1. The Road to Graduation The Road to Graduation 8 th Grade Parent Meeting

2. The Road to Graduation  Four year journey  High school scheduling and credits  Graduation requirements for students  EOCT?? GHSGT?? What do these mean?  Advisement  Career Pathways  Student expectations

3. High School Scheduling  The Road to Graduation from high school begins when the student enters the 9 th grade.  Students are scheduled for 8 classes per school year.  Students complete 4 classes in the fall semester and 4 new classes in the spring.  Each class is worth 1 Carnegie Unit.

4. High School Credits Grade How many credits can you earn? 9 th 8 10 th 16 11 th 24 12 th 32 Credits needed to be promoted to the next grade 6 13 20 28

5. Jackson County Graduation Requirements Jackson County Graduation Requirements Course Content Requirements English 4 units Mathematics Science Social Studies 4 units PE/Health 1 unit Pathway Fine Arts OR Career/Technical/Agricultural OR Foreign Language* *2 units of foreign language required for admissions to Georgia University System Colleges/Universities 3 units Additional Electives 8 units

6. The Road to Success Provides great opportunities:  GPA = Money  Greater schedule choice and flexibility  Opportunity to earn advance credits and certification

7. Standardized Testing at the High School Level: End of Course Tests (EOCT) Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT)  EOCTs count 15% of the student’s final grade in the course. All EJCHS courses have EOCTs. All EJCHS courses have EOCTs. Ten content areas have state-mandated EOCTs. Ten content areas have state-mandated EOCTs. 9 th grade students will take a state-mandated EOCT in Math I, Biology and English I at the end of the course (either December or May). 9 th grade students will take a state-mandated EOCT in Math I, Biology and English I at the end of the course (either December or May).  The GHSGT and the GHSWT are given for the first time in the 11 th grade year. The GHSGT has 5 sections--English, math, science, social studies, and writing. The GHSGT tests content covered in grades 9-11. The GHSGT has 5 sections--English, math, science, social studies, and writing. The GHSGT tests content covered in grades 9-11. All students in Georgia schools must pass all sections of the GHSGT (including the GHSWT) in order to receive a diploma. All students in Georgia schools must pass all sections of the GHSGT (including the GHSWT) in order to receive a diploma.  Beginning with the graduating class of 2011, students who have not passed all 5 sections of the graduation test will not be allowed to participate in graduation activities.

8. Advisement  Advisement appointments will take place in either the EJCHS Media Center. You will receive an appointment letter with a time, date, and location. Appointments will be in January and are set up in 20 minute increments. It is important that you are on time so that we stay on schedule.  Please come prepared! Your students will been given advisement materials and will be working with their 8 th grade advisors in order to be prepared. They should come to the appointment already knowing what electives they wish to take next year.  Academic placement will be determined based on your student’s placement test scores.  Students should make selections carefully because schedules will not be changed when students’ course requests are met. The master schedule is not flexible enough to allow for “I changed my mind” scenarios.  Students cannot “try out” Honors and AP level classes. If students sign up, they are in the course for the entire semester.

9. Preparing for Success  Organization  Homework – Everyday  Be Involved – Ask Questions  Get Help – Help Sessions  Communication – Email, Phone, Infinite Campus  Don’t Quit!

10. Choose your Career Pathway! Architecture, Construction, Communications & Transportation Arts & Humanities Arts & Humanities Pathways Foreign Language Performing Arts Visual Arts Architecture, Construction, Communications & Transportation Pathways Architectural Drawing & Design Broadcast/Video Production Construction Business & Computer Science Pathways Administrative & Information Support Computing Interactive Media Business & Computer Science Family & Consumer Sciences Pathways Nutrition & Food Science Early Childhood Education Government & Public Safety Government & Public Safety Pathway JROTC – Army Healthcare Science Healthcare Science Pathway Therapeutic Services-Nursing Agriculture Agriculture Pathways Agricultural Mechanics Animal Science Plant Science/Horticulture Family & Consumer Science Jackson County School System

11. English English I English I Honors  Course is open to all students  Course is open to students with a teacher recommendation  Curriculum: Literature Memoir (1) Memoir (1) Novel (1) Novel (1) Drama (1) Drama (1) Myth/Epic (1) Myth/Epic (1) Poetry (5-8) Poetry (5-8) Short Story (3-5) Short Story (3-5) Non-Fiction Works (5-8) Non-Fiction Works (5-8)  Curriculum: Writing Expository: (2) Expository: (2) Persuasion: (1) Persuasion: (1) Technical: (2) Technical: (2) Response to Literature: (5) Response to Literature: (5)  Curriculum: Literature Memoir (1-2) Memoir (1-2) Novel (2-3) Novel (2-3) Drama (1-2) Drama (1-2) Myth/Epic (1) Myth/Epic (1) Poetry (8-10) Poetry (8-10) Short Story (5-8) Short Story (5-8) Non-Fiction Works (30+) Non-Fiction Works (30+)  Curriculum: Writing Expository: Literary Analysis (5-8) Expository: Literary Analysis (5-8) Persuasion: Speech (1) Persuasion: Speech (1) Technical: Variety (7-10) Technical: Variety (7-10) Response to Literature: Variety (8-10) Response to Literature: Variety (8-10)  Expectations Reading and writing assignments are done both in and out of class Reading and writing assignments are done both in and out of class  Expectations Majority of reading and writing assignments are done outside of class for homework Majority of reading and writing assignments are done outside of class for homework Time in class is used for discussion and extension activities Time in class is used for discussion and extension activities

12. What is different about 9 th grade mathematics?  2008-2009: implementation of the new Georgia Performance Standards in Mathematics and the new graduation rule (4 math courses required for ALL students).  All students will take Mathematics I or Accelerated Mathematics I.  Math course will be paired with Math Support I if it is determined that the student needs additional help in Math. This will be determined based each student’s math placement test scores.

13. Science Biology/Honors Biology  Biology is divided in 4 units – each unit is graded independently  Cell – 20%  Heredity – 20%  Evolution/Classification/Organisms – 20%  Ecology – 15%

14. Social Studies  9 th Grade – Government/Citizenship or AP Government/Citizenship AP Government/Citizenship  10 th Grade - World History or Honors/AP  11 th Grade – American History of Honors/AP  12 th Grade – Economics or Honors/AP

15. Questions?

16. Thank you for coming!