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TO STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
This Course Planning Guide will assist you in planning and choosing your educational program for next year. It is essential that you give serious thought to the courses you select. You must take into consideration your abilities, interests, and future plans. You should solicit the advice of your teachers, guidance counselor, family, and review your personal goals to help you make these important decisions.
The selection of your courses is an important responsibility that should be taken seriously. The information contained in the Course Planning Guide is presented to assist in your decisions. Read the information carefully before you select courses and enter them on the selection sheet. Pay close attention to the important dates in the course selection process, especially the deadline for returning your selection sheet.
You are encouraged to share this information with your parents and to keep this booklet for future reference. If you, or your parents, have any questions, please either e-mail us or call the high school office at 901-2500.
Mark Ziegler
Principal
Raeleen Eckerd-TaylorMrs. Tonya Ivey
CounselorCounselor
DATES TO REMEMBER
February 18 & 19: Course selection meetings
February 18-March 4: Students enter course requests through the portal in the
Student Information System
March 4: Deadline to return Course Selection worksheet to English teacher
September 2: Last day for schedule changes
This document is also available on our website at
under High School→Counseling Center.
Please note that all progress reports and report cards will be published to the student portal. For directions please see district website and click on parent portal tab in the left hand column:
Contents of the Handbook
District Mission, Vision, and Shared Valuesp. 4
Pennsylvania Core Academic Standardsp. 5
Graduation & Promotion Requirementsp. 5
Keystone State Examinations p. 6
Final Examsp. 6
Counseling & Student Servicesp. 7
Academic Loadp. 8
Prerequisitesp. 8
Grading Systemp. 9
Course Weightingp. 9
Grade Point Averagep. 10
Honor Rollp. 11
Instructional Media Centerp. 11
Courses of Studyp. 12
*General
*Honors
*College Preparatory
*Advanced College Placement
*Special Education
NCAA Approved Coursesp. 17
Required Courses of Studyp. 18
Elective Coursesp. 19
Course Descriptionsp. 22
Cumberland Perry Area Voc. Technical Schoolp. 69
Distance Learning Coursep. 84
CAOLAp. 85
Mission
The Camp Hill Learning Community is committed to providing all students with foundational skills, knowledge and opportunities for lifelong success.
Vision
“Educational Excellence, Community Strength, Student Success”
Shared Values
1. We believe education is a lifelong process.
2. We believe educational excellence is a collaborative process and a shared responsibility of the student, family and staff.
3. We believe students' educational experiences should be founded in the rigorous study of traditional academic disciplines.
4. We believe students' educational experiences should enable them to become effective communicators, independent learners, motivated critical thinkersand innovators.
5. We believe our learning community should foster understanding and respect for every individual.
6. We believe our learning community should promote responsible citizenship.
7. We believe frequent review of the educational program is necessary to meet student needs.
8. We believe in establishing and maintaining high standards and expectations for all members of the school community.
9. We believe effective leadership sustains educational excellence.
10.We believe recruiting and retaining high quality staff is vital to achieving our mission.
11. We believe an informed and involved community strengthens the school system.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE
CORE ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Camp Hill utilizes the the PA academic and core standards in defining its curriculum and course justifications. For more information on these standards, please see the below link.
GRADUATION AND PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS
The Camp Hill High School program of studies operates under the single diploma plan. All students who meet the requirements for graduation receive similar undifferentiated diplomas.
A total of 25.5 units of credit must be earned in grades 9, 10, 11, & 12 in order for a student to graduate. Courses taken in Middle School will not count toward credits for graduation. Students who do not earn 25.5 credits by graduation will not be eligible for a diploma nor participate in graduation exercises.
For the total of 25.5 units of credit, the following must be earned in specific areas:
English4 credits
Social Studies4 credits
Mathematics3 or 4 credits
Science3 or 4 credits
Arts & Humanities*2 credits
Health & Physical Education2.65 credits
Others5.85 credits
TOTAL25.5 CREDITS
* Courses that satisfy the Art & Humanities requirement:
World Languages
Art courses
Family & Consumer Science courses
Technology Education courses
Music electives
Social Studies electives
English electives
KEYSTONE EXAMS
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has commenced a new system for state assessments. The implications for these assessments have been significant on every school district across the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Keystone Exams is twofold:
1. AYP Accountability
Under the No Child Left Behind legislation, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) must be determined by assessing all students by their junior year in three content areas: Biology, Algebra I, and Literature.
Camp Hill students will be taking the Keystone assessment as “end of the year” assessments in Biology, Algebra, and Literature.
2. Graduation Requirement
Beginning with the Class of 2017, these assessments will also be leveraged as a graduation requirement. Students must demonstrate proficiency or advanced proficiency in order to graduate from any Pennsylvania school district including the Camp Hill School District.Any student taking the Keystone Exams who did not score proficient or advanced proficient on an Exam shall be provided supplemental instruction (remediation) by the Camp Hill School District as required by Chapter 4 PDE regulations.
Any student that did not achieve proficient status or better will be required to take the appropriate Keystone Exam(s) a second time.
