September 8, 2015
Administration
 Principal
Jackie Horras
 Vice Principal Ryan Purtell
 Academic Dean Jennifer Bishop
 Asst. Principal Cynthia Barrett (A-Go)
 Asst. Principal Jason Christian (Gr-Or)
 Asst. Principal Sonia Almanza (Os-Z)
 Asst. Principal Bo Guajardo (Attendance)
Counselors
 Head
Counselor – Kimberly Schmidt
 A-Ca: Janelle Appleby
 Ce-Fl: Kellie Asterman
 Fo-H: Shanna Hewgley
 I-Mc: Orlando Matta
 Me-Ral: Darrell Clarke
 Ram–Sta : Debra Roland
 Ste–Z : Kristina Holder
Academic
planning
Personal counseling
Group counseling
Community Resources
Crisis counseling
College & Career Center
Get Connected
High School Attendance
Tutoring, Completion of Work & Communication
Building a Transcript
Looking to the Future
Lunch tutoring center – Library
 Teacher tutoring – before & after school
 Academic Support Teacher & Credit Retrieval
 Case Manager
 Graduation Coach
 College and Career Center
 Counseling Services
 Parent Conferences
 Parent Connection

 Academic
Decathlon
 Art Club
 Book Club
 Chess Club
 Class of 2018
 Drama
 French Club
 German Club
 Japanese Club
 JROTC
 Latin
Club
 Lit Mag
 Math Club
 Mu Alpha Theta
 Panther Anglers
 Robotics
 Spanish Club
 Student Council
MANY OPTIONS TO GET
INVOLVED AT O.H.S.
 Every
Student, Every Day
 Attendance for accountability
 Attendance for credit
A zero can impact a student’s grade in a
number of negative ways:
Assignment Scores
Average
80
90
80
80
85
83
80
90
80
80
0
66
Click here
on the
bottom of
the NISD
homepage to
start access
 Allows
parents and students to continuously
monitor grades and attendance
 Set grade and attendance alerts and triggers
 Manage contact information for call outs/emails
Stay Connected!
And periodically check
www.nisd.net/oconnor
Semester
Exams
January 12th-15th
Final Exams
May 27th-June 2nd
th
9
Grade EOC
March
29th, May 2nd & 4th
Student
Parent /
Guardian
O’Connor
Staff
Student
Success
English Language Arts
4 Credits
English I
English II
English III
Advanced English Course
Mathematics
4 Credits
Biology
IPC or Advanced Science Course
Advanced Science Course
Advanced Science Course
Social Studies
1 Credit
Languages Other than English (LOTE)
2 Credits
4 Credits
Algebra I
Geometry
Advanced Mathematics Course
Advanced Mathematics Course
Science
Physical Education (PE)
4 Credits
World Geography
World History
U.S. History
U.S. Government & Economics
Fine Arts
1 Credit
Comm. Applications
.5 Credit
Health
.5 Credit
Electives
6 Credits
Total
27 Credits
 Electives
in an area of focus designed to
have a positive influence on future college
and career plans
5





ENDORSEMENTS:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Business & Industry
Public Services
Arts & Humanities
Multidisciplinary Studies
 Academics/Class
Rank/GPA
Class Rank for College Admissions is based on
the six semester cumulative GPA
1/3 of the GPA/Rank is determined in 9th grade
PreAP and AP courses are weighted
 Test scores (SAT/ACT)
 Extracurricular involvement over time

Leadership
 Community
service
ELA
English I – 9th
English II –
10th
Math
Algebra I –
9th
Social
Studies
US History –
11th
Science
Biology – 9th
 Many
courses are offered as dual credit,
concurrently earning high school and college
credit through Northwest Vista
 English 1 Pre-AP  English 2 Pre-AP 
English 3 AP/DUAL  English 4 AP/DUAL
(College Credit Earned = Composition 1, Composition 2,
British Literature 1, British Literature 2 = 12 college hours)
 Algebra
1 Pre-AP  Geometry Pre-AP 
Algebra 1 Pre-AP  Pre-Cal Pre-AP/DUAL 
Calculus AB AP/DUAL
(College Credit Earned = College Algebra, Pre-Calculus,
Calculus 1, Calculus 2 = 8-16 College Hours)
 Agriculture
Education
 CATE Classes








Food Science
Child Development
Business
Marketing
Human Service
Fashion
Engineering & Architecture
Technology related fields
 Dual
Credit CTE
 Certifications through courses at OHS
 Co-Op
 Career
Inventories
 College Application assistance
 Scholarship information
 College Major/Fields of Study
 College Rep/Military Rep visits
 SAT/ACT waivers
 Setting up a College Board account
Mrs. Cruz – Career Center Technician
 Get
Connected
 Attendance
 Tutoring, Completion of work & Communication
 Building a Transcript
 Looking to the Future
Get the most up to date information about what’s
happening at O’Connor High School AND
STAY CONNECTED with your school!
