Educational Requirements

Homework

Sacred Heart adheres to the policy of assigning homework to the students.Homework is intended to aid students in developing good work habits, independence, and a sense of responsibility. Each parent should provide a quiet place for his or her child to complete work or study.Schedule a regular time for homework early in the evening so the child will have adequate time to complete the work. It shall be the policy of Sacred Heart School to delegate the responsibility of assigning homework for students by professional staff in accordance with the following principles and guidelines. Homework in grades K-12 will be assigned in accordance with the following principles and guidelines:

  1. Assignments will be assigned to provide either massed practice for a skill/concept recently learned or distributive practice for a skill /concept which was learned earlier but review is needed to maximize retention.
  2. Massed practice of a new skill/concept is essential to achieve a high degree of mastery.
  3. Distributive practice of previously learned skills/concepts is essential to promote maximum retention and recall.
  4. Practice is most effective if it is provided in short frequent sessions.
  5. Guided practice under the supervision of a teacher prior to independent practice is essential to ensure that the student practices the skills/concept correctly.
  6. The more specific the linkage of practice to the skill/concept being taught for mastery or review, the more likely positive results will be achieved.
  7. The level of difficulty and complexity of practice must be at or below the level to which the student may proceed without supervision and/or guidance.
  8. Increased meaningfulness of the practice increases the probability of effectiveness.
  9. Practice of specific and small bits of learning is most effective as long as meaning is not compromised.
  10. The more immediate the results of the practice are made known to the student, the higher the probability of effectiveness.

The following guidelines will be observed by professional staff in homework assignments

  1. Assignments will not be considered as an extension of the classroom instruction for the purpose of either independent skill practice or mastery, or for the review of previously mastered skill/concepts.
  2. Assignments will not involve skill/concepts that have not been previously taught.
  3. Assignments to achieve mastery of new skills/concepts will follow guided practice to ensure that the student successfully practices to master the skills/concepts.
  4. Assignments to achieve mastery of new skills/concepts will focus specifically on these skills/concepts in order to promote mastery in a more effective way.
  5. Maximum use of classroom time for input and supervised study should be planned for each lesson. Some homework assignments can be best accomplished during supervised study conducted as part of the allotted instructional period.
  6. Assignments will be designated to provide short, frequent practice sessions focused on small segments of learning while maintaining maximum meaning for the student.
  7. Assignments will be made which address common needs of individuals rather than automatically assigning common homework to all students without regard to the individual student’s need or purpose of the assignment.
  8. Staff should implement plans for immediate feedback to the student whenever possible. The feedback should communicate to the student specifically what aspects of the assignments are complete and what is incorrect. Follow-up instructions and exercises should be implemented to guide the student in making and practicing corrections. At the elementary level, the time between completing the assignment and the reviewing knowledge of results should range from immediate to twenty-four hours. As the secondary level this range should be from immediate to not more than three days.
  9. Professional staff will exercise judgment relative to the quantity and frequency of homework assignments in relation the above principles and guidelines. The emphasis will be on quality rather than quantity. The following guidelines should be considered in making homework assignments.

Frequency of Assignment

Grades K-1 2-3 days per week. Time required to complete daily assignments: 15-30 minutes each content area.
Grades 2-3 3-4 per week. Time required to complete daily assignments: 30-45 minutes.
Grades 4-6 3-5 days per week. Time required to complete daily assignments 30-60 minutes.
Grades 7-9 3-5 days per week. Time required to complete daily assignments 45-60 minutes.
Grades 10-12 3-5 days per week. Time required to complete daily assignments: 60-150 minutes. Daily assignments for independent skill practice for new learning should range from 15-18 minutes per subject.

Graduation Requirements
(2016-2017)

During grades 9-12 students must successfully complete the following 26 units to graduate from Sacred Heart Catholic School:

Religion 4.0 units[1]
English (not to include Oral Communications) 5.0 units
Social Studies 3.0 units[2]
Math 4.0 units[4]
Science 3.0 units[3]
P.E. 0.5 units[5]
Health 0.5 units
Fine Arts 0.5 unit[6]
Oral Communications 0.5 units
Electives 5.0 units *

[1]Transfer students may use electives toward Religion requirements in special cases.

[2]Must include 1 unit each of American History &World History AND 1/2 unit each
of Civics & Economics

3)To include 1 unit each of Physical Science & Biology

[4]2 of the 4 MUST be Algebra 1 & Geometry

[5]No more than 1 unit of P.E. may be used toward graduation requirements.

[6]Art, drama, and music courses are counted as fine arts courses.

*Electives should be chosen with future goals in mind, i.e. they should be helpful
in making the student as college and/or vocationally ready as possible.
Students should visit with Counselor to ensure electives are being chosen wisely.

Honor Graduate Requirements:

Students must have a cumulative (9th – 12th grades) GPA of 3.5 or higher and complete 8 of 20 Honors classes to be eligible for Honor Graduate status. Following is a list of honor graduate classes offered.

 

ENGLISH
Creative Writing
Composition I
Composition II
*Journalism		 SOCIAL STUDIES
World History
World Geography
Current Events
Contemporary American History
MATH
Transitional Math
Algebra II
Trigonometry
Calculus
College Algebra		 FINE ARTS
Art II
Art History
 
SCIENCE
Anatomy
Physics		 BUSINESS
Computer Applications II
Accounting II
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Spanish II, III		  

*Denotes classes that students may use as Honors after completing additional assignments

Concurrent Credit

Act 6001-1989 enables Sacred Heart School students to earn concurrent high school and college credit. If students meet the entrance requirements of higher education institutions they may take college courses and earn both high school and college credit. One three-hour college level class will equal 1 unit of high school credit.

A Sacred Heart School senior choosing to complete graduation using college level classes must be enrolled in a minimum of three classes on the campus of Sacred Heart School and a minimum of six college hours on the college campus or a minimum of 4 classes on campus and 3 college hours on the college campus.

Upon completion of any off campus courses, the official grade(s) must be sent to Sacred Heart School directly from the institution where they were earned. The grade(s) will then be placed on the transcript and be computed in the student’s grade point average.

Students may attend classes in summer school at accredited area high schools, colleges or universities, or by approved correspondence courses. Credit will be earned by these courses of study as designated by these schools or correspondence courses.