PROGRAM PLANNING 2025-2026

PHS STUDENT COUNCIL

Class of 2028

President: Sonya Keaney​

Vice President: Inaayah Tarar​

Treasurer: John Patrick-Aguilar​

Secretary: Xiaorui Jolie Wang​

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Class of 2027

President: Stephanie Liao​

Vice President: Aarna Vachhrajani​

Treasurer: Helen Yu​

Secretary: Shaya Bhatia

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Class of 2026

President: Simryn Patel​

Vice President: Andrew Wu​

Treasurer: Eleanor Nayden​

Secretary: Hayden White​

Class of 2025

President: Alicia Xu​​

Vice President: Sara Shahab Diaz​​

Treasurer: Danny Monga​​

Secretary: Leo Obregon​​�

Student Body

President: Ava Tabeart​​

Vice President: Lois Matsukawa​​

Treasurer: Rachel McInerney​​

Secretary: Victoria Figueroa​​

Student Board Liaison: Maya Hagt​​

Student Board Liaison: Nikolai Margulis​​

Language Arts Literacy 20 Credits

Mathematics 15 Credits

Science 15 Credits

US History 10 Credits

World History 5 Credits

World Languages 5 Credits

PE/Health/DE Every Year

Visual/Performing Arts 5 Credits

Financial Literacy 2.5 Credits

21st Century Life/Careers 5 Credits

Community Service (10th Grade)

Racial Literacy Requirement/PIRL

120 Total Credits!

Completion of the FAFSA

Graduation Requirements (cont.)

NJGPA

• Math
• English

Attendance

• Full Year Course: 18 days
• Half-Year Course: 9 days

Other Course Options

• Princeton University classes (11th & 12th)
• Mercer County Technical Schools (11th & 12th)
• Option II (See the athletic department website)
• Research Program (application in 9th/10th grade)
• Independent Study- for seniors who’ve exhausted a discipline.

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• Use the Parent Portal to make requests
• When selecting courses:
• Look at the prerequisites in the Program of Studies
• Make sure you are eligible based on your grade level
• If a recommendation is required, discuss with your teachers!

Course Selection in PowerSchool

Where do I find the Program of Studies?

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Course Selection Process

• The Portal is now open for you to enter requests
• *Remember that these are requests, not your schedule!*
• The portal will be open until February 9, 2025.
• Even if you are applying for Peer Group, Teen Pep, Princeton University courses, etc. please still enter a full schedule (8 periods)
• Keep in mind which courses you would drop if you were to get into one of these placements (2 free periods for a University course)

Course Selection Process

Only choose a course that you are eligible for based on your current mid-year grades

Check to ensure you meet prerequisite grades based off final grades

If you are on the cusp of meeting a grade pre-requisite, you can submit one Course Request Waiver in the following subjects: Humanities, science, math.

PowerSchool Sample

Why Challenge Yourself?

Creating a more competitive transcript

Alternates

• It is really important that you choose alternates you would actually like to take
• Please enter at least 3-5 back-ups
• As you know, sometimes the more popular courses fill up

Grade 9 Sample Schedule

Grade 10 Sample Schedule

• English I
• Mathematics
• Biology I
• US History I
• World Language
• PE & Health 9
• 21st Century/Arts/Financial Lit.
• Other Elective

• English II
• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• US History II
• World Language
• PE & Driver's Ed
• 21st Century/Arts/Financial Lit.
• Other Elective

Grade 11 Sample Schedule

Grade 12 Sample Schedule

• English III
• Mathematics
• Physics
• World History & Cultures
• PE & Health 11/12
• 21st Century/Arts/Financial Lit.
• World Language or Other Elective
• Other Elective

• English IV
• PE & Health 12
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________

Course Offerings

English/Language Arts

• English I, II, III, & IV
• AP English Language & Composition
• AP English Literature & Composition
• English Plus
• ESL English 9, 10, 11, 12

English Elective Courses

• Creative Writing
• Filmmaking
• Journalism I/II
• Media Studies
• Multi-Media Special Effects
• Public Speaking
• Video Production I/II
• Contemporary Literature
• Film Appreciation
• Great Books
• Philosophy
• Game Design
• Literature and Social Justice

