General Information Session
AHS School Counseling Dept
AGENDA
 Overview of School Counseling Program
 Important Dates
 Registration Information
 Application Programs
 Schedule
 Course levels and opportunities
 Graduation requirements and credits
 High School Opportunities
 Questions?
COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
 MRS. ALEXIS MASON- GIFTED RESOURCE
 MRS. LAURA MASSEY- CAREER SPECIALIST
 MS. MARY WILLIAMS- REGION 10 COUNSELOR
 Dr. CAROLE OSVALDS- SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
 MRS. CAROL JANSSENS- SCHOOL NURSE
 MS. CAROL HERNANDEZ- PREVENTION/
RESOURCE COORDINATOR
MEET THE AHS
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
What We Can Do as School Counselors to Help You:






Improve academic success
Schedule changes
Difficulties at home
(divorce, arguments with
parents)
Friendship issues
Problems with teachers
Coordinate
parent/teacher/student
conferences
•
 Death of a loved one
 Personal Problems & dealing
with difficult emotions (selfesteem, depression)
 Hard time with transitions
 Career development
 Other problems at home,
school, etc.
We see students individually, in small group
settings, and come into classrooms to do
larger lessons!
Important Dates to Know
 January-March: 8th grade students will individually meet
with their middle school counselor to register for 9th grade
courses and to discuss 4 year plan
 February 26th: Private School Information Session &
Visitation Day
-Please see one of the counselors to sign your child up to
participate in the visitation day tonight at the
curriculum fair
 April 14th: 8th graders visit AHS for tour of school and eat
lunch in the cafeteria
 April 24th: Last Day to Make Changes to Course Selections
Registration Process
 Online Registration
-Must have access to parent portal
 Individual meetings with counselor and
parent (s)
-individual meetings to discuss teacher
recommendations, classes for next year, 4 year plan,
attendance, grades, and plans after high school
-Students attending Jouett, Sutherland & Burley will meet
with their current school counselor
Application Programs

Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA)
*4 year program designed to prepare students for a college
preparatory pathway to a career in engineering (Application Due
January 30th)
 Advancement Via Individualized Determination (AVID)
*College preparatory support program (Application due January
30th)
 Leadership
*Students improve leadership abilities through a variety of
activities including community service, volunteering, and
improving spirit at AHS (Application due January 30th)
ACPS Academy Programs and
Murray High School
 Math, Engineering, and Science Academy
(Albemarle High School)
 Arts and Letters Pathway (Albemarle High School)
 Health and Medical Sciences Academy
(Monticello High School)
 Environmental Studies Academy (Western
Albemarle High School)
 Murray High School – School of Choice (110
students)
Schedule
 Opportunity to take 8 classes per credit each year
 4 blocks of classes each day (Red vs. Blue Day)
 Classes are approximately 88 minutes long
 All core classes (English, Math, Social Studies, &
Science ) will meet every other day for the entire year
except for Algebra I, and a few English classes which
meet everyday
 World language classes have a variety of scheduling
options (All level 1 classes offered as a singleton)
Typical day at AHS
Mon/Tues/Friday
“0” Period 7:40 – 8:40
1st Period 8:55 – 10:24
2nd Period 10:31 – 12:35
(4 lunches during 2nd Period)
3rd Period 12:42 – 2:10
4th Period 2:17 – 3:45
Wed/Thurs
“o” Period 7:40-8:40
1st period 8:55-10:19
2nd period 10:26-11:54
CHAT TIME with lunch
Lunch 11:54-12:52
3rd period 12:52-2:15
4th period 2:22-3:45
AHS Course Levels
 Standard
 Academic/Advanced
 Honors
 PVCC (10th-12th)
 AP (10th-12th)
Balance your schedule…
 Strongly consider your teacher’s recommendations
 Academic Ability – review grades and SOL scores
 Effort – Do you complete your homework
 Interests = Strengths in certain subject areas
 Athletics
 Working
 Performing Arts
 Family Commitments
 Well-rounded student…
Grade
English
Social
Studies
Math
Science
Health/PE
/ Elective
World
Lang./
Elective
Elective
6th-8th
9th
English 9
10th
English 10
11th
**English
11
(Reading
and
Writing
SOL)
12th
English 12
*Algebra I
*Earth
*Geometry
Science
*Algebra II
*Biology
*Geometry
*Algebra II
*World
Trigonome
*Biology
History II
try
*Chemistry
Math
Analysis
Alg.
Functions
*Algebra II
*U.S.Histo Trigonome *Chemistry
ry
try Math
Physics
Analysis
AP
Calculus
*Algebra II
Trigonome
try Math
Physics
Governme
Analysis
AP
nt
AP
Science
Calculus
AP
Statistics
*World
History I
Health/PE
Health/PE
Econ/Pers
onal
Finance
Elective
High School Transcripts
 Grade Point Average
A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0
 Higher level courses (HON, PVCC, AP) receive higher
weight (+ 1)
 Courses taken at the middle school level for high
school credit (foreign language and math)
 Albemarle County no longer ranks students
Standard units of Credit and
Verified Credits
 A standard unit of credit is awarded for a course in
which the student successfully completes the
objectives of the course and the equivalent of 140 clock
hours of instruction.
 A verified unit of credit is awarded for a course in
which the student earns a standard unit of credit and
achieves a passing score on a corresponding end-ofcourse SOL test or a substitute assessment approved by
the Board of Education.
Graduation Requirements
Standard Diploma
First time in 9th grade beginning
Advanced Studies Diploma
2011-2012
through
2012-2013
(Rising 12th,)
2013-2014
and beyond
First time in 9th
grade beginning
(Rising 9th, 10th,
11th)
2011-2012
through
2012-2013
(Rising 12th)
2013-2014
and beyond
(Rising 9th, 10th, 11th)
English
4
4
English
4
4
History
3
3
History
4
4
Math
3
3
Math
4
4
Science
3
3
Science
World Language
World Language
4
4
3 of One
2 of Two (4)
3 of One
2 of Two (4)
Health/PE
2
2
Health/PE
2
2
Fine Art/CTE
1
1
Fine Art/CTE
1
1
Personal Finance
1
1
Personal Finance
1
1
Language/Fine Art or CTE
1
1
Language/Fine Art
or CTE
Electives
4
4
Electives
2 or 3
2 or 3
Students in this
column are
required to take
Personal
Finance/Economic
s
Students in this
column are
required to take
an online class and
pass Industry
Certification or
Workforce College
Readiness Exam
Students in this
column are
required to take
Personal
Finance/Economic
s
Students in this column are
required to take an online class.
22
22
26
26
Graduation Requirements
New Requirements for students
entering the first time beginning in
this year….
Total
New
Requirements for
students entering
the first time
beginning in this
year….
Total
Please note…
 All students are required to take a virtual class. There
are MANY options to complete this requirement
through our school system and beyond.
 http://www2.k12albemarle.org/dept/instruction/virtu
al-learning/Pages/default.aspx
Diplomas
 Standard Diploma – opportunities to take more
electives (22 standard credits, 6 verified credits)
 Advanced Studies Diploma – opportunities to take
more core classes (26 standard credits, 9 verified)
 Please note – An ADV Diploma can be earned by
taking all standard classes and a standard diploma can
be earned by taking all ADV courses. The diplomas are
earned based on meeting the credit requirements (not
the levels of the classes).
Things to think about…
 Homework Counts!
 Passing grade – D (60%)
 You must earn 6 credits to pass 9th grade.
 If you want to pass a class you MUST turn in your





