1. Misr Language Schools AMERICAN DIVISION HIGH SCHOOL
Ladies and gentlemen – good evening – I would like to welcome you to our meeting this afternoon and hope that our brief presentation will serve to clarify any uncertainties and put our students on the right track. I know that some of you are following the process in detail and are in contact with the school, while others are new to the system or new to our school – we hope to give you a fairly comprehensive picture so that we all find ourselves on the same page.

2. Agenda Subjects The Academic Year and Student Grading Grade 9 Grade 10
School Graduation Requirements
Ministry Requirements
University Admissions
SAT
First I would like to highlight what we will be tackling today – through the presentation – (read the agenda clearly with a word on each item)

3. I thought we might start our story line at the end of the journey – this is what the school transcript looks like – the school transcript is what the student receives from the school when he or she graduates – in the transcript we detail each and every subject the student has taken since entering High School with the accompanying letter grade – this transcript is sent to Washington where it is stamped and sealed and returned and the student then uses it to apply to university. So basically our journey through school – and especially grades 11 and 12 is in a way filling out this empty transcript with the subjects we have studied. The transcript as you can see deals with grades 9 to 12 – in other words high school – if a student joined the American division before grade 9 it is not included in the transcript but included in date of entry – if a student joined us after grade 9 then consequently all subjects and grades will be included.

4. How Do We Choose the Subjects To Teach ?
Fulfilling the American System
Requirements for
Curriculum
Fulfilling the Requirements of the
Ministry of Education
Which will bring us to our next point – the subjects – how does the school choose the subjects that students are to study – how do we ensure that the student will end up with a transcript with which he can apply to any university or at least the university of his or her choice. We do this following the following guidelines – we need to ensure that the subjects are according to the CITA requirements of curriculum for American schools and by American standards – otherwise we would not have our license to operate. We need to make sure that at all times we are following the rules and regulations of the Egyptian Ministry of Education – these rules unfortunately change often and sporadically so our job is to accommodate whatever they come up with as quickly as possible. Finally we need to make sure that the subjects our students have studied enable them to apply for the University or faculty of their choice – if a student wants the faculty of medicine for example then it is our job to make sure he studies the appropriate subjects.
Fulfilling Requirements of the
Ministry of Higher Education
for University Admissions

5. Structure of Academic Year
The school year is divided into 2 semesters Each semester is divided into 2 quarters The weights of each quarter is as follows: Grades 9 – 11 Grade 12 Quarter 1 = 20% Quarter 1 = 20% Quarter 2 = 30% Quarter 2 = 30% Quarter 3 = 20% Quarter 3 = 30% Quarter 4 = 30% Quarter 4 = 20%

6. How is a Student Graded ? Formative
All assessments that serve to monitor student learning as an ongoing process, and provide students with regular feedback on their progress, and present opportunities for student self reflection and goal setting
Summative
All assessments that serve to evaluate accumulative student learning after the completion of a unit of study
Student Traits
The traits that are defined to be necessary for an independent learner and that promote personal growth

7. Grade Distribution Per Department 2014 / 2015
ELA
Science
Item %
Homework 20 10
Classwork 15
Quizzes / Presentations
Lab / Project
Portfolio Reflection 5
Quizzes
Quarter Assessment 40 30
Student Traits
Social Studies
Maths 25
Projects
Quizzes / Project
Chapter Tests
Quarter Final
Learning Independence

8. How are Parents Informed of Student Progress?
Quarterly report cards
Quarterly parent meetings
Mid Quarter Progress Report
Thinkwave – new online grade-book
SMS
Academic Issue Report
One to one meeting with parents if necessary.
Since we consider the education of a student to be a joint partnership between parents and the school – we are very keen on informing parents of the progress of the student.
(Read slide with comment on each item)

9. Grade 9 Subjects Language Arts Math (Algebra I)
Science (Physical Science)
Social Studies
Foreign Language (French OR German)
Arabic and Religion
Arabic Social Studies
Computer Science OR Art
Physical Education
Starting with grade 9 let us take a look at the subjects assigned to students by grade.
(Read the slide)