KeystoneAssessment Provided
Algebra I Keystone: End of 8th or 9th or 10th grade
Biology Keystone: End of 9th grade
Literature Keystone: End of 10th grade
For more information on the Keystone Exams please refer to:
FINAL EXAMS
Final exams are utilized at Camp Hill High School. Many courses use them as a final assessment to capture the totality of student learning that occurred in a semester. Moreover, we believe they help maintain the high rigor and standards that define the learning experience at Camp Hill.
COUNSELING AND STUDENT SERVICES
The counselor’s role in education is to help students achieve personal, social and academic growth through a better understanding and use of their abilities. Involved in the process is self-understanding and the establishment of goals in conjunction with abilities and a realistic plan for the achievement of these goals. Academic, personal and crisis counseling, consultation with other professionals and coordination of a student’s educational program are integral parts of the counselor’s duties.
Counseling may be defined more specifically as the attitude that aims to help individuals:
1. To understand themselves and to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
2. To make the most of their capabilities, interest, and personal qualities by working toward self-development and self-realization.
3. To adjust themselves satisfactorily to the varied situations within their total environment.
4. To develop the ability to make their own decisions wisely and to solve their problems independently.
5. To make their own unique contributions to society to the fullest possible extent by accepting their responsibilities.
6. To aid in the development and achievement of realistic and appropriate academic goals.
Part of the counseling service is to provide resource materials which will aid the student in post-secondary educational choices and career decisions. Students and families will utilize Naviance, a secure Internet-based career and college readiness platform that helps students connect academic achievement to post-secondary goals and success.
The Counseling Department will schedule an individual conference with every student as needed or requested. Parent/guardian conferences will be scheduled on request or as needed. The High School Counseling Center telephone number is 901-2500 x2551.
ACADEMIC LOAD
In choosing a program, careful consideration must be given, not only to what course is to be selected, but also to the nature of the course. Students must schedule all subjects required by the school and the state and meet the credit requirements for graduation.
Consideration must be given to the number of times a class meets each week and to the out-of-school preparations required. While there is no limit on the number of courses that may be taken in a particular year, students are limited by the number of periods available and conflicts in scheduling courses. Students are responsible for scheduling appointments with their counselor to discuss the course selections and educational program. Students will be scheduled with a goal of 35 academic periods per cycle. No student will be scheduled for more than 7 study halls per cycle.
The following courses require a rigorous and significant summer assignment. Summer assignments shall be assessed and thus must be completed in order to commence and participate in the course. Transfer students that have registered in the summer months of July and August shall be afforded an opportunity to complete the summer assignment.
●AP Chemistry
●AP English Language & Composition
●AP Physics
●AP Calculus
●AP English Literature & Composition
●AP Biology
●AP Statistics
●Honors English 9
●Honors English 10
PREREQUISITES
Students who wish to schedule sequential or the second, third, or fourth year of any subject must meet the requirements outlined for each course.For sequential programs a specified final average in the preceding course or level may be required and can be found in the course description section of this booklet.
GRADING SYSTEM
A percentage grading system is used at Camp Hill High School.
Excellent 90-100
Good 80-89
Average 70-79
Passing 60-69
Failing 59 and below
W= Withdraw from course after final drop/add date. The “W” is published on
the report card and transcript.
COURSE WEIGHTING
Course weights are assigned to each class taken at Camp Hill High School that are graded on a percentage scale.
Course weights have the purpose of denoting rigor on transcripts in addition to calculating weighted grade point averages (GPA’s).
Please note that these designations will be signified as part of the course title, for example, “AP Statistics” or “Honors Algebra 2”. Courses that do not have a CP, Honors, or AP label, shall be understood as a general course and carry the 1.0 weight.
Label WeightEquivalency
AP / 1.075 / 80=86Honors / 1.050 / 80=84
CP / 1.025 / 80=82
General / 1.0 / 80=80
GRADE POINT AVERAGE
A measure of a student’s overall academic performance is the grade point average (GPA). At the end of each marking period a weighted and unweighted GPA will be calculated. Both GPAs will appear on a student’s transcript. The weighted GPA will be used to determine valedictorian and salutatorian.
The unweighted GPA is calculated by taking the final grade of each course multiplied by the credit value of the course. The products are added together and divided by the total number of credits.
Course grade x course credit = product
Product ÷ total number of credits= unweighted GPA
The weighted GPA is calculated by taking the final grade of each course multiplied by the course weight and course credit. The products are added together and divided by the number of credits.
