Shorecrest High School Registration

Enrollment vs Registration?

Enrollment is the process of entering a student into a school and/or district. The enrollment process needs to be completed only by those students not currently attending a Shoreline School District school. If you are interested in enrolling a student or finding out more about the process, contact the Shorecrest counseling secretary, Jocelyn Hudson, at (206) 361-4296.

Registration is signing up for classes for the current year or for next year. A student must complete enrollment paperwork (if not already attending a Shoreline district school) before being allowed to register. For registration questions, contact the Shorecrest registrar, Cindy Hadden, at (206) 361-4293. See below for more specific questions about registration.

Enrollment

Current Kellogg 8th graders: Will automatically be transferred to Shorecrest over the summer unless the family notifies Kellogg or Shorecrest of other plans. Those Kellogg students living out-of-district who have current boundary exception will need to reapply for a boundary exception for Shorecrest. Shorecrest counselors visit Kellogg in February/March to hand out and collect registration materials through the students’ English classes.

Current Room 9 8th graders: Since some students in the Room 9 program may live in the Shorewood attendance area, students/families won’t be automatically “rolled up” to Shorecrest. Shorecrest counselors visit Room 9 in February/March to hand out registration materials, but only those students who fill out and submit Shorecrest registration materials will have their records transferred to Shorecrest over the summer.

Currently live within the Shorecrest attendance area, but attend a private school or are home-schooled: Will need to enroll at Shorecrest; call the Shorecrest counseling secretary. During the enrollment appointment, the student/family will meet with a counselor who will help the student register and will answer questions.

Currently live within the Shorewood attendance area, but wish to attend Shorecrest: Will not need to enroll, but may need to fill out paperwork to request an interdistrict transfer. Call Trudy Wright at (206) 361-4771 for additional information. An appointment with a counselor may or may not be necessary.

Currently live outside the Shoreline School District (not in the cities of Shoreline or Lake Forest Park) and not attending a Shoreline public school: Will first need to complete an Out-of-District Boundary Application, available from the Shoreline School District, the district website, the Shorecrest counseling secretary, or from the Shorecrest website. Students’ applications are evaluated based upon behavior, attendance records, and academic performance. The final determiner is space availability in the appropriate academic program. If approved, the family will be contacted and the student will be eligible to enroll. At the enrollment appointment, the student/family will meet with a counselor who will help the student register and will answer questions. If you have a current boundary exception in place you will need to reapply for admission to Shorecrest.

Is it too late to enroll and register? Can my student still get into Honors classes if we just moved here? Since Shorecrest is a public school, we are obligated to accept new enrollees at any time, provided they live in our attendance area. No matter when you join us, we will strive to place you in the classes you request/need (or, if coming from another school mid-term, into classes which most closely approximate those you were taking at your former school). However, if you enter Shorecrest after the majority of students have been scheduled for the semester, it may be that some of the classes you want/need will have no more room. This is true for Honors/AP classes, too – but we will make every attempt to place you in an appropriate academic program.

Registration

General information: Shorecrest uses a two-semester schedule. In each semester there are six periods, meaning a student can take six classes per semester and twelve classes per year. Each semester class passed earns .5 credit; therefore a typical student who passes all classes will earn 6 credits per year. A student must have a minimum of 5 credits to become a sophomore, 10 credits to become a junior, and 16 credits to become a senior. To graduate from Shorecrest, a student must have a minimum of 22.5 credits. Fifteen of these credits must be earned in specified areas/specific courses, and the remaining 7.5 (or more) credits are earned in electives of the student’s choice.

Students register for an entire year at a time. They are given the opportunity to make changes to their schedules shortly before the beginning of each semester. Before registering for the coming year, students are assisted in determining which graduation requirements they have met and which remain to be met. They can then devise a plan to take the remaining needed classes in an orderly fashion.

What classes should an incoming 9th grader register for? All 9th graders (with few exceptions) will take a full year of English 9 (or Honors English 9), a full year of Math at a level appropriate to the student’s ability, a full year of Integrated Physical Science (or Honors Integrated Physical Science), and one semester of World Geography. These courses will consume seven of the twelve slots in a school year. The remaining five slots will be filled with a combination of other courses that are required for graduation (for instance, a Fine Arts, PE or Occupational course), or courses that can count as “elective” (such as a world language). Some of these courses are year-long; others are semester-long. A freshman could take Spanish and Freshman Band, both year-long courses that take up two slots each, plus Essential Health, and the schedule would be full. Another freshman might elect to take Essential Health, Arts and Crafts, Beginning Piano, Computer Animation, and Team Sports, each of which is a one-semester class, thereby completing his/her schedule. A third freshman could request one year-long course and three semester-long courses (for instance, Japanese and Foods/Nutrition, Ceramics 1, and Essential Health) to fill up the five remaining slots.

