GETTING READY FOR HIGH SCHOOL

1. GETTING READY FOR HIGH SCHOOL

2. DIPLOMAS Honors Diploma – best prepares you for college Advance Diploma – gives you the minimum requirements for most four year colleges Standard Diploma – prepares you for community college or vocational school with the least amount of challenge

3. What are the Gateway Graduation requirements? English 4 credits Mathematics 4 credits Science 3 credits World Hist./World Geography 1 credit US History 1 credit Amer. Gov’t. 1 credit Arts/Hum./Occ. 1 credit PE/ROTC 2 credits Health ½ credit Computer Lit. ½ credit Electives 4 ½ credits Total 22.5 credits

4. What do I need for an Honors Diploma? • 24 credits • 3.4 Weighted GPA • 4 years math (Alg. 3-4) • 3 years science • 2 from Bio/Chem/Physics • 2 years foreign language • 8 Honors Credits • No failures during last 2 yrs • Pass all portions of Proficiency

5. How do I tell what honors credits I have? ? Honors Honors Honors

6. What is an Advanced Diploma? 24 credits Need 4 years of math Need 3 years of science No World Lang. 3.25 GPA weighted or unweighted

7. How do I know what credits I need to graduate? Grad Status Report

8. What counts for Humanities Credit? All Art/Music/Drama (College Prep-must be full year of same discipline in correct order) All Industrial Arts courses, Foods Foreign Lang. (5-6 and above) AP Human Geography World History/World Geog. (if both are taken)

9. HSROTC • Meets PE & Health requirement with completion of 5 semesters

10. PE Waiver • Need two credits of PE/HSROTC or approved equivalency for graduation • PE Options & Supervised Curriculum PE (SCPE) through Supplemental Credit • Students engaging in school sports may waive 1 PE credit • Waivers DO NOT give credit (just allow you to take something other than PE

11. World Languages • 2-4 years of same language required for some colleges. We offer: • French • Spanish WOLF Online: • German Hasta Luego!

12. What do I do if I need extra credit? Summer school Starts the Monday after school ends Cost $100.00 for 1/2 credit Online registration Listen for announcement bulletin Work experience (Jr/Sr) Internship (Jr/Sr) Correspondence (BYU), OnLine (WOLF) Must be WCSD approved GT Externship/Community Service/Travel Study

13. What is “Alternative Means” of Earning Credit? Only 4“alternative means” credits can be applied towards graduation. Such credit includes CBE, correspondence/on line (not WOLF), Work Experience, Community Service, Travel Study.

14. What is Work Experience? • Can earn ½ credit/sem. • Cost $75.00 per ½ credit • Must be 16 years or older • Must work total 216/sem • Averages out to 15+ hrs/wk • Lose Job/Lose credit • Sign up when school starts

15. Misc. Classes • Office/Library/Career Assistant • Department Assistant • Teachers Aide (.25) • Peer/ESL Tutor • AVID Scholar • Internship • Student Leadership • Yearbook

16. Proficiency Exams • All students must pass all four sections of the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam. • Math, Reading,Writing and Science. • You will begin taking the exams as a as a Sophomore.

17. How do I prepare for College? Earn an Honors or Advanced Diploma Becomes part of the IB program Maintain the highest GPA you can Strive for a 3.25+ Take lots of math & science Take the PSAT as Junior (National Merit Scholars Program) Take the ACT/SAT (spring /Jr year) Earn community service hours Begin looking at individual college requirements

18. What can I do to maintain my GPA? • Show up • Do the work • Check Edline • Seek help from your teacher after school • Smarthinking Tutoring • SNC Free Tutoring

19. How do I know what my GPA is? If you have earned credit, you can find both your unweighted and weighted cumulative GPA on your transcript. Based on a 4.0 scale A= 4, B= 3, C= 2, D = 1 (minuses do not count) No credit is awarded for F grades; S or U grades do not effect your GPA.

20. What is a “weighted” GPA? .025 is added to your “unweighted” GPA for every honors class you pass and .050 is added for every AP or IB course passed. Your cumulative weighted GPA is what most colleges are interested in.

21. Why should I take the PSAT? • Gives you good practice for taking the real SAT when • you are a Junior. • WCSD will give you the exam FREE as a • sophomore. • Lets you know what kind of reading, math and • writing skills you will need to be successful • in college. • No matter how many times you take the PSAT • be sure to take the exam as a JUNIOR!

22. Can I earn college credit while still in high school? Dual Credit Classes taken at TMCC, UNR or SNC AP Classes English 5-6,7-8 U.S. History Calculus American Government Advanced Biology French 7-8, 9-10 Advanced Chemistry Spanish 7-8, 9-10 Advanced Physics Human Geography Advanced Portfolio Art

23. How do I get the Millennium Scholarship? • 3.25 Cumulative GPA • Grad. From NV High school • Pass the Proficiency • NV. Resident for 2 years

24. Habit For Service • Not needed for graduation ,but…. • Important during scholarship consideration • Looks good on college and scholarship applications. • Turn in Volunteer Verification Sheet to Mrs. McLochlin/Career Center.

25. What about Scholarships? yellow • Millennium Scholarship • I.H.S. Scholarship Program • School and Parent Bulletins • Scholarship Websites

26. What if I want to participate in athletics in College? • File Forms with NCAA Clearinghouse • Make sure you have 13 core curriculum classes • Contact your coach or Mr. Schreiber

27. ASSIGNMENT!! Decide which Diploma you want to earn. Create a 4 year high school plan. Discuss plan with your parents. Be prepared to meet with your counselor to review and finalize your plan.