News/Announcements from the GHS Counseling Department

• The 13th Annual U. S. Air Force Academy Candidate Orientation Program, presented by the U. S. Air Force Academy Georgia Parents Club and U. S. Air Force Academy Admissions Liaison Officers (ALOs), will take place on Saturday, Dec. 17th, at American Legion Post 160, 160 Legion Drive SE, Smyrna, GA, 30080. This event is for all interested high school students AND their parents to meet one-on-one with current Air Force Academy cadets, their parents, and Academy Liaison Officers. Find out what Academy life is really like. Ask your questions about academic majors, military training, clubs, and sports. This event is FREE to attend. If interested, please e-mail your name, high school name and your contact e-mail address to Sarah Pinson at s_pinson@hotmail.com to help us plan for the event.

• University of North Georgia Blue Ridge campus is offering the Institutional SAT and Institutional ACT on the following dates: ISAT: Saturday February 11, 2017; IACT: Friday March 17, 2017. The exams begin at 9 am.

• UNG Blue Ridge also offers ACCUPLACER testing (replaced COMPASS) each month. For more information, go to http://ung.edu/testing/ or call 706-946-5460.

• New scholarships have been added to the GHS Scholarship page! Check it out at https://sites.google.com/a/gilmerschools.com/ghs-scholarship-page/home

This Week’s Feature: High School Graduation Requirements

In high school, students must take and pass certain classes in order to graduate. The state decides which classes these are. Students must also have a certain number of credits to be considered as a 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grader. It is the number of credits and the correct credits earned, not what grade the student is supposed to be in by number of years in school, which counts. Because this is different from grades K-8, this can be confusing at times for students and parents. For specifics on required classes and numbers of credits, please refer to the 9th Grade Orientation PowerPoint on the GHS web site at this link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NGgoao24muc3LOaGx9XFf7CIbjrbqDK_9YeYGeLQkz0/edit#slide=id.p4. Slides 2, 3, and 4 are especially helpful in spelling out the requirements. Also, the Georgia Department of Education web site has information at https://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/AskDOE/Pages/Graduation-Requirements.aspx.

Please make sure you are keeping track of which classes passed and number of credits earned to check whether you are on track to graduate on time. If you are a parent or guardian with additional questions about this topic, please contact your child’s school to find out how to log in to Infinite Campus or your child’s school counselor with specific questions.