Since college entrance requirements are often more extensive than Shorecrest graduation requirements, it is worthwhile to think ahead when selecting classes during registration. The Shorecrest Registration Guide (available in hard copy and online) gives information about general college entrance requirements.

How can a student fit in all the Shorecrest graduation requirements if he/she wishes to take a heavy academic course load (for college entrance) AND four years of music? Students and parents develop a five year “High School and Beyond” plan in the student’s freshman year. Alternatives for meeting graduation requirements can be examined with the high school counselor after the student has initially developed this plan.

How do I know if Honors/AP courses are right for me/for my student? Who should take these courses? The Shorecrest Registration Guide has a section on Honors/Advanced Placement that gives general information on the program. Individual class descriptions can also help you determine the best placement in your particular circumstance.

In general: Honors/AP classes are more rigorous and challenging, usually requiring more independent work than regular sections. Most require more reading, writing, research, and/or speaking. The classes are run at a ‘higher level’ than the regular sections; they have a different atmosphere. Some require preparatory reading or work to be done the summer before. (There is a link on the same page as you found this FAQ document, “Summer course work and information for classes that require it” – you can check there to see what types of summer assignments are typically given for a particular Honors/AP course.) Honors/AP students must be self-motivated and able to manage time effectively. The student’s GPA and/or grades in previous classes in that subject area are good predictors of success.

Colleges like to see that a student took an Honors/AP class (when available) even if the student didn’t earn as high a grade as he/she might have in a regular section. They know the student will have benefited from the challenge offered by such a course, and is accustomed to a more college-like level of work.

Are Honors/AP courses appropriate for everyone? NO! Some students feel up to Honors-level work in only one particular area; others will want to take all the Honors courses available. Many know they don’t have the discipline to do the required extra work. Students who are worried that they won’t be able to take Honors courses and still have time for music lessons or sports (or friends or sleeping!) should be reassured that many Honors/AP students are very active in clubs, leadership, music and/or sports. The Honors Department and students in the Honors Program both say: If you’re not sure if an Honors class is right for you, take a risk and give it a try! Your freshman year is a great time to try new things!

Honors Math…how does that work? There are two ways to take advanced-level math at Shorecrest. The first is accelerated courses – students who successfully took Integrated Math 1 in 8th grade are on track to continue into Math 2 as freshmen, Math 3 as sophomores, Pre-Calculus (or Math Analysis or AP Statistics) as juniors, then Calculus or AP Calculus (or a higher level of math through Running Start) as seniors.

The second way is to take Honors options through regular Integrated Math 1, 2 and 3 courses. This will be explained by each math teacher at the beginning of the course. Successful completion of the additional work required will lead to an Honors designation for the course on the transcript.

Can a student ‘skip’ a math level? Each year a small number of students successfully completes the work required to ‘skip’ a math level. For instance, a student who took 8th grade math in 8th grade, but who wants to get into the accelerated math track at Shorecrest, might wish to ‘skip’ Integrated Math 1 and enter Math 2 in his/her freshman year. This usually requires attending summer school and then completing a ‘challenge’ test to determine appropriate placement. If you are interested in this option, ask the student’s current math teacher or contact the Shorecrest math department chairman for information.

My 8th grade student is coming from a school that doesn’t use the integrated math curriculum…which is the appropriate math level? The student’s current math teacher may be willing to help with proper placement, possibly using the math class flow chart in the Shorecrest Registration Guide to help. The current math teacher may correspond with the Shorecrest Math department chairman or the student’s counselor at Shorecrest. In the end, if it turns out the student was improperly placed, the math teacher will suggest a change in level shortly after the beginning of the school year. As a general rule, if the 8th grader is a strong math student, Integrated Math 2 will likely be the correct class; an average math student will be more comfortable in Math 1.

Honors World Languages…how do they work? The World Language department at Shorecrest doesn’t offer Honors sections per se, although French and Spanish do offer AP classes if there are sufficient registrations. However, the World Language program, which is coordinated with Kellogg’s program, is quite rigorous, and French, Japanese and Spanish offer at least four years of study at Shorecrest. Note: Completion of World Language classes is not a high school graduation requirement, but is usually required for entrance into four-year colleges.

