GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT
Ms. Catherine Ferrara
Seniors –Anderson- to Intile
Juniors –Alan to Jones
Sophomores –Abdul to Raziq to Minotti
Freshmen – Arrowood to Malta
Mrs. Alison Prendeville
Seniors– Maio to Zambito
Juniors –King to Zuckerman
Sophomores– Mueller to Zodl
Freshman- Mazzaccaro to Zdyrski
Opening of School
September 5th will be a regular school day.
Full-Day Bell Schedule
Block
Time
Warning Bell
7:25
Homeroom
7:30 – 7:37
Block 1
7:37-8:57
Block 2
8:58-10:18
Lunch
10:18-10:39
Activity Period
10:39-11:00
Block 3
11:02-12:22
Block 4
12:23-1:43
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Daily attendance and morning announcements will take place during
homeroom.
There is 1-2 minutes of passing time between classes. Locker stops are
permitted before homeroom, before lunch, after lunch, and at
dismissal.
Club/Activity meetings and competitive team practices will be held
during the students’ activity period and sometimes the lunch period
as well (as needed). Peer tutoring and extra help from teachers is also
available during this time (by appointment) if after-school
arrangements are not an option for the student.
Transportation must be provided by parents for students
participating in any after-school activities.
Student Schedules
 MATES utilizes the 4 x 4 Block Schedule Format. Students are
scheduled for four courses each semester, fall and spring.
Each class period is 80 minutes.
Freshmen are enrolled in the following courses:
FALL:
English I
Algebra I or RMA (testing)
Spanish I or II (testing)
Biology I
SPRING:
Health I/Phys. Ed.
Geometry
World History
Chemistry I
MATES COURSE OF STUDY
Sophomore Year
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English II
Statistics
Algebra II
Chemistry II
Aquatic Ecology
Spanish II and III or
Spanish III and Spanish IV or Research Methods/Applications
Health II/Driver Education
PE II
Junior Year
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English III
Pre-Calculus
EFA Trigonometry
Biotechnology (OCC BIOL 161)
Physics (OCC PHYS 171/172)
*Intro to Art OR
Spanish IV or V
 US History I
 Health III
 PE III
*Option II V/PA available as a P/F course for 5 credits to enroll in Spanish IV or V
MATES COURSE OF STUDY
Senior Year
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English IV or OCC ENGL 151/152
Calculus or OCC MATH 265
US History II
Oceanography or MARS 2202
Environmental Science (OCC ENVI 152)
Computer Science/Economics
Environmental Issues and
Economics/Financial Literacy OR
**Elective
 Health IV/PE IV
 Senior Experience: Research/SLE P/F
** Spanish V
Grading
 Four Report cards will be mailed home at the conclusion of the
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quarter (approx. every nine weeks).
Progress reports will be mailed home four times a year (approx. mid
point of every quarter).
Questions? First point of contact should be the instructor; second
point of contact should be your student’s guidance counselor: 609978-8439 - Catherine Ferrara ext. 4013 - Alison Prendeville ext.
4029
Grading Standards are outlined in your student agenda book (page
32) and course guide (page 10).
Any student’s grade that falls below a 70 will automatically be
assigned a “Pupil Improvement Plan” document (PIP). This
document will be created by the student’s teacher(s), guidance
counselor and the student. It will be initiated after any progress
report indicating a 70 or below. This improvement plan will remain
in place until the grade increases. The document will highlight
areas the student can focus on to improve the grade.
 Good grades are important right from the start!
Academic Excellence
 On average 100% of our graduates go on to
attend four - year colleges
 MATES students complete a four-year course
of study comprised of all honors/advanced
high school courses, embedded OCC ($25 per
credit) and Richard Stockton College courses.
 Additional OCC courses through Jumpstart
can be added in your junior and senior year.
These would be taken after-school through
OCC.
 Ranking and unweighted GPA’s
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Homework:
 On average, 40 to 45 minutes per night, per subject.
 If there is no written homework, review what was
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covered in class that day.
Use your daily agenda/planner book daily.
Prioritize your assignments for the evening.
Seek extra help immediately when you do not
understand any part of your homework assignment. Any
attempt is better then leaving it blank!
Have a “Homework Buddy”, someone from each class you
can contact if you run into issues/questions on your
assignments
Take advantage of any free time: lunch, activity period,
bus ride home, before practice for a sport/band, etc.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Time Management:
 Make a TO-DO List everyday.
