1. Rising 9th Grade Information Night
NORTH PAULDING HIGH SCHOOL
January 28, 2019

2. WELCOME TO NORTH PAULDING HIGH
Mr. Gabe Carmona, Principal

3. Administrative Staff
Mr. Gabe Carmona– Principal Assistant Principals: (Divided By Student’s Last Name) A-D – Mrs. Julie Speeney E-K – Mr. Ben Brooks L-R – Dr. Lorilyn Harrell S-Z – Mr. Roberto Rivera (Athletic Director) Mr. Chris Davies– Scheduling Coordinator Dr. Tracy Sellars– Evaluation & Assessment Coordinator

4. Counseling Staff Amanda Summers: A-Ca Priscilla Powers: Ce-Fn
(Divided By Student’s Last Name)
Amanda Summers: A-Ca
Priscilla Powers: Ce-Fn
Krista Keefe - Fo-J
Lindsey Harris - K-M
Dr. Raquel Outland - N-Si
Tanya Willis - Sj-Z
Susan Seagle, Counseling Clerk

5. Welcome to High School
The transition to high school can be exciting, a new beginning, and daunting. Our goal at NPHS is to help make this transition as smooth as possible. We hope this meeting, along with our registration appointments and Rising 9th grade web page, will serve to guide you through this exciting time!

6. Earning Your Diploma
To earn a high school diploma, a student must take and pass certain classes.
A year’s worth of content will yield one (1) credit.
You must pass the class to earn the credit.
If you fail a required course, you will have to repeat the class in order to earn the credit.
In GA, students must earn 23 credits to graduate.

7. Georgia’s Graduation Requirements
Area of Study: Credits Required
English
Science
Mathematics
Social Studies
PE/Health*
Electives
CTAE/World Language/Fine Art 3
Total Units (minimum)
*Students who take 3 credits of JROTC Army do not have to take Health and PE

8. Paulding County School District Grading Scale
What is the high school grading period?
Credit is awarded at the close of each semester with a full credit (1.0). There are very few .5 credit courses, which are paired with another .5 credit course. (Ex: Health/Personal Fitness).
What is the grading scale?
= A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
00-69 = F (No credit awarded)

9. Your High School Transcript
All of your classes, grades (passing and failing), and credits earned/attempted are recorded on a document called your transcript.
Transcripts are viewed by four-year colleges, two-year colleges, technical colleges, vocational schools, and the military when applying after high school or for dual enrollment.
Transcripts are also requested by other high schools when a student moves, both in and out of state.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: Your grades matter, and your transcript will follow you to any high school in the country, as well as any post-secondary institutions.

10. Credits & Grade Level
Students are promoted to the next grade level based on credits earned in the previous year.
Sophomore – 5 credits earned
Junior – 11 credits earned
Senior – 17 credits earned

11. GPA and Class Rank
As part of its tracking of your grades, your transcript also displays your overall GPA, or Grade Point Average.
Your GPA is the average of all of your course grades, both academic and elective.
Honors and Advanced Placement courses provide bonus points to the GPA of students who pass those classes.
Your GPA determines your class rank, which is a measure of how your performance compares to other students in your graduating class.

12. HOPE GPA – It’s Different
Your overall high school GPA is NOT the same GPA that is used to determine your HOPE Scholarship eligibility.
At the end of each semester, PCSD will upload all high school transcripts to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the group who oversees the HOPE programs.
The GSFC will calculate a separate HOPE GPA for each student. The HOPE GPA is currently determined by the calculation of all academic core courses that the student has taken and completed (grades 9-12).
Both passing and failing grades in the core courses count. Thus, this is a merit based scholarship for eligible students.
Per GSFC guidelines, high school core courses taken in middle school do NOT count as part of your HOPE GPA.
In addition to a GPA requirement to qualify for the HOPE programs, Class of 2023 students must complete four (4) “rigorous” academic courses to qualify for the HOPE Scholarship.
These rigorous courses are not the same thing as Honors or AP courses. They are a variety of academic courses posted on a list set by the GA Student Finance Commission each year.
Rigor course list can be found here: course-list-september-2017.pdf

