Over the next few months, some important activities will be taking place as the transition from middle school to high school begins to take shape. To help guide you through this transition, here is a brief timeline for your reference:
January
HHS will present a PARENT ORIENTATION program at 6:30 pm on January 22, 2025, exclusively online via Zoom to review the HHS Program of Studies. The link to view the livestream event is posted below. The HHS Director of School Counseling will conduct this presentation along with the district supervisors for each curriculum department. Please mark your calendar for this important orientation program. A recording of the event will be posted on the High School counseling office website for future reference: https://hhs.htps.us/o/hhs/page/8th-grade-parent-night-presentation
Hillsborough High School 8th Grade Academic Orientation for Parents/Guardians of the future Class of 2029
January 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Please click the link below to join the ZOOM webinar: (WEBINAR CONCLUDED)
To view a recording of the program, please refer to the High School Counseling Office website at this link: https://hhs.htps.us/o/hhs/page/8th-grade-parent-night-presentation
February
Throughout early to mid-February, HMS counselors will meet with 8th-grade students via their social studies classes to review the HHS Program of Studies, course offerings, and course selection process with all students. The updated 2025-2026 Program of Studies is currently available to view online here.
The district supervisors for each of the curriculum departments at the High School including literacy, math, science, social studies, and world language will review data on all students in the 8th-grade class to determine eligibility for invitation to participate in the honors level program within their respective departments or for advancement to upper level courses for freshman year. Notice of invitation for advanced or honors level courses will be communicated to students and parents along with the placement recommendations via Genesis in March. Details on how each department determines course placement and honors eligibility is attached below.
Late February
Notice will be sent out once the process of course placement recommendations has been completed for all subject areas and entered into the Genesis student information system. At that point, the course recommendations will be viewable online via the Parent Portal. We will share directions towards the end of February/early March for you to view the recommendations for core courses, discuss them with your child, and enter rank-ordered elective course requests in Genesis. Understand that a student cannot request an honors course for which he or she has not been approved by meeting the placement criteria and receiving the HHS departmental recommendation for honors placement.
March
HHS counselors will travel to HMS on March 12th to have short meet & greet sessions with their assigned 8th-grade students to provide a general overview of the high school transition from 8th to 9th grade and answer students’ questions. If there are any outstanding questions or discrepancies in course requests and placements, the HHS counselors will note these and follow-up with students and parents as needed to complete the initial course assignments for 9th grade.
Somerset Co. Vo-Tech or Other High Schools
Students considering attendance at Somerset County Vocational-Technical High School (SCVTHS) or at a private/parochial high school outside of Hillsborough will proceed through this process for HHS until such time as a formal acceptance notice and request for transfer of records by the out-of-district high school is received. The HMS School Counseling office can assist parents and students interested in attending other high schools, including SCVTHS. For more information about the academic, career and technical programs available at Somerset County Vo-Tech (SCVTHS), visit their website at www.scvths.org, or speak with your child’s counselor here at HMS for guidance.
HMS School Counseling Office
Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s counselor at HMS for any questions or assistance throughout this transition:
Teams 8A and 8C: Mrs. Sara Hunkeler 431-6600 ext. 3278 (shunkeler@htps.us)
Teams 8B, 8D and 8E: Mrs. Aime Casagrande 431-6600 ext. 2022 (acasagrande@htps.us)
The HMS and HHS School Counseling departments will be working very closely together to ensure a smooth transition for all 8th graders, and their parents, on this next and most exciting phase of education.
Hillsborough High School
Freshman Course Placement / Honors Program Selection
Each curriculum department for HHS will complete a review of all eighth-grade students for the purpose of making placement recommendations for freshman courses in their respective areas including invitation to the honors programs in each discipline.
Literacy
For language arts/literacy, placement decisions are based on multiple measures including a student’s performance on summative reading and writing assessments in addition to teacher input. English I Honors is offered to students who:
Demonstrate independent and advanced work habits and initiative - reads more than just the required reading to gain more understanding
Demonstrate critical and analytical thinking, reading, and writing skills
Mathematics
Please note that students will be placed in ninth grade mathematics courses based on their mathematics placement in grade eight, a teacher recommendation and their assessment scores. Placement for ninth grade math courses will be done by the mathematics department and the process requires nothing additional from you or your child at this time.
Science
The Science Honors courses require high levels of analytical thinking, writing, and discussion, as well as application of mathematical skills. For Honors placement consideration, 7th and 8th grade science marking period grades, science common assessments, 9th grade math placement, and teacher evaluations will be considered. Please be aware that for your child to be eligible for Honors Science, he or she must currently be in Algebra 1 or Geometry.
Social Studies
World History Honors is offered to students who have demonstrated success in reading, writing, making inferences, and thinking critically and wish to take a rigorous social studies course in high school. The course requires a great deal of independent reading of primary and secondary sources, individual and group projects, and high levels of analytical thinking, writing, and discussion. A placement for world history honors in 9th grade will be based on average Social Studies grades in marking periods one and two, historical thinking and writing skills as measured on a social studies writing task all students took, and performance on the writing tasks administered by the Literacy department. 9th graders who are accepted into World History Honors will also be given the option to enroll in AP Human Geography as an elective.
World Language Level II or III
Students entering 9th grade may elect to begin or continue world language studies in any of the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish at the introductory level (Level I). While there is no “honors” program for 9th grade world language, students who have successfully demonstrated advanced proficiency in their language studies may be recommended for Level II or Level III in 9th grade based on current grades in world language and performance on a skills assessment (oral & written language proficiency) that will be conducted in class in early-February, in addition to having teacher recommendation.