SUSQUEHANNA COMMUNITY

PROGRAM OF STUDIES

 

This booklet is designed to serve as a curriculum guide for the students of Susquehanna Community Senior High School and to assist them in choosing programs of studies that will best meet their needs. The curriculum at Susquehanna is divided into three basic programs of study:  Academic, Business, General, plus Vocational /Technical.

 

The student who chooses the Academic Program should be average or above in all subjects, have average ability in Mathematics and the Sciences, be a good reader, able to handle complicated written assignments, and should have long range plans for education or training above high school level.   This program is not intended to prepare a pupil for immediate employment after graduation in a skilled or semi-skilled job.  It is intended to prepare students for advanced education.

 

The student who elects the Business Program should be interested in business office work as a future career.  Secretarial, accounting, and clerical and computer skills are emphasized.   Students should be reasonably capable at composition, spelling, arithmetic, and the general scholastic performance should be at least average.  Students are reminded that while this program may not enable them to meet the requirements for admission to college, they may, with careful selection of electives, acquire adequate college entrance credits.

 

Students who wish to combine general courses with a vocational type education should choose the General Program.  This program permits a student to enter some field of work immediately after graduation without specific training.

 

The Vocational Technical Education Program at Elk Lake offers  students in grade 12 who are not considering 4 year college programs upon graduation and who desire specific training to prepare them for immediate entry to the work force in Cosmetology: Power Mechanics; Building Trades I (Carpentry); Building Trades II (Plumbing, Heating, Electrical); Business Education/Data Processing;  Food Management ; Health Assistant; Graphic Communications Technology or Computer-aided Drafting Technology may consider this program.  Because of the commitment and limited number of available slots students must meet selection criteria, have parental support and a sincere desire to attend and complete such a program.  Students will spend their full day at Elk Lake.

 

PLANNING A PROGRAM OF STUDIES:

The programs of studies which students plan for themselves will help them to enjoy successful and profitable high school careers.  The program will also determine how well prepared these students will be for entering college or for obtaining and holding jobs.  Well-planned programs of studies will contribute to the day-by-day personal growth and happiness of the students.

 

IN DEVELOPING A PROGRAM OF STUDIES A STUDENT SHOULD:

1.      Establish personal goals.  Students should have some specific educational, occupational, and personal goals toward which they are working.  They should be allowed to revise these goals if necessary.  The important point is that they have some goals.

2.      Evaluate personal qualifications.  Students should consider honestly what their real interests are, where their own strengths and weaknesses lie, and what their needs will be in achieving their personal goals.

3.      Determine learning requirements for college entrance.   Students should investigate just what the colleges of their choice expect of applicants since colleges vary in their requirements for College Board scores, rank in class, and in subjects taken in high school.  Knowing what their colleges require, students can then plan their programs of study accordingly.  Students who do not plan to attend college should find out all the information they can about the kind of work they plan to do after graduation from high school.  Many colleges require a minimum of a two-year sequence in a modern foreign language.

4.      Visit colleges, technical schools, or places of employment. Students will learn through visitations whether they really like the colleges, schools, or places of employment in which they have shown an interest.

5.      Consult parents, teachers and guidance counselors.  Students should confer with parents, teachers and guidance counselors to obtain the benefit of their experiences and to become aware of available information.

6.      Select subjects in the program of studies.  Students should take into consideration their goals, interests and needs, and their college or vocational school requirements, and the advice of parents, teachers and counselor; then they should include in their programs of studies the subjects that will contribute most toward helping them achieve their established goals.

7.      Utilize CHOICES,  A computerized source of information about 4 year and 2 year colleges as well as lists sources of financial aid, scholarship information and occupation information, available in computer lab and library.  

 

STUDENTS ARE REMINDED OF THE FOLLOWING:

1.      Certain basic subjects are required of all students at Susquehanna. Elective subjects should be selected on the basis of the student’s individual aptitudes, interest and skills.

2.      Students should discuss their choice of electives with their parents and guidance counselor.

3.      Students should select carefully from the course offering for each grade.

4.      Students and one of their parents must sign the Program of Study sheet.  Once the sheet is signed, no course changes will be allowed without permission from the high school guidance office.

Students who need help in selecting subjects for a program of study, or who desire further information concerning the courses and subjects offered at Susquehanna may come to the guidance office for an appointment.

 

 

 

 

       

 

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

Certification for graduation will be determined by credits earned during grades 9,10,11, and 12.  All students will be scheduled for at least 6 credits plus Physical Education. Students must pass a minimum of 4 credits per year in grades 7-12 in order to be promoted to the next grade and to graduate from grade 12.  Additionally all students must complete a project and accumulate twenty four (24) units of credit which shall be required for graduation and shall be distributed as follows:

            I.                    Four units (years) of English.

II.                 Four units of Social Studies -- Vocational Ed. Students three credits. 

III.               Three units of Science.

IV.              Three units of Mathematics.

V.                 Two units Arts and Humanities .

VI.              One unit Health and Physical Education.

a.       One Semester of Health Education  in grade eleven will be counted as 1/2 unit.

b.      Two periods of Physical Education per cycle in grades 9,10,11 and 12 will be counted as 1/3 unit each. 

VII.            One unit of Technology

 

VII.           Electives:

a.       Each student will schedule at least six                                                                           elective courses.  An elective will be any subject beyond the basic requirements listed above.