10. Grade 10 Subjects Language Arts Math (Geometry) Science (Biology)
Social Studies
Foreign Language (French OR German)
Arabic and Religion
Computer Science OR Art
Physical Education
Arabic Social Studies and Civics
As for Grade 10 the subjects are as follows
(Read the slide)

11. Grade 11 Subjects Language Arts Math (Algebra II or Adv Algebra II)
Chemistry OR Environmental Science
Social Studies (Business)
Foreign Language (French OR German)
Arabic and Religion
Civics
Computer Science OR Art
The final leg of the educational journey starts with grade 11 – admissions into universities (maktab al tanseek) will choose subjects from grades 11 and 12 – either 3 and 5 or 6 and 2 or 7 and 1 – and so subjects in grade 11 are important as are the grades a student will score – on the slide you will see the school offering for grade 11. At this stage the student has not taken any direction as to faculty or university choice up to this point all students are the same – the important point being that all students will finish Math I and all students will take Chemistry. I would like to point out that although the Ministry insists on teaching of Arabic and Religion they are however non credit subjects

12. Grade 12 Maths Sciences Humanities Medicine Science Agriculture
Dentistry
Nursing
Vetinary
Physiotherapy
Pharmacy
Mass Com
Political Science
Business
Economics
Management
Commerce
Tourism
Law
Arts
Engineering
Computer Science
Fine Arts
Architecture
Into grade 12 students start to make a choice on direction – depending on their individual abilities and personal tendencies – by the end of grade 11 a sheet is sent home with an explanation of the directions that a student can take in grade 12 and where this will lead them – parents are asked to guide and share this with their children – the three basic directions are, the faculties of Engineering and all related – the faculties of medicine and all related - and thirdly what we call humanities – according to this choice of direction the school offers each class or group the subjects needed to follow in this line of study. It is important to note that by choosing group A or Group B they would obviously include group C

13. Math / Science Advanced Math OR Business Math OR Accounting Physics
Language Arts
Economics
Sociology
Biology OR Computer OR Art
Arabic and Religion
Civics
This year based on the number of students who chose the Science and Math direction they have been combined into one class which serves both purposes.
The subjects in yellow are the differentiating subjects.
Physics is mandatory for both the Science direction and the Math direction.
Biology on the other hand is only mandatory for those wishing to follow the path of Sciences and so consequently others can opt for Computer Studies

14. Humanities Language Arts Psychology Economics Sociology
Business Math OR Accounting
Computer OR Art
Arabic and Religion
Civics
For students looking at a wider range of faculties the stress is more on the social studies and electives

15. Grade 12 Students Step 3 Step 2 Accepted by Universities Step 1
Fulfill Ministry
Requirements
Step 1
Graduate from
School
Basically what we are doing is assuring that our students are able to graduate from school – are fulfilling the ministry requirements and hence their transcript is acceptable and finally being suitable candidates to apply to universities.

16. What are the School Requirements for Graduation ?
Fulfill Attendance
Requirements
Student must have
completed
3 years in an
American System
Students must have at
Least four English
Credits from grades
9 to 12
Students must have 3
Science credits from
Grades 9 to 12
Students must have
completed Math I
Students must have 2
Years of Foreign
Language
And so briefly what does the school require to graduate a student (read each flag separately)
Students must have
At least 4 Social
Studies credits
From grades 9 to 12
Students must have taken
A Computer Science
And an Art course

17. What are the Ministry Requirements for Graduation ?
An authorized transcript
From an accredited
school
An authorized diploma
From an accredited
school
Official
Proof for SAT I
A minimum of 8 subjects
From grades 11 & 12
Over and above the school requirements which already are designed to fulfill most of the ministry requirements what does the ministry ask for to endorse a student for graduation ? (read each flag separately) The transcript and diploma are the responsibility of the school – however SAT and scoring appropriate grades are the responsibility of the student