 Use spare minutes wisely.
 Review your notes everyday.
 Get a good night’s sleep.
 Communicate your schedule to others, i.e. friends, employers.
 Create a “Time Budget” and plan accordingly.
 Do not waste time agonizing.
 Keep things in perspective.
 Set realistic goals for yourself.
**Utilizing the points listed above will decrease feeling stressed
and overwhelmed throughout the school year.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Study Skills:
 Figure out your learning style(s) – Visual, Auditory, Tactile or
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Kinesthetic.
Stay organized.
Exercise good note taking.
Be prepared for class.
Ask questions if you don’t understand something.
Complete assignments in a thorough and timely manner.
Study in short bursts to match your attention span. You will likely
retain more information.
Block out distractions.
Studying is not just reviewing your notes - be an active
participator in your studying.
Cramming is not the answer!
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Attendance:
 School is your job not your parents!
 Please refer to your student handbook regarding all
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attendance policies/procedures.
Progress is performance based – you need to be here for this
to be properly measured!
Missing one day of block classes is the equivalent of missing
two days of traditional class time.
When absent, it is your responsibility to get your missed
work.
If, for some reason, you are unable to get work while you are
out because of illness be sure to check in with each teacher
immediately upon your return to school.
Some options for getting work while you are absent: have a
friend bring it home; email your individual instructors; your
parents can call the attendance secretary by 8:30 a.m. to
arrange for work to be picked up in the main office by 2:00
p.m. that same day.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Attendance:
Make-up work protocol:
 Students should check in with their teacher each block period
for any missed classwork/homework.
 Teachers will determine a reasonable make-up date for missing
tests/quizzes/projects/reports - not the student.
 It is the student’s responsibility to remember the make-up
date/time that was scheduled by the teacher and to show up on
that assigned date. Neglecting to do this may result in a “zero”
on the assessment.
 Tests/quizzes are re-scheduled during school (lunch, activity
period, or missing the class period to take the make-up) or after
school if transportation can be arranged.
Family Vacations:
If you are planning a vacation, you should fill out a Vacation
Request Form. This form is located in the guidance department
and on the OCVTS website; it should be turned in to your
guidance counselor prior to vacation.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Tips for Breaking Middle School Habits:
 Be prepared to work hard every day.
 Be prepared to make changes to study habits and work
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ethic – MATES will be a different pace and rigor from
middle school.
Hard work will result in good grades.
It should not about the grade - it is about the knowledge
and experience you acquire along the way.
Hand in assignments you will be proud of and will reflect
your hard work.
Open communication- Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance
and clarification! Smart people ask questions! How do you
think they got that way? 
Academic Integrity Policy
Students should demonstrate integrity and honesty at all
times. Simply stated, cheating is taking credit for work
that is not one’s own. Cheating will result in loss of credit
for the assignment and may result in further disciplinary
action as determined by the Academy Administration.
Records of cheating by students will be maintained throughout
a student’s full four years of attendance.
Plagiarism is copying all or part of another person’s work (ideas
as well as exact words) as if they were the copier’s own. It is
stealing; it is illegal and unethical. Any use of pictures, graphics,
videos, sound recordings, etc., from computer databases, the
Internet, books or magazines, must be documented
appropriately. Anyone plagiarizing will face disciplinary action;
plagiarized work will not be accepted nor will credit be given. It
will be at the teacher’s discretion to allow the student to
resubmit the project. The plagiarism incident will remain in the
student’s permanent discipline file.
Cyber Responsibility for Parents
and Students
 Keep the computer in a public area of your house.
 Learn the online language.
 Parents join the online world. Communicate with your child electronically.
Set up your own social networking profile and link as “friends.”
 Nothing online or on your child’s cell phone is confidential.
 If you wouldn’t use that language in front of your parents/grandparents
then don’t use the that language online!
CYBER BULLYING: Ensure your child does not post information that could
be misused. Ensure that your child communicates respectfully with others in
cyberspace.
 Pay attention to the quality of your child’s online communities and friends.
 Some Signs of Concern: Emotional distress during or after
being online. Disrupted friendships. School avoidance.
 Never Retaliate! Save the harmful material and bring it to your principal or
guidance counselor.
HAVE A GREAT YEAR!!!!