FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT 8^TH GRADE SCHEDULING

1. My child will most likely not be attending JCHS. Does he/she still need to sit down with you and create a schedule?

Yes, it is safer to have a schedule in place, just in case plans fall through and your child does end up attending JCHS in the fall. It is easier for the high school to delete a student's schedule than it is to create a schedule late in the summer.

2. My child signed up to take the Honors assessment for English/World Cultures and math. My child is uncertain, though, as to whether he/she truly wants to be placed into an Honors class. If he/she passes the assessment and is accepted into either one or both of the Honors programs, can we still change our minds and choose not to take the Honors classes?

Yes, you can always elect NOT to be scheduled into either one or both of the Honors classes, even after the assessment process.

3. My child and I feel that he/she should not be scheduled into the math class that was recommended by my child's math teacher. What should we do?

The math, science and world language teachers are all quite familiar with the requirements of classes they recommend for their students to take during their freshman year at JCHS. I would suggest that you discuss your concerns with your child's current teacher and listen to the reasons for why that teacher made the recommendation that he/she did. One thing to keep in mind is…….next year is a transition year for your child and you want that year to be a successful one in which your child has room in his/her day to be involved in other activities and is not overwhelmed by the work in any one class.

4. My child is not a strong math student but we would like to see him/her take Biology. What do you think?

If you take a look at the science flow chart on page 41 of the Curriculum Handbook, you will notice that if a student takes Biology in his/her freshman year, he/she MUST take Chemistry in order to fulfill the 3-year science requirement. The Chemistry course involves quite a bit of math and, therefore, it is recommended that a student have taken both Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 before taking Chemistry. If your child will be taking College Math 1 during his/her freshman year, it is best to begin the science track with General Science. That is a college prep class that allows for more flexibility with the science program than beginning with Biology in the freshman year.

5. How can we help our child prepare before he/she sits down with you to create his/her schedule?

I would strongly suggest that you sit down with your child and review the Curriculum Handbook together. You will also want to discuss some of the following topics: 1) are any of the Honors programs an option? If so, your child should sign up with me as soon as possible. 2) discuss which math, science and world language choices would be most appropriate (I will share the teachers' recommendations for math, science and world language when I meet with your child), 3) help your child to choose 3 elective choices -- his/her first choice and then 2 alternates. Please keep in mind that if a student chooses a half-year course, he/she must choose 2 half-year courses in order to complete that elective cycle. I would like to see the students take their time and choose their electives at home. If a student comes to the meeting with no idea of which electives he/she is interested in, I will have to rush that student to pick electives during our meeting.

6. When will you begin meeting with the 8^th grade students to create their schedules?

I will begin meeting with students on or around Monday, February14^th. In order to do this in an organized manner, I am simply going to start at the beginning of the alphabet and work my way to the end. I plan on devoting a majority of my day to just meeting with the 8^th grade, and it will take approximately 3 weeks to meet with every student. I will not see any 8^th grade students during the week of GEPA testing (March 7 - 11^th).

7. My child's last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet; therefore, you will not be meeting with him/her until almost the end of your scheduling process. Will certain classes be closed and, therefore, unavailable to my child once you finally get to meet with him/her?

No, the high school does not begin putting the schedules into their computer system until I am finished with my meetings. Therefore, every student has an equal opportunity to receive the classes they have chosen.

8. My child received a pass to meet with you for scheduling, but he/she has a test/quiz at that time. What should we do?

I will be going in to each of the 8^th grade English classes on Friday, January 28^th so that I may go over what will take place when I sit down with each one of them. At that time, I will explain that if a student receives a pass from me and it conflicts with an important class activity, he/she should simply let me or Mrs. Walsh (the guidance secretary) know and we will re-schedule the appointment for another day/time. No big deal! This also goes for appointments that are missed due to a student being absent. The homeroom teacher will let me know and I will just re-schedule our meeting.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me at : dlewis@cwcboe.org or call me at: 973-228-1994.

If your questions pertain more to your child's 4-year high school plan or future college plans, I may direct your question(s) to a counselor at JCHS since they are more familiar with those topics.

Thank you!

Danette Lewis

GCMS Guidance Counselor