MARMION ACADEMY 2016 – 2017 School Year PROGRAM OF STUDIES 1 MARMION ACADEMY 2016 ― 2017 SCHOOL YEAR SELECTION OF COURSES Serious attention should be given to course selection since choices made are in effect for the entire year. Changes will ONLY be allowed in cases of schedule conflicts, over- crowding, or with the permission of the Director of Student Academic Services. Students are to consult with their parents and teachers in making selections. Special attention should be given to the recommended four-year curriculum as outlined in this document. Not all courses listed in this Program of Studies are offered every year. Courses are offered based on sufficient student enrollment and the availability of instructional staff. • Full-year courses cannot be dropped at the end of the 1st semester. • Students may drop courses within the first two weeks of the 1st Semester for a full year course, or the first two weeks of either semester for a semester course. • Seniors have priority for all electives. • Final course assignment and scheduling are processed through the Director of Student Academic Services. • Please contact the Office of Student Academic Services with any questions or concerns. 2 HONORS AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES Honors courses are provided in selected subjects. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English, U.S. History, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Science, World Languages and Music Theory. It is strongly recommended that students who maintain a 3.60 GPA or higher consider Honors and AP courses. Honors and AP courses are “weighted” for computing GPA. An “A” earns five quality points, a “B” four quality points, etc. as opposed to the regular course “A” earning four quality points and a “B” three quality points, etc. The letter grade earned in Honors and AP courses is the letter grade posted to the transcript. GENERAL HONORS PLACEMENT POLICY - Placement in Honors/AP requires department recommendation based on student ability, performance, and potential. - Students wishing to remain at the Honors level are expected to maintain grades of B- or above in their current course, along with receiving their instructor’s recommendation. - Students wishing to move up from the Regular level to the Honors level are expected to show clear proficiency by maintaining a grade of A or above in their current course, along with receiving their instructor’s recommendation. - Once selected, students must remain in Honors/AP classes for the entire year, unless it is determined by the instructor, the Department Chair, and the Director of Student Academic Services that the original placement is inappropriate. - Students may take selective Honors courses; however, those choosing full Honors may receive registration priority. - Minimum Cumulative GPA (3.6) to qualify for continued Honors placement. - Number of students selected for Honors may be limited based on space, instructor, and scheduling availability. - Priority placements based on Cumulative GPA and number of Honors courses successfully completed. - AP classes may be limited to those identified as strong AP candidates through evaluation of ability, performance and potential, standardized test results, and teacher recommendations. - Students enrolled in AP classes are expected to take the AP Exam in May. AP exams will be automatically ordered for each student with testing fee(s) charged to the student account. - Honors Band requires enrollment in at least 2 additional Honors classes and approval of the Band Director & Director of Student Academic Services. - New Freshmen must score in 85th percentile or higher on Admissions Exam for initial qualification. ENGLISH PLACEMENT Freshmen • Placement in Honors English 1 is based on an evaluation of Entrance Exam scores. Sophomores, Juniors, & Seniors • Students must meet the conditions of the General Honors Placement Policy AND pass the Departmental Writing Assessment (current Sophomores/Juniors only). 3 FINE ARTS PLACEMENT Juniors & Seniors Placement in AP requires department recommendation. WORLD LANGUAGES PLACEMENT Freshmen • Only those students requesting advancement in level take the World Languages Placement Exam. • Students whose Entrance Exam scores indicate that they may struggle with overall language skills may be advised to take a World Language class beginning with their sophomore year. Sophomores, Juniors, & Seniors • Honors is only offered at Levels 3, 4, 5, and AP. • Placement in Level 3, 4, & 5 Honors and AP requires department recommendation based on student ability, performance, and potential. MATH PLACEMENT Freshmen • All incoming freshmen are required to take the Math Placement Exam to determine if a freshman is prepared to enter the Accelerated Math Track. • The Math Placement Exam is given in May of 8th grade year. Results determine placement in Foundational Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 1 Honors, or Geometry Honors. Placement beyond Geometry requires additional testing. • Students whose results indicate that they may struggle with the transition into a