Ware County High School

1. Ware County High School A Talent Development High School 2010-2011

2. Administrative Team • Joe Brasfield, Principal • David Hitt, Cornerstone Principal • Stacey Lutz, TIME Principal • Harold McClain, Ware A & M Principal • Bert Smith, CHAPS Principal • Susan Zeigler, Graduation Coach & Twilight Coordinator • Laurie Ponsell, Special Education Coordinator • Medea Shuman, CTAE Director • David Shields, Athletic Director

3. Counselors • Sharon Barrow, Cornerstone Counselor • Loretta Coar, TIME Counselor • Dorrie Jones, CHAPS Counselor • Jewel Sharpe, Ware A&M Counselor

4. Instructional Coaches • Cindy Hitt, English • Teresa Soper, Math • Michelle Rittenhouse, Science • Mary Ann King, Social Studies

5. BELL SCHEDULE • 8:10am – 9:40am 1st Block • 9:45am – 10:25am Homeroom • 10:30am – 12:00am 2nd Block • 12:00am – 12:25pm 1st Lunch • 12:30pm – 12:55pm 2nd Lunch • 1:00pm – 1:25pm 3rd Lunch • 1:30pm – 1:55pm 4th Lunch • 12:05pm- 1:55pm 3rd Block • 2:00pm – 3:30pm 4th Block

6. Attendance A Community Outreach Worker will monitor student attendance and refer chronic absentees to social workers. A letter will be sent out by our Community Outreach Worker and phone calls will be made everyday by our caller system. Georgia law allows a student to be excused from school for the following reasons: Personal illness Illness or death in the immediate family Special and recognized religious holidays observed by the student’s faith Mandates by order of a governmental agency Conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to the safety of the student Written documentation must be submitted to the school to validate that the absence is excused within 3 days.

7. Attendance At each absence (excused or unexcused) the school will make phone contact with the parent/guardian. At 3 absences (excused or unexcused) the school will mail a letter to the Parent/guardian. At 5 absences (excused or unexcused) the principal may choose to send the school attendance/social worker to the child’s home for a home visit. At 7 absences (excused or unexcused) the school will mail another letter to the parent/guardian. At this time, depending upon circumstances in each particular case, the parent/guardian may be asked to meet with the Attendance Support Team to sign an agreement. The parent/guardian will also be notified regarding the loss of drivers license with 3 more unexcused absences. At 10 unexcused absences, the parents of students age 14 and younger will be referred to the juvenile court judge. At 10 unexcused absences, students age 12 and older will be referred to Ware County Juvenile Court. The parent/guardian of student’s age 14 and older will be notified that when students reach ten (10) unexcused absences they will be reported to the State Department of Transportation and their parents will be notified of the action.

8. Tardy The school day starts at 8:10, students are tardy to school at 8:20. All Students who arrive on campus after 8:20 report to the Academy Office and their Academy Secretary for an excuse. Students will be given a tardy note to class (excused or unexcused) upon their arrival. For a tardy to be excused, it has to be one of the seven reasons adopted by our Board of Education. If the tardy is unexcused, the following policy will be followed by administration. 1st Tardy to School Warning 2nd Tardy to School Lunch Detention 3rd Tardy to School Lunch Detention 4th Tardy to School Saturday School Assignment

9. Check In/Out Procedures Any student needing to leave school before 3:30 pm must bring a note signed by the parent or guardian which indicates the time the student needs to leave and the reason. This note must have a telephone number where the parent can be reached. The note should be dropped off with the appropriate Academy Secretary. Once a parent/guardian has been reached, the Academy Secretary will notify the teacher in the last class the student is attending for the day so the teacher knows that approval to check out has been granted. At the time indicated on the checkout pass, the teacher will release the student to sign out through the Attendance Secretary. Should an emergency arise, call the appropriate Academy secretary to arrange for student dismissal.