English is not the mother tongue for my student…or, my student has studied another language outside of school…or, my student took one or two years of a language in middle school: Will he/she still have to take World Language courses in high school to fulfill the requirements for college entrance? It’s always best to check with particular colleges your student may be interested in attending. In general, colleges want to see two years of successful high school study in the same language. If a student has taken a language in middle school, colleges want the student to continue study in the same language for at least a year in high school. Some colleges won’t accept a year of language studied in 7th grade towards their entrance requirements. In general, students who lived in a country where English was not the mother tongue, and who moved to the United States after 7th grade, may be considered to have completed the World Language requirement for most colleges. In the case of students who have taken language studies outside of the regular weekday school, the college may allow strong results from an SAT II test to satisfy the language requirement. Again, consultation with colleges of interest is advised. NOTE: World Language credits are NOT a requirement for graduation from Shorecrest. All World Language courses taken count towards the 7.5 elective credits required for graduation from Shorecrest.

I understand that students who took Integrated Math 1 or Spanish 1 or 2 or French 1 or 2 at Kellogg can receive high school credit for these courses. How does that happen? Students who took these classes at Kellogg will show them on their Shorecrest transcripts as having been satisfactorily completed, but with no credit. As the student continues in high school, it may be to the student’s advantage to “bring up the credit.” In consultation with his/her counselor, the student and his/her parent apply to have the Kellogg grade and credit brought to the high school transcript. Now the grade received in the Kellogg class will figure into the high school GPA. Unless the student received excellent marks in the Kellogg course, he/she is advised to wait until the junior year to bring up the credit, when the high school GPA has been established and the effect of the Kellogg grade on the GPA is known. (If the Kellogg grade wasn’t so great, it could lower the Shorecrest GPA.) Once on the transcript, the Kellogg grade/credit will not be removed.

Why do you ask incoming freshmen, on the registration form, to mark what they plan to do after high school? My student has no clue! It’s true, many students won’t know this yet. The main reason for asking is to make students and families aware that choices they make now may affect their future plans…it’s to get them thinking. Also, counselors like to be aware of future goals for those students who have them in mind already, so they may help these students select appropriate courses.

Does attendance really matter in high school? You bet! Only eight absences per class per semester are allowed. After that, the student will not earn credit for that class. Detailed information about the attendance policy is available at the Shorecrest website; see Policies on the left-hand side of the home page.

Is there a supply list for Shorecrest students? Since each student takes a different set of classes, it is impossible to provide a comprehensive supplies list that would be appropriate for all. However, all students will benefit from having these several items:

a package of #2 pencils with erasers, for standardized testing (not mechanical; not #2.5).
a 1GB flash/thumb/USB drive for memory, backup, and for transferring files (about $10 at office supply stores).
a personal email address. Sometimes sending a document to yourself via email is the best way to get it to a place that it can be printed. Also, email addresses are used in résumés and for correspondence with the school. (Free email addresses are available from gmail.com, yahoo.com, hotmail.com, etc.).
Access to a computer for checking teacher websites where grades and assignments are posted. Some teachers make extensive use of technology in the classroom as well.
A basic calculator that does trig functions, roots, and scientific notation for math and science classes.
$2-$5 brought to school each day, for print cards, lunch, snacks, blank CDs, etc.

What’s with this Scottish stuff? When Shorecrest first opened, students were allowed to select the mascot. Between the fact that the school sits on a high piece of ground (“Highlanders”) and the impression that a visiting group of kilted pipers left on the student body, the decision was made. Shorecrest is proud to be an official member of the Gordon Clan of Scotland, and from their tartan we take our school colors of gold, forest green, and navy. Shorecrest has one of the few kilted high school marching bands in the nation. We offer bagpipe lessons for credit, and Highland Dancing as a club. Our mascot Otis can be seen at assemblies and games. When pipers march in playing Scotland the Brave, show your pride by standing and clapping along! Check out our Traditions Website!

It’s all so overwhelming! There’s a lot to learn about how high school works, but there are lots of people willing to help. We host get-to-know-Shorecrest sessions in winter and spring for families who want to find out more about Shorecrest. Eighth grade parents are invited to an evening gathering in late February or early March, at which time they can learn more about Shorecrest. We offer an evening in late summer when families can come learn about the school and look for a student’s assigned classrooms. Freshmen will be assigned to a “Link Crew” group of about ten 9th graders paired with two upperclassmen whose goal is to help freshmen navigate through and feel comfortable at Shorecrest. And counselors and other staff are always available to help individually.

How can an incoming student get off to a good start at Shorecrest?

Shorecrest Enrollment and Registration FAQs