18. What are the University Admission Requirements?
Math
Sciences
Humanities
Faculties of Engineering:
SAT I
SAT II Math & other
Subjects combined from
Grades 11 & 12:
Adv. Math
Physics
Chemistry
English Language / Lit
4 Electives
Faculties of Medicine:
SAT I
SAT II Biology & Other
Subjects combined from
Grades 11 & 12:
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
English Language / Lit
4 Electives
Others:
SAT I
Subjects combined from
Grades 11 & 12:
English Language / Lit
7 electives
(Law requires French)
As we mentioned before different faculties have different requirements of subjects – and so depending on the faculty of choice the requirements of the admissions offices will change – (read the boxes with some info)
Many students ask about the calculation of the GPA
The calculation of the GPA depends on the subjects that each faculty chooses from the student’s transcript – also some private universities take a subject from Grade 10 while other universities such as the AUC have their own accumulative calculation

19. SAT I What is SAT I ? What is the pass mark on SAT I ?
How does the student register for SAT I ?
How many chances does the student get ?
It is obvious from all requirements that SAT I is mandatory so it is important to understand exactly what it is and exactly what it entails. SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test it is an international test for all American Diploma students monitored by the College Board in the United States.
SAT I is divided into 3 parts each out of 800 points – Critical Reading – Critical Writing and Math – by grade 11 all students are ready for taking SAT I – the pass mark on SAT I for students graduating this year is 1480 for government universities (altanseek) 1200 for private universities such as MSA etc. The AUC has its own calculation based on number of students applying – last year it was 1350 based on 33% GPA and 67% SAT I.
Students can register for SAT through the school we offer this service to facilitate your time and theirs or through the internet or through the AMID East office. The fees are approximately L.E – the student will be given a registration form and admissions ticket and informed of the testing date time and place. The student gets 6 chances in grade 11 and 6 chances in grade 12.
The highest scores are added together to give the student his total on SAT I.

20. SAT II What are the subjects of SAT II ?
What is the pass mark on SAT II ?
Why sit for SAT II ?
How and when does the student register for SAT II ?
How many chances does the student get ?
The next point to tackle is SAT II – these tests are subject tests that have a defined syllabus – the subjects are Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Math divided into Math I and Math II – there is no faculty that specifically requires Math II and so basically SAT II Math I is sufficient
SAT II serves two purposes:
it is mandatory for certain faculties as we have seen – with a definite choice of subject such as Biology for Medicine or Math for Engineering
the other purpose is to raise a students total percentage since it is added on to the total score of SAT I + GPA
The pass mark on SAT II is 900 out of 1800 for private universities and 1000 for government universities
The student needs to sit for at least 2 subjects.
A student can register for SAT II as of grade 12 and gets the 6 opportunities keeping in mind that obviously the student will then forfeit that opportunity to be taking SAT I.
AUC and some other private universities such as Al Akademia Albaharia do not take SAT II
The cost for registering for SAT II is XXXXXX

21. PSAT What is PSAT? Do students need to study for PSAT?
Why do students sit for PSAT?
When do students receive their scores?
It's a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT. It measures the 3 main skills of the SAT test; Critical Reading, Critical Writing, and Math skills.
Students do not have to study for this test. They have developed these skills over many years, both in and out of school. This test doesn't require them to recall specific facts from their English or Math classes.
Students sit for PSAT for many reasons. First, to receive feedback on their strengths and weaknesses on skills needed for college study. Second, which is most important is to help them prepare for the SAT and become familiar with the kinds of questions and the exact directions they will see in the SAT. Last but not least, PSAT helps students receive information from colleges abroad (through the College Board website)
As noticed, students sit for PSAT in October. Then tests are sent back to the United States to be scored and students receive their score reports by end of December, beginning of January. They receive both their answer sheets as well as their question booklet.

22. Thank You