Students who participate in Band/Chorus/Orchestra tend to be very busy people with varied interests. We also tend to be very motivated people who want to achieve great things in our high school years and beyond. There are many things to accomplish in your high school years, but if anyone can do it, it's a motivated and driven student like YOU! You need to take a look at the big picture and PLAN how you can fit in all the courses that you'd like to take in your four years.
Each year, you have 8 credits to spend. The required courses (English, Social Science, Science, Math, Phys Ed.) take up 4.5 credits each year (additional .5 for AP Science). You also need to take HS 101 in 9th Grade (.5), Career Development in 11th Grade (.5) and Health (.5) at some point in your high school years.
That leaves 12.5 credits that are totally up to YOU to choose. These are called electives.
Over the course of your high school career, you only need to use 4 of these credits in order to participate in our Band/Chorus/Orchestra program. That's one credit per year and you get to play your instrument and/or sing in as many musical ensembles as you'd like! Our large curricular ensembles to run at the same time so that students can rotate between ensembles (alternate days). You do not need to take both electives for credit unless you want to. Remember, you must be registered in a curricular ensemble for credit in order to participate in any of our after-school ensembles (Marching Band, Indoor Drumline, Men's & Women's Choral Ensembles, etc).
That leaves 8.5 credits for you to fill with any of the following: Art, Foreign Language, Extra Math & Science Courses, Robotics, Public Speaking, Writing, etc. Look at the complete GVHS Course Selection Guide and think about what electives you would like to take over the course of your four years. There may be a class that you can't fit in your 9th grade year, but you can fit in your senior year.
PLAN AHEAD. What are your career interests and goals? If you plan to go into the sciences, use those remaining 8.5 credits to take additional science and math courses. If you love Art, use some of those credits for Art classes. If you just want to have a well-balanced high school resume, take some Foreign Language credits and various other offerings that appeal to you. There are many paths to take!
If your schedule is super-tight, some students choose to make room by taking Phys. Ed over the summer. You may want to consider this option.
Here is a sample student schedule for a student who is interested in AP Science and Foreign Language. This is just one of many options, but it is a useful example of how YOU can plan out your high school career >>>
SAMPLE STUDENT SCHEDULE
with Band, Chorus, or Orchestra all four years
*AP Science is listed in the examples below. If you don't take AP Science, you have one additional .5 credit free
9th Grade 1 - English (any level) 1 - Math (any level) 1 - History (any level) 1 - Science (any level) 1 - Foreign Language (or other elective) 1 - Gym/Health (.5 each) .5 - HS 101 1 - Band, Chorus, or Orchestra .5 - Elective or Study Hall TOTAL 8 Credits
10th Grade 1 - English (any level) 1 - Math (any level) 1 - History (any level) 1.5 - AP Science 1 - Foreign Language (or other elective) .5 - Gym 1 - Band, Chorus, or Orchestra 1 - Elective or Study Hall (add another .5 free if not doing AP Science) TOTAL 8 Credits 11th Grade 1 - English (any level) 1 - Math (any level) 1 - History (any level) 1.5 - AP Science 1 - Foreign Language (or other elective) .5 - Gym .5 Career Development 1 - Band, Chorus, or Orchestra .5 - Elective or Study Hall (add another .5 free if not doing AP Science) TOTAL 8 Credits 12th Grade 1 - English (any level) 1 - Math (any level) 1 - History (any level) 1.5 - AP Science 1 - Foreign Language (or other elective) .5 - Gym 1 - Band, Chorus, or Orchestra 1 - Elective or Study Hall (add another .5 free if not doing AP Science) TOTAL 8 Credits
