End of year - graduation/consolidation info

First of all, I want to thank you parents who have checked in with my blog to keep updated on HHS happenings. Thank you very much!

Graduation night is here!
Four years ago, we met the current senior class when they entered our doors as freshmen. I remember meeting many of them at our freshman scheduling and informational meeting while they were 8th graders. I am so proud of my Highland students and all they have accomplished! We, the counselors, look forward to sharing commencement night with our seniors tonight.

General information :
Seniors who are participating in commencement must be at Byrum Hall at Anderson University no later than 6:30pm tonight.
Letters are being placed in all senior packets that will be handed out tonight. The letters, which have information current as of Friday May 21st, indicate if a student is receiving a diploma or if they have outstanding work. If they have outstanding work, the paperwork indicated what credits are still required and correspondence paperwork will be included.
(all information below is available on the senior notes that went in grad packets)
Diplomas will be handed out at HHS on Tuesday June 1st during lunches which run from 10:15-11:45am.

Note that guidance counselors are only available through the last student day, June 1, 2010 to address 2010 senior issues.

IMPORTANT CONSOLIDATION INFORMATION:
Highland High School’s registrar will send out official transcripts to any college requesting them. These will be sent out by July 1, 2010.
NCAA final transcripts will be sent out automatically for any student who is already registered for the NCAA clearinghouse. The guidance secretary has the list of names and will send these out.

All Highland High School records will be sent to Anderson High School at the end of June.
Beginning July 1, 2010, you will need to contact AHS guidance office at 641-2037 regarding the following:
1) transcript requests – contact the registrar at 641-2037 to request official transcripts.
2) completion of outstanding credits, to set up a time to pick up your diploma- Call to set up an appointment. You will need to take proof of your final grade to the high school and they will assist you in getting your diploma.
3) any other guidance/transcript issues/ proctoring of correspondence final exams.

9th grade English classes visited last week

Last week, freshmen received important information regarding graduation requirements. This information is not different from anything that has been passed out during scheduling and informational meetings earlier this year, but we wanted to make sure that students understand requirements needed for graduation.

One of our counselors, Mrs. Wicker, visited each freshman English class. Each student received a Core 40 and Academic Honors requirement sheet, as well as his/her transcript with first semester grades included and a print-out of his/her Northwest test scores. Students were asked to take these papers home and file with important papers after showing it to parents.

Students also were asked to fill out a 5-year plan, covering four years of high school and post-high school plans. Students have received a copy of this plan to go over with their parents. Since this is a copy, there is no need to return it, but please place it with the other important papers. This plan is not binding, but simply a way to get students thinking about their future.

High school is always an exciting time, but it is never too early to make plans for college, military, or work after graduation. Working hard now will help students achieve their goals later! Any questions about the Northwest test should be directed to Mrs. Denise Harvey, Highland’s testing coordinator. If you have other questions, feel free to contact your child’s counselor, visit the school’s website (www.acsc.net/hhs) or visit Ms. Mullins’ counseling blog at www.highlandhighschool.blogspot.com.

co op meeting held 5/6 for juniors taking co op next year

I invited the co op teachers to HHS to visit with our 'to be' seniors about the co op program ,answer any questions, and explain the process of co op. students were given copies of resumes, asked to make one for themselves and begin preparing for co op.
Mrs Pam Foley pfoley@acsc.net and Mr Bill Coggins bcoggins@acsc.net met with the students, encouraged them to call AHS this summer if they have any questions, and I have listed their emails above if you would like to reach them about co op.

