Sequoyah High School 8 th Grade Parent Information

Course Values 1 Semester Course = 0.50 units 6 courses per semester = 3 possible units 6 units can be earned in a regular school year

Current 9 th 10 th and 11 th CLASS PLACEMENT Units needed for placement are:  5 Units-10th Grade (including 1 Math, 1 English, & 1 Science)  11 Units-11th Grade (including 2 Math, 2 English, & 1 Science)  17 Units--12th Grade (including 3 Math, 3 English, 2 Science, & 1 Social Studies)  Minimum 23 Units to Graduate

End of Course Tests EOCT count 15% of final grade EOCT Courses: 9 th & 11 th Lit/ Comp Math 1 & Math 2 Economics & U.S. History Physical Science & Biology

Graduation Requirements English4 units Math 4 units Science4 units Social Studies3 units PE/ Health OR 1 unit JROTC3 units Career Tech, Foreign Language, or Fine Arts 3 units Electives 4 units

English Requirements 4units 1 unit of 9 th Lit/ Comp 1 unit of 10 th Lit/ Comp 1 unit of American Lit/ Comp 1 unit of 12 th Lit/ Comp *Honors and AP classes may be substituted

Math Requirements 4 units 1 unit of Math 1 1 unit of Math 2 1 unit of Math 3 1 unit of Math 4 MATH SUPPORT IS NOT A MATH UNIT IT IS AN ELECTIVE UNIT *Accelerated, Honor, and/ or AP courses may be substituted

Science Requirements 4 units 1 unit of Biology 1 unit of Physical Science or Physics 1 unit of Chemistry, Earth Science, Env. Sci. or AP course 1 unit of a 4 th year Science *Honors or AP courses may be substituted

Social Studies Requirements 3 units 1 unit of World History 1 unit of U.S. History.5 unit of American Government.5 unit of Economics * Honors and AP classes may be substituted

PE & Health 1 unit.5 unit of PE.5 unit of Health * 3 units of ROTC may be substituted for this unit

CTAE/Fine Arts/Foreign Language* 3 units Required Based on student’s Career plan these units may be all in one area, one in each area, or a combination. *Students planning to enter or transfer into a 4 year college/ university must take 2 years of the same foreign language

Elective Requirements 4 units If a student has taken Math support along with their Math class – support will count as an elective. Academic courses that are not a part of the core requirements will count as electives.

Hope Scholarship Georgia's HOPE Scholarship is available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement. The scholarship provides money to assist students with their educational costs of attending college in Georgia. Grades count day one of high school. GAcollege411

Hope Grant Georgia's HOPE Grant (a separate program from the HOPE Scholarship) is available to residents of Georgia who are attending eligible colleges or universities in Georgia to earn a certificate or diploma regardless of high school graduation date or grade point average. However, continuing education programs are not eligible. The grant provides money to pay tuition, HOPE-approved mandatory fees, and a book allowance.

Attendance Policy All classes will receive any earned credit at the end of the semester, so attendance is determined each semester. When a student is absent 7 days in a semester, excused or unexcused, no credit for the course is given unless an attendance waiver is granted. Attendance waivers are only granted if all absences are validated by the School Attendance Committee as excused, all make-up work has been completed, and a passing grade has been earned for the course. Consequently, it is imperative that students bring an excuse for every school day missed, whether for sickness or for doctor’s appointment. The policy for excuses is that they accept either parent notes or doctor’s notes for sickness. Parents may excuses to the attendance office at

Attendance Policy Excuses must be presented to the attendance office within 5 days of the absence, and this includes both parent and doctor’s notes. No excuses will be accepted after 5 days. All medical appointments must be validated with a physician’s note to be considered excused. In other words, if the student says he or she is checking out for a doctor’s appointment, it remains unexcused until we get the physician’s note back. If a student has excessive absences for health reasons, the school may require a physician’s excuse in order to consider the absence as excused. After 5 parent notes for either full days absent or tardy, we may request medical documentation.

Parent Information Website One of the best ways parents can stay informed about their student’s attendance and grades is to check this website at least once a week. If you have not registered for this informational service, please do so with Dean Rusk by the end of the year, and you will automatically have access at Sequoyah next year. For parents who do not yet have an account, you may request access to the Family Portal by contacting the school and submitting a valid address. When the is entered into the student information system and the security features are activated, you will then receive instructions on how to access the portal. You will be able to track your student’s grades and attendance in each class. Please let us know as soon as possible if you see discrepancies with your student’s attendance.

EXAMS We have exams the last four days of each semester. No student will be allowed to make-up an exam without a medical excuse. Please be aware that family vacations, athletic competitions, are not considered excused. Missing an exam for anything other than a medical emergency will result in a zero for the exam.

