Welcome to High School!

1. 8th Grade Presentation Welcome to High School!

2. Graduation Requirements • All students must earn 26 credits to graduate. • Classification: 0 – 5 ½ Freshman 6 – 11 ½ Sophomore 12 – 18 ½ Junior 19 + Senior • 9th graders will not have a rank/GPA until their 9th grade year is complete.

3. Foundation Plan with an Endorsement English – 4.0 Mathematics – 4.0 Science – 4.0 Social Studies – 3.0 Health – 0.5 Professional Communications– 0.5 Fine Arts – 1.0 Physical Education – 1.0 Foreign Language – 2.0 Endorsement– 4.0 Electives – 2.0 Total = 26 credits

4. Distinguished Level of Achievement Students complete the Foundation Plan with an Endorsement (26 credits.) Algebra II must be one of the math courses completed. To be eligible for the state’s Top 10% Automatic Admission, students must complete the DLA.

5. Foundation Graduation Program English – 4.0 Mathematics – 3.0 Science – 3.0 Social Studies – 3.0 Health – 0.5 Professional Communications– 0.5 Fine Arts – 1.0 Foreign Language – 2.0 Physical Education – 1.0 Electives – 8.0 Total = 26 credits

6. Credits • Students will have the opportunity to earn 8 credits per year • Students are given the opportunity to earn a total of 32 credits.

7. School Year Structureon Home Campus • *18 week classes = 1 semester = ½ credit • Example: Health, PE, Keyboarding • 36 week classes = 2 semesters = 1 credit • Example: English 1, Algebra 1, World Geography, Biology, Art 1, Theater Arts 1

8. Ben Barber/Frontier High • Career and Technology courses at Ben Barber may be ½ credit-3 credits. • ½ credit courses at Ben Barber are 6 weeks long. • One credit courses at Ben Barber are 12 weeks long. • Students who wish to take a Career and Technology course at Ben Barber will need to take a 1 credit Ben Barber course and a ½ credit Ben Barber course ( one 12 week course + one 6 week course= 18 weeks or one semester for a total of 1 ½ credits).

9. Ben Barber/Frontier High School • Students who wish to take Foreign Language at Ben Barber will take the language course for 12 weeks and a Cultural Linguistics class for 6 weeks (one 12 week course + one 6 week course=18 weeks for 1 ½ credits) • Students must sign up for two 18 week course combinations at Ben Barber ( this is preferred) or one 18 week course combination and 3 home campus ½ credit courses (subject to availability). • Students who are interested in attending Frontier High beginning their junior year need to be mindful of prerequisite courses for their programs.

10. Typical School Day Home Campus • Classes start at 7:25 A.M. • Classes end at 2:55 P.M. Ben Barber CTA • Session I begins at 7:00 A.M. • Session II begins at 11:25 P.M.

11. Sample Freshman Schedule 1st period – *English 2nd period - *Algebra 1 3rd period - *Biology 4th period - World Geography 5th period – Health (fall)/Prof. Comm (spring) 6th period – Lunch 7th period – Spanish 1 8th period – PE (fall)/ PE (spring) 9th period- Theater *required core courses

12. Sample Freshman Schedule with Ben Barber classes • 1st period - * English • 2nd Period – *Algebra 1 • 3rd period – *Biology • 4th period – W. Geography • 5th period – Lunch…travel to BBCTA for Session II • 6th-8th period- 1st semester – Principles of Architecture Construction (1st 6 weeks) & Construction Technology (2nd and 3rd 6 weeks) 2nd semester – Latin 1 (includes language course for first 12 weeks, and Cultural Linguistics course for last 6 weeks) • 9th period- Theater *required core courses

13. Choosing Classes • Students need to discuss classes with parents and current teachers • Pick classes – fill out Choice Sheet • Choose alternates – many times, your first choice cannot be honored due to scheduling conflicts or available space. It is important to choose alternate classes so the counselors don’t have to choose for you.

14. Sample Choice Sheet

15. Sample Choice Sheet with BBCTA classes

16. Course Request Changes • You will have the opportunity to make course request changes until May 2. • A form will be mailed to you the week of April 22 indicating what you have requested to take. A Course Request Change Form will be included in that mailing for you to make changes. • Changes must be submitted in writing by the May 2nd deadline • We cannot honor requests to change selected courses after May 2nd!

17. Clubs & Extra-curricular Activities

18. Clubs • High Schoolwill provide an opportunity for involvement in many clubs and organizations. • We highly encourage participation in extra-curricular activities. • Studies show that students who are involved in extra-curricular activities make better grades and are better prepared for life during and after high school.

