To Beacon Students, Parents, and Advisers, The 2015-‐2016 Course Selection process began on May 8th. Advisory was dedicated to walking students through the course offerings and the selection process. Through the online Course Selection process: Rising sophomores will rank their preferences for Arts/Technology electives and choose their Foreign Language courses. Rising Juniors will rank their preferences for Arts/Technology electives and Science courses. They will also choose their Foreign Language and Math courses. Rising Seniors will rank their preferences for their Arts/Technology electives, Science courses, English courses, and History courses. They will also choose their Foreign Language and Math courses. Additional information: • The online selection process will “go live” on the Beacon portal at 3:00pm tomorrow and all final choices must be submitted by Friday, May 15th at 3:00pm. Students may change their selections at any point up until the deadline; it is not first-‐come, first-‐serve. • Within the selection process juniors and seniors will be asked if they would like to apply to an AP Science course. The AP Science application process, including a general diagnostic exam, will begin after Course Selections are completed. Please review the AP Science prerequisites carefully. Regardless of interest in an AP Science class, all students must indicate their top three preferences for non-‐AP Science courses. • On the last screen of the Course Selection application, all students will have the option to indicate that they would like to “double up” in a certain department, schedules permitting. Students will be notified in September which courses, if any, are available for “doubling-‐up” and they can decide whether or not they would like to take the class at that point. “Doubling up” is not guaranteed. • Parents, we would like to encourage you to review your child’s options and selections with him/her before the deadline. Below you will find the list of Course Offerings for your child’s grade level. You may also find view the selections with full descriptions on the Parent Page (https://www.beaconschool.org/parents/) by entering your child’s NYC DOE OSIS number in the “Student Course Selections” box. • New this year: the course selections students make this year will determine their schedules for both semesters next year. The Programming Office will not make any Add/Drops in the fall or winter. Please discuss all selections with your child ahead of the deadline to ensure a smooth process next year. Thank you for your continued support, The Programming Office Elective Offerings for All Students Please note: all electives are semester-‐long and meet twice a week unless otherwise indicated Arts Electives Advanced Art Art Honors (year long, 4x week) seniors only Drawing Painting 3D Design Studio Music Production and Sound Engineering (4x week) Drum Set Percussion Guitar & Songwriting Music Theory, Piano, and Performance African Percussion Black & White Photography Digital/Mobile Photography Advanced Photography (4x week) Theatre Arts Honors (year long, 4x week) seniors only Advanced Theatre Arts (4x week) Acting 101 Introduction to Technical Theatre & Design (4x week) Fundamentals of Choir Theatre Production (Fall) (4x week) Theatre Production (Spring) (4x week) Creative Writing Short-‐Fiction and Poetry Writing Intensive Language of Film Advanced Film Production (4x week) Digital Film Hip Hop Contemporary Dance Dance Company (year long, 4x week) Dance Fundamentals (Fall) Intercultural Dance (Spring) English Elective Philosophical Journey Technology Elective Computer Programming Senior Only Elective(s) Internships (year long) Bilingual Internship (year long) Pre-‐Requisite: B in Spanish 3 or above Foreign Language Offerings For Rising Sophomores Please note: all students at Beacon are required to reach Level 3 of a foreign language or to complete three years of foreign language at minimum. Spanish Spanish 1 Offered to: students who have not started language or who want to switch from French* Prerequisite: No prerequisite Spanish 2 Prerequisite: Spanish 1 Spanish 2.5 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 with a C+ average or below Spanish 3 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 or 2.5 with a B-‐ or above Spanish 4 Prerequisite: Spanish 3 with a B or above French French 1 Offered to: students who have not started language or who want to switch from Spanish* Prerequisite: No prerequisite French 2 Prerequisite: French 1 French 3 Prerequisite: French 2 *will be considered as a new student and take Spanish/French placement exam before being programmed Science Offerings For Rising Juniors Advanced Immunology (year long) Math prerequisite: none Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average B or above Chemical Foundations of Art (year long) Prerequisite: none From Digital to Physical: Programming, Art and Technology in the Real World (year long) Math Prerequisite: Over-‐all math average B or above Science Prerequisite: none Physics (year long) Math Prerequisite: Pass Algebra 2 with a B average or above or an over-‐all math average of A-‐ or above Science Prerequisite: none Forensics/Anthropology (two semester-‐long classes over the year) Prerequisite: none Science of Sound/ Marine Biology (two semester-‐long classes over the year) Prerequisite: none AP COURSES: when completing your course preferences you will be able to indicate that you would like apply to an AP Science course. You must also indicate your top three preferences for non-‐AP science courses. Please review the prerequisites carefully. The AP application process, including diagnostic exam, will begin after Course Selections are completed. AP Biology Math prerequisite: Over-‐all math average B or above (year long) Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average B+ or above and must be open to extra periods for labs. AP Chemistry (year long) Math prerequisite: Pass Algebra 2 with an A-‐ average or above & enrolling in Pre-‐Calculus Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average A-‐ or above and must be open to extra periods for labs. Foreign Language Offerings For Rising Juniors Please note: all students at Beacon are required to reach Level 3 of a foreign language or to