[BHS etree] INCOMING BHS FAMILIES: Catalogues, choice brochures and more!

Mon Jan 21 11:44:19 PST 2008

CONTACT:  Janet Huseby jhuseby at pacbell.net

Last week the 2008-2009 Course Catalogue and Choice Brochure was
mailed to all families with children in the 8th grade at King,
Longfellow and Willard.  In addition, a parent volunteer took packets
to Prospect Sierra and Tehiya for distribution.  If you have, or know
of,  an incoming 9th grade student (current 8th grader) not at one of
the five mentioned schools, please come by the front office and we
will give you a packet with the catalogue and choice brochure.  

This month sees the beginning of a series of meetings for 8th graders
and their parents or guardians.  Below is a list of dates and other
information of interest to prospective families currently enrolled in
the BUSD and not yet enrolled in the district.   Private school
families may attend one of the meetings at the BUSD public schools but
they may not select their child's course at the time as the system is
different.  

1. Next steps for families coming from Longfellow, King, Willard:
Representatives from Berkeley High School will visit each of the three
BUSD middle schools over the next several weeks to conduct the
scheduling process. This process includes a daytime student assembly
where current BHS students will discuss their experiences with middle
school students. Later that evening, administrators and counselors
will give a brief presentation in both English and Spanish which will
review the program choices at BHS. During that same week, high school
counselors will come to the middle schools to guide students through
the course request and program selection process.

Willard Middle School

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

10:00 a.m. Student Assembly

6:00 p.m.-6:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in Spanish

7:00 p.m.-7:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in English

Thursday, January 31-Friday, February 1, 2008

Online scheduling for 8th grade students at Willard.

King Middle School

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

10:00 a.m. Student Assembly

6:00 p.m.-6:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in Spanish

7:00 p.m.-7:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in English

Wednesday, February 6-Friday, February 8, 2008 (3 days)

Online scheduling for 8th grade students at King.

Longfellow Middle School

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

10:00 a.m. Student Assembly

6:00 p.m.-6:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in Spanish

7:00 p.m.-7:45 pm Curriculum Presentations in English

Wednesday, February 20-Thursday, February 21, 2008

Online scheduling for 8th grade students at Longfellow. 

2. Next Steps for families coming from non district 8th grades

Students coming to BHS from middle schools outside the B.U.S.D. must
first register with the admissions office and then may attend one of
the following scheduling sessions to be held in the Berkeley High
Library:

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008  -6:30 p.m. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008 -6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008 -6:30 p.m.

3. How to register at Berkeley High

(Current BUSD middle school students do not have to register-they are
automatically rolled over to Berkeley High.)

Starting on March 18, 2008 Parents/Guardians must first enroll their
students at the BUSD Admissions Office located at 1835 Allston Way
(644-6504). The Admissions Office is open for enrollment Monday
through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., (closed 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) 

Parents must bring the student's BIRTH CERTIFICATE and THREE PROOFS OF
BERKELEY RESIDENCY. 

Proof of Berkeley residence - any THREE from the following list of
CURRENT documentation, including at least one from category "d" that
is imprinted with the name and Berkeley address of the
parent/guardian, will be required to establish proof of residency:

A) California Driver's License or ID

B) Current bank statement

C) Action letter from Social Services, a letter from the State Office
for Medi-Cal, a letter from the employer       on company letterhead,
or a paycheck stub

D) PG&E bill, phone bill (non-cellular), EBMUD bill, garbage bill or
cable bill 

Please note. It takes two business days for the Admissions Office to
complete your enrollment and give you the registration packet for
Berkeley High.

REGISTRATION AT BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL: After receiving a school
assignment/registration packet from the Admissions Office, parents
must then register their student at Berkeley High School. Berkeley
High Registration will take place at the BHS Administration Office,
located at 1980 Allston Way, (corner of Allston Way and Milvia.)

It is necessary to bring your student's (1) immunization record (2)
birth certificate and (3) an unofficial copy of their school
transcript from the preceding school as well as the completed
registration packet to register at BHS.

Keep in mind that while students from non-BUSD schools will not make
program/course selections until late March, all students, regardless
of when they make their selections, will be run in the school's
placement lottery at the same time.

4. An invaluable source of information for our school  is the Berkeley
High etree. This list-serve passes on the Student Daily Bulletin, the
College Advisors Bulletin, and much more. To subscribe, send an email
to BHS-request at idiom.com with one word only in the subject line:
'subscribe' .  If you are a prospective parent,  the etree can be
overwhelming. Safi Kariv, a current BHS parent of a senior, has taken
it upon himself to put together an etree for prospective parents which
features posts he culls from the regular etree as well as information
on registering and other items of interest. He calls this listserve
the 08/12 Prospective Freshmen etree.  If you are interested in
signing on, send an email to Safi at  <mailto:zkariv at yahoo.com>
zkariv at yahoo.com with subscribe in the subject line. 

5. Last year The Berkeley High School Development Fund published a
collection of Berkeley High college essays called True Admissions. All
the essays were written by Berkeley High seniors.  True Admissions
raised over  $8,000 for the College and Career Center-it also
attracted the attention of Cody's Books and Stone Bridge Press who
together have brought out a second edition under a new name: The
Berkeley Book of College Essays.   The book is appealing both to
students who are contemplating writing their own college essays and to
adults  who are interested in the stories behind a large urban high
school.

There are still a few copies of True Admissions for sale in the
Berkeley High College and Career Center at the BHS Front Desk.  The
new book, The Berkeley Book of College Essays which includes 12 new
BHS essays is available at Cody's and on line at Amazon.com.   

6. The "touring season" for prospective students runs from October to
March. The small group tours leave the Front Desk at 9:30 a.m. most
mornings and are by reservation only. They last about an hour.  The
tours walk by classrooms--many of which have open  doors --but they do
not go into rooms for observation.  The tours are not "orientation
tours." (There are wonderful student-led tours for our incoming
students in August.) The fall and early spring tours are directed
towards parents who are deciding  if Berkeley  High  is the
appropriate school for their child. Prospective students are welcome
but ONLY if accompanied by their parent or guardian. 

To make a reservation, please contact Janet Huseby, BHS Volunteer
Coordinator at jhuseby at pacbell.net. Let her know how many people are
in your party and what days you are available. 

7. Many people have asked if they could visit Berkeley High on their
own or if their student could "shadow" a current student. This is not
possible. The school is focused on the education and security of our
currently enrolled students. We are simply too large a school to
accommodate unsupervised visitors. 

Janet Huseby

BHS Volunteer Coordinator

jhuseby at pacbell.net

(510) 527-1130

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