PHSC Student Bulletin
November 16, 2018
Happy Thanksgiving
Spreading Pawsitivity
Tiger TV
https://www.smore.com/ujnsr-phsc-staff-bulletin
Who is on your team?
Student matters are assigned to administrators and counselors (alphabetically by student's last name) as follows:
Administrators
Dr. Twana Black - A-E
Susan Caudill - F-L
Richard Cooper- M-Ri
Dr. Michael Jackson - Ro-Z
Counselors
Jennifer Dashner - A-E (NCAA)
Maria Perez - F-L
Lynn Dembski - M-Ri (Career Center)
Julie Brunner - Ro-Z (Dept Chair)
Email: stacy_tennenbaum@plsd.us
Website: pickerington.k12.oh.us
Location: 300 Opportunity Way, Pickerington, OH, USA
Phone: (614) 548-1800
Facebook: facebook.com/PickeringtonHighSchoolCentral/
Twitter: @PHSC_Tigers
Holiday Hours
Events
Football vs Hilliard Davidson at Gahanna 7:00 pm
December 4: Orchestra concert
December 12: Band concert
December 19: Choir concert
Dates for Planning Purposes
November 21-23: Thanksgiving Break (Office Closed Nov 22 and 23)
December 5: 2 hour delay/ Intersessions
December 8: Breakfast with Santa
December 21: Teacher Record Day/ No School
December 22- January 6: Winter Break
January 7: Classes resume
Prom: April 27
Graduation: May 25 4:00 pm
December Air Testing
Retakes for State AIR testing will begin on December 10th. Any student, grades 10-12, who has received a 1 or a 2 on English 9, English 10, Algebra 1, Geometry, American History, Biology, or American Government will be required to retest. So that students will be ready to test, remediation with subject area teachers, is available on the following schedule:
•Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:45
•Saturday Mornings from 9-12
Any student who has a 1 or a 2 on any of the above mentioned tests, should be attending these remediation sessions from now until December 6. To attend the remediation, students must register with Mrs. Asch in the counseling office or send her an email. (carrie_asch@plsd.us)
Students who do not attend the remediation will still be required to take the test. Students must earn 18 points total on these tests in order to earn their high school diploma.
Students can find their test scores by logging on to their Infinite Campus Portal and clicking on Assessments.
The State AIR testing schedule is as follows:
December 10
English 9 (ELA 1)
December 11
English 10 (ELA 2)
December 12
Algebra 1
December 13
Geometry
December 14
American History
December 17
Biology
December 18
American Government
*Testing will begin each morning at 8:15. Students are expected to arrive on time and make any appointments during a different time. Any student with a Senior or Junior pass must arrive to school by 7:55 on these test days.
*Make up tests will be the immediate day following the test missed, if possible. Students with IEPs or 504 plans may have some tests to make up after winter break.
Frequently Asked Questions for State Air Testing can be found at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MzkUMWBWQRtkfLN_XqX9IGGUgJFwPUUrnScsCiEp3ww/edit?usp=sharing
Help Save Pets Blanket and Towel Drive
HOW YOU CAN HELP!
Bring your donation of blankets or towels to Mrs. Holt’s room – ROOM 207 – and drop off your donation in the box. Blankets and Towels DO NOT have to be new, they can be cleaned and gently used. All donations will benefit the HELP SAVE PETS organization in conjunction with Animal Medical Center in Central
Students who need Wifi Access at home.
Starting in November, students with limited or no internet access in their homes can gain access to WiFi for their homework and other school projects thanks to a new Pickerington Schools program.
Through the Every-1-Connected program, the district will offer a limited number of free wireless hotspot devices to students who have limited or no internet access at home. Students can borrow the devices from their building media center.
This program is open to Pickerington School students who are fully enrolled in one of the 15 district buildings. Priority will be given to students on the free/reduced lunch list and who have little to no household internet access.
“Every-1-Connected gives students with the greatest need the opportunity to borrow a free hotspot device for two-week periods during the school year,” said Brian Seymour, Director of Instructional Technology. “These devices hook up to district iPads and Chromebooks and allow free access to the internet.”
Seymour said the devices will help students who need internet access complete homework or other major projects. Because multiple students can sign on to a single hotspot, the devices also can be used to facilitate group projects.
