Wagener-Salley High School

2010-2011

Freshman Orientation

PRESENTED BY THE

WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

COUNSELING DEPARTMENT

8th Grade

Family Night

Welcome PARENTS of the CLASS OF 2015!

Counseling Staff:

Mr. Darriel Whetstone – Guidance Director

Mrs. Christina Lowe – Guidance Counselor

Mrs. Jennie Browder – Career Specialist

Mrs. Latoya Hynes – Guidance Clerk

Welcome Purpose of tonight’s meeting Familiarize you with Wagener-Salley

High School and our Freshman Academy

Prepare you to make the transition to 9th grade and high school

Explain the course offerings Answer questions about programs for

next year

COUNSELING PROGRAM COMPONENTS

1. Academic

2. Personal/Social

3. College/Career

A Counselor’s Role To prepare students for success

To help each student find a sense of self and purpose

To help with the selection of the best academic/curricular path

To emphasize the importance of balancing academics and extracurricular activities

Role of a Guidance Counselor:

See your Guidance Counselor if you:

Need to check your credits Want help regarding personal, social, or emotional concerns Want help choosing classes, or changing your classes Need a tutor? Want to be a tutor? Community Service Opportunities Foreign Exchange Opportunities On-Line Courses Need to find out more about your interests and aptitudes, and

Career Exploration Need to know more about post-secondary opportunities, college

tests, financial aid, etc. Need assistance with High School survival skills including grades,

testing, studying, etc. Just want to stop in and say “HI”

The Freshman Year….a crucial one.

A foundation – solid or shaky- is often a predictor of the future.

Transition – childhood to young adulthood – socially, intellectually, etc.

Freshman Academy aims to be:1. A blended step between middle school

and the high school2. An opportunity for our 9th grade students

to grow emotionally and academically more mature

3. A smaller learning community intent on helping 9th graders successfully achieve as well as earn credits toward graduation from Wagener-Salley High School.

Programs/Key Components of the Academy Freshman Success

Career emphasis Orientation Parent Involvement

We need you in all steps of this process!

W-S High School Graduation Requirements: Grad year 2012+

English 4.0 CreditsMath 4.0 CreditsScience 3.0 Credits (Biology)

U.S. History 1.0 Credit Econ./Gov’t. 1.0 CreditSocial Studies 1.0 CreditPE or ROTC 1.0 Credit Computer Science 1.0 Credit Electives 8.0 Credits

________________________________Total 24.0 Credits

H.S. Assessment Program

The High School Assessment Program (HSAP) must be passed to receive a SC high school diploma.

HSAP assesses selected SC Academic standards in English language arts and mathematics that students have the opportunity to learn by the end of grade 10.

End of CourseExamination Program The End-of-course examinations are

administered in gateway or benchmark courses.

Algebra I/Algebra I Part 2,English I

US History and the ConstitutionBiology

The examinations count 20 percent of the 20 percent of the students’ final gradestudents’ final grade.

Promotion Requirements

To 10th grade:To 10th grade:English 1 creditMath 1 credit

4 additional creditsTotal 66 credits

Wagener-Salley High Course Catalog

•Course Catalog is on the school website

•Flow chart by department of course sequence

•Description of courses and prerequisites

What is Credit?

Each class I take is equal to 1.0 Credit. I can earn up to7 credits each year. (7 classes) I need 24 credits to Graduate.

How Do I Earn Credit?Students will earn credit in a class where they receive a “D” (70%) or better by the end of the year. Credit can be earned in both required and elective courses. Credits are earned once a year in June; unless you are enrolled in a semester class then it would be December and June.

What is an NC?

An NC (No Credit) grade is when a student fails to receive a 70% or higher in a semester or year long course.

Required courses where a student does not receive credit must be repeated or made up in some way to meet graduation requirements.

Credit will need to be made up for Elective courses where an NC is earned, but does NOT have to be the same elective course.

Can I make up an NC?

YES!! YES!! YES!!

Summer School offers make up in English, Math and Science up to the Sophomore level (depends on funding)

Correspondence and Online courses with prior approval by counselor, school district and at the cost of my parents!

Retake the same class again next year if there is room in the class!

Grading System at WSHS:

A – Superior Achievement reflected by 93-100%

B – Above Average Achievement reflected by 85-92%

C – Average Achievement reflected by 77- 84%

D – Below Average but Passing reflected by 70- 76%

NC – No Credit is earned, reflected by 0-69%

What is Grade Point Average?

GPA = Grade points earned divided by the number of courses the student has taken

Points: Awarded through the Uniform Grading Scale Grade Point Average can be given as a Semester GPA or a Cumulative

GPA Semester grade point average is based on student’s semester grades and

the level of courses that were taken. Cumulative grade points are calculated by using the total number of courses

the student has listed on their transcript.

Why should GPA matter to me? Colleges/Universities Sports/Club Eligibility Class Rank Scholarships/Grants Employment Transcripts are

Permanent Extended Lunch

Privilege

Cost of Insurance

Employment Opportunities

Internships Marketability:

Your GPA tells something about who you are!

