Dear 8th Grade Parent,
As we reach the final stretch of the 2021-2022 academic year, it’s time for your student to register for next year’s courses.
Course registration opens Friday, March 25 at 3:00PM and closes on Friday, April 8 at 3:00PM.
Please read this communication carefully to learn about the two important components of course registration:
- How to access the PowerSchool Portal which is where your rising HS student will select their courses for next year
- Guidance to help with their course selection
PowerSchool Portal
Like last year, your 8th grade student will use the PowerSchool Portal to select their classes. Beginning tomorrow at 3:00PM, you can access the portal by going to lnc.powerschool.com and entering your 8th grade student's confidential ID (user name) and password. Your student recently created these credentials, so they should be familiar and able to access them.
If your student has difficulty remembering their credentials, their unique student ID and password should follow this convention:
-
MS Student ID: Unique Student ID number
-
MS Student Password: First 7 numbers of Student ID + "."(period) + 2-digit DAY of birth + "!Lnc"
-
Example: ID is 1234567, birthday is Jan. 30, 2010. Password is 1234567.30!Lnc
A second option is to access the portal using your parent account if you have an existing LNC PowerSchool parent account for which you know your credentials. If you have never created an LNC PowerSchool parent account, please contact Mrs. Norris at vnorris@lncharter.org.
Either way, you will choose “Class Registration” on the left menu bar and proceed to select courses. For 9th grade, students select both their core (English, math, science, social studies) and elective courses. All courses are yearlong and there are seven class periods per day. Prerequisites are required for some courses and a minimum grade of an 80% (cumulative through 3rd quarter) is necessary in any subject that the student wants to take an honors-level 9th grade course. All courses that the student is eligible to take will automatically be available to them in the PowerSchool Portal. For example, if the student has earned an 80% or higher in English, English I and honors English I will be available to select. If the student has not earned a cumulative grade of at least an 80%, only English I would be available to select. Keep in mind, choosing not to take an honors class as a 9th grader does not preclude a student choosing an honors course as a 10th -12th grader.
The course registration process is straightforward and simple, however this video will step you through the process if you need it. Once your student has made their final selections, they should take a screen shot and keep it for their records.
Course Selection Guidance
Recently, Superintendent Stein spoke with the Class of 2026 about their transition to the high school. In addition, 8th grade counselor Ms. Hayes and our three high school counselors spoke to your student about course selection for 9th grade and our high school student council leaders met with the 8th grade to explain what student life is like at the high school. We hope that these sessions left your student more comfortable about their high school transition and more knowledgeable about selecting their 9th grade courses. As for course selection, the information below will help you support your student as they select their freshman classes. For additional information, please consult the high school curriculum guide that describes, by subject, the course offerings at the high school.
Many courses are offered as honors classes, but only students who have an 80% or higher cumulative grade in the subject will be able to select the honors-level course. Even if eligible, students and parents should carefully consider selecting honors-level courses as they cover the curriculum more deeply and rapidly than their standard level counterparts and generally require more coursework, homework and overall involvement from the student. Therefore, the student should genuinely like and perform well in any subject they are considering an honors-level course. While the minimum requirement is an 80%, students are best prepared for honors-level work if they have earned grades higher in the subject area in the past.
Students and parents should also consider the student’s overall schedule, including extracurricular activities, hobbies, service time (each high school student is required to perform at least 10 hours of service each year), etc. when deciding on courses. Students’ 8th grade teachers are a great resource to lean into for help and advice. Keep in mind that students are not allowed to “drop” an honors course that becomes too challenging once the school year begins.
Here is the course framework for freshmen:
-
English I – Students may select English or honors English with eligibility to select honors level based on their 8th grade English grade through the 3rd quarter (must be 80% or higher)
-
Math I, Math II, Math II honors, Math III or Math III honors – Students select a mathematics course based on their 8th grade math course and honors level (Math II and III only) based on their 8th grade math grade through the 3rd quarter (must be 80% or higher)
-
Economics & Personal Finance – Students select either Economics & Personal Finance or honors Economics & Personal Finance with eligibility to select honors level based on their 8th grade social studies grade through the 3rd quarter (must be 80% or higher)
-
Earth and Environmental Science – Students select either science or honors science with eligibility to select honors level based on their 8th grade science grade through the 3rd quarter (must be 80% or higher)
-
PE & Health – North Carolina requires that all 9th grade students take physical education and health; there is no honors option for this course
-
Spanish I, Spanish II French I, French II – Students must take a minimum of 2 years of foreign language and many begin this two year foreign language requirement in their 9th grade year; however it is acceptable to wait until sophomore year. If your student took and passed French I or Spanish I in 8th grade, they have one of the two year requirement satisfied and they can choose to advance to Spanish II or French II or elect to repeat the class based on teacher guidance and parent/student preference
-
Fine or Performing Art (art, chorus, band) – Students must have at least 1 year of art credit and it is encouraged, but not required, that this is done in 9th grade
- Additional electives if the above does not equal seven courses
If you experience issues connecting to the LNC PowerSchool Portal, please complete THIS FORM. You may reach out to your counselor, Ms. Hayes at jhayes@lncharter.org if you have questions related to selecting courses.
Finally, if any of your contact information has changed, please use the Student Information Update form to tell us. It is especially important that we have accurate email addresses, mobile phone numbers and mailing addresses for both of your student’s parents or guardians. If your student will not be returning to LNC next school year, please email MS Registrar Jennifer Wolfe at jwolfe@lncharter.org to let her know.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
