Welcome!

1. Welcome! Mason Summit High School

2. Why an Orientation? • To build relationships between staff, students, and families. • Provide information about the program. • Explain why Summit is the place for you!

3. Similarities to Mason High School • Same graduation ceremony, cap, gown, and diploma. • Able to play sports if academically eligible. • Bus transportation is available (transfer at High School to Summit bus.)

4. Similarities to Mason High School • Clubs, activities, and dances are available. • Can participate in the Career Center. • Same calendar year as Mason High School (snow days, start and end dates.) • Parent-Teacher conferences are held twice per year. Key Club

5. Similarities to Mason High School • Michigan Merit Exam and PLAN tests are given at Mason High School (students who take the test will ensure that they are eligible for a $4,000 Promise scholarship from the state.)

6. Similarities to Mason High School • Students can be recommended for return to Mason High School provided that they meet all graduation criterion, are not credit deficit, and have both excellent attendance and behavior for a semester or more.

7. Things that are different from Mason High School • Open campus lunch at Summit means: • Pack a lunch ... CHEAP . • Go off campus to get lunch, but bring it back to insure that you are on time …NOT CHEAP . • Buy food from the school store …HELPS YOUR SCHOOL OUT . • If you qualify for a free lunch, pick it up from the High School before school begins and bring it here and store it in the school’s refrigerator.

8. Things that are different from Mason High School • Small class sizes (no more than 18 students to a class.) • Weekly progress reports. • $100 Summit Graduation Reward. • Quarterly Reward Auctions for good behavior.

9. Academic Expectations • Three, two-hour blocks insure that students get plenty of teacher time. • Individualized instruction if students advocate for themselves and tell us how they learn best.

10. Academic Expectations • Teachers work to meet diverse learning needs and multiple intelligences…in other words, we ask how you learn best. • Courses end on average every 45 days. Things move fast and students must keep up with the pace!

11. Academic Expectations • Homework must be done when needed. If you do not finish your work at school you must take it home. Typically, homework isn’t given just for the sake of giving homework; however, if you do not have at least an 80% in a class you should be studying at home!

12. Academic Expectations • Michigan Graduation Standards have increased! • Students must expect to work harder, and families should require this! • The good news! Courses at Summit end sooner than they do at Mason High School so students do not have to maintain as long. =

13. Academic Expectations Personal Development … • 10 minutes long, Monday thru Thursday and 2 hours on Friday. • Each Thursday evening, staff conducts a case review on every single student, and generates an individualized progress report.

14. Academic Expectations During Friday Personal Development students meet with their advisors to: • Meet one on one with their advisor to get a summary of the previous evening’s case review, to discuss the point card (more on that later), to discuss attendance and academic choices that may be helping or hurting them in getting their diploma.

15. Academic Expectations • Set goals: academic, personal, interpersonal, and work experience if applicable. • Total point cards, spend time in healthy activities with peers and advisors. • Work on Career Cruising in the lab twice per term. • Students create a portfolio of their work, career path, personal interests, and reflections on their growth that term.

16. Academic Expectations • Students receive a second copy of their progress report. It is the parent or guardian's responsibility to insure that they see it every Friday! If you do not see it, you must let us know! Responsibility is an important part of learning at Summit. • Personal Development credit is granted after 4 successful terms .

17. Academic Expectations • When staff determines that a student is incapable of passing a course they will be dropped from that class. • This is determined during the weekly staff meeting. • Students are given a minimum of one week’s warning, in writing, that they are in danger of losing a class.

18. Academic Expectations • Students are not allowed to remain in class, and waste resources when other students really want to learn. • Students must leave the building if they are dropped, and they cannot hang around the grounds disrupting others socially. • The good news is that students who remain get more teacher time and attention!

19. Academic Expectations • Make-up work is the responsibility of the student to collect and turn in. • Students must ask for make-up work on the day that they return from an absence. • Students have one day to complete their work for each day they were gone if the absence is excused or documented excused (more to come later.)

20. Academic Expectations • Students who are suspended for 3 days or more have the option, at parent or guardian request, to pick up work during the suspension to keep up with classes. Students have 1 day to complete make-up work for each day they are suspended. • Work that is late is reduced by 20% for each day it is not turned in. After 5 days, late work is no longer accepted.

21. Academic Expectations • When a student passes all courses and Personal Development they will earn 6.5 credits per year. • Additional credit opportunities exist with work experience (.5 credit per semester), and CACC (1 credit per year). • In other words, the potential exists for students to earn 8.5 credits per year!

22. Academic Expectations • Additional costly credit opportunities exist: • Summer school in Holt, Lansing, and Williamston (applications available from the MHS counseling department.) • Lansing Community College (Program Coordinator must approve.) • American School Correspondence courses. • Mason will not accept more than 4 total credits from outside sources.

