Course Selections for 2014-2015

Course Presentations

March 4-6, 2014

WAXAHACHIE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Waxahachie Global High

Scho o l An Early College High School / T-

STEM A cadem y

CO

Table of Co n ten ts WISD Information Letter ......................................................................................4

Secondary Campuses ............................................................................................ 6

General Introduction ............................................................................................. 7

Grade Classifications ............................................................................................ 8

Texas Graduation Plans ....................................................................................... 8

Graduation Requirements ...................................................................................9

Grade Point Average ………………………………………………………….…………….…..…...10

Class Ranking System ........................................................................................ ..11

Graduation Cords................................................................................................ 12

Additional Academic Information.................................................................. 13-14

Assessments ................................................................................................... 15-16

College Bound Senior Information...................................................................... 17

Early College High Sch o o l…… …… ………… … ……… …… ……… ……… ……… …..………..…18

Other Means to Gain Course Credits.................................................................. 18

Early Graduation ................................................................................................ 19

Course Descriptions

English Language Arts ........................................................................... 20-21 Mathematics .......................................................................................... 22-23 Science ....................................................................................................24-25 Social Studies ........................................................................................ 26-27 Foreign Lan guage…… ………… …… ……… …………… …… …… ……… ……… …….….…..28 Fine Arts… …… ……… …… ……… ……… ……… … …… ……… …… ……… ………… .…..… …29 Engineering Courses… …… ..… … ……………… … ……… …… …… ……… …………….30-31 Career and Technical Education Courses……………………………………..…. 32-33 Physical Education……………………………………………………………………………. 34 Other Electives…… .............................................................................. ..35-36

p. 7• Waxahachie Global High School • Waxahachie Global High (WGH) is one of approximately seventy Texas Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (T-STEM) academies across the state. WGH focuses on project-based learning in these areas. A personalized, engaging and relevant learning environment is provided for the 100 students per grade population, grades 9-12. Students may apply to attend WGH and open-enrollment selections are made using a lottery system in the spring prior to the students’ freshman year. Students at WGH are required to take:

• 2 years of engineering courses including Introduction to Engineering Design (IED)• 2 years of information technology including Principles of Information Technology (PIT) • At Waxahachie Global High School, early college high school students are

simultaneously earning both a high school diploma and an Associate’s Degree or two years of college credit toward a Bachelor’s Degree. Whatever their prior experience in school, early college high school students are challenged and supported to develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that lead to success in college.

p. 8• High School Grade Classifications

• Total credits earned determine a student’s grade classification. Students graduating under the Distinguished Achievement Plan or Recommended Plan must earn a minimum of 26 credits which satisfy requirements for a Texas high school graduation diploma.

• WISD grade classifications are: • Freshman 0 - 6 credits • Sophomore 6.5 – 12.5 credits • Junior 13 – 19 credits • Senior 19.5 – 26 credits • Students are classified at the beginning of the school year. Classifications

will remain the same throughout the school year unless corrections are necessary due to clerical errors. Early graduates may be classified as seniors at the end of the first semester of their third year of high school.

p. 9 Waxahachie Global High Graduation Requirements

English

Language Arts

Four (4) Credits English I, II, III and IV or (Dual Credit)

Mathematics

Four (4) Credits Algebra I Geometry Algebra II

The fourth credit may be selected from either of the following courses for which Algebra II is a prerequisite: Pre-calculus DC Pre-calculus

DC Calculus DC Statistics

Science Four (4) Credits

Biology Chemistry or DC Chemistry I Physics

The fourth credit may be selected from any of the following:

DC Biology DC Chemistry II Scientific Research and Design (concurrent or dual enrollment in college courses) Engineering Design

Social Studies

Three and One-half (3.5) Credits World Geography Studies World History Studies DC U.S .History Studies U.S. Government or DC U.S. Government (0.5 Credits)

Economics

One-half (o.5) Credit Economics or DC Economics

Physical Education

One (1) Credit DC Fitness Walking

Languages Other than English

Two (2) Credits Must consist of any two levels in the same language.

Fine Arts

One (1) Credit DC Art Appreciation

Engineering

Two (2) Credits IED POE Other PLTW Engineering Courses

Technology

Two (2) Credits DC PIT Classes from one of the three technology sequences

Elective Courses

See Catalog for selections.

p. 10Grade Point Average (GPA) • The ranking of all students shall be computed on numerical grades in the following courses. Any of the courses taken

below the 9th grade level for credit towards high school graduation will be included in the calculation of the student’s GPA and class ranking.

