PARENT STUDENT HANDBOOK | Page 49

Course Selection Process

Each summer, students entering grades 9-12 will be placed into their high school courses for the following school year based on their graduation requirements and the courses being made available for the upcoming year. Students are generally not permitted to have more than two study halls in a single day. Exceptions to this rule must be pre-approved by the Secondary Level Principal.

Dropping / Adding Courses

A request to drop or add a course must be submitted on the appropriate form( available in the secondary office) to the Secondary Level Principal for approval no later than the 10 th school day. The drop / add form requires a parent’ s signature. Generally, a student is not allowed to drop a course required for graduation. A student requesting to drop a course must remain in the course until the request has been approved.

High School Benchmark Projects

The high school students complete one benchmark project each year that emphasizes the continued development of writing skills in conjunction with the content area. These projects are designed to showcase each student’ s best effort and are cumulative in nature. The senior level benchmark will also serve as the“ one credit senior demonstration and mastery-based diploma assessment” as required by the State of Connecticut diploma requirements. Students who have not met the necessary proficiency level( 80 % minimum) for the benchmark project will be required to continue to work on the project until proficiency is met. Credit for the benchmark course will not be awarded until proficiency on the benchmark has been demonstrated, which will be reflected on the student’ s report card. An incomplete will remain on the student’ s record until proficiency is met. When remediation is needed, it is expected to be completed before the last day of the school year.

Mission / Service Elective

Students may be able to receive up to 0.25 credit( for a minimum of 30 hours of service) any given year for service or mission work done outside of school hours or during study halls. An application must be completed and approved before the mission / service starts. A record of hours and evaluation must be submitted once the service is completed, and before credit can be awarded.

Purpose

• The Cornerstone Christian School seeks to instruct students in such a way that they walk in the Truth of God’ s Word. This means that they know Christ not only with their mind, but heart and body as well.

• Christ calls His followers to be“ salt and light” to the world( Matthew 5:13-16) and commissions us as His witnesses( Acts 1:8).

Independent Study Credit

Students may submit an application to the Secondary Level Principal( before beginning an independent study) to request high school credit for the elective. Independent studies cannot take the place of courses offered by CCS( when they are available to the student), but they can be used to strengthen and enhance a student’ s high school transcript. Credit will not be issued if the project

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