There is no cost to students to borrow the hotspots, which were funded by the district and through a grant from T-Mobile.
“The reality is that not every household can afford internet connectivity in the home,” Seymour said. “With our emphasis on one-to-one technology, we knew we needed to find ways to bridge the digital divide and ensure educational equity for all our students. These hotspots are a step in that direction.”
The devices use internet content filtering, and student browsing history is recorded, Seymour said. While only one device may be borrowed per household, the hotspots can be signed out repeatedly throughout the year, based on availability.
For students to participate in the program, parents must complete a form (available from the school and on the district website). The form indicates that parents will assume financial responsibility for the equipment if it is damaged due to intentional reckless, willful, wanton or malicious conduct. The devices are covered under the district’s existing Technology Protection Plan, which is already available to families to cover district-provided Chromebooks and tablets.
Complete information about the program, including instructions for requesting a hotspot, are available online under “Every-1-Connected Program.”
Intersession - December 5th
Sign into your STUDENT Infinite Campus
Go to RESPONSIVE SCHEDULE on the left side of the screen
Select FOUR sessions to attend
2 ACADEMIC & 2 FUN/CLUB
Select ONE LUNCH SESSION either session 2, 3, or 4 YOUR CHOICE
You may already be scheduled into a session by a teacher
this will be at the top of that session and you can not select another
- Students with Junior/Senior PM Passes:
- Leave the correct session blank (Leave early? Leave session 5 blank)
- ALL AM Junior/Senior pass students should arrive to school at 10:00 am
This is your schedule for the December 5th 2-Hour Delay Intersession Day
Teachers will take attendance so you must show up where you have scheduled!!
If you do not schedule, you will be disciplined, and then PLACED in whatever session is open.
Counseling Corner
Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools Parent Information Night at PHSC
Parents of 9th and 10th graders - Are you interested in finding out about options and opportunities available to your high school students through Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools? If so, join us for an informational parent meeting on Tuesday, November 27 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Pickerington Central High School in the Performing Arts Center. Come find out how students can prepare for college and a career through our hands-on programs, top-notch academic classes, and options for college credit while in high school.
AP Testing Information
Towards the end of this school year, students will have an opportunity to take an AP test to
earn college credit for their course. Students were automatically enrolled for AP testing when
they signed up for their course, so nothing needs to be done on your part to register.
2019 AP Testing Schedule. Please keep in mind that some testing may extend beyond typical school hours especially for students using accommodations. As such, students and families should make plans to
coordinate their own transportation home if they test beyond the school day.
Cost of AP Testing
The cost of AP testing is $94 per test. When budgeting for AP tests, please keep in mind that
some subject areas have more than one test such as AP Micro/Macro Economics and AP Physics
C. It is our anticipation that those students enrolled in and eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch
program by December 03, 2018 will be eligible to take their AP test for free. These funds are
not yet guaranteed but students and families will receive confirmation of final AP test fees
sometime in mid-January. Students enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch program after
December 03, 2018 will not be permitted to utilize the 2019 AP Test fee reduction/waiver. As
previously stated, final confirmation of AP test fees for those eligible and enrolled in the Free
and Reduced Lunch program by the Dec. 03 deadline will be provided in mid-January. In the
event that a full fee reduction is not available for qualified Free and Reduced Lunch students,
the cost for AP testing will be minimal.
Deadline for AP Testing Accommodations
Students who are in need of testing accommodations must contact their Teacher of Record
(TOR) or their school counselor directly to start this process. The deadline to upload
accommodations is February 15, 2019. Students must apply for accommodations and receive
approval from the College Board to utilize testing accommodations for AP tests. An
Individualized Education Plan or Section 504 Plan does not necessarily guarantee use of
accommodations on these tests as accommodations must be approved by College Board and
not the Pickerington Local School District.
Deadline to Cancel AP test
The deadline to cancel a 2019 AP test without being assessed a fee is February 01, 2019. The
procedure for canceling an AP test will be available in the school counseling office in December.
Any cancelation made between February 01, 2019-April 29, 2019 will result in a $15 fee
assessed for each test canceled. Any non-approved cancellation made after April 29, 2019, may
result in a full $94 fee assessed for each test.
