[BHS Etree] INCOMING FAMILIES: Info for BUSD and New-to-BUSD Families

Wed Mar 14 13:42:23 PDT 2012

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Janet Huseby
janethuseby at berkeley.net 

1. King student requests for course and learning communities will be mailed
home today.  If you wish to make a change or correction, please mark the
form with the correct information and return it to Amy Specter in the King
counseling office no later than Thursday, March 22.  The Longfellow course
requests were already mailed home.  We have not yet mailed home Willard
course requests.  I will announce on the etree when we do.

2. The last evening for New-to-BUSD 9th grade students to sign up for course
and learning community choices is Monday, March 19 at 6 p.m. in the BHS
library. Students come with their parents/guardians.   We have not yet
mailed home any of the choices which have already been submitted. I will
announce on the etree when we do.

3. New-to-BUSD families who missed the first round of the lottery may begin
the process on Monday, March 19 at the Admissions Office 1835 Allston Way. 

4. Below is a summary of important information for Incoming Families:

a. World Language Placement

Berkeley High offers five world languages: Spanish, French, Kiswahili,
Mandarin and Latin. There is no language placement test for students who
enroll in the beginning level of any of the five languages.  New-to-BUSD
students who wish to enroll in a level other than beginning must take a
placement test that will be offered on Saturday, April 21 from 10 am to 12
noon in Portable 11 (entrance on Milvia). There will be a makeup test on
Tuesday, August 21 from 10 a.m. to noon in Portable 1.  Placement for
Longfellow, King, and Willard students currently studying French or Spanish
will be determined by their current teacher.

b. Math Placement

Math placement will be determined by teacher recommendation, grades in
current math class, and a math placement test. All incoming New to BUSD 9th
grade students must take a general placement test. All students who are
interested in enrolling in an honors math level will take an additional
honors math test. The general test is approximately one hour long. The
honors math test, which will follow the standard test, is an additional 45
minutes.  New-to-BUSD students will take both the general test and the
honors test in the Berkeley High School library on April 10, April 18, or
May 9 at 3 p.m. Current BUSD students will take the standard math test in
their math classes. The honors test, for current BUSD middle school students
will be offered after school  on April 12 (Longfellow), April 16 (Willard)
and April 17 (King).  Content on the Math Placement Test: the Algebra
content covered by the placement test is the California content standards
for Algebra 1 which can be found online at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/documents/rtqalg1pdf  

Teacher recommendation for math placement:  Currently enrolled BUSD students
do not have to ask their teacher to submit a recommendation.  The teachers
will do so automatically.  We are asking New to BUSD students to forward the
link below to their child's current math teacher in order to fill out a
short questionnaire and to make a math placement recommendation.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9thGradePlacement 

c. Ninth grade orientation 

Orientation will be held on Monday, August 20, 2012. During orientation
students will collect their actual schedule (periods, teachers' names,
classroom location). Students will also be assigned a locker, check out
textbooks, purchase an organizer, go on school tours and participate in
organized freshman activities, and meet members of the administration. 

d. First Day of School: August 29, 2012

e. Not attending. If your child decides not to attend Berkeley High, please
let us know as soon as possible by calling Belinda McDaniel at 644-4800.  

f. BHS etree

Berkeley High has a list serve which posts the Student Daily Bulletin,
College Advisors' Bulletin, news, and volunteer opportunities. The
parent-run etree works closely with the administration in order to insure
accuracy. To subscribe to the BHS etree please send an email to
bhs-request at lmi.net with one word only in the subject line: subscribe.
Please watch for postings with the subject line: Incoming Families.

g. High School Tours

The touring season for prospective students runs from October to March. The
small group tours leave the Front Desk at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday
and 10:45 am on Mondays. The tours are by reservation only and last a little
over an hour. The tours walk by classrooms-many of which have open doors
-but they do not go into rooms for observation. Prospective students are
welcome on the school day tours but ONLY if accompanied by their parent or
guardian. To sign up, please email Fern Royce at bhsoutreach at berkeley.net.
Please indicate several days that work for you and the number of people in
your party.

h. Questions: If you have any questions about this process, please contact
Janet Huseby at janethuseby at berkeley.net 

_________________

Pat Anderson, Diane Douglas, Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Lisa Sibony are the
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