Grief summer workshop

St Vincent's Hospice bereavement department presents The Dove's Journey. Will feature a family centered approach to grief. Utilizing music, art, and nature as a means of exploring the grief process and to develop coping skills and open lines of communication as a family.
Meet: June 7,14,21,& 28, 2010 Dinner will be at 5:30pm, Workshop will be from 6-8pm. Open to all families that have experienced a loss in the last 24 months. Participants must be 4 years old & up.
Location: st Vincent Hospice 8450 Payne Road, Indianapolis, IN
There is no charge to attend. registration is required.
For more info or to register contact:
Rachel Friesen, LCSW @ (317)338-4040 or Meg Scott @ (317)338-4008

Making it Count senior presentation

We had a great presentation for seniors yesterday titled "Making College & Career Count." some key points:
* When choosing your career/major, consider strengths, interest, future job market (refer to occupational outlook handbook at www.bls.gov/oco).
*Be able to prove you have important skills and winning characteristics for success
* What brand are you? When you hear the brand Nike, what images come to mind? When people hear your name, what images/description comes to mind? What you do and how you act decides your brand.
*only put on the internet what you would put on your resume. 45% of those hiring do a google search to find out more about you.
* Manage your time like it's money. Currently high school age group spends 28 hours per week surfing the web. That cuts into study,work,sleep, etc time.
* managing finances.
* Networking tips
web resources
www.ultimatemoneyskills.com
www.makingitcount.com
www.bls.gov/oco

summer school

Summer school is not being offered in ACS but is being offered at Muncie Burris in Biology, Geometry, US History and PE 9, 10.
Applications are available in the guidance office or on Burris website (http://www.bsu.edu/burris/ scroll down to announcements).
Application deadline May 25th to make sure you get them in on time.

Dates to be aware of:

Senior dates:
May 20th - grades due at close of day
May 25th - awards ceremony in AM. Practice AU in PM
May 26th - graduation
June 1 - at close of day, students allowed to pick up diplomas (we are told no waiver days for seniors were granted by the state so they are to attend thru May 1).

_________________________________________
Virtual high school, retrieval dates

April 21 - final registration/orientation
May 14 - All book reports due for all students
May 19 - Last day for graduating seniors (grades due next day at home high school)
May 28 - last day for VHS for all students

AP contributor recognized and YLA

We have an exciting week ahead of us.

During activity period Thursday, our school will be recognizing Bill Surbaugh as a community member who has made great contributions to the AP programs city wide. Mr. Surbaugh has been a member of HHS's PL 221 committee, an AP proponent long before it was connected to the academic honors diploma, and has most recently a huge supporter of the Highland University Club. It is with great pride that HHS recognizes the wonderful contributions of this man.

Also on Thursday, sophomores will be called to a very important meeting. Any student interested in participating in the youth Leadership Academy is being called to a meeting with the Madison County coordinator.

JAG - Jobs for America’s Graduates meeting 3/25

We are excited to offer a new program to our current sophomores and juniors for their 2010-2011 school year. Numerous students were selected and invited to come to an informational meeting we are holding on March 25th, 2010 during school. Selected students will receive a pass to attend the meeting. JAG Indiana (Jobs for America’s Graduates) is associated with Workforce One Development. The program helps to assist students in successfully transitioning from school to a career (by going into workforce after graduation or into further training/education). The program has been piloted this current year at Anderson High School, and we are seeing great success with student motivation, increased graduation rates, and more. Please reference the corporation's curriculum handbook for more information on the program.

Making it Count presentation for juniors

the Making it Count presentation for juniors was today. We had a wonderful speaker talk to students about college, financial aid, the cost, how colleges make admissions decisions, etc. Very informative. Ask your junior about the magazine of information they brought out of the meeting.

AP test preparations

Mr. Poyer and our AP teachers are busy signing students up for the upcoming AP test in May.
Students must sign up in order to have a test booklet ordered.
Free and reduced lunch students may receive a waiver for test costs.
The state is paying for all students to take math and science exams. this info is available from the AP Teachers in those areas.

the AP tests can do several things for a student.
1) if they score high enough, they may test out of or receive college credit for the course.
2) A year of AP & AP test can meet a requirement for graduation with the academic honors diploma.
3) A score of 2 on the AP test may not earn students college credits but is the number one predictor of college readiness.

Note: if a students signs up for the test but does not test, there is still a fee for the ordered booklet.

Struggling students offered resources

I don't always post these kinds of messages but an activity period meeting was held for students who were identified as struggling in more than one class. Passes were sent to students Tuesday morning inviting them to a meeting during Tuesday activity period. A handout with useful tips and resources were handed out to students. Various guest speakers talked to our students about achieving at a higher level.
The handouts will be adapted to posters than we be delivered to HHS English teachers so that all students will have the benefit of the tips available.