13. How many classes will I take each year?

14. Change to 4X4 Block Scheduling
All PCSD high schools use a full 4x4 block schedule (consisting of four 90- minute courses per semester). As a result, students will complete eight (8) courses each year.
Certain subjects will be paired together
English and Science are paired together
Math and Social Studies are paired together
During the fall semester half of our students will be in English and Science while the other half will be in Math and Social Studies. This set-up will ‘flip’ during the spring semester.
Students will not skip more than one semester in a content area (Example: a fall World Language student would continue to be a fall World Language student during the next year)
In addition to your two academic courses, you will have two elective courses (unless you need to make up a previously failed academic class).

15. Block Schedule Example
FALL
Semester
(Term 1 & 2)
SPRING
Semester
(Term 3 & 4)

16. Times to Know School will start each day at 8:35 AM
The school day ends at 3:25 PM
All five lunches will be held during 3rd Block
Lunch 1 – 11:40 AM-12:04 PM
Lunch 2 – 12:07 PM-12:31 PM
Lunch 3 – 12:34 PM-12:58 PM
Lunch 4 – 1:01 PM-1:25 PM
Lunch 5 – 1:26 PM-1:50 PM
Students do not have the option to choose their lunch time. Lunch times are based on the class they are taking and will be noted on their schedule.

17. Which classes are available for me to take?

18. Course Selections Sheet

19. Academic Courses
As stated earlier, students will take four core academic courses each year (two per semester):
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
These courses are typically available in three formats: on- level, Honors, and Advanced Placement
Students are placed into Honors and AP courses based upon their prior overall grade in those subject (80+) and teacher recommendations.

20. Honors Courses
Honors Courses- Faster paced, more reading, additional assignments, and increased academic responsibility.
Students who take an honors course receive an additional five (5) points on their final grade if they score a 70 or above in the class.
For example: A student takes Honors Biology and earns an 80 in the course. The transcript will reflect a grade of 85.
The HOPE GPA does NOT include the additional five points added when it is calculated.

21. Advanced Placement Courses
AP (Advanced Placement) Courses – Equivalent to taking a college level course.
Students who take an AP course receive an additional ten (10) points on their final grade if they score a 70 or above in the class.
For example: A student takes AP Human Geography and earns an 80 in the course. The transcript will reflect a grade of 90.
The HOPE GPA does NOT include the additional ten points added when it is calculated.

22. Health & Personal Fitness
Georgia requires that all students earn 0.5 credit of Health and 0.5 credit of Personal Fitness
9th grade students will take both courses in one semester as a block course – nine weeks of Health, nine weeks of Personal Fitness
Students can substitute this requirement by completing three (3) credits of JROTC
Students CANNOT substitute Team Sports, Physical Education, or Weight Training for this course. It Must be Personal Fitness and Health.

23. Elective Courses
In addition to their two academic courses, students will take four elective courses each year (two per semester):
Elective courses are divided into five basic subject areas:
Career/Technical/Agricultural Education (CTAE)
Fine Arts
World Language
Physical Education
Academic electives
Please understand that the State of Georgia requires students to complete a set number of elective credits to graduate from high school.

24. Pathways
Most of our electives are organized by Pathways, which are a sequence of courses in a particular area.
Students are expected to complete one pathway in high school.
Pathway courses must be completed in order.
If a student successfully completes the pathway, he or she will receive a seal on their diploma indicating their pathway completion.
Pathways are available in the following elective areas:
Career/Technical/Agricultural Education (CTAE)
Fine Arts
World Language
Advanced Academics
Currently, a pathway is NOT available in Physical Education.
A Pathway is not required to meet graduation requirements.

