Academic Help and Tips

Schedule corrections can be made during the first two days of each trimester AND only if it allows us to maintain a balanced master schedule and reasonable class sizes. 

Schedule corrections will only be made for the following reasons:

1. Your schedule has a missing core / required course
2. You are scheduled for the incorrect level of a course (Honors Eng 9 v. Eng 9)
3. You have a hole in your schedule (empty class period)
4. You have not satisfied a prerequisite for a course (i.e. Drawing 1 before Drawing 2)
5. You failed a course in a previous school year and need to retake it
6. You are physically unable to participate in a course (Doctors note required)
7. You wish to change an elective AND the change would help balance class sizes.

Considerations

• Please register thoughtfully each year as your requests determine how we develop the master schedule and what classes will be available.
• We DO NOT make changes to schedules for the following reasons:
  • teacher preference
  • to be in class with friends
  • to accommodate lunch preference
• For Multi-Trimester Courses, CIS and AP courses, you must complete the Course Drop Form and have it completed when you see your Counselor.

Teachers Assistant (TA) Positions - 11th  and 12th grade only

• If a student would like to be a Teachers Assistant they must ask the teacher they hope to work with. 
• The teachers will make the formal request.
•  counselors will review and add TA position to the students schedule if they are in good standing for graduation
• Students Must complete a end of trimester TA reflection to earn credit for their TA position

If you need to make up credits from a previous school year please see your counselor to make a plan!

Credit Recovery Options:

• Guided Studies (aka " Night School" - Must be 16 years or older to participate)
  • Located at Saints Academy
  • Earn back credit during the school year
  • 3:00-4:30 pm
  • 1 day per week
  • 9 weeks to earn 1 credit

• 2022 Summer School - Grades 9-12
  • 3-4 weeks in June
  • 5 days per week
  • 8:30 am-2:30 pm (tentative)

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The Basics

• Do your homework!

• Talk to your teacher! Ask questions during class or meet with your teacher before or after school if you need additional assistance.

• Have you reviewed your notes/what you learned in class today? Can you summarize what you learned? If not, use your thinking maps and summarize. Preparation for tests and quizzes begins after the first day of class!

• Do you understand, can you answer the objectives the teacher provided?

• Can you use the term in a sentence and explain the importance?

• Do you really understand, or are you just regurgitating what the teacher said?

• Questioning: Did you ask clarifying questions? What questions do you have for the teacher the next day? Make note of them and get them answered.

• Teach someone else (this will help you realize what information you really don't understand).

• If you are absent, take the time to learn what you missed. Check in with your teacher upon your return to class!

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Additional Study Tips

Read every night

The reading homework can quickly become unmanageable if you don't keep up with the schedule. The best strategy is to block time to read every night so that you are always prepared for class and the material is understood on a daily basis.

Schedule daily and weekly reviews

Besides daily reviews, schedule a half hour weekly review (per class) to go over all notes taken that week. Remember that you forget over half of what you learn within 24 hours of learning it and forgetting increases even more as time elapses. Unless you schedule daily and weekly reviews, you will have to relearn nearly everything when you study for the test. With periodic reviews, you will forget less, remember more and no doubt, do better on tests.

Be an active learner

Studying for a test does not mean reading your notes or reviewing your textbook readings three, four or even ten times. This is passive study and active study of information is the most effective way to study. Active study means organizing your notes and/or readings by making a Table of Contents Sheet, Study Sheets and/or Flash Cards and then reciting the information out loud. You must do more than just read over your notes to insure retention. When you simply read over notes, you are only using your eyes. When you recite out loud, you are using your eyes, ears and voice. This is triple strength learning.

• As you read, look up words you are unfamiliar with.

• Ask questions in class when you are confused or struggling to understand - chances are, others would like clarification as well.

• Take notes as you read. Be an active reader and note-taker. Ask questions, summarize as you go and review when you are finished.

• Budget your time carefully - leave yourself plenty of quality time to complete your homework.

• Form study groups to review for tests (and make sure you stay on task!)

• Be in class each day. Everything teachers do each day has purpose. When you are absent you are indeed missing something important - a step along the journey.