19. Extra-curricular Activities • Athletics – Volleyball, Football & Basketball If you are interested in other sports, please contact the high school coach of that sport. • Cheerleading and Drill Team – determined by try-outs in the spring. • Other activities include class officers, club officers, One Act Play, UIL Band and Choir contests, Academic UIL, ROTC, Student Council, theater production/stage crew, Key Club, NHS, FCA, HOSA, etc…

20. You will circle 8 credits worth of classes. Remember…3 credits of those will be your core classes. It is EXTREMELY important that you list at least 4 alternates on your sheet. Remember to get the appropriate signatures prior to the date that you meet with your counselor. You will receive a letter in the mail listing the courses you requested. No course requests changes after May 2nd. Reminders & Helpful Hints

21. Attendance • Students are allowed 9 absences per class per semester . • 10 or more absences in the same class will result in an absence failure. • Students are responsible for clearing those absences with their assistant principal. • Students will have to attend evening or Saturday School sessions in order to regain credit.

22. Schedule for Meeting with Students Return Visits: April 11th – Counselors will go through Science classes to meet with each student and collect his/her 9th grade choice sheet. First Visits: April 9th – Counselors will meet with 8th graders as a group to give general information which will help students select courses.

23. How we Communicate with Parents • Report Cards • Progress Reports • Teacher Conferences by appointment • Counselor Conferences by appointment • Skyward • MISD District Website

24. Personal Graduation Plan • This is a road map for your high school career • Each student will create a plan prior to the end of their 9th grade year • Counselors meet with you yearly to keep you on track.

25. Counselors Kimberly Goree kimberlygoree@misdmail.org Monica Dabney monicadabney@misdmail.org Lynda Petersen lyndapetersen@misdmail.org Jennifer Castrillo jennifercastrillo@misdmail.org Chrystal Barnett chrystalbarnett@misdmail.org Melissa Lange melissalange@misdmail.org

26. Counselors Siobhan Flowers siobhanflowers@misdmail.org Kim Wilson kimberlywilson@misdmail.org Staci Fowler stacifowler@misdmail.org Jennifer Smith jennifersmith@misdmail.org Ikie Holder ikieholder@misdmail.org

27. Counselors Dana Vorsino danavorsino@misdmail.org John Williams johnpwilliams@misdmail.org Haley White haleywhite@misdmail.org Lisa Fields lisafields@misdmail.org Tonya Cook tonyacook@misdmail.org

28. Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy (BBCTA) Presented By: Mendy Gregory– Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy Assistant Principal

29. Endorsing the Foundation • What Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy (BBCTA) Has to Offer

30. Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy (BBCTA) Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy (BBCTA) is a state of the art facility that offers hands on experience in each Program of Study. Courses at BBCTA provide business partnerships, student internships, certifications, licensures, college credit hours, and hands­-on educational experiences. Students from all MISD high schools have the opportunity to select a coherent sequence of career and technology courses within their Program of Study that are taught at BBCTA to complete an Endorsement.

31. Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy (BBCTA) • Students are bused from all high school campuses to take classes at BBCTA. • 2 sessions are offered during the day (each session is a 2.5 hour block which takes up 3 periods). Students take classes for the morning session or the afternoon session.

32. The Five Endorsements • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) – Most at BBCTA • Business and Industry – Most at BBCTA • Public Services – Most at BBCTA • Arts and Humanities – Some at BBCTA • Multidisciplinary – “Catch all”

33. Programs of Study at BBCTA Under Each Endorsement Business and Industry • Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources • Architecture and Construction • Arts, Audio/Video Technology • Hospitality and Tourism • Business Management, Marketing and Finance • Information Technology • Manufacturing • Transportation, Distribution and Logistics • English (home campus) STEM • STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) • Science (home campus) • Math (home campus)

34. Programs of Study at BBCTA Under Each Endorsement Cont… Arts and Humanities • Language Other Than English Offered at BBCTA: Spanish, German, Latin, American Sign Language, Russian, Chinese, Japanese • Theater Arts, Art, Dance, Band, Choir (home campus) • Social Studies (home campus) Public Service • Education and Training/ Human Services • Health Science • Law and Public Safety • JROTC (home campus)

35. BBCTA Resources BBCTA Course Description Guide Course Description Guide BBCTA Website to Programs of Study http://bbcta.mansfieldisd.org/page.cfm?p=3540 BBCTA Blog http://bb-fhs.blogspot.com/

36. Questions?