25. Pathways Offered at NPHS
Agricultural Science
Architectural Drawing and Design
Audio & Video Technology
Automobile Maintenance/Light Repair
Business Accounting
Business & Technology
Carpentry (Construction)
Culinary Arts
JROTC (Army)
Law Enforcement/Criminal Investigations
Marketing Management
Personal Care (Cosmetology)
Sports & Entertainment Marketing
Teaching as a Profession
Therapeutic Services (Nursing)
Therapeutic Services (Sports Medicine)
Web and Digital Design
Fine Arts
World Language
Advanced Academics

26. Band
Mr. Mike Bearden, our band director, will ultimately determine the band course in which students will be placed (Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced).
During your registration appointment, however, students will register for both Beginning Band I (fall) and Beginning Band II (spring).
If your student is interested in participating in band, please Mr. Bearden at

27. World Language
Students who successfully complete both 7th & 8th Grade Spanish in middle school will earn Spanish I credit, and they will be placed in Spanish II in 9th grade.
Students who choose Spanish I or French I as one of their elective choices will most likely not receive this until their 10th grade year. Priority for these courses will be given to 12th, 11th, 10th, and then 9th grade students.
Completing a World Language course is not a graduation requirement in the state of Georgia.
That being said, most four-year colleges/universities require students to earn two (2) credit in the same world language in order to qualify for admissions.
The move to a 4X4 block schedule offers greater flexibility in meeting this plan prior to graduation.

28. Dual Enrollment (DE)
Dual enrollment is the option to earn high school credit while attending college and earning credit for college at almost NO COST! Students can participate in MOWR as either part-time or full-time students.
Most of North Paulding’s Dual Enrolled students attend one of the following schools:
Kennesaw State University
GA Highlands College
Chattahoochee Technical College
Students need to research the college they are interested in attending for DE.  Make sure eligibility has been met prior to applying (SAT/ACT test scores and meeting the GPA requirement).
A test score (either the SAT/ACT) is required as part of the application process.
Make sure you are meeting all deadlines for applying to colleges for the MOWR Program (these are specific to each college).
KSU’s deadline for the next year is always in the preceding January.
If you wish to participate at KSU, you have to plan ahead!

29. How can I get involved in high school?

30. Clubs, Organizations, & Sports
Clubs and Organizations
Academic Team
Astronomy Club
Band
Bass Fish Club
BETA Club
Chess Club
Chorus
DECA (Marketing)
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Fellow Christian Athletes (FCA)
Family Career Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
Fly fishing Club
Girl-Up
HOSA (Future Health Professionals)
International Thespian Society
JROTC Leaders and Academic Team
National Art Honor Society
National Honor Society
National Math Honor Society
National Spanish Honor Society
Student Government Association (SGA)
Skills USA
Underwater Robotics Club
Yearbook
Sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Cross-Country
Football
Golf
JROTC (Raider Team)
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track
Volleyball
Wrestling

31. Sports Eligibility
First semester freshmen are automatically eligible to participate in sports.
Second semester 9th graders must earn at least 2.5 credits during first semester to be eligible to participate in sports.
NPHS Coaches take pride in students who represent the school. They continually monitor each athlete’s behavior, attendance, and grades.
Reach out to the coach or sponsor of the club to receive more information.

32. Other Points to Know

33. GA Milestones in High School
The Georgia Milestones are state-mandated and state-created final exams that are administered in eight (8) specific courses.
By law, a student Milestones score must count toward 20% of the student’s final grade in the Milestones course.
The eight Milestones courses include:
Ninth Grade Literature/Composition
American Literature Composition
GSE Algebra I
GSE Geometry
Physical Science
Biology
United States History
Economics.

34. Other Tests in High School
Finals – Tests given to students by their course teachers that will count toward 20% of their final grade in each class. Regular finals are administered in all non-EOC courses.
PSAT – Georgia pays for this practice SAT is administered to all 10th grade students. It is administered once per year during the fall semester (October).
ACT & SAT
Tests used for college admissions
Also used for Dual Enrollment admissions
Unless taken earlier for Dual Enrollment admissions, most students start taking the ACT, SAT, or both during their Junior year of high school.

35. BRIDGE Law & High School
This 2010 state law mandates that certain advisement tasks be completed each year to support all students career planning and decision making during high school, and after graduation.
Counselors work every year with students to complete the tasks pertaining to their grade level and to update their Individual Graduation Plan.