Home phone? Cell phone? Text or email? It’s your
choice! To receive
information the way you’d like it through the NISD
Messenger System, take a few minutes to create a contact preference profile using the secure
on-line Contact Manager. Go to www.nisd.net and
click on the Parent Connection icon at the bottom of
the webpage.
Check grades and attendance, make cafeteria payments, and manage how you want to be notified with
important information from O’Connor High School.
We recommend that in addition to
declaring a phone number preference, you also include
an email address for notifications using that method as
well.
And visit the O’Connor Webpage at
www.nisd.net/oconnor. See campus news
releases and alerts and visit teacher pages
under “Departments.”
Register for Parent Connection to be able to monitor student grades, discipline, and attendance. This is an important tool for
parents and students to keep track of academic progress throughout the year. You can register for this free service online at:
http://www.nisd.net/parentconnection/
Parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers through e-mail or by phone. Parents can access teacher contact
information through the Teacher Outreach pages, which are linked to the school website (http://oconnorhs.nisd.net/).
Parents can set up conferences with individual or multiple teachers in order to discuss academic concerns.
Students who are having difficulties with assignment completion and understanding concepts should attend classroom
tutoring before school, after school, or during lunch (if available) to get extra help. Students can receive tutoring from
any teacher- not just their classroom teacher.
During all three lunches there are college tutors available in B102- Library Classroom. Tutors are prepared to help students
with all subjects – especially math and science. There are text books available for use in the Tutoring Center that students are
welcome to utilize while in B102. Computers are also available for student use.
Being connected to an on campus club or organization is an essential element of being in high school. These connections are
helpful to students in many ways: having another teacher on campus to help ensure success, meeting new friends with
similar interests & becoming contributing members to the overall success of the O’Connor community of students.
The OHS Library opens everyday at 7:45. The library remains open until 5:00 p.m. on Monday and 4:30 Tuesday-Thursday.
Students are welcome to come study in the library, make use of the computers for research and school work. The Library is
also open during all lunches for students to have a quiet place.
Mrs. Carroll & Mrs. Ellis are working with students in all grade levels with various needs to ensure students are being
successful and that their academic needs are being met. They are located in B102 (same room as the tutoring center) and can
be reached by phone or email.
Advanced Academics Course Selections
MATHEMATICS
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
ENGLISH
Algebra I Pre AP
Biology Pre AP
Geography Pre AP
English I Pre AP
Geometry Pre AP
Chemistry Pre AP*
World History Pre AP
English II Pre AP
Algebra II Pre AP
Physics 1 AP**
World History AP
English III AP/ Dual*
Pre Cal Pre AP/ Dual*
OR
US History AP/ Dual
English IV AP/Dual**
College Algebra Dual
Physics C AP**
Government AP
English IV H/Dual
Calculus AB
AP/Dual**
OR
Economics AP
OR
Calculus BC
AP/Dual**
OR
Statistics AP
Biology AP/ Dual**
OR
INTERNATIONAL
LANGUAGE
French III Pre
AP/Dual*
French 4 AP**
French 5 H**
German 2 Pre AP*
German 3 Pre AP**
German 4 AP**
Latin 2 Pre AP*
Chemistry AP**
OR
Latin 3 Pre AP**
Latin 4 AP**
Environmental
Science AP/Dual**
Spanish III Pre
AP/Dual*
Spanish IV AP**
Spanish V AP**
Spanish VI H**
*Indicates a course that is a pre-requisite.
