North Hills Pittsburgh PA
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North Hills High School Program of Studies 2018-2019 1 Dear Parents and Students, Our Program of Studies is designed to explain the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade curriculum and course options offered at North Hills High School for the 2018-19 school year. In addition to the course offerings, the Program of Studies contains descriptions of the courses, graduation requirements, and information about special programs available to our students. Furthermore, we are excited to share new information for students regarding Career Pathways. We hope this information – located at the end of the Program of Studies - helps guide students when making course selections as they illustrate how students can take courses that may shape and guide post-secondary plans. Parents and students will have the opportunity to complete the course request process online by accessing PowerSchool from any computer with internet access. The course request window will be available at 6:00 p.m. on January 31, 2018 and will remain open until February 9, 2018. Students who do not complete their course request during this window will be assigned a schedule and run the risk of not getting their top choice of coursework. North Hills High School Graduation Requirements have recently changed. Please be sure to review the new requirements beginning on page 6. A Course Request Worksheet is provided in the back of this program for your use in the planning of courses for the 2018-19 school year and beyond. This will allow parents to have a greater involvement in their child’s course requests as they register online, and in their child’s individual academic plan for high school graduation. The course request process is the beginning of a lengthy scheduling process. Please be aware that this step is for students to indicate the courses they are interested in for the 2018-2019 school year. A final student schedule will be created after resolving scheduling constraints. Students will be provided with their tentative schedule prior to leaving school for the summer and a final schedule will be available in August. Please take the opportunity to review the course offerings carefully to be certain that you are requesting courses that are both of a personal interest and will fulfill the graduation requirements established by the North Hills School District. Be certain that you have met the necessary prerequisites for each course requested. If you have questions about course requests, please consult with your counselors and teachers. The High School Curriculum Night is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on January 31, 2018. Curriculum Night provides parents an opportunity for greater understanding of the programs and courses through presentations by the North Hills High School teachers. Plan on joining us to meet our staff. In addition, students and parents can complete their course request process at the high school during Curriculum Night. Please be sure to take advantage of this opportunity. Beth E. Williams Principal North Hills High School 412-318-1402 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Graduation Requirements ................................................................................................................................................6 Grade Point Values ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 Schedule Change Request ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Withdrawal from a Course ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Advanced Placement (AP) ................................................................................................................................................ 7 College Connections ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 College in High School (CHS) ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Early Exit, Vocational Work, and Dual Enrollment ............................................................................................................9 Gifted and Talented Education .........................................................................................................................................9 Special Education .............................................................................................................................................................9 The Academies ............................................................................................................................................................... 10 The Online Academy @ North Hills ................................................................................................................................ 13 Flexible Hybrid Scheduling ............................................................................................................................................. 13 NCAA Requirements ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Overview of Courses by Department .............................................................................................................................. 15 Course Descriptions Art ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Business & Computer Information Technology .................................................................................................. 26 English ............................................................................................................................................................... 28 Family & Consumer Science ............................................................................................................................... 33 Health & Physical Education .............................................................................................................................. 35 Math .................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Music ................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Science .............................................................................................................................................................. 41 Social Studies..................................................................................................................................................... 46 Technology Education ....................................................................................................................................... 49 World Language ................................................................................................................................................ 53 A.W. Beattie Career Center ............................................................................................................................................ 56 Online Academy @ North Hills ....................................................................................................................................... 62 Video Conferencing ........................................................................................................................................................ 68 Early Release Options for Seniors ................................................................................................................................... 68 Course Request & Academic Planning ............................................................................................................................69 CareerPathways………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...71 3 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS A minimum of 24 credits, as outlined below, is required to be completed in grades 9-12. Additionally, a minimum of 7 credits must be scheduled each year. These requirements are established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the North Hills School District Board of Education. Students and parents are reminded that in order for students to participate in commencement, ALL credits AND requirements must be satisfied upon the student’s completion of the normal school year. It is the student’s and parent’s responsibility to know the requirements for promotion and graduation and to make plans accordingly. 4.0 Required Credits of English must include: 1 credit of English 9 1 credit of English 10 1 credit of American Literature and Composition in grade 11 or AP English Language 2 of the following semester courses: o Adventure & Quest, Apocalyptic Literature, Female Perspectives, Questioning the Self, Classic to Modern Literature, or Social Class Warfare . or AP English Literature . or English Lab 12 4.0 Required Credits of Social Studies must include: 1 credit of American Studies 1 credit of World History 1 credit of American Government o or AP US History, AP European History,