1. Welcome to WEST

2. BV West Counselors Mr. Stone Students A-C Mrs. Freestone Students D-H Mrs. Urenda Students I-Mc Mrs. Lebar Student S-Z Ms. Coronado Students Me-R

3. The Choices You Make Now ARE Important (But they aren’t life threatening) Research choices CDG, current teachers, older siblings, counselors Strive for BALANCE (challenge vs. overload) West staffing and master schedule are based on requests made during this process. (PE example) Schedule changes are difficult/impossible due to the way the master schedule is built. Choose classes that will help student reach their goals. Choose classes student is interested in and will enjoy.

4. Planning What types of college is the student interested in attending? Are there special programs the student wants to do in their Junior/Senior year? (CAPS, EHP, AP, College Now, etc.) What majors/careers is the student interested in? What does the student like, what are they good at? What and how many activities is the student involved in? It is important to plan, but we don’t expect you to have it all figured out right now. We will help you.

5. Middle School Presentations West counselors visited PRMS and LWMS on Monday Course Description Guide (CDG) Course Request Form (return by Feb. 3 to MS) Graduation Check List, Qualified Admissions (yellow handout) List of elective course options (white handout) Choose your classes from this list

6. Blue Valley Requirements English Language Arts – 4 Credits 9 th grade English Language Arts 9 OR Honors ELA 10 th grade English Language Arts I0 OR Honors ELA 11 th grade English Language Arts 11 OR AP English Language 12 th grade English Language Arts 12 OR AP English Literature

7. SCIENCES – 3 Credits 9 th grade Biology OR Honors Biology 10 th grade Earth Space Science OR Physical Science OR Chemistry (w/Algebra 2 concurrently) 11 th grade *Chemistry or Physics (Taking chemistry and/or physics can increase your ACT score) 12 th grade AP Chem, AP Biology, AP Physics, Field Biology, Meteorology, Zoology, Astronomy, Anatomy, etc. *Must take Chemistry or Physics to meet Kansas Qualified Admissions requirements.

8. Math – 3 Credits (4 recommended) 9th grade (see current math teacher for rec) Pre Algebra (need recommendation from current teacher) Pre Algebra is taken concurrently with Algebra 1 Algebra 1 Geometry/H Algebra 2/H (currently coming to West for Geometry H)

9. Math Sequence Starting in Algebra 1 10 Geometry/H 11 Algebra 2/H 12 Advanced Algebra Pre Calculus/HPC College credit available through JCCC for Advanced Algebra and HPC Starting in Geometry/H 10 Algebra 2/H 11 Pre Calc/H or Adv Alg 12 AP Stats Calculus AB/BC Mulitvariable Calc

10. Social Studies – 3 Credits 9 th grade (options, not required freshmen year) Social Studies Elective World Geography (sem) OR AP Human Geography (year) 10 th grade Modern World History OR AP European History 11 th grade US History OR AP US History 12 th grade American Govt. (0.5) OR AP American Govt. (0.5) *Other social studies elective options during grades 10-12 Sociology, Psychology, Economics, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics.

11. Other Courses 1 Unit of General PE (freshman year) We will pre-schedule all freshman in PE and remove it if you indicate you are going to complete it online Summer School enrollment opens March 7, 8:00 a.m. in ParentVue. You won’t be able to delete the pre-loaded PE class. We will have to do that later. You will end up with 15/16 requests and won’t be able to lock the schedule in. You can only take 1 class per summer, so the other PE class needs to be taken next year or the following summer..5 Unit Health Credit (sophomore year) 1 Unit of Technology Credit (9-12) (Page 87 of the CDG) 1 Unit of Fine Art Credit (9-12) (Page 86 of the CDG) 7.5 Units of Electives (9-12) (white handout)

12. World Language NOT required for graduation NOT required for Kansas Qualified Admissions IS recommended for college bound students 2 years to meet Kansas Scholars Curriculum 2-4 years required by many out of state colleges Helps with NCAA core courses

13. HONORS? HONORS? West encourages all students to challenge themselves academically. That means different paths for different students. Students need to make the best choices for themselves. Some things to consider…. Is the student self-motivated? Does the student have strong study habits and time management skills? Does the student have a passion for the subject? What other time commitments does the student have? How well does the student handle stress? Listen to Core presentations tonight Talk to your current teachers

14. Honors? On Average students can expect to spend about 2 to 2.5 hours per night doing homework if they take all honors classes plus a language. Honors Biology 15 to 20 minutes Honors Geography45 to 60 minutes Honors Geometry 20 to 30 Minutes Honors English 20 to 30 minutes World Language 15 to 20 minutes

15. Course Request Form Complete entire form (rough draft first) Keep Yellow copy for your records Turn completed form (WHITE COPY) to M.S. counseling office by Wednesday, February 3rd Counselors will be back on February 8 th to Lakewood & February 9 th to Pleasant Ridge to answer questions and help enter requests online.

16. Return White Copy-Keep Yellow Copy

17. What are Regents Requirements? A.K.A Qualified Admissions

18. Kansas Regents Requirements Students graduating from an accredited Kansas high school, under the age of 21, MUST Complete the precollege or Kansas Scholars Curriculum with at least a 2.0 GPA; English- 4 units, Math- 3-4 units, Social Studies- 3 units, Science- 3 units (one unit must be Chemistry or Physics), Electives- 3 units. AND Achieve ONE of the following: ACT score of 21 or higher*; OR SAT score of 980 or higher*; OR Graduate in the top one-third of their class; AND Achieve a 2.0 GPA or higher on any college credit taken in high school. *KU requires a minimum 3.25 GPA for students with a 21-24 ACT starting with the class of 2016

19. MATH CHANGES TO PRECOLLEGE CURRICULUM Class of 2015 and beyond 3 approved units from the following: Algebra I Geometry Algebra II Any course with Algebra II as a prerequisite AND students must meet the ACT college readiness math benchmark (22). This is the score from the Math Subtest. 4 approved units, with one unit taken in the graduating year. Three units selected from the following: Algebra I Geometry Algebra II Any course with Algebra II as a prerequisite The fourth unit may be prescribed by the school and must be designed to prepare students for college.