homework assignments
“Zeros”
DEADLINES matter and some teachers may not accept late
assignments for credit
GET ORGANIZED
Student Planner
Teacher Websites
Athletics
 All 9th graders are eligible to play in fall of 2015
 Sports physical must be dated after May 1st, 2015
 Eligibility is determined by enrolling and passing 5
classes (VHSL)
 AHS Teams include: Baseball, Basketball,
Cheerleading, Cross Country, Dance Team, Field
Hockey, Football, Forensics, Golf, Indoor Track,
Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Scholastic Bowl, Soccer,
Softball, Strength and Conditioning, Swim & Dive,
Tennis, Theatre, Volleyball, and Wrestling.
Performing Arts
 Band
 Chorus
 Drama
 Orchestra
Clubs and Activities




















A/A Scholars Alliance
DECA (Marketing)
FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America)
German
HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America)
Key Club
Math
Model UN
PIGS (Politics is Good)
Project Discovery
Science Honor Society
Anime
Badminton
CARE
FAST (Female Athletes Standing Together)
FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
Film
French
GSA (Gay- Straight Alliance)
Habitat for Humanity
- I Care
- JCL (Junior Classical League)
- Lacrosse the Nation
- Latinos Unidos
- Lumberjack
- PALS
- Rocket
- Stop One Save One
- Tchoukball
- Visual Journaling
- Young Latinos Males/Soccer
- Young Men with Great Minds
- Young Liberals
- Young Republicans/Conservatives
Student Leadership
SCA – Officer and leadership opportunities for each
grade level at AHS.
Publications and News





AHS Revolution (school newspaper)
The Lantern Literary/Art Magazine
Yearbook
WPAT News
Broadcast
Words of Wisdom from AHS
students
 “Find activities that you like. Don’t just join a club to add to your




transcript. Find a group or team that you care about.”
“Have school spirit. We have a lot of activities and we are really
good at a lot of them. Cheer them on.”
“Find ways to meet different people”
“Take risks-don’t be afraid to make mistakes”
In the classroom,
-Don’t skip.
- All four years matter: Set yourself up with a good 9th
grade year.
-Take classes that are best for you.
-Get to know your teachers
Questions?