Registering for Next Year's Classes

Tomorrow kicks off the process for registering for classes for next school year.  You will be on an extended homeroom schedule.  (Seniors will have a class meeting since you won’t be picking HS classes for next year!)  

Here is tomorrow's bell schedule:

1st period- 7:45 - 8:32
2nd period- 8:37 - 9:24
Homeroom- 9:29 - 9:53
3rd period- 9:58 - 10:45
4th period- 10:50 - 11:37
5th period- 11:42 - 12:29
6th period- 12:34 - 1:21
7th period- 1:26 - 2:13
8th period- 2:18 - 3:05

I recognize that it feels too early to be making these decisions when you are just a few weeks into the new semester, but the time it takes to be able to take your requests and then build a master schedule that will meet your needs is very complex.

One of the most common reactions for students (and parents) as soon as they hear that it is registration time is to panic.  So please, right now, before you even receive your registration information, pause, take a deep breath and relax!  Thinking about the future can feel overwhelming, but I promise that I will help you through it.  This is a very hectic time of year for me dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that I am aware of the anxiety and we will get through it together.

So, let me give you a quick glimpse of what these next few weeks will include.  Tomorrow will be homeroom where you’ll get the details of what you need to do to register for your classes.  You will submit your course selections online through Infinite Campus in the next week.  The deadline to submit your requests is Friday, February 2nd.  I will meet with every student individually to review your requests.  We will still be able to make adjustments to your requests at that time so if you are uncertain about something, go ahead and make your best guess on what you are thinking and then we will talk about it when we meet together.

Here are some of the key dates you’ll need to know about:

-          Wednesday, January 24^th: Registration materials distributed and online registration begins

-          Monday, January 29^th: Curriculum Night at 7:00pm – you and your parents can come to talk with the teachers and learn more about the different options available to you; Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Wednesday, January 31^st: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Thursday, February 1^st: Academic Options Night at 7:00pm at TWHS – you and your parents MUST attend this information to learn about College Credit Plus if you want to be able to take college classes next year while still in high school

-          Friday, February 2^nd: Deadline to submit online course requests

-          Monday, February 5th: Individual meetings with all freshmen students during science classes; Evening individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Tuesday, February 6th: Individual meetings with all sophomore students during science classes

-          Thursday, February 8^th: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Monday, February 12^th: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Friday, February 16^th: My deadline to be able to make any adjustments in the online system

Over the next few days, during classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  You will be getting a form signed indicating your teacher recommendations and  you will also have your parent sign the form so that they verify you have had the chance to review the input from the teachers about what they would suggest for you to take.  You will turn in this form to me during our individual meeting.  You will have a course selection sheet to help guide you in the different options available and you can use that sheet to make notes about your thoughts on what interests you and then you can highlight to help select your classes that you will then enter online.  If you would like to hear more in depth information directly from the teachers who teach particular courses, please set up a time to talk to the teacher or come to meet with them during Curriculum Night.  (Let me know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off periods.)

After you have determined which courses you would like to take, please talk it over with your parents and then login and register on Infinite Campus.  When you submit your course requests on Infinite Campus they will be saved automatically.  You will need to be sure to submit 3 alternates.  I will only use those to replace classes if your first choice selections are absolutely not possible.  After you have submitted your requests online, you will print out your request summary sheet and have your parents sign it.  You MUST bring this signed form back with you to our individual meeting along with the teacher recommendation form.

Freshmen and sophomores will be meeting with me individually during your science class.  I will be honest, there are a few periods when I have WAY too many students to meet with during your science period.  So, as a result, I will have to bump some of your meetings to an off period on the same day so that I can give everyone the individual time you deserve.  Unless you receive a pass from me indicating a different period, please anticipate that you will come during your science period.  As a reminder, freshmen, you will come on Monday, February 5th and sophomores, you will meet with me on Tuesday, February 2nd.  Juniors, you will have individual meeting times assigned to you.  I will be distributing passes for when your assigned time is tomorrow during homeroom.  This will be your only pass so please don’t lose your appointment slip because this will be your only reminder and your pass if you need to leave class.  Please be aware that some of your appointments will be before the online registration window closes, but you must submit your requests online before our meeting!

Also, just in case you lose any of your forms, we will have extra copies posted, along with the video from tomorrow’s presentation, the powerpoint, and the Course Planning Handbook all available for students and parents to access on the Kilbourne Counselor website – www.wkhscounselors.com – and as of tomorrow we will have it on the home page for your convenience.

Once again, I am here to help you, but I do beg for you to try to be patient with me as having more than 300 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time.