Your Founding Year: the 9th grade
HOW TO KEEP CALM & CARRY ON TO SUCCESS AT WISS
First, remember to . . .
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
-Japanese Proverb
There is no such thing as too many questions.
Your Team:• Your Teachers and the 9th Grade Academy• Your School Counselors• Your Principals and Leaders• Wiss Links, SAP and Student Ambassadors
Listen: to YouAdvise: on School Explore: Careers Find: Colleges
Where is the guidance department?
• A HALL (front of the building)• Between Square Gym and the Main Office• Look for the College Pennants
and . . . .
Online!
Follow us on Twitter @WissHSGuidanceLike us on Facebook: Wissahickon High School Guidance
Who’s who in the Guidance Department:
9th Grade: Support Specialist:
Mrs. Samit (That’s me )Mrs. Wolfert
10th-12th Grade: a-d: Ms. Perrotta e-ki: Mrs. Reavy
kj-q: Mr. Cappa r-z: Mrs. Glover
College & Career:Ms. Anderson
Guidance Secretaries: Mrs. Glennon Mrs. Lawver
More aboutMrs. Wolfert:
Our Support Specialist• Mrs. Wolfert
• Sees students individually• And in groups• Leads No Place for Hate• Runs our school wide Mentor Program:
• Wiss Links• Keeps office hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays• B02
• between K hall and the upper cafeteria• Look for the board with the Sun
How to request a guidance appointment:
• Come to the Guidance Suite in A Hall• Fill out a small yellow appointment • request form
• Drop the form in the silver bucket
• Within 1-2 school days, you will receive a pass to see your school counselor
Next:
Dream big, be brave, look ahead:
Navigate with
What is?
• Career and College Exploration at your finger tips
• Comprehensive• Career interest questionnaires• Advise• And the “how to’s” of
• Career preparation• College planning.
• It is the Cadillac of College and Career Search Engines. It is awesome, like you;
and Navigator.He’s awesome too.
How to Log on to Naviance and get started:
Visit the WHS Guidance Page and Click on Naviance under the College or Careers Tabs or simply Google:
FAMILY CONNECTION – NAVIANCE / WISSAHICKONWWW.CONNECTION.NAVIANCE.COM/WISSAHICKON
• enter your email & password….or…student id
• set up your account
Do all this whilecontinuing to:
Your First Career is this one: being a Student
• Your Grades read like a resume:• All colleges and most employers review to see
• How much you challenge yourself • Your level of success in high school
• They read your Transcript:
• The summary of your grades and credit earned• It shows employers and colleges your grade point
average (GPA)• a calculated average of all your grades
• Each final letter grade earned for the year• Your test scores and more
How your transcript may appear:
If nothing else,
Graduating: It is all about the CREDITSEnglish 4.0Social Studies 4.0Mathematics* 3.0/4.0Science* 3.0/4.0Wellness (9th Grade) 1.0Physical Education 1.0Health 0.5Graduation Project 0.8Electives (including World Language) 10.0 .
Total needed: 26.80
* Need a total of 7.0 credits between math/science
With credits in mind,here’s how to
• Step 1For each classMultiply each Grade x the # of Quality Points{ Quality Points Chart}
A=4 B=3
C=2 D=1 F=0Step 2Divide the # of quality pointsby the total # of credits Quality Points/# of Credits
How to Calculate Your Grade Point Average (GPA):
An Example:Grade 94x 1=44x 0.5=24x 0.5=23x1=34x1=44x1=43x1= 34 x1= 4
Total Quality Points= 26
Total Credits= 7.0
26/7= 3.71 Grade Point Average
Not all classes count for the same amount of credit:- Full year core classes like math and English count for 1.0 credit-Semester electives like creative writing & public speaking count for 0.5 credit-An “A” in a semester class is not equal to an “A” in a full year class
1) When you take an honors class:If you earn a “c” or above in that course,
then you multiply 0.05 x the quality points for that course to help calculate your weighted gpa.
2) When you take an AP (advanced placement) class: If you get a “c” or above in that course,
then you mulptily 0.10 x the quality points.
You also have a Weighted GPA:
Note the unweighted gpa v weighted gpa:
AN EXAMPLE:
Unweighted GPA= 3.71
Add in 4 Honors classes:3.71 + 4 (0.05) = 3.91- Weighted GPA
“It is not that I am so smart.
It’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
- Albert Einstein
Never give up. Persevere.Believe in yourself. We believe in you.
Our Expectations:Set your own standards above.Raise your hand.Ask questions-stay after class if you don’t
feel comfortable to ask in classUse your agenda book.Never give up. Believe in yourself.Turn in your homework.Study—how do you learn best?
Flash cards, writing things over again, quizzing yourself, study group
Ask for helpfrom your teacherfrom the STARS program
Make mistakes and learn from them.Get involved: sports, clubs, activities!!
How Grades and Studying pay at Wiss:
Distinguished Scholarship Roll:All “A”s and may have a “B” in one Honors or AP course
Scholarship Roll:All “A”s and “B”s and may have one “C” in one Honors or
AP course
*for either, you must earn at least a “B” in physical education
National Honor Society: See the club’s Moodle page for further up-to-date eligibility and application guidelines
Scholarship: having an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end
of the Sophomore or Junior year.
Service: having generally participated in school activities throughout
the high school career. (some provisions- outside activites)
Leadership: is not based on the holding of offices but on the
efficiency of duties performed.
Character: is not based on mere personality but a definite pattern of
behavior
An honor such as NHS requires three categories of involvement atSchool (teamwork, service, and personal interests).-------------------------A school that caresabout each othergrows together:
A B C At Least one "Team" At Least one of "Service-Oriented" At least one of "Student Interest"
Baseball Manager of Sports Team Asian Studies
Basketball S.T.A.R.S. Tutoring Art Club
Cheerleading Freshman Class Committee Aura
Cross Country Sophomore Class Committee Computer Club
Field Hockey Junior Class Committee Foreign Exchange Club
Football Senior Class Committee Future Teachers of America
Lacrosse Student Council Horticulture Club
Outdoor Track & Field Key Club Math Club
Marching Unit Interact Great Books
Musical Wiss Pals GSA-Gay, Straight Alliance
Stage Crew Ambassadors Club-10th/11th CASA
Robotics Health Careers Club
Soccer Car Club
Softball S.A.D.D
Swimming Ambassadors Club-9th
Tennis TV Club
Volleyball Jewish Studies Club
Water Polo Hip Hop Club
Winter Track Amnesty International
Wrestling FANS
Ilium - Yearbook Quiz Bowl
Fall Drama WTV Club
Golf
Debate & Speech Club
FBLA
Trojan Times
Jazz Ensembles
Pit Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra
Outside Service Accepted (with documentation for each year high school
participation (9th-10th grade))
Outside Service Accepted (with documentation for each year high
school participation (9th-10th grade))
Gymnastics teams Girls Scouts
Ice Hockey Team Boy Scouts
Ice Skating Team
Dancing
BALANCING ACT:SCHOOL & ACTIVITIES
WHAT DO I DO IF I AM FEELING STRESS?
“In times of trouble, look for the helpers.”- fred rogers
Tell someone; look for the helpers:-Your favorite teacher-Your school counselors (Mrs. Samit, Mrs. Wolfert)- Your mentor (through Wiss Links)- Student Assistance (SAP)- Your family- STARS tutoring
and remember . . . .
Be Awesome! You teach your teachers as much as we teach you.
A Message from Kid President(youtube, accessed 9/9/2014)