Things you need to know: Cell Phone, etc. Students are not allowed to have a cell phone out he from the minute they walk on campus until 3:30. The State Law says that students may have a cell phone in their car. Additionally, we do not allow ipods or any other electronic devices during the school day. PE Lockers It is extremely important that students lock up all valuables during their PE class. We are working very hard to prevent thefts, but open purses, wallets and cell phones left out during PE are highly likely to be taken. Students may bring a lock from home to use.

Other things you need to know: Picking Up Students After School Parents are not allowed to park in the teacher or student parking lot while waiting to pick up students in the afternoon. Please pick your son or daughter up before 3:00 if you are trying to get to an afternoon appointment. Lockers and Book Bags Every student is assigned a locker. Our building is small enough that most students get to their lockers several times a day. Our classrooms are small, and there is no room for every student to carry a book bag. USE YOUR LOCKER! Agendas and Student Responsibility We expect students old enough to be in high school to show responsibility. That means that they need to write down and be responsible for all their assignments daily. NO WORK EQUALS NO GRADE. We do not give minimum grades in high school. You get what you earn. Also, the agenda is your hall pass. You cannot leave the classroom without it.

Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors Classes We consistently strive to offer students a challenging curriculum, including the opportunity to take advanced classes. Honors classes are taken in preparation for the eventuality of taking AP classes and receiving college credit. However, before signing up to take any advanced classes, both the student and the parent need to take into account the student’s outside school activities and the amount of time the student has to devote to the extra studying required for these courses. Once we do the scheduling, and the student is committed to the class, we cannot make schedule changes. Tutoring Sequoyah High School offers tutoring before and after school in all academic areas. If your student is experiencing difficulty in any subject, please check the tutoring schedule on the school website. In addition to our school-based tutoring, Cherokee County BOE publishes a list of educators who do after hours tutoring. Please contact Student Services or your student’s teacher for a list of school-wide tutors.

9 th Literature & Composition  This class is a combination of Literature and Writing  Expectations:  Freshmen students should expect homework on a weekly basis consisting of reading, writing, and vocabulary work, at a minimum.  No late work is accepted by English teachers so it is imperative that students keep up with nightly homework and long term essays and assignments.  Students are encouraged to utilize the school agenda to keep up with all assignments.  Students can expect to read a minimum of two novels per semester in addition to other curriculum requirements.  Students need to be prepared for class each day according to the requirements of each individual teacher.  Students will take an End of Course Test (EOCT) in 9 th Literature & Composition during May.

Extra-Curricular Activities  Freshmen students are encouraged to participate in the clubs and sports offered at Sequoyah High School.  Some of our offered activities are: Band, Chorus, Drama, Photography Club, Robotics Club, Speech and Debate, Book Club, and ROTC.  Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, and Volleyball Joining an extra-curricular activity will make the high school experience so much more meaningful!

Mathematics Homework will be assigned DAILY. It WILL be checked. Late work will not be accepted. Tutoring is available  every morning from 7:45 – 8:15  first 30 minutes of every lunch

RESPONSIBILITY & ORGANIZATION Teacher Websites Writing in Agenda Making up work from an absence Taking notes and keeping up with your assignments

Choices for 9 th graders College Prep Route: Math 1, Math 2, Math 3, Math 4 Accelerated Route: Acc. Math 1, Acc. Math 2, Acc. Math 3 AP Statistics and AP Calculus ** 8 th grade performance and test scores are used to determine if a student qualifies for the Accelerated route.** Caution: Difficult to drop Accelerated difficult to go up to Accelerated

Science  You must have 4 units of science to graduate  1 must be Biology  1 must be Physical Science or Physics  Colleges like to see “The Big 3” on your transcript.  Biology, Chemistry, Physics  Most 9 th graders will take Biology Freshman year.  It is very language intensive.  You will learn more new vocabulary words in Biology than you will in Spanish 1  You MUST do your homework and you MUST study!  Biology teachers DO NOT take late work.  Biology teachers DO offer tutoring and help Morning, Noon and Night. Take advantage of the help if you need it.  You can expect homework most nights in Biology.

What’s after Biology?

Social Studies for 9 th Graders Count toward HOPE GPA- and prepare students for other high school required courses. Required for students who plan to take AP world history, US history, government and/or economic in the future. Honors and regular levels are available

Choose Two for 9 th Grade Honors or regular World Geography Technology and Society- suggested for honors level students Current issues- suggested for regular level students

Courses for 10 th, 11 th & 12 th Grade Students Required Courses 3 credits Sophomore year: – World History (regular or Advanced Placement) Junior year: – US History (regular or Advanced Placement) Senior year: – Government and Economics (regular or Advanced Placement) Elective Courses Technology & Society Current Issues Psychology (10 th +) Sociology (10 th +) Individual & the Law (10 th +) US History in film- Jr. and Sr. only AP European History- Jr. and Sr. only AP Psychology- Jr. and Sr. only AP Comparative Politics- Sr. only