Woodside School District

 

For 8th Grade Parents:

As the year begins, I know that you are thinking about what your child's high school experience will look like, whether they attend a private or public school next year. 

In order to answer your questions about high school and to help guide you through the process, I will be holding 1-1 parent meetings on September 19th-23rd in person and September 26th-28th over Zoom. Every meeting will have a 30-minute time slot reserved, and the format of the meeting is the only difference. Please pay careful attention to which type of meeting you'd like to sign up for when choosing a date.

I highly recommend that all families sign up for a meeting. Please sign up for only one-time slot, so that there is room for all families to sign up. During our meeting time, I will review upcoming open house events, public school enrollment steps, and private school application materials and deadlines. Please bring all of your questions to our meeting, as well!

Sign-ups are available HERE, and Zoom links will be sent out later for those choosing that option.

I look forward to meeting with each of you soon to discuss these exciting next steps for your child!

 

*****

 

Woodside School graduates are well prepared to take on the challenges that high school provides. Roughly 60% of our graduates will elect to apply and attend private high schools, and about 40% will choose to attend public high school in the Sequoia Union High School District.

The application and decision process can be arduous and sometimes confusing. In order to help make this transition as easy as possible for students and parents, we have created a synopsis of both the public and private High School application process. Below you will find important information and dates to help the transition process.

• Visit the "Information for Incoming 9th Grade Students" on the Sequoia Union High School District's website at www.seq.org for information regarding boundary search for your home High School, address verification, and open enrollment.
• If your child is interested in shadowing at Woodside High School, you can sign up online for a specific date. 
• Determine your home High School by conducting a Boundary Search.
• Address verification begins in November, and ALL families need to prove their addresses by going to the SUHSD office in person or completing address verfication virtually.  Even if you are considering private High School, it is highly recommended that you prove your address so that your child is put into SUHSD's student database.  If your child elects to go to private High School, we notify SUHSD.  
• Open Enrollment is a period of time when you may request a High School other than your assigned home school for your child to attend.  Open Enrollment submissions typically begin on November 15 and end at the beginning of February. Check the Sequoia Union High School District enrollment site for more information and the exact deadline.
• In early March you will be notified of acceptance to your desired home school.  Decisions at the High School District are made through a lottery process. 
• Please notify Jennifer Pedersen, Upper School Principal, and Elvira Ramirez, Student Information Coordinator, as to which school your child will attend.  
• All 8th grade students, no matter if they plan on attending private or public High School, will take ELA and Math placement tests for the Sequoia Union High School District.  This typically occurs in December/January.  These placement tests, along with current placement, state testing, and grades, will determine which Language Arts and Mathematics classes students take during their 9th grade year in the Sequoia Union High School District.
• Counselors from Woodside High School come to Woodside School and meet individually with 8th grade students at the end of March.  If students know that they will be attending a private High School, they will notify the counselors at that time.  Students who know that they will be attending public High Schools sit down with the counselors and discuss the classes that they will take their 9th grade year (e.g., Math, ELA, electives, etc.).  Information will be sent home to parents regarding classes prior to these meetings with students.  In addition, all class enrollments are handled online, and parents will have access to this component to check classes, make changes to certain classes, etc.

• Families should monitor private school websites regarding admission beginning in September.
• Families considering private schools must sign up for a Ravenna account. Many of the local private schools process their applications through Ravenna. 
• Schedule shadow dates with the private schools, and try to schedule these dates on Woodside School holidays or minimum days, whenever possible. Most schools now require that you pay the application fee before your child is allowed to shadow.  In addition, it is a good idea to try and space out the shadow days so that students don't miss multiple days in succession.  Also, please notify your child's teachers well in advance. 
• Plan to attend Open Houses at any schools being considered.  Some schools require registration to attend.
• Attend Open Houses and register for the lottery for charter schools, if interested.
• Follow instructions regarding submitting teacher and administration recommendations and transcript forms. It is vital that you complete the transcript release form so that Woodside School can send your child's report cards to prospective schools.
• Begin student/parent applications for private schools.  Be sure to complete the applications by the appropriate deadline.
• Complete financial aid paperwork, if needed.
• Register for testing according to what each private school requires (e.g., ISEE, SSAT, or HSPT). 
• Private schools will notify students of their acceptance in mid-March.
• Elvira Martinez, the Student Information Coordinator, compiles information regarding each student and the schools to which he or she is applying.  For detailed information regarding what parents need to do, please see the 8th grade instructions letter.  Once you have a Ravenna account, please see the Ravenna instructions.  All students have to fill out a Student Biography form and turn it into Elvira Martinez by November 4, 2022. Finally, all parents must fill out a Private School form so that we know which schools you are applying to and turn them into Elvira Martinez by November 4, 2022. 
• Please notify Mrs. Pedersen and Elvira Martinez as to which schools your child was accepted, wait-listed, or denied. In addition, please notify Mrs. Pedersen and Elvira as to which school your child will attend.

• 8th Grade Admissions Information Packet
• Ravenna Parent Instructions  
• Private School Form 
• Student Biography 
• 2022-2023 Open House/Information Night List