GHS Newsletter

Choosing courses for the remaining years of your high school career impacts not only your enjoyment, but also your future pursuit of a career through work training or college. While it is perfectly acceptable (and normal) to be unsure of your future career, you should be able to choose a general field or direction to follow. Endorsements are geared to help you along this path. Making a plan will help you reach your goals in a more efficient and meaningful way. The plan we make is not set in stone and can be adapted as you learn more about your own capabilities and interests. We will meet at least once each year to discuss careers, trade schools/colleges, and course scheduling tailored to your needs. You should also discuss this information with your parent(s)/guardian(s) as they know you well and can give you valuable input on your choices. If your parent/guardian would like to meet with me to discuss this information at any time, please have them contact me.

We are way behind on scheduling this year, so please be sure to get your schedule request sheets (signed and) submitted quickly! We can still meet one-on-one to discuss/adjust your plan even after you have turned this form in. Make sure to put contact information on the form and check your email over the summer in case I have questions! At some point in the summer (usually July), there is a "roll-over" to officially promote students to the next grade level. When this happens, your Groveton ISD email account will reset the password- usually to gobigred but if you have trouble getting in, please let me know!

Part of the reason we are behind is that we are working on updating our course names and listings to better align with the CTE "Programs of Study" as outlined by TEA. Not many courses are truly "leaving," but quite a few courses will change their names to better align with the official name determined by the state. You may also notice we are expanding some areas to better meet your needs and give you more job skills! We plan to offer more certifications also. Please pay close attention to the electives that are more than one period/credit because if a class is worth two credits, then you have to be in it two consecutive periods. Make sure you note your "back up plan" in case a certain course does not fit into your schedule!

Transcripts are official documents that contain personal information about you, your high school testing results, and your high school courses/grades/credits earned. To earn credit for a high school course, you must obtain a passing grade (above 70 average for the semester or year depending on the course length) AND attend the appropriate number of days of school for each semester.

-If you are absent too many days, there are makeup days offered outside of normal school hours, but these are limited opportunities. It is also harder to pass a class if you are absent a lot as you will not have a depth of understanding of the covered material.

-If a course lasts a full year (1.0 credits) and you do not pass one semester, the grade can be averaged with the next semester and if the average of those two semesters is above a 70, you can receive the full credit.

-Classes such as Office Aide do not award credits.

-Students taking Dual Credit courses may earn more credits than students in traditional classes.

-Number of course credits does not directly impact class rankings.

Who views your transcript?

Pricipals, counselors, colleges, trade schools, scholarship committees, work programs, and potentially other committees designed to help you be successful

There are required courses that every student must take to graduate and then there are endorsements. The courses for an endorsement do NOT replace the required courses though sometimes they do include required courses. Endorsements are meant to help people viewing your transcript understand the path you are on towards a certain field.

Groveton ISD currently offers endorsements in the areas of:

-Arts & Humanities (Social Studies or Fine Arts Pathways available)

-Business & Industry (Agriculture, Auto Mechanics, Building & Trades, Cosmetology, Yearbook, or Misc. B & I Pathways available)

-Public Service (Human Services or Health Sciences Pathways available)

-Multidisciplinary (Advanced College/Career Prep. or 4x4 Pathways available)

-STEM (Math, Science, or Blended Pathways available)

Please see the additional provided handout that explains required courses and courses needed to obtain indivual endorsements currently offered at GHS.

Programs like Kuder Navigator and Career Coach are great tools to help you identify a career you might be interested in and what you need to do to one day work in that career! Kuder Navigator also has great job seeking tools that we discuss in the fall of your Freshman year. Once your account is created, you ALWAYS have free access, so keep up with your log in and go back and review the assessments and career information as you grow and change!

If your class ranking is important to you, you will want to take as many advanced courses as possible. However, if you do not do well in the advanced courses they will not help your GPA/standing, so you need to keep your own abilities in mind so you don't overload yourself. Advanced courses we currently offer are BCIS 2, Accounting 2, Spanish 2, Spanish 3, Advanced Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Advanced Quantitative Reasoning, Physics, Advanced Animal Science, and Dual Credit Courses. Many of these courses have requirements that must be met in order to take them.

At GHS, we utilize two GPA scales:

-The 4.0 scale is the traditional grading scale that does not take weighted/advanced courses into account, instead it only measures your grades.

-The 8.0 scale is the "weighted" grading scale in which advanced courses are given more "weight" when calculating your grade point average. This is the scale used for class rankings at GHS.

The top 10% of the graduating class currently receive automatic admissions to most public colleges/universities in Texas as long as they meet all other admission requirements. The University of Texas at Austin only does automatic admissions for the top 7%.

The Valedictorian (top ranking graduating senior) also receives free tuition at public colleges/universities in Texas for his/her Freshman year. (Side note, the second ranking graduating senior is referred to as the Salutatorian.)

During your Junior (11th grade) and/or Senior (12th grade) year, you may take Dual Credit courses on our campus through Angelina College if you meet the prerequisite requirements. Currently, Juniors can take US History (2 semesters), Speech (1 semester), and Sociology/ Psychology (each 1 semester) and Seniors can take English 4 (2 semesters), Government (2 semesters), College Algebra (1 semester), and Statistics (1 semester).