Course Offerings & Electives Mathematics

• Algebra I
• Geometry/Accel.
• Algebra II/Elements/Accel
• Applications and Modeling of Math
• Pre-Calculus/Accel
• Calculus
• AP Calculus AB/BC
• Multivariable Calculus
• Intro to Stats/Discrete Mathematics
• AP Statistics

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Business/Computer Science Electives

• Personal Finance
• Entrepreneurship
• Economics
• Business Ethics
• AP Macroeconomics/AP Microeconomics
• Contemporary Economic Issues
• Accounting
• Cybersecurity
• Python Programming
• App Development
• Intro to Java/Object Java
• AP Computer Science
• Computer Science Principles
• Algorithms & Data Structures

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Science Course Offerings

• Chemistry Accelerated
• Biology Accelerated
• Forensics
• Anatomy/Physiology
• Environmental Science
• Physics Accelerated
• Engineering Physics
• Planetary Science Accelerated
• Genetics
• Research Program
• La Horticultura

• AP Chemistry
• AP Biology
• AP Environmental Science
• AP Physics C-Mechanics
• AP Physics C-Electricity & Magnetism

AP Science Courses

Semester Science Courses

• Engineering
• Exercise Science

• United States History I
• United States History II
• AP United States History
• World History & Cultures
• AP World History & Cultures

Social Studies

Core Course Offerings

• Racial Literacy and Justice
• Contemporary Crises & Current Events
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Africa
• Russia
• World Religion
• Human Behavior
• Accelerated Sociology (dual enrollment w/ TCNJ)
• AP European History
• AP Government & Politics

Social Studies Electives

• Choir
• Orchestra
• Band
• AP Music Theory- Test Required
• Studio Art I-IV
• Art of Craft
• AP Art History
• Drama, Drama II, Drama Seminar
• Musical Theatre
• Dance

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Electives: Visual/Performing Arts

• French II-VI/ AP/ Advanced
• Spanish I-VI/ AP/ Advanced
• Latin I-IV/ AP
• Japanese I-IV/ AP
• Mandarin I-IV/ AP
• Italian I-IV/ AP
• Latin Studies: Mythology
• East Asian Studies

World Languages

• PE & Health 9
• PE & Driver's Education
• PE & Health 11
• PE & Health 12
• Teen Prevention Education Program (PEP)
• Option II

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Course Offerings & Electives Physical Education

Program Planning/ Recommendations

Take the Deadlines Seriously!

~ Why Should You Take Planning Your Schedule Seriously? ~

Schedule changes are close to impossible for some courses - you may not get the desired courses! Moving back and forth between regular and accelerate levels is not permitted.

Schedule changes after the first day of school require approval from your parent/guardian, teacher, and department supervisor.

It impacts your transcript - If you withdraw from a course after the deadline (the first nine school days for a semester course and/or the first 15 school days for a full-year course) the change will be reflected as a WITHDRAWAL (W) on transcript.

Revisions to Requests

Changes to course requests submitted after March 28th will be held and considered on a space-available basis!

Once Schedules are Released in August

• Email your counselor to make an appointment for the following concerns:
• Correction of an incomplete or incorrect schedule
• Need to fulfill district and/or state of New Jersey graduation requirements
• Alteration of a schedule due to failure of a course
• Alteration of a schedule as a result of summer school

• You prefer the class during the AM/PM session
• Course choice based on a preferred teacher
• Course selection based on a "trial period"

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Schedule Revisions

Schedule changes will NOT be made for the following reasons:

• PHS's College & Career Readiness tool!
• Support in discovering your strengths and interests as you plan for college and careers
• Review your survey results via the “Discover” tool
• Log in through PPS Link.

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What is SCOIR? Why Do I Want to Use it?

Graduation Requirements True/False

• A total of 120 credits are required to graduate from PHS
• Students must take two years of US History and one of World History
• Statistics is one of the three math classes you must pass
• Four years of PE and Health are required

Graduation Requirements True/False

5. Passing the NJGPA is all you need to meet state graduation requirements

6. A minimum of two years of World Language is required

7. Students must pass four years of English

8. Courses taken in middle school count towards graduation