Scenario: As a student, you chose to drop PreCalc and a Science to take FLVS Outdoor Ed and Peer Counseling...how do you think your counselor will answer this question?
The Newsome Guidance staff continues to see a decline in the rigor of student schedules, primarily in the form of OJT (work release) and Florida/Hillsborough Virtual school. While these options can be wonderful opportunities for students (in the right circumstances), the removal of challenging college preparatory classes for easy online electives is not an equal trade.
The guidance staff at Newsome will consistently recommend that students take the most challenging classes possible, commensurate to each student's ability. Students and parents that do not heed this guidance should note that failure to gain admittance of the desired university, failure to earn Bright Futures, or struggles in the transition to colleges/universities may be the result of these decisions. Effective for the 2017-2018 School Year
Students that intend on taking a virtual period must have the following items completed, before a schedule change will occur: 1-Complete a Non-Traditional Schedule Agreement and submit it to the counselor LINK 2-Current and active request or class through Florida/Hillsborough Virtual School 3-Changes for virtual school will be available only until the 6th week of class (**subject to legislative changes and data reporting that occurs in week 6 of the school year, also known as FTE week**) Students that intend on taking Dual Enrollment (and being released from part of their school day for this experience) must; 1-Provide a printed hard copy of their HCC schedule to Ms. Lisa Maiello (Data Processor) so that their class may be added to their schedule 2-Provide a printed hard copy of their HCC schedule to Ms. Darlene Cooper (Main office secretary); who will then provide information on text books 3-Check with their counselor to confirm their schedule is correct and their graduation plan is adequate for earning required credits Students that intend on doing both (Dual Enrollment/Virtual School) should comply with each section. Students must provide evidence/documentation of their experience before a schedule change is made. Text books should be ordered as early as possible to avoid any delays. Any textbook orders that occur 2 weeks or less before the start of the HCC semester, may not be ready by the first day of class.. Schedule changes for electives have been ongoing in the lunch rooms. Counselors have been on hand to entertain whatever changes a student wishes to discuss for January 4, 5, 6 and January 8th. The elective changes will conclude at the end of business on January 8th. Any changes from that point will be administrative/counselor directed, based on semester and dual enrollment grades that are being finalized. All students are expected to be in permanent classes for the semester, by the end of business on January 20th.
Students that do not comply with Virtual School Agreements, such as signing up for classes and not working on them or dropping such courses, will not be awarded this opportunity for semester 2. Students are expected to honor their agreements and this activity is being monitored for student success. Effective for semester 2, 2017, students wishing to exit an active class to take a course online must declare/complete process by February 5th, 2017. This represents the start of the 6th week of class. A compararable date will be applied to each semester in future years.
What is Dual Enrollment? Should I do Dual Enrollment? Is Dual Enrollment better than AP or vice versa? Should I complete a Choice Application for my incoming 8th grade child for an IB or Collegiate Academy, or stay at Newsome? Many families get pulled from many different directions and are told 'you should do this.' Many times, what works for one family may not work for another. Considering this, the following presentation is intended to start the educational process to make an informed decision. Overall, none of these programs are specifically superior to another; what makes a choice a better choice over another is really based on the child, the family, and understanding what each program offers. Applying a genetic solution to a child's education can sometimes lead to unintended consequences or, upon reflection, "I would have chosen something different if I knew." As stated, this is intended to start a constructive conversation and begin to fill in gaps in understanding between various programs and options. Please consult a counselor or program advisor if you need additional assistance in making the right choice for your family. Volunteers are needed to assist with the proctoring of AP Tests in May of 2017. If interested, a new procedure is in place. Please visit the Hillsborough County website; LINK
Upcoming Testing dates: Oct 10-28 FSA Reading/Writing Retakes (Gr 11-12 Only, as needed) Oct 19 PSAT (Gr 9-11) -Students with disabilities must have applied for extended time, otherwise it will not be granted. This process is explained here and it is parent initiated. Students in Liberal Arts Math will take their EOC during the window of Nov 28-Dec 16. All other EOCs can be administered, as needed (this is not a schoolwide testing window) Students will have a final testing window in the spring. This is the time period in which most students will take their regular assessments (FSA and EOCs). Students sitting in Algebra 1, Biology, Geometry, Algebra 2, or US History will take their respective EOCs at that time. Testing will begin for some grade levels on Feb 27 and testing will continue throughout the spring for the various windows. LINK ANY SENIOR SITTING IN Algebra 1, Biology, Geometry, Algebra 2, or US History may need to pick up their diploma over the summer, due to the availability of testing results for these EOCs. Students taking these exams in the Spring will not have results back until June (after Graduation). This could potentially affect any Dual Enrollment grades as well. Please consult your School Counselor if you have specific questions. More and more students are taking classes away from Newsome High School. At present, we have 820+ periods affected by approximately 400 students leaving Newsome at some point during the school day. This means that many young people are off campus in unsupervised activities. Many students are pursuing college classes off campus, virtual school opportunities, or involvement in our job training programs. We encourage parents to monitor their child's progress (with the help of a counselor), to be involved in scheduling decisions, to have awareness of where their children are, and to reflect on the impact these off campus experiences to college and career planning. Overall, this results in a large population of students being at home and in our community. More and more students are pursuing non-challenging/non-college preparatory virtual classes for the purpose of leaving Newsome.
Newsome High School will always push students to take the most challenging classes they are capable of. It's a different schedule from the rest of the year...
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