Welcome to RHS

Class of 2020! RHS Mission: Educate for success by preparing students to be college and career ready through

positive Relationships, Respect, Responsibility, with a Rigorous and Relevant curriculum.

RCS District Administrators

Todd Terrill, Superintendent

Chuck Reynolds, Assistant Superintendent

Mike Shunneson, Director of Secondary Education

Sheila Hobbs, Director of Exceptional Student Education

Administrative Team

Rae Woolpy, Principal

Laura Brazil, Assistant Principal

Rachel Etherington, Assistant Principal

Rusty Hensley, Director of Career Education

Joe Spicer, Assistant Principal

Principal for

9th graders

Principal for

scheduling

Guidance Counselors

Ellen Shepard, last names A-Co & Early College

Kasey McFarland, last names Cr-Ke

Sally Porter, last names Kh-Ra

Stephanie Quinn, last names Re-Z

In High School, your counselor is an important person for you! She can:

• Schedule your classes

• Make sure you are on track to graduate

• Give you advice about preparing for college and career

• Help you if you are having problems

RHS is a great place for

all students!

• Career Courses, with industry certifications

• Project Lead the Way programs (engineering and medical)

• Advanced Placement program (13 classes)

• Dual Credits from Ivy Tech, IU East, Earlham, and IU Bloomington

• Early College program

• Special Education inclusion and life skills

• Extra curricular activities & clubs

• Award-winning athletics, music & art programs, and academic/career competitive teams

9th grade Transition

• 8th Grade Tours in January

• Red Devil Mentoring Program

• RDMs will visit 8th grades in April

• 9th Grade Orientation

• Tuesday, August 9, 2016

• 8:15 am – 12:00 pm

• Busses will run their regular routes

Important Differences

between High School and

Intermediate School:

There are 3 Diplomas…

One of the most important choices you make is which

diploma you want to earn.

Core 40 Core 40 with

Academic Honors

Core 40 with

Technical Honors

Good for: Basic diploma to

enter college (some

require more)

Best diploma for

entering a selective

4 year college

Diploma for

pursuing a

technical career

GPA

requirements:

No grades below

C-, with B average

No grades below

C-, with B average

Special

requirements:

3 years of foreign

language; 2 AP or

Dual credit classes

6 credits in a

college/career

pathway

Credits: 40 credits 47 credits 47 credits Honors

courses

are not

required

for an

honors

diploma.

Choosing a Diploma type

is a big decision!

• The classes you select determine what type of diploma

you can earn.

• Students can change diploma types while in school.

• It’s easy to start with an honors diploma and change to a

Core 40.

• It’s harder (but not impossible) to start with a Core 40 and

change to an honors diploma.

High School has CREDITS.

• Grades on report cards are only final at the end of the

semester, in December and May.

• These final grades determine whether students earn

credit or not. If the final grade is passing, students earn

credit.

• Students go to the next grade and graduate based on the

credits they earn.

• Each one semester class is worth one credit.

• The final grades and credits students earn are recorded on

their transcript, which is the record of high school that

colleges or employers may look at.

High School has

REQUIRED CLASSES.

• Some classes students HAVE TO TAKE. And they

HAVE TO PASS.

• For example, Algebra. If students earn a final grade of F

in Algebra, they don’t earn credit. And, they will have to

take Algebra again. They can’t move to the next class

until they pass it.

Required 9th grade classes

Required

Subject

Courses Available

English English 9 English 9 Honors

Math Algebra I Algebra I Honors Geometry Honors

Science Earth/Space

Science

Biology Honors

Social Studies World History World History

Honors

PE/Health** 3 credits required for graduation; 9th grade is a great time to

earn some of these!

How does my student

choose the right class?

• Placement in classes labelled Honors, Early College, and

RTI will be checked by counselors.

• Counselors use grades earned in 8th grade, test scores, and

teacher recommendations to make sure students are in the

right place.

Decisions that will shape

the high school

experience:

High School has electives.

• Students have heard about some of the electives

that RHS has to offer.

• These elective credits also apply towards their

diploma.

• The classes are called electives because they

choose them, but they still need to pass them.

• Students earning an honors diploma have some

required electives.

Richmond Area Career Center

How does RHS prepare kids

for life after high school?

• Career-focused options through Career and Technical

Education

• College-focused options through Dual Credit and

Advanced Placement (AP) choices.

• 9th graders can prepare for these by taking honors classes.

• Some AP classes are available for 10th graders.

What do colleges want?

• It depends on the college.

• Admissions counselors consistently say

the classes a student chooses to take are

more important than straight A’s. • Choosing classes that are more challenging shows ambition.

• Completing a multi-year program of study shows

perseverance.

• Completing advanced classes in high school shows students

have the study skills they need for college.

Besides class, be involved!

• Being involved in clubs, teams and

activities is important too!

• Students who are involved in

extracurriculars are more likely to succeed

in school, college, and careers.

Get started this summer!

•Summer School: June 6 – July 1

•Summer Band

•Athletic Conditioning for fall

athletes

Final questions:

How do I register?

• Registration will be online, just like it has been for RCS

intermediate students. This may be completed at home or

at RHS.

• RHS will be open for registration August 1-3.

• Even students who register online from home should

come to the school to pick up ID’s, locker

combinations, and schedules.

What about new technology?

Mr. Chuck Reynolds, Assistant Superintendent

What is a typical high

school day?

• Cafeteria opens for breakfast at 7:45.

• Students may enter the hallways, go to their lockers, and put away their backpacks at 8:00.

• First period begins at 8:15. (Any student not in class at 8:15 is tardy.)

• We have seven periods.

• Students eat lunch as part of 4th period. They have 30 minutes for lunch.

• Seventh period ends at 3:30.

• Busses depart at 3:38.

Why would I take harder

classes?

• To challenge yourself!

• To develop better study habits!

• To earn weighted credit, which can give a boost to your

G.P.A.

• Honors classes have an additional .5 weight.

• AP and some dual credit classes have an additional 1

weight.

• See the weighted grades policy for full details.

• To show colleges that you are a hard-working student that

they want on their campus!

What’s next?

• Intermediate counselors will be following up

with students about the scheduling sheets they

started this week.

• If you would like to meet with an RHS counselor,

they will be visiting your child’s intermediate

school Feb. 9-11. You may make an appointment

to discuss your student’s plan for high school.

Please visit the Tiernan

Lobby for more:

• Sign up for an appointment with an RHS counselor

• Get information about Summer School.

• Learn about athletics and student activities.

• Take a tour of the building, led by a current RHS student.

• Ask questions and meet our RHS team.