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Rising 7th & 8th Grade

Course Registration

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I’ll Be There For You

S C H O O L

C O U N S E L O R

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3

briefly review required yearly middle school courses,
identify middle school courses available to students,
review what course requests and alternates students will select with their parent/guardian.

Today we will

briefly review mandatory yearly middle school courses,
identify middle school courses available to students,
review what course requests and alternates students will select with their parent/guardian.

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English Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Physical Education
Health
Fine Arts

7th Grade

CTE Financial Literacy

8th Grade

CTE Careers

Mandatory Yearly

Middle School Courses

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Credit for High School Courses Taken in Middle School

Per Policy 8020:

The student’s course grade will be recorded on the high school transcript.
The student’s grade will not be calculated into the high school grade point average (GPA).
Any middle school student enrolled in a high school level course who withdraws after the published withdrawal date will receive a “W” on their high school transcript.

High School Courses Offered in Middle School 2022-2023:

ESOL - English Language Development 1 & 2
Mathematics - Algebra I, Algebra I GT, Geometry G/T
Technology Education - Exploring Computer Science & Foundations of Technology
World Language - Spanish I/ II, French I/II, and Chinese I/II (as available)

Students have an opportunity to take High School Credited Courses in MS

Student’s have an opportunity to take High School Credited Courses in Middle School.

Any high school course listed in the Middle School Course Catalog which is offered at the middle school is eligible for high school credit and will be treated as an equivalent. For high school courses taught in middle school, the mid-term assessment will be included in the second quarter grades and the final assessment will be included in the fourth quarter grades.

Per Policy 8020:

The student’s course grade will be recorded on the high school transcript.
The student’s grade will not be calculated into the high school grade point average (GPA).
Any middle school students enrolled in a high school level course who withdraws after the published withdrawal date will receive a “W” on their high school transcript.

Please review Policy 8020 for additional information.

The High School Courses Offered in Middle School are:

ESOL - English Language Development 1 and 2
Mathematics - Algebra I, Algebra I GT, Geometry G/T
Technology Education - Exploring Computer Science and Foundations of Technology
World Language - Spanish I and II, French I and II, and Chinese I and II (as available)

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Course Request Options for

Rising 7th & 8th Grade Students

You will select at least one

fine arts course and one elective course.

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Fine Arts Course Options

In HCPSS Connect, you will choose at least one full year Fine Arts Course Request.

You will choose between:

Band
Chorus
Dance
General Music
Orchestra
Theatre Arts
Visual Arts Studio

Note that these are course requests and placement is not guaranteed.

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MS Performing Ensembles: Band, Chorus & Orchestra

Use your instrument to further connect, collaborate, create and perform YOUR musical story!

You will:

Learn applied techniques for your voice or instrument.

brass, woodwind, percussion
volin, viola, cello, double bass

Develop your individual musicianship skills AND ensemble skills with the class.

Small group and full ensemble instruction

Opportunities to perform with friends and share your music with the school community.

Auditions and director approval are needed for the top ensembles but there is a spot for EVERY student in the band, chorus and orchestra programs!

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General Music I & II

Explore how music connects to the world around you and how it can be used to enhance the human experience.

You will:

Learn applied techniques and how to create music.

guitar, keyboards, drums
music technology/recording software

Develop your individual musicianship skills AND ensemble skills with the class.
Learn how to read and write traditional and non traditional music notation for composition.
Opportunities to perform with friends and share your music with the school community.
Explore various music genres and styles.

Open to ALL students who want to explore different aspects of music.

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MS Visual Arts Studio I & II

Stretch your imagination and creativity, strengthen your visual memory, and make personal discoveries that inform and guide your art making practice!

You will:

Develop and strengthen your drawing and painting skills to create the illusion of depth and form and unifying compositions.
Collaborate with peers to learn and discover how to visually communicate working with sculpture, printmaking, painting, alternative and media arts to convey an idea or message.
Move forward and ensure continuous growth/improvement in your visual arts skills.

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MS Theatre Arts A & B

Stimulate your imagination through collaborative role-playing experiences designed to build confidence and strengthen acting skills for theatrical productions.

You will:

Refine and strengthen your ability to communicate your ideas and messages through theatrical performances.
Collaborate with peers to learn and discover how to communicate ideas, emotions and experiences.
Reflect on personal and collaborative performances applying theatre concepts / vocabulary.

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Dance I

You will:

Refine and strengthen your ability to communicate your ideas through dance and physical movement.
Collaborate with peers to learn and discover how to communicate ideas, emotions and experiences.
Reflect on personal and collaborative performances applying dance concepts / vocabulary.

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Elective Course Options

In HCPSS Connect, in addition to the one full year Fine Arts Course Request, you will choose one additional request and two Alternate Course Requests.

