ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Welcome to the O'Connor English Department.
Here at O'Connor, we believe in setting high standards of rigor and personal responsibility with each of our students. Every teacher is committed to the success of each student and works diligently to aid in the educational growth of the students in their charge. All English teachers are governed by the department guidelines as set forth by the Northside district office and then adapted to fit O'Connor's unique student demographic.
We offer many exciting subjects for our students to choose from that meet the student where they are academically and inspire them to learn more. We offer English 1, English 2, English 3, English 4, English 4 College Prep, Academic Decathlon, Creative Writing/ Literary Magazine, Literary Magazine 1 & 2, Media Literacy, Junior / Senior Seminar, and Communication Applications (Speech)* at varied levels. We also offer courses with collaborative teacher settings and courses that focus on successful end-of-course completion. We use technology in the classroom, as well as differentiated, interactive learning to engage students.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level English electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned numerous hours of college credits in English, and we expect even more this year! In addition to our course selection, we also offer English-based Clubs and extracurriculars to provide even more opportunities for your student to grow or explore their literary passion.
Advanced Placement/Dual Credit Summer Assignments for the 2024-25 school year:
- Advanced English I Summer Reading
- Advanced English II Summer Reading
- AP/DC English III Summer Reading
- AP/DC English IV Summer Reading
- Advanced Honors/DC English IV Summer Reading
Our students are dedicated to their extracurricular groups. We are proud of the numerous Speech and Debate victories we have had in the past few years:
- 1st Place UIL District Champions 2019, 2021
- 2nd Place UIL CX State 2021
- 1st and 2nd Place UIL District CX 2021
- State Qualifiers 2019, 2020, 2021
- Nationally Qualified 2019, 2021
Yearbook
The O'Connor Verdict yearbook
We will create yearbook design, photography, planning coverage, writing stories, writing captions, and completing an award-winning publication. Editor positions available: must complete application yearly. Yearly field trips to journalism conferences/conventions like ILPC at the University of Texas in Austin and downtown on the riverwalk for the TAJE Fall fiesta convention.
Learning sales management, business skills, promotion, and advertising.
Newspaper
The O'Connor Prowler newspaper
We will create newspaper design, writing stories, writing captions taking photography, designing, secondary coverage/graphic design, completing six issues of the Prowler yearly and online newspaper visit us at the website: studentnews.nisd.net/oconnor. Editor positions available: must complete application yearly.
Yearly field trips to journalism conferences/conventions like ILPC at the University of Texas in Austin and downtown on the riverwalk for the TAJE Fall fiesta convention.
Learning sales management, business skills, promotion, and advertising.
Photojournalism
Work with Nikon and Canon cameras, begin to master the manual settings of your DSLR camera (cameras are not required) enhance skills, create compositions, improve photo editing using Photoshop/Lightroom, and basics of magazine design using Adobe InDesign. You will also create a Wix website for an online photo portfolio for your future use. Field trip to Japanese Tea Garden usually in the Spring.
FINE ARTS
Welcome to the wonderful world of Fine Arts here at O'Connor High School. Band, Choir, Dance, Orchestra and Visual arts makes up the fine arts department. The fine arts provide learners with non-academic benefits such as promoting self-esteem, motivation, aesthetic awareness, cultural exposure, creativity, improved emotional expression, as well as social harmony and appreciation of diversity.
Here our Fine Arts Department offers Art 1-4, Art 2D, Art History, Band 1 – 4, Jazz Band 1– 4, Band Flags1 – 4, Choir 1 – 4, Dance 1 – 4, Music Theory, Orchestra 1– 4, Instrumental Ensemble 1 – 4, Pep Squad 1 – 4,Technical Theatre 1– 4, Theatre Arts 1– 4, and Musical Theatre 1 – 4.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level Fine Art electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned numerous hours of college credits in the Fine Arts, and we expect even more this year!
Advanced Placement/Dual Credit Summer Assignments for the 2019-20 school year:
- Art 2D AP
- Art History AP
- Music Theory AP
MATHEMATICS
We offer many exciting subjects for our students to choose from that meet the student where they are academically and inspire them to learn more. Our Math Dept. offers Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Algebra 3 (College Prep Math), College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus AB Calculus BC, Statistics, Algebraic Reasoning, Math Models, and Computer Science at varied levels. We use technology in the classroom, as well as differentiated, interactive learning to engage students.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level Math electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned numerous hours of college credits in Mathematics, and we expect even more this year! In addition to our course selection, we also offer our Math Club to provide even more opportunities for your student to grow or explore their Mathematics passion.
Advanced Placement/Dual Credit Courses for the 2019-20 school year:
- Algebra 3 (College Prep Math)
- College Algebra Honors / Dual / UT On-Ramps
- Pre-Calculus PAP / PAP-Dual / UT On-Ramps
- Calculus AB AP/ AP-Dual
- Calculus BC AP/ AP-Dual
- Statistics / AP
- Algebraic Reasoning
- Math Models AP
- Computer Science A1 AP,
- Computer Science 2&3 Honors
Welcome to O’Connor Science!