**Indicates a course that requires a prerequisite.
O'Connor High School 2015-2016 Clubs
ACADEMIC DECATHLON
AARON WESTBROOK
J113
AFJROTC
ERIC COX & WILLIAM ANDUJAR & BARBARA OPEL
F112
ALPHA GAMMA TAU
TIFFANY SWEITZER
G207
BOOK CLUB
SHERYL STOECK
LIBRARY
BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA
DAVID BRADDAM
J103
CLASS OF 2016
KIMBERLY SCHMIDT
COUNSELOR'S OFFICE
CLASS OF 2017
LEN JUAREZ & LEAH GARZA
CLASS OF 2018
CLASS OF 2019
KIMBERLY SCHMIDT
COUNSELOR'S OFFICE
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING CONTEST
TONY POTTER
J111
DECA (DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION CLUBS OF
AMERICA)
REBECCA DELGADILLO
J206
DRAMA CLUB
MICHAEL ARELLANO & VANESSA GARCIA
M110/M116
ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB
CORY WEBER
FAMILY, CAREER, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS OF JACKIE HAVELY, LEAH GARZA, KAREN ELSWOOD,
MARGARET PRUITT, MITCHELLE JOHNSON
AMERICA
H214 MONDAYS
FASHION CLUB
MARGARET PRUITT
G214
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES
LISA HOUSE
P8
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
BRYAN HAWKINS
E109
FRENCH CLUB
MARTHA BAGGE
G109
FRIENDS HAVING FUN
KIM O'BRIEN
G106/ALE
GERMAN CLUB
SUZANNE DEJONG
K115
INTERNATIONAL FRENCH HONOR SOCIETY
MARTHA BAGGE
G109
INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN SOCIETY
MICHAEL ARELLANO & VANESSA GARCIA
M110/M116
JAPANESE CLUB
ANDRIA AMODT-HO
P7 @ 4:15 TUESDAYS
G208
JUNIOR ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY TONY POTTER
J111
JOURNALISM CLUB "NEWS PAPER & YEAR BOOK"
KATIE SCOTT
M111
LATIN CLUB
PRESTON EDWARDS
K112
LITERARY CRITICISM
THOMAS DAVERN
H219
LITERARY MAGAZINE
ROBERT BECKWITH
MATH/SCIENCE CLUB
TONY POTTER & GERRY WINTERS
MU ALPHA THETA
MICHAEL STANLEY
H209
MONDAYS J221 &
TU/TH J111
F208
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
ANNE SMITH & DAVID VETTERS
H215/K118
O'COLOR ART CLUB
JILL KEITH
M113
OHS CHOIR PARENTS CLUB
JEFFREY THAMES
M121
PANTHERS ANGLERS FISHING CLUB
GERRY WINTER & HUGH HERZOG
J221
HORTICULTURE CLUB
BRYAN HAWKINS
GREEN HOUSE
ORCHESTRA BOOSTERS
PAUL FRIEDRICHS
M125
ROBOTICS
JEFFERY NAAS
J112
SCIENCE (UIL COACH)
GERRY WINTER
J221
SPANISH CLUB
LISA CONNELL & NORMA RANGEL-RAMIREZ
G115 /G111
SPANISH HONOR SOCIETY
YOLANDA FARAKLAS & NORMA RANGEL
G117
SPEECH DEBATE / FORENSICS
TANIA KELLEY & LESLIE CRADY
G116/P10
STUDENT COUNCIL
TAFE (TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF FUTURE
EDUCATORS)
THESPIAN TROUPE
BRENDA HOFFER
F105
LEAH GARZA & JACKIE HAVELY
G210
MICHAEL ARELLANO & VANESSA GARCIA
M110/M116