You will choose between:

World Language (Chinese, French, Spanish)
Exploring Computer Science
Foundations of Technology
Readers & Writer’s Workshop
Fine Arts Class

Note that these are course requests and placement is not guaranteed.

Elective Course Options

In addition to selecting a Fine Arts class, students entering Grade 7 and 8 will have the opportunity to select one additional elective course using HCPSS connect. For your elective class, you have the option to take a world language class (Chinese, French, or Spanish) an Exploring Computer Science Class, Foundations of Technology, Readers & Writer’s Workshop, or you could select to take a second Fine Arts class.

Again, it is important to know that even though you select something as a top choice, you are not guaranteed to be scheduled in that class. Some courses may not have enough student interest to run and some classes may be full based on student course requests. This is why you also select two alternate courses.

Let’s take a quick look at each of these elective options.

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World Languages

BOOST YOUR RÉSUMÉ

Set yourself apart from the competition by being inducted into a language honor society and earning the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy.

EXERCISE YOUR

BRAIN

Bilingualism has been linked to higher test scores and improved cognitive function.

STAND OUT TO COLLEGE RECRUITERS Many years of language study can give you an advantage in the admissions process.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

HAVE FUN

MAKE

NEW

FRIENDS

TRAVEL

Get the most from it when you speak the language!

See your own culture from a FRESH PERSPECTIVE

Compare what you learn about other places with what is familiar to you.

EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT CULTURE

The world is a big place. How much do you know about it?

OPEN UP A NEW WORLD OF

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Learn more about all the things you can do with your language skills in the US and in other parts of the world!

WHY YOU

should start learning

Chinese, French, or Spanish

in middle school

The longer you study a language, the better you will get at it!

World Languages

Do you want to start building a skill that everyone should have in our global society, AND earn high school credit while doing it? 7th and 8th graders new to language study can sign up to take high school Chinese, French, or Spanish 1. Students who have completed level I can sign up to take high school Chinese, French, or Spanish 2.

Completing levels 1 and 2 of one world language fulfills the high school graduation requirement, however, continuing to study the language throughout high school brings you real benefits. When you reach high school, you and your language teachers will focus on further developing your proficiency and cultural competence to ensure that you have the skills required to function as a global citizen who can speak, read, write, and think critically in more than one language. In the upper level courses, you can become a member of a language honor society. You can earn college credit by taking an Advanced Placement or JumpStart language course. You can even earn the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy to showcase your language super powers for colleges, universities, and future employers! It is worth noting that college and university admissions officers often look for at least 3 consecutive years of language study, as it demonstrates your perseverance through increasing levels of rigor.

Language learning will open a world of opportunities for you. Point your phone’s camera at the QR code on the screen to learn how the powerful skill of multilingualism will give you a boost up the ladder to success, no matter which career and languages you may pursue. Not sure which language to start with? Check out the CHOOSE YOUR LANGUAGE area at the bottom of the web page. See your counselor and the Middle School Course Catalog for more details about your school’s language course offerings.

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Career & Technical Education (CTE):

Exploring Computer Science

Satisfies the HS Technology Education Graduation Requirement as year-long, one credit course.

Projects include:

Creating and building your own website
Developing apps that are used to solve a problem
Designing games
Using data to solve problems
Inquiry based activities:
Troubleshooting
Debugging
Prototyping
Design and testing

Course Includes:

Problem solving
Design process
Web development
Data analysis
Robotics

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Career & Technical Education (CTE):

Foundations of Technology

Satisfies the HS Technology Education Graduation Requirements as year-long, one credit course. Primary focus on pre-engineering concepts.

Units include:

Inventions and Innovations
History of Technology, Research & Development, Role of Marketing and Advertising
Engineering Design Process
Design Principles, Collecting and Processing Data, Prototypes and Modeling
The Designed World
Energy & Power, Manufacturing, Construction, and Agriculture
Systems
Core Technologies, Reverse Engineering, and Troubleshooting

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Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop

This course is designed for students to foster a critical eye of their writing and engage in thoughtful discourse about texts.

Students will then create their own responses that mirror the mentor text and demonstrate mastery of the writing skills that were analyzed.

Using a workshop approach, students will be reading and writing daily so that final products can be constructed and polished throughout the course.

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Second Fine Arts Class

You may choose between:

Band
Chorus
Dance
General Music
Orchestra
Theatre Arts
Visual Arts Studio

Note that these are course requests and placement is not guaranteed.

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Additional 7th & 8th Grade Course Options

The following courses are provided to students who may need additional academic supports.

Courses:

ESOL
Mathematics Seminar
Reading Seminar
Special Education

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2022-2023 Course Registration

2/8/2022 - 2/22/2022: Course request window

Review teacher recommendations
Add your course requests
Add your alternates

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Selecting Course Requests for 7th & 8th Grade

You will be selecting course requests with your parents in HCPSS Connect:

You will choose two Course Requests. Please note that one of these courses must meet the fine arts requirements.
Next you will choose two Alternate Course Requests.

