Welcome AHS Class of 2017 Freshman Open House

Welcome Mrs. Rutter - Principal Mrs. Brinkley - Assistant Principal Mr. Poehlmann - Assistant Principal Dr. Street - Assistant Principal Mr. Smith - Dean of Students Mrs. Statham - 9th Grade Counselor Mr. Timpson - 9th Grade Class Advisor

Ninth Grade Academy A comprehensive program supporting the needs, characteristics, and abilities of students as they navigate their first year of high school To provide a supportive environment for 9th grade students that fosters academic, career and personal growth. I want to take this opportunity to give you an overview of our 9th Grade Academy. This year, we will work with your child to help with the transition from middle to high school. We have a core group of freshman teachers, our ninth grade guidance counselor Mrs. Statham and myself, - the ninth grade administrator - teaming together to make this year a successful one for each new Jaguar!

Ninth Grade Academy Successful transition from middle school to high school Achievement, Honor, Service Increase the promotion rate to 10th grade Improve communication between students, parents and teachers Transitioning to high school can become a period of great anxiety for many students. Part of our job is to lower the stress level as much as possible and offer you support and guidance. As you tour the building please take notice of our AHS banners and signs that that read, Achievement, Honor, Service. You will see Achievement, Honor, and Service in our PBS expectations and you will also see Achievement Honor and Service our school mission statement.

Communication between Home and School Newsletters, Website, Alert Now Home Access Center Contact the teachers Mrs. Statham – 9th Grade Guidance Counselor Mrs. Brinkley Assistant Principal 9th Grade Academy Administrator As part of our focus on freshman, we will keep parents informed of important dates and upcoming events. On that note, we ask that you look for a short newsletter to come home on the first day of school and we would like to remind you that Open house is on the evening of September 9th . We invite you back to visit your child’s teachers and receive an overview courses and expectations. This will provide you with a great opportunity to ask questions about what your child will be learning. We will communicate information through the website, via email, newsletters and our Alert Now messaging system – alert now messages come in the form of phone calls and emails so please make sure we have your current contact information.

First Day of School – August 26 Time Activity 7:25 Welcome class of 2017 in the Auditorium 8-12 Advisory AHS 101 Reading DCAS 12:00 Lunch 12:30-2:20 Students will attend an abbreviated schedule to meet their first semester teachers Monday August 26th is a school day for only 9th grade students at the high school level. This is an important day to help you with your transition to AHS. This will give you an opportunity to find your classes and navigate the building without the upperclassmen in the hallways. We will welcome you in the auditorium with a class meeting at the start of the day. Following the class meeting, students will move to their advisory locations. Students will spend the morning with their advisory groups. This is the group that students will meet with throughout the year for various school wide and 9th grade specific topics. During advisory on August 26 – students will have 2 major objectives: AHS 101 and the reading DCAS test. AHS 101 will include some important ins and outs about Appo High and basic tools for success. You will get the opportunity review your schedule, find your locker and practice combination. You’ll participate in some team building activities and even practice your pin # in the cafeteria. Students will also take the Reading DCAS on the first day of school. This is the fourth year of the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System. Students will take the assessment online. Students will take their Math DCAS later in the week. The DCAS Reading and Math tests can be administered up to 3 times during a school year. The first assessment will help to identify each students’ strengths and weaknesses. After both Reading and Math DCAS assessments are complete, teachers will be reviewing student growth goals for the school year.   All 9th grade students will eat lunch together on the first day of high school and we started a tradition 3 years ago that all seniors have their final lunch together on the day of graduation rehearsal, so we are beginning with the end in mind. After lunch students will follow an abbreviated schedule and get to attend each of their four classes. Students will get find all of their classes and meet each of their teachers. We will post a copy of the presentation online by tomorrow and you can see an outline of the schedule for Monday.

Plan for evening Tour the building Commons – Display Tables T-shirt Table Meet teachers, counselors, administrators, and coaches Get excited about the school year! As you tour the building this evening, please visit the Freshman Academy Hallway. This is where core academic classes are located for freshmen. That’s English, Math, Science and Social Studies classes. You will also find my office and Mrs. Statham’s office located at the intersection of these two hallways. Again, we will be a major part of your support system at Appo High. Every year at this time I stress to parents that while we understand 9th grade year is an exciting time for students and it can be also time of great anxiety for parents. Parents, we want to let you know that as you try to find the balance between giving your child the independence they are demanding and providing them with the boundaries and support that they still in need, we encourage you to communicate with teachers. Please call us, please email us, please come to open house and parent conferences. Please use Home Access Center to monitor grades and attendance on a consistent basis. If we all work together to support our students, we will set them up for success.   Tonight is the kick off to what we hope will be a great year for the class of 2017. We look forward to having you on Monday.

Spirit t-shirt Sponsors Special thanks to these sponsors for their support! Premier Physical Therapy Elana’s Broad Street Florist Jostens Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services Wear your t-shirt or school colors on the first day of school! We had a few sponsors from our community donate funds to purchase t-shirts for the Freshman Class. We wanted to help them build a team spirit, school spirit and community atmosphere. Go Freshman jags!!! 