Paxon School for Advanced Studies

1. Paxon School for Advanced Studies 9th and 10th Grade Guidance Presentation What you need to know to start planning for college!!!

2. Counselor Breakdown

3. Paxon Guidance Office paxonguidance.weebly.com paxonsas-ib.weebly.com

4. This presentation will be available on our school counseling website. paxonguidance.weebly.com (Enter your email to receive updates from the blog)

5. Important Dates • PSAT: • October 15, 2014 during the school day at Paxon. • National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarship qualifications are based on 11th grade PSAT scores • ACT: • Take ACT with Writing • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in September, October, December, February, April, and June • Register at www.ACT.org • SAT: • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in October, November, December, January, March, May, and June • Register atwww.collegeboard.com *See your Counselor for waivers if you qualify*

6. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2015 and Beyond • English: 4 credits (Min. of 2 honors level or higher w/at least one IB or AP course) • Math: 4 credits (Alg. 1, Geometry, Alg. 2, and at least one IB or AP course) • Science: 4 credits (Biology and 3 add. w/at least one IB or AP lab science) • Social Studies: 3 credits (Min. of 2 honors level or higher w/at least one IB or AP course) • World Language: 2 credits (Paxon IB Prep/IB students will take 4 credits in the same language) • Theory of Knowledge: 1 credit • The Arts/Electives: 6 credits (This includes 1 IB 6th subject studied over 1 or 2 years)

7. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2015 and Beyond • Completion of Extended Essay • Completion of CAS requirement • Completion of all IB assessments (internal and external) • Passing score on the FCAT: grade 10 Reading • State required EOCs (Algebra, Geometry, Biology, US History-necessary for scholar designation) • Cumulative unweighted 2.0 GPA

8. IB Diploma Students Are NOT Required to… • Take an online class • Take the following courses: • American Government • Economics • HOPE If at any point a student exits from the IB Program of Study, the above will need to be taken.

9. Benefits of IB • Ability to study a variety of subjects and do research at the college level. • Begins preparation for specific majors (ex. Medical field=IB Biology, IB Chemistry) • Stand out in the college admissions process. • Earn college credits and skip introductory classes.

10. IB Academic Probation Students in the IB Program of study shall be placed on probation if one or more of the following should occur: • Receiving a quarter or semester grade of "F" for a core subject (English, math, science, history), IB TOK, an IB second language (including all Pre-IB language courses), or the IB 6th subject • The unweighted (state) GPA falls below a 2.5 • The student receives disciplinary action for cheating/plagiarism  The probationary term will last for one semester (two quarters). Student progress will be reviewed at the end of each quarter. If the student shows no progress or continues to show signs of academic decline at the end of the probationary period, he/she will remain on probation for the next semester or be removed from the IB program of Study.* *The school administration reserve the right to remove a student at any time if in danger of not promoting/graduating.

11. Bright Futures Requirements Recipients will receive a fixed cost per credit hour award based on: • Award Level – FAS • Florida Academic Scholars - For students who will be graduating in 2014-2015 and Beyond • 3.5 B.F.* GPA, 1290 SAT or 29 ACT, 100 hours of community service (‘Service’ hours from CAS (grades 11 & 12) count towards this as well as community service done in grades 9 & 10) Receive the IB Diploma: • No SAT or ACT test score requirement • Meet community service requirement Complete the IB Curriculum: • Meet SAT or ACT test score and community service requirement Other Ways To Qualify: National Merit Scholars and Finalist, National Hispanic Scholars

12. Bright Futures Requirements Recipients will receive a fixed cost per credit hour award based on: • Award Level - FMS • Florida Medallion Scholars - For students who will be graduating in 2014-2015 • 3.0 B.F.* GPA, 1170 SAT or 26 ACT, 75 hours of community service (‘Service’ hours from CAS (grades 11 & 12) count towards this as well as community service done in grades 9 & 10) Complete the IB Curriculum: • Meet SAT or ACT test score and community service requirement Other Ways To Qualify: National Merit Scholars and Finalist, National Hispanic Scholars

13. Bright Futures Requirements The Bright Futures GPA is calculated based on the following: • The student’s best grades in each subject area will be used • 4 credits of English • 4 credits of Math • 3 credits of Science • 3 credits of Social Studies • 2 credits of Foreign Language • Students may use up to 2 additional credits from courses in the academic areas listed above as well as AP, IB or AICE fine arts courses to raise the GPA. • See bright futures website for more information - http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/

14. Community Service • Paxon SAS requires that all students perform a minimum of 75 hours of community service. (100 for FAS for Bright Futures) • Students cannot be paid for the service, and it must be performed at a not for profit agency. Be very careful with doing service at/through religious institutions – not every thing counts • To eliminate headaches later, ALWAYS submit the pre-approval form BEFORE starting the service hours

15. CAS vs. Community Service for IB Students • IB 11th and 12th grade students complete Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) hours which are documented online using the ManageBac website. https://psas.managebac.com/login • Only the ‘service’ hours logged for CAS will count towards Bright Futures. • Community Service completed in grades 9 & 10 count towards Bright Futures, but not for CAS.

16. Information Overload DON’T WORRY ABOUT CAS RIGHT NOW!!! More info on CAS requirements will be provided in the spring of your 10th grade during a parent/student CAS information session.

17. Community Service For each different activity completed, 4 forms must be turned in to guidance • Community Service Pre-Approval Form • Community Service Self-Evaluation Form • Community Service Leader Evaluation Form • Community Service Log Form • Forms are available on Paxon’s website: psas.duvalschools.org under the guidance tab and on the Paxon guidance website at paxonguidance.weebly.com

18. Places for Community Service

19. Early College Planning – Get Involved NOW!!! • Clubs, Sports, Volunteering, Drama, Band, etc. • In terms of college applications: • Colleges are looking for individuals’ dedication and leadership • More time spent on fewer activities looks better than a few hours scattered across many

20. Sample Application – Extracurricular Activities

21. www.FLVC.org Formerly www.FACTS.org

22. Bigfuture.org A Resource from The College Board

23. Paxon IB Program Website paxonsas-ib.weebly.com

24. Paxon Guidance Website paxonguidance.weebly.com

25. 10th GradeGrad Tracker (Review of documents)

26. Questions, Comments, Concerns Thank You!