36. BRIDGE Law & High School
All annual tasks are completed online, using either GCIS (for the grade-levels tasks) or Infinite Campus (the four-year plan will be completed using the MYAP tool).
9th Grade – dual enrollment, review graduation plan, explore 3 careers.
10th grade – dual Enrollment, review graduation plan, PSAT results, and YouScience results.
11th grade – dual enrollment, review graduation plan, explore 3 post- secondary options, YouScience.
12th grade – senior letter, next steps after high school, ongoing support regarding course selection, career planning, and graduation.

37. Attendance Coming to school is very important.
Missing important instruction can make learning difficult.
Being absent from a block class is equivalent to missing 2 days of a traditional class!
Student responsibility to collect missed assignments/test from teacher.

38. Dress Code
Please refer to the student handbook for dress code information and standards
It is available on the school website
It is distributed each year on the first day of school
NPHS is strict with this policy and does a morning dress code check daily.
Any student who is not within dress code will have a parent called and require a new dress attire or sit in ISS for the remainder of the day.

39. Phones & Electronic Etiquette
Respect the teacher and instruction time - phones cannot be used during class unless it is part of an activity clearly defined by the teacher
Be mindful about what you say/text/post about people and how it can effect everyone involved.
Be mindful about any images or pictures that you share, regardless of the format.

40. Tutoring
Tutoring options are available for every course. Some teachers offer before school tutoring and some offer after school tutoring options.
It’s the students responsibility to ask the teacher about tutoring options, and to let the teacher know when they plan on attending tutoring to make sure the teacher does not have a meeting or other prior engagements.
Students should attend tutoring with a plan!
Tutoring schedules can be found on our counseling website, or by also ing the teacher.

41. Advisement
At the bottom of each students schedule displays an Advisement period or “ADV.”
Advisement occurs about two times per month.
Students will cover important topics such as graduating class information, testing, study skills, YouScience information, registration for the following year, transcript audits, and much more!

42. Additional Information and Programs

43. What is the Paulding College and Career Academy?
PCCA opens the Fall semester of 2019
Students who attend PCCA graduate with a high school diploma plus have:
Dual Enrollment Course Opportunities
Work-Based Learning/Apprenticeship Program Courses
Complete a CTAE Pathway and related courses

44. What are the Opportunities at the PCCA?
What are the requirements to participate at PCCA?
Application and requirement information will be finalized during second semester.
If you are interested in any of the Career Pathways offered at PCCA, be sure that your middle school counselor knows about your interest as you finalize your Individual Graduation Plan.

45. What is the Paulding Virtual Academy?
The Paulding Virtual Academy will offer students the opportunity to use teacher supported, technology- based courses to earn new high school credit, recover credit, continue coursework or accelerate their progression through high school and into college level courses.
The application process for Fall begins April 1st, 2019.
Link:
Parent and Student Handbook Link: Centricity/Domain/4343/PVA%20Handbook.pdf

46. What if I wanted to take a course Online during high school?
During the months of April – mid-July, there will be a PCSD online registration opportunity for high school courses.
Senate Bill 289 allows districts to provide students in grades 3 through 12 the option of taking an online course should you choose that option.
Counselors have the online course information for high school courses.

47. Dual Enrollment Defined
A process by which high school students take courses from a state public or private postsecondary institution while still enrolled as a high school student and receive credit both at the high school and at the postsecondary institution.

48. Things to consider about being a Dual Enrollment Student….
Maturity level of the student
Post-secondary plans of the student
Individual career goals and IGP (Individual Graduation Plan)
Necessary tests for admission to the postsecondary institution(s) of choice
Application and acceptance by the post-secondary institution

49. Summit for Dual Enrollment Information for FY18
EVENT: Dual Enrollment Summit LOCATION: Paulding County High School ADDRESS: 1297 Villa Rica Hwy, Dallas DATE: February 28, TIME: 6:00 p.m.
Interested parents and students should always contact the high school counselor.

