibility (No Pass/No Play) Must pass 6 courses for weekly & semester eligibility.

Eligibility runs Monday-Sunday. All Freshmen start out eligible. EB PE Students must have C’s or better to leave!

Driver’s Education 8 classes in two semesters to be eligible (IL law)

Grades are Important!

Think about your future! Never to early to explore

careers/colleges/trade schools

Talk with your counselor every year

Think about your interests and skills

Get Involved! Participate in school activities.

Golf, Volleyball, Basketball,

Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Cheerleading, Cross Country

Pep Club, Model U.N., FFA, Chorus, Band, Science Club, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, NHS, Student Council, FEA, Saturday Scholars, Musicals, plays, and much more!

Volunteer your time in school & the community.

Algebra I in 8th grade can count towards high school transcript. Mrs. Seidler will give you a form at the end of 8th grade.

Schedules will be passed out in May and changes can be made until the 5th day of each semester.

Career Center of Southern Illinois (formerly Beck Career Center) has several vocational programs for our students beginning in 11th grade (3 credits for attending Beck Vocational classes during the day).

You can turn your sheet in this evening or bring it back to Mrs. Karsten within 2 days of this meeting.

The school website is www.valmeyerk12.org. There are many helpful links for parents on the website. You can get this information from Mrs. Karsten.

Miscellaneous Info.

Important Websites/Contact Infowww.valmeyerk12.org/counselor

Teacherease: Do you have your account set up? Email up-to-date?

Facebook Page: Valmeyer CUSD#3 School

Counseling Office (Like Please!)

Becky Karsten-CounselorEmail: bkarsten@valmeyerk12.org618-935-2100 ext. 205

Filling out the registration form…The numbers on the

form do not correspondence to the hour you will take the class.

These are requests only. The guidance counselor will revise as necessary once the schedule is finished.

If you are not going to be in band or chorus, then you will have study hall that hour.

Be sure to put in some courses that are required courses…not just all electives.

CLASS CHOICESMATHALGEBRA IRALGEBRA IGEOMETRY

SOCIAL SCIENCEEARLY US HISTORY/CIVICS

SCIENCEEARTH SCIENCEBIOLOGY

ENGLISHENGLISH I

FOREIGN LANGUAGESPANISH I

AGRICULTUREINTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURE

BUSINESS (KEEP THEM IN PAIRS)COMPUTER CONCEPTS/WEB DES. IWEB DESIGN I/WEB DESIGN IIBUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

CONCEPTS/MARKETING

FINE ARTSDRAWING/PAINTINGGRAPHIC DESIGN/PRINTMAKINGSCULPTURE/CERAMICS & POTTERY CONCERT BAND MIXED CHORUS

PHYSICAL EDUCATION/HEALTH/DR. ED.PHYSICAL EDUCATIONWEIGHT TRAINING (During school day or early

bird)HEALTH (SEMESTER COURSE)DRIVER’S EDUCATION (SEMESTER COURSE)