1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Graduation Requirements .....................................................................................2 Promotion Policies ................................................................................................2 Curriculum Levels ................................................................................................3 Grade Point Average .............................................................................................3 Transcripts .............................................................................................................3 Program Change Policy ........................................................................................4 Academic Policies (the “N” rule) ...............................................................................4 Number of Required Blocks .................................................................................4 Plagiarism Policy ..................................................................................................5 Honor Roll ............................................................................................................5 Work Study ...........................................................................................................5 Summer School .....................................................................................................5 Fine, Performing and Technical Arts Courses ......................................................6 Open Courses ........................................................................................................7 Freshmen Courses .................................................................................................8 Course Description Key ........................................................................................9 Registration Steps .................................................................................................9 Academic Expectations Rubic ............................................................................10 Course Descriptions All School Programs ..................................................................................11 Art...... ........................................................................................................13 Business Technology and Education ..........................................................15 Career and Technical Education ................................................................17 Computer Science ......................................................................................49 Counseling. ...............................................................................................29 Dance .........................................................................................................29 EDCO .........................................................................................................30 English ......................................................................................................31 English Language Learners (formally ESL) ..............................................39 History and Social Sciences .......................................................................41 Mathematics ...............................................................................................46 Music..........................................................................................................51 Physical Education .....................................................................................53 Science .......................................................................................................56 Special Education Courses and Programs ..................................................61 Technology/Engineering ............................................................................25 Theater .......................................................................................................64 World Language .........................................................................................66 Career and Vocational Technical Education Application Form .................73 The availability of elective offerings will be contingent upon budget and staffing. 2 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS In order to participate in the graduation ceremony, students must fulfill the department requirements, 100 total credits, and the state of Massachusetts requirements. REQUIREMENTS BY DEPartMENT In order to graduate from Newton North High School a student must earn 100 credits and meet the requirements listed below. English 20 credits Biological Science 5 credits Physical Science 5 credits History and Social Sciences 10 credits United States History 5 credits Mathematics 10 credits Physical Education 5 credits Fine, Performing and Technical Arts 5 credits Courses fulfilling the Fine, Performing and Technical Arts requirement are listed on page 6 REQUIREMENTS BY THE State OF MASSACHUSETTS Students must earn a competency determination in each of the following three disciplines via the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS): English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and Technology/Engineering. Students must satisfy one of the following two conditions to earn a competency determination in English Language Arts and Mathematics: meet or exceed the Proficient scaled score of 240 on the grade 10 MCAS tests, or meet or exceed the Needs Improve- ment scaled score of 220 on the grade 10 MCAS test and fulfill the requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan (EPP).The fulfillment of an Educational Proficiency Plan (EPP) may require a student to complete additional course work beyond that required of Newton North High School for graduation. To earn a competency determination in Science and Technology/Engineering a student must meet or exceed the Needs Improve- ment scaled score of 220 on one discipline-specific high school science and technology/engineering MCAS test (biology, chemistry, introductory physics or technology/engineering). Most students at Newton North High School take the introductory physics test in the spring of their freshman year. TYPICAL FOUR - YEAR SEQUENCE Grade Courses 9 English Physical Education Mathematics Introductory Physics Health & Wellness World History World Language 10 English Physical Education Mathematics Chemistry World History World Language 11 English Physical Education United States History Biology 12 English Physical Education This sample sequence presents a minimum of credits. We recommend that you go beyond these minimum sequences to chal- lenge yourself academically and take advantage of the rich variety of courses Newton North has to offer. Being accepted to a four-year college requires a strong academic high school program, which includes at least two years of world language, as well as a minimum of three years of math and science. Any job that pays more than minimum wage requires technical or business skills. Exploratory and introductory courses in business or career, vocational and technical education courses can help you decide on a career path. During your junior and senior year you can major in a specific career, vocational and technical education area in order to gain the skills neces- sary for employment or further study in that field. Consult with your school counselor about the best balance of courses. PROMOTION POLICY The requirements for promotion to the next grade are as follows: For promotion to the 10th grade a student must earn 20 credits. For promotion to the 11th grade a student must earn 44 credits. For promotion to the 12th grade a student must earn 72 credits. 3 CURRICULUM There are three levels of courses offered at Newton North: Advanced Placement/Honors, Advanced College Prep and College Prep. Some courses do not carry a level. Students may take courses in all three curriculum levels during the same year. Considerable work outside of class is required at each level. In all levels, students develop appropriate skills to work effectively in the subject area. Advanced Placement/ These courses are advanced placement/honors courses. They contain challenging material and are taught at an Honors accelerated pace. Advanced placement courses prepare students for the advanced placement examinations that are given in May. Departmental admission policies for honors courses are listed with their course descriptions. Advanced placement courses are taught in the following areas: American history, biology, calculus, chemistry, Chinese, computer science, English, European history, Art History, Comparative Government, French, Latin, physics, psychology, Spanish, and statistics. Advanced College Prep These courses are challenging college preparatory classes. They require that students have strong academic skills, technical skills and the capacity to do independent work. College Prep These courses generally cover the same topics as advanced college prep and prepare students for college and technical careers. Smaller classes, a more structured environment and, in some cases, team teaching arrange- ments allow for more individualized attention. No Level These courses do not carry a curriculum level. CREDIT Each full year course that meets four times a week is worth five credits. Semester courses that meet four times a week are worth 2.5 credits. Physical Education courses are worth one credit. All other credit allocations are listed in the course title line. GRADE POINT AVERAGE Two grade point averages (GPAs) are calculated at