English Language Arts: • English I, II, III and IV, DC English III, DC English IV, DC Creative Writing, DC Technical Writing Math: • Algebra I (if taken in grades 9-12), Geometry, Honors Geometry, Algebra II, Honors Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, DC Pre-

Calculus, Calculus, DC Calculus, DC Statistics Science: • Honors Biology, DC Biology II, Scientific Research and Design (SRD), Chemistry, DC Chemistry I, DC Chemistry II, Physics,

Honors Physics Social Studies: • Honors World Geography, Honors World History, U.S. History, DC U.S. History, U.S. Government, Economics, DC

Macroeconomics, DC Government

p. 12Graduation Honor Cords • Honor Cords, to be worn at graduation, may be earned by meeting specific criteria in areas below: • Mathematics Cord requirements: 5 math courses BLUE • Science Cord requirements: 5 science courses GREEN • Community Service Cord requirements: 60 documented hours of community service WHITE • Carter Blood Care Cord requirements: Donation of two units of blood during high school RED • Institute of Higher Education Graduates RED/WHITE • Computer Science (Three or more classes) GREEN and BLUE • Engineering (Three or more classes) BLUE/SILVER • Core Complete YELLOW GOLD

p.14 Course Scheduling

The Waxahachie ISD Counseling Department will make every effort to advise students in the selection of appropriate classes, based on their career goals, interests and graduation requirements. However, students’ course selections are ultimately the responsibility of students and parents.

All high school students will pre-register for the following school year in the spring. Scheduling concerns may be addressed prior to the beginning of school in the counseling office. As much as possible, students are encouraged to plan their coursework in sequential order and, if applicable, within a common career cluster.

Requests for high school schedule changes may be granted at the discretion of the student’s counselor within the first ten days of the semester. All requests for schedule changes made after the 10th day of the semester must be submitted to the Principal. There will be no schedule changes after the first six weeks of each semester for the high school classes. Students have until the college drop deadline to change their Dual Credit status in the class. Drops and Adds for the college classes are dependent upon the college calendar. See Navarro’s or UTT’s course offering catalog for each semester’s deadlines.

p. 18Early College High School Dual Credit Courses (DC) • The Dual Credit Program at Waxahachie Global High School offers an

opportunity for high school students to take college level academic courses for high school and college credit simultaneously. Courses offered are based upon a written agreement between WISD and an Institute of Higher Education and meets the Texas Education Code provisions relating to courses for joint high school and college credit. Students must meet all requirements for enrollment at Navarro or UTT for both semesters. All off-campus dual credit courses meeting graduation requirements should be completed no later than the fall semester of the student’s senior year. Each college and university will determine the acceptance of a dual credit transfer grade. Students may refer to the specific college catalog for information on transfer grades.

• Note: WISD accepts no responsibility for a college’s acceptance of dual credit transfer

courses.

p.20

Waxahachie Global High SchoolCourse Descriptions

Honors Biology

DCChemistry

Honors Physics

DC Biology II

9th

10th

11th

12th DC Chemistry II 

Physics

Engineering Design

Chemistry

Science Pathway

DC Elective

COURSE SELECTION SHEET

GLOBAL HIGH SCHOOL 2014-2015

Name________________________________________ Phone_________________ Grade ___________

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade Course C Course C Course C Course C

English H English I 1 H English II 1 English III 1 H English IV 1 DC English III 1 DC English III 1 DC Creative Writing .5 DC Technical Writing .5 History H W. Geography 1 H W. History 1 US History 1 Economics .5 US Govt .5 DC US History 1 DC Economics .5 DC US Govt .5 Science H Biology I 1 Chemistry I 1 Physics 1 Engineer Prob Solv 1 DC Chemistry I 1 H Physics 1 DC Chemistry II 1 DC Biology II 1

Math H Algebra I 1 H Geometry 1 DC College Algebra 1 DC Calculus 1 H Geometry 1 H Algebra II DC College Stats I 1 DC College Stats II 1

Algebra II 1 Pre-Cal 1 Engineering IED 1 POE 1 Civil 1 Civil 1 Digital Engineering 1 Digital Engineering 1 Aerospace 1 Aerospace 1 Elective 1 Capstone 1 Elective Computer DC PIT I 1 Animation 1 Animation 1 Animation 1 Graphics 1 Graphics 1 Graphics 1 Comp Maint 1 Networking 1 Networking 1 DC PIT II 1 Programming 1 Programming 1 Elective 1 Video Game Design 1 Comp Technician 1 Elective 1

Spanish Spanish I 1 Spanish II 1 Latin I 1 Latin I 1 Spanish II 1 DC Spanish III 1 DC Spanish III 1 Latin II 1 Elective 1 Elective 1 Required Courses

DC PE I/PE II 1 DC Art I 1 Elective 1 Elective 1

Elective ___________________________________________ Elective ___________________________________________