Uniformed Grading Policy

Calculating a GPA: ExampleIf a student’s grades for a semester were the following:

English 1 = C (2 points) Algebra 1 = B (3 points) Science 1 = C (2 points) Health = B (3 points) Woods 1 = A (4 points) PE = A (4 points)____________________________

Total Points Earned = 18 points

Total Classes Taken = 6 classes

GPA = Total points earned/classes taken

Sample GPA =

18/6 = 3.0

You Need to Know…… High School Transcripts Include:

Every course taken by year Final grade and credit earned

GPA and Class Rank

SC Uniform Grading Scale-Course Catalog:-Honors courses .5 5 more weight, AP 1.0 1.0 more weight in GPA-Students may opt to repeat high school credit courses taken in 8th grade during the 9th grade year onlyonly. Only the retake course and grade will show on the transcript and count in GPA. -In grades 9 thru 12, students may only retake a course if they earn a D or FD or F and all attempts will show on the transcript.

Minimum Requirements for Admission to SC Public Four Year Colleges: http://www.che.sc.gov FOUR UNITS OF ENGLISH completion of College Preparatory English 1,

2, 3 and 4 FOUR UNITS OF MATHMATICS must include Algebra 1, Geometry,

Algebra 2 and a 4th higher level math is required THREE UNITS OF LABORATORY SCIENCE – 3 units of a Lab Science

beyond Physical Science THREE UNITS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 1 unit of United States History; a ½

unit Economics and a ½ unit of Government; 1 unit of a other social science TWO UNITS OF THE SAME WORLD LANGUAGE – at least 2 years of the

same World Language, some require 3 years ONE UNIT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION OR JROTC 1 unit of PE or

JROTC 1 ONE UNIT OF FINE ARTS – 1 unit in Appreciation of, History of , or

Performance in one of the fine arts ONE ELECTIVE UNIT – 1 unit from either Comp. Science, English, Social

Studies, Lab Science, and/or Fine Arts

Are you attending College AND/OR Playing Sports? Consider This…NCAA

Additional Math Additional Science Foreign Language Additional CORE classes for NCAA National Registration with NCAA your

Junior year in high school

GPA & Sports Eligibility:

Eligibility is determined by number of classes, semester GPA, and current GPA

Students must be enrolled in 5 graded classes, and must be passing 5 throughout the season

Students must have passed 5 classes in the prior semester with a minimum GPA of 2.0

First grade check for Freshman occurs at the end of 1st quarter. They must be passing 5 classes and have a minimum GPA of 2.0

Eligibility (cont.):

If a student does not pass a minimum of 5 graded classes with a minimum GPA of 2.0 at semester, they will not have the opportunity to become eligible until the following semester! This means zero participation in clubs/sports/activities for a full semester!! YIKES!

Success in High School: Attendance Participation in Class/Completion of work Meeting assignment deadlines Communication between Students,

Teachers, and Parents Getting involved in your high school

Getting Involved at WSHS:

FALL SPORTS WINTER SPORTS SPRING SPORTSFootball Basketball Track/FieldCheerleading Cheerleading Girls SoftballVolleyball Boys Baseball

Getting Involved (cont.): Academic Quiz Team Art Honor Society Band Beta Club Chorus FCCLAC Future Business Leaders (FBLA) Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Freshman Board Future Educators of America Future Farmers of America Drill Team (ROTC) Rifle Team (ROTC) Robotics Club Drama Club

Freshman Course Selection:

Freshman Year: Total 6.0 CreditsRequired Year Long Courses (1.0 Credit Each):

ENGLISH, MATH, SCIENCE.SOCIAL STUDIES: CORE classes will be placed by scores on MAP, along with Middle School teacher recommendation

Required Year Long Elective Courses (1.0 Credit Each):

PE

Student Elective Courses (2.0 Electives): Student Choice in subjects including Art, Agriculture, Business and Computers, Construction and Woods, Family Consumer Sciences, Music,and CORE electives.

Freshman Scheduling:

WSHS counselors will be scheduling 8th graders on Monday, January 24, 31 and February 1: Be sure your email and address are correct .

Meet one-on-one with your counselor CORE classes will be placed already based on test scores and MS

Rec’s Can select own electives, upon availability Last minute scheduling and viewing of schedules must be done

prior to May Freshman and New Student Orientation Half Day: TBA. Receive

your schedule, your locker, meet your teachers and have lunch. No schedule changes once the semester begins unless it is our

error

High School Information Fair

Spring 8th graders visit School Tour Question/Answer session

Parents Note the Following:

Double check that your mailing address and email address are correct with your middle school.

Making sure you schedule an IGP meeting!! If your child has a specific medical concern,

please notify our school nurse Students cannot begin the school year if they

have not scheduled an IGP meeting and met with a counselor!!

Bringing Grades up from the Middle School

Grade that can come up with you: All must be verified by your middle school as a high school equivalent course. .

English 1Algebra 1Computer Science

Benefit?Jump start on credits that count towards graduationAdvancement into upper level coursesPossible Early Graduation

Detriment?Non-Weighted courses will factor into rank Junior/Senior yearScholarships, etc. based on class rankReadiness for next course at the high school level

THE GRADE IS ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT IT WILL NOT BE REMOVED AT A LATER DATE

QUESTIONS?