• Prepare for tests appropriately. If you are in the habit of "cramming" the night before a test, you will likely be disappointed with your results in this class. Be persistent and read and review each night - there is just too much to cram.

• Most importantly, ask for help when you need it or if you feel overwhelmed. Teachers are more than happy to help!

Be brief

Make your notes as short as possible. Don't take down every word the teacher/book says. Instead, decide what is most important.

• Generate abbreviations for common words. (ex. Gov't = Government)

• Sometimes with your book it helps to read a whole section before writing anything down. This helps you put the information in your own words and makes sure that you do not write too much.

Organize

Have a system for organizing your notes. One recommended system is Cornell Notes System.

Think

Be actively involved in the information, not just a sponge soaking it up. Ask questions if you are confused or make a note to yourself to look it up later.

Review

Go over your notes sometime after you took them (ideally within 24 hours). This will help you understand and remember the information.

Study buddy

Your classmates may have picked up on something you did not. You may want to get a study buddy to compare notes with and review with before class. This will also help you retain information as it will encourage you to read the material a second time in that important 24-hour period.

Preparing for tests

• Look at previous assessments and answer questions again (ie quizzes, tests, pre-tests, if the teacher does not let you keep them, set up a time before or after school to review them).

• Review previous assignments - rereading is not enough - redo at least parts of previous assignments to ensure you remember all the details/steps.

• Try to anticipate what will be on the test (make up what you think the questions will be). Make cliff notes (condense each topic on a note card) from review sheet.

• If applicable, make flash cards for vocabulary.

• Make studying the last thing you do at night (go to bed immediately after studying, don't watch TV, go on the computer, play video games, etc. after studying).

• Break up your studying over a period of time such as a few nights (cramming the night before or the morning of the test is not a good idea).

• Use other resources to help you study (websites, classmates, other teachers).

• Go to review sessions - take notes and ask questions on things you don't understand.

• Get some sleep the night before and have something to eat before the test.

Taking the test

• When you first get the test:

  • Take a deep breath - try to stay relaxed throughout the test

  • Read the directions - carefully

  • Skim through the test

  • Budget your time - pay attention to how many points each question/section is worth

• General test taking tips:

  • Read the entire question

  • Circle "key" words in the question (any, not, except, always, never, all, every, only, some, most)

  • Don't read too much into the questions. The teacher is not trying to trick you.

  • Ask yourself . . . is a question answered for you in another question?

  • Mark the ones you are unsure of and come back if you have time. In other words, do the questions you know first (budget your time), and the ones worth the most points first.

• Helpful hints for various types of test questions:

  • Multiple choice and true-false questions

    • After reading the entire question, anticipate the answer before looking at the answer choices.

    • Read all of the answer choices.

    • Eliminate the choices you know are wrong.

    • If there is no guessing penalty, always take an educated guess (from the answers left after you have eliminated some of them).

  • Short answer

    • Keep it short, get to the point (it's not an essay question).

    • Answer the question that is asked, not something just related to it.

    • Use complete sentences with correct punctuation, correct grammar, correct spelling and use correct terms.

  • Essay

    • Pre-write - brainstorm - make an outline or use a thinking map, if helpful.

    • Make sure you understand what the question is asking.

    • Organize your thoughts, make sure you are answering the question and are giving evidence, supporting information, facts, reasons for your answer (don't just give your opinion, unless that is what is asked for).

    • Don't write long introductions or conclusions.

    • Focus on one main idea per paragraph.

    • Write as neatly as possible and pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation.

  • Problems

    • Show your work! All of it!

    • Circle your answer.

    • Pay attention to detail - label, use correct units.

    • Even if you don't know how to do a problem, write down as much information as you can and do as much as you can - you may get partial credit.

  • After you finish

    • Go back to the ones you skipped.

    • Check your answers carefully and take your time.

    • Don't pay attention to when others finish, don't rush/turn in your test too early.

Keep your materials/assignments all trimester and develop an organizational system that works for you. For example:

• maintain a separate three ring binder for each class

• maintain a table of contents for each binder

• use tabs to organize major sections in your binder (ask your teacher for suggestions)

• hole punch and put everything in its section (not in the front pocket of the binder)

• use a daily planner to keep track of assignments