more rigorous high school math program will be recommended to take the Foundational Algebra course freshman year. This will lead to Algebra 1 (soph. year), Geometry (junior year), and Algebra 2 (senior year). Sophomores, Juniors, & Seniors • Students must meet the conditions of the General Honors Placement Policy. SCIENCE PLACEMENT Freshmen • All freshmen must take Biology. Students entering Marmion with prior high school level Biology experience will be evaluated by the Science Department for placement using the Science Placement Exam given in May. Passing the Science Placement Exam will result in placement into Honors Chemistry. • Placement in Honors Biology is based on an evaluation of Entrance Exam scores. Sophomores, • Placement in Honors Chemistry will be based on performance in Biology according to the General Honors Placement Policy. Juniors & Seniors • Students must meet the conditions of the General Honors Placement Policy in regards to the previous course in sequence. For example, students wishing to be placed into AP Biology must have received a B- or higher in Honors Biology, or an A in Regular Biology. The same applies to AP Chemistry and AP Physics. 4 SOCIAL SCIENCES PLACEMENT Freshmen • Freshmen do not take any Social Sciences courses. Sophomores • Sophomores will be placed into Honors Western Civilization based on their overall GPA and their grades from English 1 according to the General Honors Placement Policy. Juniors • Students must receive a B- or higher in Honors Western Civilization or an A or higher in Regular Western Civilization, receive their instructor’s recommendation, and maintain an overall GPA of 3.6 or higher for placement into AP US History. Seniors • All seniors take American Government / Economics. No Honors option available. THEOLOGY Freshmen • Placement in Honors is based on an evaluation of Entrance Exam scores. Sophomores, Juniors, & Seniors • Students must meet the conditions of the General Honors Placement Policy. SENIOR HONORS RESEARCH 1 or 2 Semester Course – Senior Elective Honors (All Disciplines) Course Fee = $125 per semester Pre-requisites: 1. Student has demonstrated strong academic performance. 2. Student must apply for Honors placement. 3. Student has demonstrated ability to be an independent learner. 4. Student must participate in preliminary interviews. 5. Student must complete the Independent Study Course Request Form, complete with signature by the instructor that will be mentoring their work. 6. Final approval by Director of Student Academic Services and Department Chairperson. Students will develop, with the assistance and guidance of an instructor, an independent research project to include a written and oral report, which is submitted to the appropriate department. This is considered an elite level of learning with formal presentation of results to faculty board, family and other members of the general public. Students may choose to do a one semester or full year project within any discipline. 5 SUMMER SCHOOL POLICIES All students must have the approval of the Office of Student Academic Services to take any off-campus summer school course for high school credit. Approval forms should be completed and submitted to the Office of Student Academic Services prior to enrollment in the course. Courses that are part of the core curriculum at Marmion will not be approved for summer school with the following exceptions: • Students may take a “for credit” course offered by Marmion Academy. • Students who are making up a failure by taking a course at a local community college or through another approved provider (see Note). This will allow the student to recover the credit, but not change the grade of the course. • A student may take an approved “high school credit” course to enable him to take a more advanced course in the same field at Marmion. The student will enroll in the advanced level at Marmion the following fall. • Students are to request that a Student Report of Completion with a grade be submitted to the Office of Student Academic Services prior to the first day of classes in the fall. The student will receive credit for an approved summer school course (not taken at Marmion) upon completion with a passing grade of C- or higher. The student’s transcript will be updated with the appropriate credit. The grade is ‘noted’ on the transcript but not calculated in the student’s Cumulative GPA. If the course was taken to make up a failure, the original failing grade remains on the transcript. A “For Credit” summer class offered by Marmion Academy will be posted on the 1st and 2nd semester transcripts for the following year and will be calculated in the student’s Cumulative GPA in accordance with the student’s other course grades for each semester. Credit Recovery: Any student who fails a course is REQUIRED to make up the credit by completing the assigned credit recovery work. Courses failed during the 1st Semester will incur a fee of $150 and can be made up concurrently during the 2nd Semester. Any work not completed in the 2nd Semester will be rolled into the summer program with an additional $150 fee.