Dual Credit courses (other than the math courses) meet about 30 minutes before the start of the school day and last through first period Monday-Thursday. These courses cost about $550 per course per semester and you take 2-3 courses at a time. You are also responsible for purchasing textbooks for these courses if they are required by the AC instructor (though they often are not for dual credit). Students who meet financial aid requirements may be eligible for reduced tuition through AC. Payment plans are available through AC. If you are interested in more information about dual credit courses and missed the meeting, please let me know.

(There is currently legistlation proposed in the Texas legislature that would greatly reduce the cost of dual credit courses, but we will not know until this summer if that passes and exactly how it will impact dual credit students.)

You must pass all 5 STAAR EOC Assessments- Algebra 1, Biology, English I, English II, and US History- in order to graduate. If you do not pass an EOC, you will be given opportunities to retest, but you will also be placed into a EOC tutorial/remediation course that will take the place of one of your electives. Study and do your best on these tests so that you do not lose out on your electives! Electives are fun and they can help you earn certifications, learn real-world skills, and/or win scholarships!

Your grades and manners are worth more than you realize. When it is time to apply for trade schools, colleges, and scholarships, you will need good grades, test scores, and recommendation letters. It is easy for teachers to write recommendation letters for students who have a good attitude, behavior, and work ethic! Students who have been disruptive, disrespectful, and/or lazy often do not receive good recommendation letters and that can cost them scholarships ($$).

Many scholarships also ask about your experience with community service. Keep track of these projects that you participate in through church, school, and/or the community.

Most scholarships cannot be applied for until your Senior year of high school, but occassionally I come across scholarships available to students of other ages. As I find these, I send them out by email so make sure you are checking your school email account on a regular basis (it can easily be set up to come directly to your cell phone!).

Some students prefer to graduate a year early. They must still meet graduation requirements. These students are not considered for any class honors or class rankings. Students graduating early typically are not eligible for endorsements and graduate on the "foundation plan," but there is a new graduation plan for high acheiving students who want to graduate early and students who meet the requirements are eligible for a specific scholarship at participating universities. If you are interested in graduating early, please let me know as soon as possible.

You may also earn Performance Acknowledgements on your high school transcript in the following ways:

-Earn at least 12 hours of dual credit courses with at least an 80 average (3.0 GPA)

-Be a PSAT Commended Scholar

-Score at least a 1250 on the SAT

-Score at least a 28 on the ACT

-Earn a Business/Industry Certification

-Maintain at least an 80 average in all 4 ELA classes AND all 3 years of Spanish (or meet ESL/TELPAS requirements)

Distinguished Level of Achievement:

4 Math Credits (including 1 for Algebra 2) AND

4 Science Credits (including at least one of Physics or Chemistry)

At the beginning of this newsletter, I mentioned CTE "Programs of Study." Groveton High School plans to offer the following Programs of Study next year:

-Cosmetology

-Animal Science

-Applied Agricultural Engineering

-Environmental & Natural Resources

-Plant Science

-Accounting & Financial Services

-Business Management

-Culinary Arts

-Automotive

Of course, these offerings depend on staffing and funding so they could change. Please see the separate sheet that outlines the courses included in each of these Programs of Study. Many of you have already been working towards these and didn't realize it!

Some courses at GHS already offer business/industry certifications and others are working to add them. This is an important consideration for you as these certifications look great on a resume! If there's a certification you are interested in earning, let me know and I'll see if it can be earned through GHS and if not, I can help you learn where and how you can earn it! Angelina College is a great resource and offers lots of certifications, some of which can even be earned on the weekend!

We were able to offer CNA/Phlebotomy/EKG Technician courses through Angelina College this past year and hope to offer them again next year but we have to have a minimum number of students, so let me know if you are interested in that route.

The SAT and ACT are tests that evaluate your academic readiness for college. Some colleges and scholarships use these scores to determine your acceptance/eligibility. You typically do not have to take both of them. These are most important your senior year, but you may want to take whichever one you are focusing on, more than once to acheive your best score.

The PSAT helps prepare you to take the SAT, but if you score high enough, you could also be eligible for (large) National Merit Scholarships. This test is most important your Junior year, but you may want to take it more than once to optimize your score.

The ASVAB is an aptitude test that is used to assess your potential success in future military training, but taking it does not mean you have to sign up for the military. Some students use it simply to help them understand their own interests and abilities better.

The TSIA 2.0 is used to determine if students entering college are ready for college-level English and Math courses or if remedial classes will be required first. If you have to take these remedial courses, you have to pay for them but do not receive actual college credit hours. You can be "TSIA exempt" if you score high enough on your SAT.

Currently, we offer one on-campus opportunity to take the PSAT, SAT, and ASVAB in the fall each year. We do not currently offer the ACT on our campus. I am also able to offer the TSIA on campus and typically do so once in the spring semester and once over the summer. More information and study materials will be distributed when you sign up to take each test.

I am the School Counselor & Testing Coordinator for Groveton ISD.

I also coordinate Dual Credit courses and help students in many other capacities.

If I can't help you, I can direct you to someone who can!

Email: kpage@grovetonisd.net
Website: https://txgrovetonisd.schoolinsites.com/counselorscorner/hs
Location: 207 Main St, Groveton, TX, USA
Phone: (936)642-1473 - 8119