10. Promotion Procedures GRADE CLASSIFICATION REQUIREMENTS Units required for promotion: 5 units to 10th grade, 13 to 11th grade (with 2 math credits – Math 1 & Math 2 and 2 English credits – Eng 9 & Eng 10) 20 to 12th grade Students must have 28 units for graduation Students can potentially earn 32 units during their 4 years. DIPLOMA REQUIREMENTS 1. A Diploma (Technical Career Preparatory or College Preparatory) will be awarded to the student who meets all minimum graduation requirements in one or both of these areas. 2. A Certificate of Performance will be awarded to the student who meets all requirements for attendance and units of credit but does not pass the Georgia High School Graduation Test. 3. A Special Education Diploma will be awarded to a student with a disability assigned to a special education program who has not passed the Georgia High School Graduation Test but has completed all the requirements of his/her IEP. Exceptions are sometimes made in the number of units for students who transfer to WCHS from other systems. A counselor evaluates transfer students’ records individually. Any senior in the Ware County School System, who is found guilty of a serious violation of the Student Code of Conduct and cannot complete days of OSS and/or ISS assigned before their official last day of school, may not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.

11. PARKING LOT PROCEDURE • Parents dropping off upperclassmen will enter and exit the campus in the front of the school on Victory Drive. • Parents dropping off ninth grade students are advised to enter the campus off Wadley Road and use the Cornerstone Academy entrance at the rear of the school. • WCHS students who drive to school can purchase an assigned parking space on a first-come-first-served basis from an Academy Principal during lunch. The cost will be $20 (checks may be made payable to Ware County High School), and students must show a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance.

12. Free Tutoring for your Child As a result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, your child may be able to receive academic tutoring by outside companies to help him or her do better in school. Families that qualify for free or reduced lunch can participate in this program. If you qualify, you can choose a free tutoring program that best meets your child’s needs from the list of approved tutoring programs. Contact Dean Moody at dmoody@ware.k12.ga.us for more information. (Title I)

13. PARENT PORTAL How to Gain Access to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal • Parent/guardians need to visit their student's Academy Secretary to register for Portal access. • Parent/guardians must provide a picture ID • Upon verification, parents/guardians will receive an activation key and the portal web address. Log into Infinite Campus Parent Portal and create user account • First-time log in:  Click the message, If you have been assigned a Campus Portal Activation Key, ... • Enter theactivation key issued by your student's school.Please note:  If you receive a message that says the number is wrong key, please re-enter the Activation Key again.  If you get a message that says, The Activation Key you entered has already been used to create a Campus Portal account, you already have an account.If you forget your username and password, please contact your student's school. • Create the username. • Create a password.  The password must be at least 5 characters in length and have at least one number or symbol. • After you create the username and password, you will be directed to the portal page where you will log in to see student information. • Please contact the webmaster if assistance is required.

14. Visiting Procedures/ Contacting a Teacher • To visit with the principal, graduation coach, or instructional coach: In person, sign in at the front office and request to speak with Ms. Mathison or call 287-2351 ext 171. She will direct you to the appropriate office or make an appointment. • To visit with an Academy Principal, Counselor, or Teacher: Go to the appropriate Academy office or call the Academy Secretary to set up an appointment. • To visit in your student’s classroom, 24 hours notice is required: Dial 287-2351 to speak with the assigned academy secretary.

15. WCHS School Council Nominations open tonight for parents to sit on the WCHS school council. You may call Ms. Mathison @ 287-2351x171 or submit your nomination by email (cmathison@ware.k12.ga.us). The council meets once per month during the school year. WCHS School Council Elections will be held on Thursday, August 19, at 6:00pm in the PAC prior to Mr. Brasfield’s State of The School Address.

16. No Schedule Changes Tonight • STUDENTS MAY FILL OUT THE YELLOW REQUEST FOR COURSE CHANGE FORM AND TURN IT INTO THEIR COUNSELOR. • ONLY THE FOLLOWING REASONS MAY BE USED: • Changing diploma option (parental permission on file) • Student does not have prerequisite course • Student has already received credit for this course • Student applying for Accel or Dual Enrollment at Waycross College or OTC • Student is a senior and needs a particular class to graduate

17. Ware County High School Please sign in with your student’s homeroom teacher and provide the correct contact information. Thank you for coming! Enjoy your evening! Go Gators