Honors English and Social Studies
Biology

Honors English:  Eighth Grade
Honors English and Social Studies:  Ninth Grade

The honors program at Rose Hill Junior High offers challenging coursework in English and social studies.  Both eighth and ninth grade Honors English emphasizes college-preparatory research and writing skills.  Ninth grade honors geography covers the five themes of geography and the Pacific Rim.  This fast-paced program offers opportunities for enrichment, personal growth and college preparation.  Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, expository writing, public presentation, analysis of classic works and ideas, vocabulary development and effective use of technology.  Students accepted into the honors program are characterized by self-motivation, high-achievement, intellectual curiosity, creativity, excellent writing skills, exemplary behavior, consistent attendance, school involvement and an eagerness to learn. 

Admission to the honors program is competitive.  Students are evaluated using four components:  an in-school writing sample, school recommendations, standardized test scores, and grades.  Notification of placement in the program will be made before June.  When considering applying for honors, students should recognize that they will be expected to do a great deal of writing, and will often have daily homework.  Also, students whose grades drop below a B for longer than one month will be exited from the program.  In order to apply, students must have received a B in all their classes first semester, and must have passed the Reading and Writing sections of the most recent WASL.  No adjustment will be made for different grading scales used by different departments or different schools.

Should your child like to be considered for the honors program at Rose Hill, they must complete an in-school reading and writing assessment, to be given at 1:00 on March 29^th in the cafeteria.  Students must arrange their own transportation home afterwards.  Arrangements for an alternate time must be made in advance by contacting Mrs. Berge (jberge@lwsd.org). 

Biology:  Ninth Grade

Purpose: AP Biology and AP Chemistry are only offered in alternating years at Lake Washington High School. Chemistry is a pre-requisite for both, and therefore has to be taken in 10^th grade by any students interested in taking both AP courses. Taking Biology in 9^th grade will allow them to do this even though it is not an honors level course.

The sequence is as follows:

9^th Grade Biology à 10^th Grade Chemistry à 11^th & 12^th Grade AP Bio & AP Chemistry

There are other AP Science courses offered at the high school as well.

 Pre-requisites:

Students must be highly capable, self-motivated, and highly interested in science in order to be successful throughout this advanced track. They must also possess the following:

• A in Integrated Science II

• B or better in Integrated I Math

• 8^th Grade Math teacher recommendation

• 8^th Grade Science teacher recommendation

• Passing score on Biology entrance exam à to be given in late May.

 Please Note: Taking Chemistry as a sophomore will be challenging in that most of the other students will likely be Juniors and Seniors. Therefore, students who are not both highly capable and self-motivated may find it harder, rather than easier, to earn the GPA and WASL scores necessary to get into the college or university of their choice. Students who do meet all of the stated requirements will find it a highly rewarding choice.