Rigor is cool - HHS program gets national attention

AP University Club gets national recognition in the College Board publication

http://cms.connection-collegeboard.com/midwestern/219-rigor-is-cool-at-highland-high-school

ISTEP March 9-11

ISTEP is coming for our 11th & 12th graders who still need to pass a section or both sections of the ISTEP.
Remediation is currently going on after school - check with the English & Math departments for schedule.
Testing will happen 7:30am on the 9th -12th.
More information will be sent out to students next week.

Test all (math and/or English) March 9th - everyone testing reports to their test room this day.
Test English March 10th
Test math March 11th.
There is no makeup day for testing so students must report to their test room on time on test day.

AP versus ACP

These are both programs that can equal college credit.

Both are honors classes.
Both are taught in the high school building as part of the high school day by high school teachers. both are considered college level classes.

AP is program through the college board. Students are enrolled in the class. At the end of the class (tests are offered in May), students may take a test &, if they score high enough, can potentially earn college credit or be exempted from entry level classes. This is up to the college your student attends.
ACP is a college course offered through a college. ACP English 12 at HHS is through IU Kokomo. Students may earn 3 college credits per semester. Credits must be paid for at the hugely reduced price of $260 currently. If a student receives free/reduced lunch assistance, these fees may be waived. Mrs Beach, our 11th honors teacher has more information on this. Next year, HHS students will be able to take the US History ACP course - this would run essentially the same way.

scheduling for 2010-2011 almost over

What a very busy month in the guidance office. We have worked to meet individually with each student at HHS over the past month and we held three 8th grade scheduling nights. Your student should have brought information home about their schedule - what they have signed up for, a copy of their transcript, what their future plans are. if a student failed a class, they were directed to work it back into their schedule or consider a retrieval credit program that takes place after school at a cost of $25. These plans were worked out individually with each student.

PSAT

PSAT results are in the building ans we are able to meet with sophomores to return results and review scores/data received. Mr Poyer & Ms Mullins will be in 10th English classrooms on 2/11, 2/12, & 2/16 to review results and the College Board website.
Please look for your student to bring information home following those dates.

Scheduling for 2010-2011

Tuesday 2/2/10 during activity period, we will have a broadcast to the entire building about scheduling. This will be a time for us to share information with our student and to review our scheduling worksheets with them. We will review the scheduling process and explain our expectations for the following weeks. we want students to get first hand info if possible from teachers. This will help ensure students are making informed decisions about their classes for next school year.


Guidance will be handing out scheduling worksheets at the meeting Thursday 1/28/10 at AHS from 6-8pm and also in our building the following week.

We encourage teachers to ask for the recommendation sheets between 2/2 and scheduling time. We expect to schedule as follows:
9th graders 2/8 -2/10.
10th graders 2/11-2/16.
11th graders 2/17 - 2/19.

Our 4 counselors will meet with all students individually during these dates. We will tell students what courses are required, we will hand out transcripts and we will encourage students to bring information home to share with parents/guardians.

phone message home to parents

This message is to invite high school students and parents to two important upcoming events.

First, the Parent Advisory Council invites you to a Parent Forum the evening of Tuesday, January 26th at 7 o'clock at the Anderson High School cafeteria. This is the first of several upcoming meetings to hear Superintendent Dr. Chow speak on transition information. Please join us as Dr. Chow outlines a vision for next school year and have questions answered as we move towards this transition.

Also, please see about attending a high school course fair the evening of Thursday, January 28th, from six to eight. Departments will have information on course offerings and elective options for high school students. It will be imperative for students and parents to discuss course preferences in order to make informed selections. After this Fair(in the weeks following), Counselors will be meeting with your student to schedule them for next year's classes. These selections will determine your student's schedule for next year.

Please join us for the Parent Forum with Dr. Chow on Tuesday night at seven in the Anderson High Cafeteria and the Course Fair Information Night on Thursday from six to eight in the Anderson High Commons Area. We hope to see you there!