December 2, 2024
Dear CMS Grade 8 Families,
I hope you are having a great school year and hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
It’s hard to believe, but we are already starting to plan for the 2025-2026 school year. While we are still in the early stages, I want to share some important dates and timelines to help with your planning. Additional details about each step of the scheduling process will be provided as we move forward. This document serves as a timeline to assist with your calendar preparation.
In addition to the scheduling process, CHS will host a parent presentation in early May. This presentation will focus on the transition to high school and cover topics such as our schedule, lunch procedures, policies, and protocols. For those unable to attend, the presentation will be made available. All 8th-grade students will also visit CHS during the school day for a similar presentation and a guided tour of the building.
The week before school starts, we host an open house for all incoming 9th-grade students. This event allows students to visit CHS, find their classrooms, and familiarize themselves with the building. Grade 9 athletic schedules will be adjusted to ensure students can participate. CHS students will be available to help guide attendees during the event.
CHS remains open throughout the summer, so students are welcome to visit with their schedules at any time. However, we recommend calling ahead to ensure the building is accessible, as summer maintenance may temporarily block certain areas. Additional details about these events will be shared well in advance.
Sincerely,
Douglas Walker, PhD
Principal
January 15, 2025
Curriculum and Scheduling Presentation
This presentation is for all incoming grade 9 parents (students are welcome to attend). We will review the high school graduation requirements, courses and levels, and the scheduling process. Everything you need to know will be covered in this presentation. If you can not attend, the presentation will be shared.
7:00 p.m. CHS Auditorium
CHS Special Education Curriculum Presentation
This parent-only presentation will precede the general presentation and focus on special education programming and support at CHS. All current grade 8 families of students with IEPs are encouraged to attend. Students attending the 7:00 presentation may wait in the auditorium during the special education presentation.
6:00 p.m. CHS Chorus Room (Enter through the auditorium doors).
The Program of Studies for the 2025-2026 school year will be published (Pending BOE approval on 1/13/2025)
January 17, 2025
This is the last day of MP2 at CMS. After posting grades, CMS teachers will begin to discuss next year's CHS course recommendations with students. Recommendations will be submitted in Genesis by January 31, 2025.
February 10 & 11
CHS administration will present the CHS scheduling process to all grade 8 students at CMS during their PE class.
February 3 - 14
The Genesis Parent Portal will open for students and families to view teacher recommendations and select electives. Students will review teacher recommendations for core academic courses and select any additional electives they wish to take. Students will be asked to select up to five electives and assign a priority rating to each choice.
During the scheduling process, we will do our best to place students in their preferred electives. If scheduling conflicts arise, lower-priority electives may be used as alternatives. If you have questions about teacher recommendations, please contact your child’s 8th-grade teacher who submitted the recommendation. Department supervisors are also available to answer any questions regarding course levels at CHS.
February 3 - March 6
Waiver Window #1
A student may decide to waive into a course level above what is recommended. Parents may request a course-level waiver by completing a waiver request form. The decision to waive to a higher level should be after thoughtful deliberation and discussion.
A student who waives into a class must remain in that class until the midpoint of the first semester (MP1). If a student decides to drop back down to a lower level the grade that the student has earned will follow them to the new course. Please note that weighting is not applied. Therefore, a student who has an average of 65 in Honors English 9 and decides to drop to English 9A at the midpoint of semester 1 will carry the 65 over to the new course. The semester grade will be an average of 65 and the grade earned during the second half of the semester.
These forms will be open during the waiver window. Questions regarding course levels should be directed to the department supervisors. Additional information regarding the waiver windows will be shared prior to the opening dates.
February 25 & 26
CHS counselors will meet with all grade 8 students individually during their PE class. The counselors and students will finalize the course requests for the 2025-2026 school year. We will review all teacher recommendations and the electives the student selected in the Genesis Portal. If a student does not select electives, the counselors will assist students in selecting electives that interest them.
March 14 -17
The parent portal will open to view your student’s final course requests prior to the scheduling process beginning. If you have any questions or change requests please contact the CHS counseling office during this window.
March 18
CHS begins the scheduling process. Course request changes are not permitted during this time.
May 1-30
The preliminary schedule will be completed. CHS counselors will review the schedule of each CHS student to ensure they have a completed schedule. If there are schedule conflicts counselors will rectify them. All students will receive the core courses they requested. If an elective does not work in a student's schedule the counselors will attempt to add one of the other choices the student selected. If necessary, the CHS counselor will contact any grade 8 families/students to discuss options.
Course request changes may be processed during this time.
May 10 -17
Waiver window #2. Waivers collected during this time will be subject to seat availability. Students will be placed on a waiting list if the selected course is at capacity. Information regarding this waiver window will be shared with families prior to this window of time.
Early June
Final CHS schedules for the 2025-2026 school year will be released on the parent portal for all students. All grade 8 students will be assigned a CHS counselor who will be able to answer any questions you have.
Schedule change requests may be processed until the start of the 2025-2026 school year. CHS counselors are available throughout the summer.