* Note that these are course requests and placement is not guaranteed.

Note that these are course requests and placement is not guaranteed.

Selecting Course Requests for 7th & 8th Grade

We have explored your fine arts and elective course options, let’s review how you make course requests.

Remember you will be selecting course requests in HCPSS Connect:

With your parents, you will choose two Selected Course Request, one of these courses must meet the fine arts requirements.
Next choose two Selected Alternate Course Requests.

As a reminder, placement in these course requests are not guaranteed.

Now let’s watch a video on how to add course requests and alternates.

Hello, this video reviews the process for students and parents in rising 6th to 8th grades to make course requests. You will select your course requests and alternates online through HCPSS Connect. Please note the following when making your course requests, use the Catalog of Approved Middle School Courses to review selections and prerequisites. If you do not have access to a computer or need assistance or you want to make changes after the deadline, please contact the counseling office at your school. You will log into HCPSS Connect as either the parent or the student. Both have permissions to enter requests. On the homepage, click on the course request link in the left panel, a page displays showing your course request as a result of the teacher recommendations. You may also see health/PE requests as they are required for all middle school students. Please note the announcement at the top for sixth grade students, your advised to choose one, of course request and two alternate requests. For 7th and 8th grade students, your advised to select two select course requests, one of which should be a fine arts request. You will also be asked to enter two alternate requests for all grade levels. To act click the click here to change course requests, but scroll down and you will see beyond your currently selected course requests, all courses that are available to you. Select the appropriate course request again, if you're a rising sixth grader, select only one course request, it will automatically be added to the top. If you are a 7th or 8th grader, make two selected course requests. One of which should be a fine art. If you want to remove a request, simply click the remove button. Also, all students should select two alternates. Click the add alternate button to add the alternate request. Here you will see your two alternates requests. You can click and drag them in your order of preference, the top alternate should be your highest priority. When you're done, scroll back to the top, and click, click here to return to course request summary requests are automatically saved when they are added to the list. If you've completed your course requests and you're ready to lock them click here to lock, the course requests. But please note, once you lock your course request, you will not be able to edit your request. You will need to get in contact with your school counselor to make any edits. Thank you for watching this video. If you have any questions, please contact the counselor at your child's school.

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Course Request Options for 7th & 8th Grade

You must select a fine arts course as one of your course requests.

Fine Arts Courses	Elective Courses
Band Chorus Dance General Music I/II Orchestra Theatre Arts I/II Visual Arts Studio I/II	Chinese I/II French I/II Spanish I/II Exploring Computer Science Foundations of Technology Reader’s & Writer’s Workshop Second Fine Arts Course

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Course Placement Review Request

have a conversation with your teacher�
challenge yourself �
balance is critical �
talk with your parent & complete the course placement review on synergy

https://www.hcpss.org/connect/guides/

Would you like to request a level change or a different course?

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How do I submit a Course Placement Review request?

This video reviews the process for parents and guardians to enter a course placement review form using HCPSS Connect. Teacher recommendations are based on multiple criteria. This online form is to request a course placement that is different from the recommendation. You will need to log into HCPSS connect using your parent login. Do not log in as the student. On the home page click more options in the left panel. Click course placement review link in the middle. This page will show you the recommendations that have been made for your child. You can change the child your viewing by selecting a different name in the dropdown off the top of the page, note the recommended course and the currently selected course in the course request column for the recommended course, select the preferred course and add a comment if necessary. Note that you cannot submit a request that is the same as the currently selected course, also note for level two world language recommendations, you could decline the recommended course by selecting the course and the course request column. This option is only available for a level two world language course. And if you choose to drop a level two language course, you'll be prompted with a message indicating that students are recommended to take two years of a world language, click OK to confirm that message and to return to the course placement request page. For each grade level, there are expectations that you should read. Click the expectations button to show the expectations for that child. Click next so you can close that window to return to the course request placement page. When you're ready to submit a course placement review, you'll be presented with four statements, read each statement and select yes to indicate that you have read and understand each statement, you will not be able to click next step until you select yes for each statement. Select the next step button, and you will be prompted to enter your parent’s signature, and the date in which you’re submitting a request. Hit request, and you will receive a pop up window stating that your requests have been submitted. You can change your request by selecting a different parent request and clicking submit again. You can also click on the request history to see your history of requests. Thank you for watching this video. If you have any questions, please reach out to the counselor at your child's school.

We hope this video helps you and your parent submit a course placement review request, if you would like a different course placement from your teacher’s recommendation.

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Reach out to your school counselor!

Any questions?

Thank You!