Both freshmen and sophomore schedules for next year are expected to be complete by winter break, which is Dec. 18. Scheduling appointments are taking place with both classes in which the students are putting a plan together for the next few years as well as being shown their GPA.

“Scheduling first begins in the spring,” director of counseling Linda Skafish said.

“On Sept. 18, Mrs. Eshleman meets with the department chairs,” Skafish said. Skafish said Assistant Principal Ronda Eshleman tells them about scheduling for the upcoming year.

Then, a committee is held with the department chairs to determine what courses students will be able to take the following year. “Once it is complete, we send it to Mr. Williams for approval. That becomes the program of studies,” Skafish said.

Lately, freshmen have also been receiving visits from their counselors during their English classes. “We only do that with the freshmen,” Skafish said. “It is easier to do because of the house system.” While freshmen are sent to their counselor’s office on the second floor of the freshman center, sophomores schedule one-on-one with their counselors.

Scheduling is a difficult time for counselors. It takes them most of the year to get every student scheduled. “We try to get the freshmen and the sophomores scheduled before Christmas,” Skafish said.

“After the holidays, we schedule the juniors and the freshman counselors go to the middle schools to schedule the rising freshman.” To add to their difficulty, each counselor is given approximately 125 to 130 students to take care of. “The counselors are assigned students by last name, whereas the freshman are sorted by house” said Skafish. The deadline for scheduling is May 1, 2010. By Keshav Masani <[email protected]>