Further questions?
If you have any other questions or concerns regarding 2019 AP Testing, please contact
Pickerington High School Centra’s AP Co-Coordinator Jennifer Dashner via email at
jennifer_dashner@plsd.us or Susan Caudill via email at susan_caudill@plsd.us or by phone at
614-548-1815 (School Counseling Office) or 614.548-1800 (Main Office)
ACT Practice Test for All Juniors on December 5th.
During our next intercession day, all juniors will be required to take a diagnostic ACT test using Naviance Test Prep. As a result of taking this practice test, each student will have an individualized study plan created for them through this ACT prep tool. Students will then be able to focus on the areas they need most by logging into their Naviance account and completing ACT lessons and practice test questions. We have had several students report to us that their ACT scores went up multiple points after using Naviance test prep to prepare. All juniors will be able to take a free official ACT test during the school day on February 20th. Any junior who wants to take the ACT multiple times will need to register at ACTstudent.org.
Why do Juniors need to take the ACT?
•Many colleges require that students submit an ACT or SAT score with their college applications.
•Many colleges offer merit scholarships to students with certain ACT scores and GPA’s.
(For example: http://www.shawnee.edu/offices/financial-aid/merit-scholarships/ )
•The ACT serves as a placement test for many CCP classes, which students will have the opportunity to
schedule in February for next school year.
•Remediation free scores on the ACT is an alternative to the State AIR testing for Ohio Graduation requirements. (English-18, Reading-22, Math-22)
School Counselor Advisory Board Meeting
PHSC School Counselors would like to thank the participants who have volunteered to serve on our School Counselor Advisory Board. Students: Senior, Grace Lange, Junior, Cassidy Cubra, Sophomore, Julie Mlynek, Freshman, Mallory Wyrick. Parents: Mrs. Joie Moore, Dr. Twana Black, Mrs. Amy Stang, Mrs. Sheri Gordon, Mrs. Kierston Moore, Mrs. Dulce Rosales. Staff members: Social Work Intern, Ms. Casey Mehl, Registrar, Mrs. Tammy Saum, Counseling secretary, Mrs. Carrie Asch, PHSC Principal, Mrs. Tennenbaum, Ridgeview School Counselor, Mrs. Kris Owen. This group met last week to give feedback and guide programming of the PHSC Counseling Department and will meet again in the spring.
December AIR Testing
Retakes for State AIR testing will begin on December 10th. Any student, grades 10-12, who has received a 1 or a 2 on English 9, English 10, Algebra 1, Geometry, American History, Biology, or American Government will be required to retest. So that students will be ready to test, remediation with subject area teachers, is available on the following schedule:
•Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:45
•Saturday Mornings from 9-12
To attend the remediation, students must register with Mrs. Asch in the counseling office or send her an email. (carrie_asch@plsd.us)
Students who do not attend the remediation will still be required to take the test. Students must earn 18 points total on these tests in order to earn their high school diploma.
Students can find their test scores by logging in to their Infinite Campus Portal and clicking on Assessments.
The State AIR testing schedule is as follows:
December 10 English 9 (ELA 1) December 11 English 10 (ELA 2) December 12 Algebra 1 December 13 Geometry December 14 American History December 17 Biology December 18 American Government
*Testing will begin each morning at 8:15. Students are expected to arrive on time and make any appointments during a different time. Any student with a Senior or Junior pass must arrive to school by 7:55 on these test days. *Make up tests will be the immediate day following the test missed if possible. Students with IEPs or 504 plans may have some tests to make up after winter break.
Frequently Asked Questions for State Air Testing can be found at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MzkUMWBWQRtkfLN_XqX9IGGUgJFwPUUrnScsCiEp3ww/edit?usp=sharing
Understanding the Ohio State Testing Graduation Requirements
PHSC Counselors and Administrator, Richard Cooper, presented information on the Ohio graduation requirements to students and their parents this past Tuesday evening. Parent participant, Mrs. Holley, had this to say about the meeting: “As a new parent to the district, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the instructional meeting on Air Testing. Being new to Ohio state testing, it was helpful and offered a clear path on navigating my daughter’s high school career. She had some apprehension towards the tests and this meeting helped clarify for me as a parent that I might set her more at ease as a student.”