Rising Freshmen Orientation

Semester System

• School year divided into two halves of approximately 90 days each.

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• Each half of a year is a semester.

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• HS credits are earned by semester.

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Fall Semester

18 wks semester avg

Benchmark Grades

Semester Exam

Semester Grade

Half-credits earned

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Spring Semester

18 wks semester avg

Benchmark Grades

Semester Exam

Semester Grade

Half-credits earned

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Units of Credit

• Credits are awarded for courses based on semester hours.
• Each course is 18 weeks long and earns a half-credit.

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A Little About Us

Four Year High School Experience

A Little About Us

*9th grade Physical Science is only for students that did not pass Physical Science in 8th grade or took 8th grade science.

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A Little About Us

*Students planning to enter or transfer into a University System of Georgia institution or other post-secondary institution must take two units of the same world language.

A Little About Us

Minimum Units Required to Graduate

Typical Freshman Schedule

• Literature and Composition I
• Algebra or Geometry
• American Government and World Geography
• Biology
• Physical Education and Health (or ROTC)
• Elective- World Language, CTAE, Fine Arts
• Elective- World Language, CTAE, Fine Arts

Grade Classification Requirements

• Freshmen (9th Grade)- Successful completion of 8th grade
• Sophomore (10th Grade)-Earned a minimum of 5 units
• Junior (11th Grade)- Earned a minimum of 11 units
• Senior (12th Grade)- Earned a minimum of 17 units

Course Grade Calculation

• Continuous average for 18 weeks
• Progress Report 1- 4.5 weeks
• Progress Report 2- 9 weeks
• Progress Report 3- 13.5 weeks
• Semester Average- 18 weeks

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• Semester average- 80%
• Final exam or EOC- 20%

Weighting of Courses

Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Dual Enrollment course grades are weighted with an additional 10 points added to the final semester average.

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Cumulative Average

• Determination of academic honors and honor graduates are based on a cumulative average of all course grades received in high school.

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• Students must have a 90.0 or higher cumulative average to receive academic recognitions.

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• High school credits earned in middle school are included in the cumulative average.

Eligibility for Sports

• All freshmen are initially eligible first semester of their freshman year to participate in sports

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• To maintain eligibility, students must be enrolled in AND pass 5 or more classes (2.5 credits) after first semester.

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• Student athletes must be on track for graduation, carrying credit toward grade promotion the semester before participation.

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HOPE Scholarship

• Merit based scholarship that provides assistance with tuition at eligible public/private Georgia post-secondary institutions. www.gafutures.org

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• Requires a minimum 3.0 HOPE GPA (as calculated by GSFC) and meet specific rigor course requirements.

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• GPA based solely on core courses taken in high school-English, math, social studies, science, and foreign language only.

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• High school credits accepted in middle school are not included in the HOPE GPA.

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• After stripping local weighting, HOPE adds back a half a point (0.5) to AP, IB and Dual Enrollment degree-level core course grades.

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Acceptance/Rejection of HS Credits in MS

• All HS credits earned in MS will be placed on the high school transcript. If a student retakes the course in high school, the HS course taken in MS will be deleted and the HS course grade and credit will replace the MS grade/credit.

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• For example, if a student makes an 72 in Algebra in middle school, the grade/credit will automatically go on the HS transcript. The student has the option to retake Algebra in HS. The student makes a 92 in Algebra in high school. The 72 middle school credit will be removed from the HS transcript and a 92 will replace the Algebra I grade and credit.

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• Credit accepted in middle school will not be used to calculate the grade point average (GPA) for HOPE scholarship.

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• Credit accepted in middle school will be used in the grade point average (GPA) calculation for high school.

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• An email will be shared with all middle school parents by the end of May for parents to indicate intent to reject a credit.

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High School Transcript

• Record of all student academic accomplishments in high school.

• Lists every course a student takes, when the course is taken, and the grade received.

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• Transcripts are used for scholarship selections and part of the application process to post-secondary schools.

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• Based on student data, and input from middle school teachers; the four core courses have been pre-selected for students.
• Students have the option to select three additional electives for a total of 7 courses.
• Most freshmen take the required elective:
• Health (0.5) credit
• Personal Fitness (0.5) credit
• Students can select two additional electives- consider pathways.
• Select three alternates in case a course is not available.
• Elective options for Freshmen (HS will provide a copy)

Registration and Course Options

A Little About Us

High School Programs

Career, Technical and Agricultural Education – CTAE & Fine Arts

Many programs provide students with Work Ready Industry Certifications

Work Based Learning Internships are available with most programs

• Allied Health
• Agriculture
• Automotive
• Audio, Visual, & Film
• Band
• Business
• Ceramics
• Chorus
• Culinary Arts
• Cybersecurity
• Engineering
• Finance

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• Graphic Design
• Guitar
• HVAC/ Construction
• EMS/ Fire
• Law Enforcement
• Marketing
• Photography
• PMA/ JROTC
• Sports Medicine
• Teaching
• Theatre Arts
• Welding
• Visual Arts

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Career, Technical and Agricultural Education - CTAE

Pathway Fair for 8th Graders

• Grovetown Middle School
• Harlem Middle School
• Columbia Middle School
• CVA Middle School

• Evans Middle School
• Greenbrier Middle School
• Lakeside Middle School
• Riverside Middle School
• Stallings Island Middle School

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Advanced Placement

• Provides students the rigor of college-level courses in a high school setting.
• AP exams are administered in May.
• Based on the score earned, students can earn college credit.

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Why Take AP?

• AP exam takers
• Have a higher probability of graduating college in 4 years.
• Earn the same or higher grades in subsequent college courses in the same content area.

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International Baccalaureate

• Academically challenging curriculum, address intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students.

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• IB students experience IB in cohorts.

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• High college acceptance rate.

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• IB core classes, conducting college level research, community service and investigating assumptions about what we know.

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• District program housed at Lakeside High School; students transfer.

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• Application process: If interested, contact your middle school counselor.

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Dual Enrollment

• Funding provided for students enrolled in both high school and an eligible postsecondary institution.

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• Postsecondary coursework for credit counts toward both high school graduation and a postsecondary degree/certificate.

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• 9th grade - Not eligible

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• 10th grade - Eligible for CTAE courses or must have a SAT score of 1200 or ACT score of 26 to take other courses

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• 11th and 12th grade - Eligible to take any approved DE course

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Columbia Virtual Academy

• CVA is an online school for students in grades 6-12 that are residents of Columbia County School District.

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• Students take online courses full-time or part-time that are taught by Columbia County School District teachers .

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• Students continue to participate in extracurricular activities/sports at zone school.

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• CVA representatives are available to answer questions at the table in the commons/main hallway area.

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• Registration Deadline: January 21st

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Registration for High School Courses

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• Core courses are pre-selected based on student data and 8th-grade teacher recommendations.

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• Students will complete their elective course requests via Google Forms. The form will open for students on January 15, 2026.

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• January 23rd- Deadline to submit registration form

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