With Home Access Center (HAC) officially open for course requests, eighth graders will need to start thinking about what pathways they would like to pursue throughout high school. Here are some helpful advice from CHS9 counselors Katie Walker and Amy Blasingame when selecting courses:
What is the most overwhelming part of course registration?
Walker: There are so many classes and so many different GPA weights and all of this starts to come into play; you have to start thinking about your future and colleges. Obviously you don’t have to know everything, but if you want to have a good GPA, you will have to take higher level classes. But students don’t think about if their mental health is going to be at risk, so it’s important to understand that you don’t have to take all honors classes or all AP classes.
What advice do you have for students who get sidetracked by GPA?
Blasingame: If students could understand what’s really important and understand the core content that they’re learning in their classes, it would help a lot. Content will build on other things that they learn in high school. If students shift their focus more to learning as much as they can and not just on how many points they need for their GPA, then they should get the results that they want.
How should students pursue their interests while still meeting course requirements?
Walker: Having courses written down somewhere you can visualize is really important. You’re going to have to take math, science, social studies and English every single year. A lot of kids want to take an extra AP class and do their CTE stuff, but sometimes you have to give up something. You have to do what’s best for you and what’s going to be more valuable for you in the long run. You can just take it year by year, things can move in and out.
Blasingame: If students are not sure exactly what field that they want to go in and we do not have a class that is in the field that they may be interested in, both of us always encourage students to look into volunteer opportunities in the community. Even though it’s not a requirement for graduation at Coppell High School, you can get some hands-on knowledge in those fields and that could help you make a better decision about what courses to take.
This is the time when students have to make a choice between New Tech High @ Coppell and CHS9. What are some of the benefits of the CHS9?
Walker: Both schools are amazing and no matter where you choose, you’re not wrong. You just have to realize there are some classes you can take only at New Tech and then there’s some classes you can only take at CHS9 and CHS. For example, we have the health science pathway starting at our campus. It’s about realizing what’s a better path for you.
Blasingame: I think CHS9 offers a good idea of what a traditional high school experience looks like. Ninth grade gives you an idea of what kind of responsibility you are going to have in a traditional high school experience as far as being responsible for deadlines, for your assignments and keeping up with the coursework. Also, there is a good opportunity here to learn how to advocate for yourself.
What are some key things when navigating the course guide and Home Access Center?
Walker: Making sure that you utilize your resources is important. Obviously, Ms. Blasingame and I are good resources, but a lot of the questions we get are already out there or in the course guide. Students can come to open houses so that they can see the CHS9 campus and we’ll do a presentation over four year plans.
What is some advice for rising ninth graders who are torn between multiple courses?
Walker: I think a good thing to know is you’re not going to choose wrong. Ninth grade is the time for you to try things and to look if you want to take business classes or health classes and knowing you are not going to have to be a business major just because you pick that class. Also, make sure you want to take these classes because we are limited and we don’t make a lot of changes once this registration process closes. We are making sure that students are getting as much information as possible, reading that course guide and not just deciding that they want to take health science or any other class because all of their friends are taking it.
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