Course grade x course weight x course credit =product
Product ÷ total number of credits= weighted GPA
SAMPLE UNWEIGHTED GPA
Course Grade Multiply Credit Product
H. English 90 x 1 90
AP US History 85 x 1 85
H. Geometry 95 x 1 95
CP Biology 90 x 1 90
CP Latin 1 80 x 1 80
Health 85 x .6 51
Tech Construction 88 x .4 35.2 6.0 526.2
Unweighted GPA= 526.2 ÷ 6.0= 87.7%
SAMPLE WEIGHTED GPA
Course Grade Multiply Weight Credit Product
H. English 90 x 1.0501 94.5
AP US History 85 x 1.075 1 91.375 H. Geometry 95 x 1.050 1 99.75 CP Biology 90 x 1.025 1 92.25
CP Latin 1 80 x 1.025 1 82
Health 85 x 1.0 .6 51
Tech Construction 88 x 1.0 .4 35.2 6.0 546.075
Weighted GPA= 546.075 ÷ 6.0= 91.0%
THE HONOR ROLL
The students are listed for honors at the end of their respective report periods according to the following criteria. A grade of Incomplete (I) will prevent a student from being on the honor roll.
Distinguished Honors
A grade point average of 90% or better for all subjects. A student may not have a grade of a U for unsatisfactory or I for incomplete.
Honors
A grade point average of 80% or better for all subjects. A student may not have a grade of a U for unsatisfactory or I for incomplete.
INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA CENTER
The Instructional Media Center (IMC) is physically located in the center of the school and is literally the school’s learning hub. Its Information Literacy skills program is fully integrated into all areas of the curriculum, and is a vital component influencing the quality of education. Information skills are integrated with and relevant to the classroom curriculum, as well as to individual needs. The instructional media center staff work closely with all members of the school community to achieve curricular learning outcomes.The mission of the instructional media program is to create a learning environment that encourages and enables each student to be effective and lifelong users of ideas and information.
Various resources, services and technologies are available to meet our students’ learning and information needs. The IMC includes over 15,000 print and non-print resources, as well as current and back issues of approximately 50 periodicals. Students have access to the following web-based services:
●Destiny, the library’s online catalog
●The Oxford English Dictionary Online
●A collection of Electronic Databases - Bloom’s Literature Online, Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Student ResourcesIn Context, Science in Context, U.S. History in Context, World History in Context, EBSCOHost
●Noodletools.com - citation-building, note-taking, research software suite
●POWER Library through Access Pennsylvania
Technology is a key component of the instructional media program and is continually evaluated and upgraded. Students may access the IMC computer lab or check out a laptop from the library cart. Individuals, groups, and/or classes may come to the IMC throughout the day for curricular needs, enrichment, and enjoyment. The IMC operates on a flexible schedule, and is open until 4p.m. four days per week.
COURSES OF STUDY
GENERAL COURSES
The primary intent of the general program is to modify instructional methods of teaching and adapt curriculum so that student needs are met. Students in grades 9 -12 are eligible for this program. The general program includes courses in English, mathematics, and science.
COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSES
College preparatory coursesprovide a solid foundation for students who plan to attend college after high school. It is strongly recommended that students take a variety of core subjects, including world languages.
HONORS COURSES
Camp Hill High School offers honors courses which have a faster pace than college preparatory courses and examine significantly more material. These courses are intended for students who are able to master the concepts quickly. Students are approvedfor honors courses using multiple criteria including academic achievement and teacher recommendation. Due to the rigor, these courses are weighted in value and will carry a higher weight than acollege preparatory course. Occasionally, situations arise where a student will request a course for which he/she does not meet the criteria for entrance. In such cases, a meeting with the student, parent/guardian, teacher, counselor, and principal for the purpose of reviewing the placement recommendation will be scheduled. Parent/Guardian permission on an override form will be required if the student is placed in a course for which he/she is not recommended.
ADVANCED COLLEGE PLACEMENT
Partial or Full Time Advanced College Placement
(Non-dual enrollment)
Students may elect to enroll in an accredited college or institution of higher learning on a part or full time basis while enrolled in high school. Parents/guardians must request in writing to the high school principal, whom in collaboration with the superintendent, will determine approval for the proposed course of study. The student must meet college entrance requirements and receivewritten approval of acceptance. These credits cannot substitute for failed high school courses while enrolled in high school. Tuition, all related costs,and transportation, are the responsibility of the student and parents/guardians. Students enrolled in HACC courses shall be responsible for both the district portion and student portion of tuition costs. The student is responsible for having a college transcript sent to the high school principal prior to receiving a high school graduation diploma. The college transcript will be attached to the high school transcript as an indication of courses completed and grades earned. A high school graduation diploma will be issued upon successful completion of Camp Hill High School graduation requirements. College grades earned in these courses will not be included in Camp Hill GPA calculations. Students may participate in commencement exercises.
SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
AND SERVICES
Camp Hill High School provides special educational programs to students, which enable them to be involved and progress in the general curriculum. The educational program provided to children with disabilities is in accordance with their Individualized Education Programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Students who are gifted are provided an education that enables them to participate in acceleration or enrichment, programs as appropriate. Consistent with regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, an individualized education program is developed for students identified as exceptional and in need of special education programming. Special education is provided to students through a continuum of services.
Students with disabilities are included within the regular education program to the greatest extent possible. In accordance with the student’s Individualized Education Program, classes that closely approximate the regular education courses are offered in English, history, math, science, and life skills.
GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Enrollment as a Global Scholar is a dual process done via course selection with the student’s counselor and by completing a Certificate Enrollment with the program coordinator.