23. Attendance Expectations • Attendance at Mason Summit High School is essential for student success! • Attendance is part of your grade at Summit. • Each block is 2 hours long Monday thru Thursday and 1 hour long on Friday. • There is a 6 hour absence limit per block, per term. There is a 2.5 hour absence limit for Personal Development, per term.

24. Attendance Expectations • Personal Development is very important and it is easy to go over the 2.5 hour limit! • Unexcused absence- if you don’t call us or don’t tell us where you are going you will receive an unexcused absence. When this occurs students cannot make up missing work.

25. Attendance Expectations • Excused Absences – if the student, parent, or guardian informs us before 9 a.m. or prior to departure where the student is or will be going; why they need to be gone during school hours; and when the student is expected back we will excuse the absence. The student still gets the hours, but the good news is that they can make up their missing work.

26. Attendance Expectations • Documented Excused Absences – can be excused by parent / guardian or the student for any of the following reasons (verification is necessary): • Medical. • Death in the family. • Personal or family business (religious observance.) • Family Trip. All family trips must be arranged in advance through the secretary. • Documented absences do not count toward the 6 / 2.5 hour policy.

27. Attendance Expectations • Parents, Guardians, and Students must track attendance closely on the weekly progress reports to insure that they do not go over the 6 / 2.5 hour policy. • Attendance drops are decided during the Thursday staff meeting. • Michigan has two requirements that allow Mason Summit to drop students: a. Make up opportunities must be available. b. Appeals hearings must be granted.

28. Attendance Expectations • Make up opportunities are available the last 6 Fridays of every term. Students must sign in by 2:40 and are required to stay for 1 hour. Students can only make up 1 hour per week! • Appeal hearings are heard after school during the Thursday staff meeting. Students must complete a form that they can get from their advisor.

29. Attendance Expectations • Besides better grades, having good attendance can get you some other rewards. 1.If you have perfect attendance for an entire term I’ll buy you dinner and a movie! 2.If you receive 6 or less hours for all your classes and PD I’ll buy your lunch, and you get to pick a staff member to go with.

30. Citizenship • Program Coordinator vs. Principal • I prefer to always solve problems before they become huge issues. • Students can self-refer themselves to me when they have problems. If you do refer yourself to me, there won’t be any negative consequences. Instead, you’ll get help on how to solve the problem.

31. Citizenship 3.Summit is different than a traditional high school where the principal, and assistant principals are, many times, disciplinarians and act in a reactive fashion. This is often not their fault, but is a result of the way our school systems function. 4. At Summit we want to be proactive, and use discipline as little as possible.

32. Citizenship • 5 things students must never do … • Use verbal threats of violence, bully, or use harassing language. • Fighting (Summit has had only 6 fights in the past 13 years, because both staff and students get involved before things blow up.)

33. Citizenship 3. No sexual, religious, or racial harassment is tolerated. The first time you’ll get a warning and an education on why it isn’t acceptable; however, if it continues, then discipline must occur. 4. Drug / Alcohol possession a. Offenses are cumulative from MHS to here 9 – 12 grades. b. Unauthorized prescription medicine will get you in trouble. All medicine must be given to the secretary for safekeeping, and distribution to the student if approved by a doctor.

34. Citizenship 5. Never bring weapons to school. Possession is what gets students in trouble, not the intent to use them. Summit has never had a student bring a weapon to school with the intent of actually using it, but we have had several expulsions where students brought weapons to school by mistake! Never bring: • Brass Knuckles • Paint ball guns • Fireworks • Explosives of any kind • Dagger • Stiletto • Iron bar • Smoke bombs • Karate sticks • Hunting rifles or shotguns

35. Citizenship • As stated earlier, discipline is a last resort at Summit. • Instead of discipline we use the pointcard. • The pointcard is a way for your teachers to let you know what you are doing both good and bad. • Both you and your teacher fill out the pointcard at the end of each block and for PD on Friday.

36. Citizenship • There are 160 points possible each week plus opportunities for bonus points. • When a student does not get the 160 points possible he / she is in demerits. • Students must solve demerit problems immediately, because they double each week. • If demerits last for 2 weeks I must get involved by meeting with you, having you write reflective essays, and possibly using discipline, which both you and I do not want! 

37. Citizenship • Remember that the pointcard is a communication device to help you remain aware of what is helping your mission or hurting it. • Good things about the pointcard are that if you get a perfect pointcard for one week you get a free 15-minute pass. Also, at the end of each term we have an auction for you to spend your accumulated points. • Students who have 5 perfect point cards over the course of a term, or 3 perfect cards in a row, get first pick at the auction.

38. Citizenship • Choose your peer group wisely. • Watch who seems to be successful and choose to become friends with them.

39. Conclusion • Summit is a great place to go to school, so come learn in a fun and caring environment where you will always be part of the Summit family!

40. Conclusion • Questions? • Students meet with teachers and get a tour of the building. • Parents and Guardians I have some paperwork for you to complete. • Welcome to Mason Summit High School, and thanks for coming to the orientation!