Along with all of the other great programs our school has to offer, our science department is at the top of its game to provide your student(s) high quality and engaging science curriculum from freshman through senior year.
O’Connor science has dedicated professional educators that provide an engaging and comprehensive curriculum that will push your child to reach new heights, grow both intellectually and individually, and to help them overcome obstacles as they arise. Our goal as educators is to help your student(s) achieve and become more than they thought possible.
O’Connor Science Department Vision
- Learning should be hands-on, engaging, and collaborative.
Our courses offer a myriad of experiences from investigative student-designed and led labs, to hands-on dissections, to experimental modeling in order to teach students how to work as a team to discern and solve problems as they arise.
- A student-centered curriculum provides the best learning experience.
Student learning and growth is the core focus of our program. We offer courses from our on-level curriculum to Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, and UT OnRamps courses. This past year, O’Connor had the highest Biology EOC (STARR) scores in the district and was 6% above the state average.
- Knowledge is more powerful when it is shared.
Our teachers come from a broad range of backgrounds and are experts in their fields of study/teaching. Our teachers bring in real-world experience into the classroom to provide an enhanced learning environment for the students.
We offer varying levels and topics of Science courses so that students have the opportunity to learn about what interests them. We offer Animal Science, Plant & Soil Science, Anatomy & Physiology, Aquatic Science, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Space Science, Environmental Science, Environmental Systems, Food Science, Forensic Science, GeoScience, Medical Microbiology, Physics 1,2 &C.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level science electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned 403 hours of college credits in the sciences, and we expect even more this year! In addition to our course selection, we also offer science-based clubs and extracurriculars to provide even more opportunities for your student to grow as a scientist or explore a passion.
Advanced Placement/ Dual Credit Courses for 2019-2020
- Advanced Animal Science
- Advanced Plant & Soil Science
- Dual Anatomy & Physiology
- Biology AP / AP-Dual
- Chemistry AP
- Environmental Science AP/ AP-Dual
- Geo Science UT On-Ramps
- Physics 1 AP/ Physics UT On-Ramps
- Physics 2 AP
- Physics C AP
Science-based UIL and clubs: Click the link for more information.
- Robotics
- Environmental Club: A ground root environmental program focusing on the advancement of ecological stewardship for the past 3 years. Placed 5th in the nationwide Pepsi Recycle Rally.
Welcome to the O'Connor Social Studies Department.
Please be patient as we are a work in progress website. We offer many exciting subjects for our students to choose from that meet the student where they are academically and inspire them to learn more. We offer World Geography, World History, U.S. History, Government, Economics, Street Law, Personal Finance, Psychology and Sociology at varied levels to try and reach all learners levels. We use technology in the classroom, as well as differentiated, interactive learning to engage students. You might even see your teacher dressed in period clothing to help immerse the students into a time period.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level Social Studies electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned numerous hours of college credits in Social Studies, and we expect even more this year! In addition to our course selection, we also offer our History Club and extracurriculars to provide even more opportunities for your student to grow or explore their History passion.
Advanced Placement/Dual Credit Summer Assignments for the 2019-20 school year:
- AP Human Geography
- AP/DC World History - WHAP Summer Assignment doc located below in files
- AP European History - - Join Remind for APEuro 2019, text the message @a2k269 to this number 81010, Summer Assignment doc located below in files
- AP/DC U.S. History - Google classroom code for Summer Assignment: 9dt3x82.
- AP Government and Economics
World Languages at O'Connor HS
Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos! Salvete! Bonjour! Willkommen! to the O'Connor World Languages Department.
Here at O'Connor, we believe in setting high standards of rigor and personal responsibility with each of our students. Every teacher is committed to the success of each student and works diligently to aid in the educational growth of the young men and women in their classes.
American Sign Language (ASL), French, German, Latin, Spanish
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Languages Other Than English (TEKS for LOTE) is the foundation of all Northside ISD World Languages curricula. The World Languages offered in Northside ISD are French, German, Latin (select campuses), Spanish, and ASL (offered at Marshall HS and Taft HS only).
Since the teaching of all modern languages is similar, the following descriptions apply to each level of each language. French, German, and Spanish courses consistently use the three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational. Via the practice of the three modes of communication, the following skills will be refined; speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Latin is a classical language where great emphasis is placed on the skill of reading. ASL is a performance-based language where the focus is on signaling skills in authentic, real-world situations.
Students will have the opportunity to enroll in several language courses from I - VI and may take on-level, Advanced, and/or Advanced Placement.
We offer many exciting subjects for our students to choose from that meet the student where they are academically and inspire them to learn more. We offer Spanish 1-6, German 1-4, Latin 1-3, and French 1-3, at varying levels. We use technology in the classroom, as well as differentiated, interactive learning to engage students.
To challenge your student, O’Connor offers many upper-level Language electives and advanced courses that provide the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Last year, our students earned numerous hours of college credits in Languages, and we expect even more this year!
Advanced Placement/Dual Credit Summer Assignments for the 2019-20 school year:
- Spanish 2 Advanced
- Spanish 3 & 4 AP
- Spanish 4 Dual Credit
- Spanish 4 On-Ramps
- German 4 AP
- Latin 4 AP
- French 4 AP