complete three years of foreign language at minimum. Spanish Spanish 1 Offered to: students who have not started language or who want to switch from French* Prerequisite: No prerequisite Spanish 2 Prerequisite: Spanish 1 Spanish 2.5 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 with a C+ average or below Spanish 3 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 or 2.5 with a B-‐ or above Spanish 4 Prerequisite: Spanish 3 with a B or above Spanish in Cultural Contexts Prerequisite: Spanish 3 AP Spanish Prerequisite: B+ or higher in Spanish 4 and commitment to taking the AP exam at the end of the year Adv. Spanish Topics in Literature, Conversation and Media Prerequisite: for students who would like to continue with Spanish after Spanish 4 or AP French French 1 Offered to: students who have not started language or who want to switch from Spanish* French 2 Prerequisite: French 1 French 3 Prerequisite: French 2 French 4 Prerequisite: French 3 *will be considered as a new student and take Spanish/French placement exam before being programmed Math Offerings For Rising Juniors Fundamentals of Pre-‐Calculus Prerequisite: suggested for students who pass Algebra 2 with B-‐/C-‐ average. Teacher approval required. Pre-‐Calculus Prerequisite: pass Algebra 2 with a B average or above. Teacher approval required. Calculus Prerequisite: pass Pre-‐Calculus with a B average or above. Teacher approval required. Architecture Prerequisite: pass Algebra 2 or concurrently enrolled in Algebra 2; strong commitment to an art and architecturally based math course (may be taken concurrently with Algebra 2 as a second math course). College Algebra Prerequisite: Algebra 2 Economics and Finance Prerequisite: Algebra 2 Statistics and Probability Prerequisite: Algebra 2 Science Offerings For Rising Seniors Advanced Immunology (year long) Math prerequisite: none Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average B or above Chemical Foundations of Art (year long) Prerequisite: none From Digital to Physical: Programming, Art and Technology in the Real World (year long) Math Prerequisite: Over-‐all math average B or above Science Prerequisite: none Physics (year long) Math Prerequisite: Pass Algebra 2 with a B average or above or an over-‐all math average of A-‐ or above Science Prerequisite: none Forensics/Anthropology (two semester-‐long classes over the year) Prerequisites: none Science of Sound/ Marine Biology (two semester-‐long classes over the year) Prerequisites: none AP COURSES: when completing your course preferences you will be able to indicate that you would like apply to an AP Science course. You must also indicate your top three preferences for non-‐AP science courses. Please review the prerequisites carefully. The AP application process, including diagnostic exam, will begin after Course Selections are completed. AP Biology (year long) Math prerequisite: Over-‐all math average B or above Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average B+ or above and must be open to extra periods for labs. AP Chemistry (year long) Math prerequisite: Pass Algebra 2 with an A-‐ average or above & enrolling in Pre-‐Calculus Science Prerequisite: Over-‐all science average A-‐ or above and must be open to extra periods for labs. AP Physics (year long) Math prerequisite: Pass Algebra 2 with an A-‐ average or above & enrolling in Pre-‐Calculus Science Prerequisite: Must have completed an AP course or Physics; over-‐all science average B+ or above and must be open to extra periods for labs. English Offerings For Rising Seniors Semester 1 1. Existential Literature 2. Poetry Seminar 3. Wonderlands and Nightmares 4. African American Literature 5. The Grotesque, the Haunted, and the Holy: Southern Gothic Literature 6. Bad Romance 7. Women in Literature Semester 2 1. Existential Literature 2. Poetry Seminar 3. Wonderlands and Nightmares 4. African American Literature 5. The Grotesque, the Haunted, and the Holy: Southern Gothic Literature 6. Finding the Lost Generation: A Closer Study of Fitzgerald and Hemingway 7. Reading and Writing Like a Writer History Offerings For Rising Seniors Semester 1 1. American Social History 2. International Political Economy 3. The World at War 4. New York City History 5. Lincoln and the End of Slavery in America 6. History of American Music Semester 2 1. Global Environmental Politics 2. International Political Economy 3. Islamist Terror and the American Response 4. The Economic Development of New York 5. Reel to Real: How Well Do Movies Teach History? 6. History of American Music Foreign Language Offerings For Rising Seniors Please note: all students at Beacon are required to reach Level 3 of a foreign language or to complete three years of foreign language at minimum. Spanish Spanish 2 Prerequisite: Spanish 1 Spanish 2.5 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 with a C+ average or below Spanish 3 Prerequisite: Spanish 2 or 2.5 with a B-‐ or above Spanish 4 Prerequisite: Spanish 3 with a B or above Spanish in Cultural Contexts Prerequisite: Spanish 3 AP Spanish Prerequisite: B+ or higher in Spanish 4 and commitment to taking the AP exam at the end of the year Adv. Spanish Topics in Literature, Conversation and Media Prerequisite: for students who would like to continue with Spanish after Spanish 4 or AP French French 2 Prerequisite: French 1 French 3 Prerequisite: French 2 French 4 Prerequisite: French 3 Math Offerings For Rising Seniors Fundamentals of Pre-‐Calculus Prerequisite: suggested for students who pass Algebra 2 with B-‐/C-‐ average. Teacher approval required. Pre-‐Calculus Prerequisite: pass Algebra 2 with a B average or above. Teacher approval required. Calculus Prerequisite: pass Pre-‐Calculus with a B average or above. Teacher approval required. Architecture. Prerequisite: pass Algebra 2 or concurrently enrolled in Algebra 2; strong commitment to an art and architecturally based math course (may be taken concurrently with Algebra 2 as a second math course). College Algebra Prerequisite: Algebra 2 Economics and Finance Prerequisite: Algebra 2 Statistics and Probability Prerequisite: Algebra 2 AP Calculus Prerequisite: A-‐ or higher in Pre-‐Calculus or Calculus, commitment to taking the AP exam at the end of the year. Teacher recommendation required.