50. The Next Steps

51. Registering for Your Classes
Over the next several weeks, NPHS counselors will be meeting individually with parents and students to begin registering for courses for 9th grade. All registration times will be at the assigned middle school. Moses: March 1, 2019 – 8:30am to 3:30pm EPMS: March 4, 2019 – 8:40am to 3:40pm SMMS: January 30, 2019 – 8:30am to 3:30pm February 1, 2019 – 8:30am to 3:30pm February 6, 2019 – 8:30am to 3:30pm March 6, 2019 – 8:30am to 3:30pm March 27, 2019 – 8:30am to 2:30pm *Parents will receive a sign-up link from the middle school counselors. *Please understand these are course requests and by registering in March does not mean your student will not get the courses they are requesting.

52. The Registration Appointment
At your registration appointment, you will meet one-on-one with a NPHS counselor.
With the help of the counselor, the student and parent will enter the student’s course requests into Infinite Campus’ Multi-Year Academic Plan.
Classes entered into the MYAP for the school year will be the student’s actual course requests for next year’s classes.
Parents will then approve the student’s plan and courses using their Parent Portal account.

53. The Registration Appointment
Appointments are 20 minute slots only.
If you have additional questions after the registration process, please reach out to a high school counselor and we can help answer additional questions you have.
Please make sure you know your child’s elective options. Students who choose to change electives during the face- to-face registration appointment with a NPHS counselor, results in less time talking about other vital information. If your child needs to make a change to their elective options, please make sure they have them correctly ranked 1-8 when arriving the registration meeting.
Counselors must stay within the 20 minute appointment time to keep others from waiting for long periods of time.

54. The Multi-Year Academic Planner (MYAP)

55. After the Appointment
The course requests are placed into the scheduling program, and the Scheduler Assistant Principal builds the master schedule for the next year.
During their summer work days, the high school counselors work with the Scheduler AP to finalize all student schedules.
Students will receive the first copy of their actual schedules at the High School Open House event that is held in late July.

56. Requests vs. Actual Classes
We always stress to students and their families that they are making course requests for next year, not actually signing up for specific classes. When the master schedule is finalized over the summer, conflicts may develop between course requests and actual periods that certain courses will be offered. Because of this potential conflict, students are asked to select several alternate courses. If a student cannot be scheduled for their top choices, every attempt will be made to schedule them into the alternatives they indicated during registration. ​If a student requests a course or an alternative course during registration, they will not be allowed to make changes to those courses next fall semester. Once the master schedule is set, we lose a great deal of our flexibility in making changes (due to a finite number of teachers and available seats). Please advise your students to consider their choices carefully before making their course requests.

57. Think About Your Choices
During your scheduling appointment, you will be asked to pick EIGHT (8) elective options.
That being said, you should receive FOUR of your EIGHT choices. The others will be ALTERNATES.
Please understand that counselors can only put so many students in a course. Once a course is full, we can no longer add students to that course and/or period.
If any of your top four choices will not fit in your schedule, we will add one of your ALTERNATES.

58. Important Resources

59. NPHS Counseling Website
Some topics included on the website:
Class of 2023 Information
SAT, ACT, PSAT
Tutoring
Dual Enrollment
NCAA/NCIA
GaFutures
Scholarships

60. Career Planner
This valuable tool can help you in your decisions about our various Career Pathways and courses
It is an online document, and it can be found on our website at gonphs.weebly.com/8thgrade.html

61. High School 101
This valuable tool provides a wealth of information about being a high school student, graduation requirements, courses, and planning for life during and after high school
Students were provided a hard copy of this book, but is available as an online document that can be found on our website at gonphs.weebly.com/8thgrade.html

62. Stay Informed With Receive texts with deadlines and useful updates
Sign up from your phone right now!
For the Class of 2023
To receive messages via text: to (470) or 81010
To receive messages via Send an to

63. Wrapping Up

64. The Rest of the Program
Several of our club sponsors, coaches, and students are in the Cafeteria - come learn about ways to get involved at North Paulding High
Feel free to walk about the school to familiarize yourself with its layout
Counselors will be at high-top tables in the cafeteria
Questions for the FAQ Page - write questions on slip and we will post answers to general questions our website by next Friday!

65. NORTH PAULDING HIGH SCHOOL “Challenge the Pack!”
Thank you!
NORTH PAULDING HIGH SCHOOL
“Challenge the Pack!”