Minisink Valley High School Freshman Orientation

WELCOME CLASS OF 2011

AGENDA

       Welcome Graduation Requirements - Class of 2011 HS Programs, Services, Policies Extracurricular & Athletic Programs Societal Pressures Attributes for Success Subject Information - Cafe

Expanding the Conversation

Sharing experiences, observations, research, opinions, philosophy, feelings, etc.

Graduation Requirements

Class of 2011

HS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

  Guidance, PPS & Special Education Comprehensive Academic Program – Regents Program – Safety Net Program – College/University/A.P. Courses  Extensive and Exciting Elective Program

HS POLICIES & EXPECTATIONS

        Attendance Citizenship Extracurricular Eligibility NCAA Grading Parking Internet Use Etc.

HARD WORK IS OK

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“Education is the only business where the consumer must do the work.”

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How much HW is enough?

 Other than HS graduation four+ years from now, this is typically the largest parent meeting of any high school class.

 Your child will experience a lot of changes during these next four+ years.

 In some cases more than you or I will ever know.

Can you relate to this?

How Things Have Changed

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Most of us lived through the assassinations of JFK, MLK, and RFK. This has as much meaning to our children as did the assassinations of James Garfield and William McKinley had to us.

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Most of us felt uncomfortable when MTV was created, and probably have not watched more than a few minutes of it. Most of our kids only watch it.

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We readily identify John Wayne as a hero figure. Most of our kids have never seen him or heard of him.

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Who were our heroes? Who are the heroes of our children?

How Things Have Changed

 When we were young, we used 8 track and cassette tapes, slide rules, four function calculators, Princess telephones, toaster ovens and transistor radios. Our children use IPods, PDAs, PCs, MP3 players, cell phones, pagers, GPS units, laptops, Play Stations, PS3s, Bluetooth devices, etc.

 When we were young, our parents worried about us contracting polio, scarlet fever, and whooping cough. We now worry about our children contacting AIDS, Hepatitis, STDs, smallpox and anthrax.

 Our parents never wanted us to “go to war.” We now worry about war being brought to our children.

Imagine, within the next five years, your child will….

        Graduate high school Select a college/career/military that will affect them for years to come – if not for ever.

Develop new friendships that may last a lifetime – even if you resent it Start dating – even if you resent it Drive a car – even if you are fearful of it Be exposed to alcohol and drugs – even if you are overprotective and are perfect role models Decide whether to use alcohol and drugs – even if your family values/practices oppose it and you are perfect role models Make decisions about their sexual activity – even if you have those uncomfortable conversations with them

“The Gray Look” The first time your child…..

     Goes on a date Goes on a date – unsupervised Gets in a car driven by a peer Gets their driver’s license Drives away, in your car, by themselves

“The Gray Look” The first time you…..

   Open the envelope with the auto insurance bill Realize the significance of the Hepatitis vaccine   Realize that most college dorms are co-ed – and they are minimally supervised Open the envelope with the college tuition bill Hear you child say they want to interrupt their college education to “find themselves.”

Epidemic of Substance Abuse in America  Substance Abuse: – …..an equal opportunity offender – …..spans all ages, cultures, economic brackets, geographic regions, religions, – …..impacts hopes, dreams, aspirations, potentials, and – …..affects the entire family.

Tobacco – “The Gateway Drug”

      Tobacco - 3,000+ youths start smoking each day Tobacco – selected for nicotine content - addictive More youth involved than ever before Earlier starting age than ever before More potent chemicals Children of the drug culture

Tobacco

Harvard School of Public Health – Jan. 2007   Nicotine levels in cigarettes increased 11% from 1997 until 2005.

“Cigarettes are finely tuned drug delivery devices designed to perpetuate a tobacco pandemic.”

“A Dose of Reality”

Campus Safety Journal

, Dec. 2001, p 25 Bureau of Juvenile Justice Statistics, US Dept. of Justice:     One out of every eighteen 6th graders has tried marijuana One out of every five 7 th graders has tried marijuana One out of every four HS students has tried marijuana

“kids need to be told the absolute harsh truth of what drug involvement will bring to their lives in the future.”

Recent TV public service advertisement:

  “Forty percent of students who use marijuana live in the cities.” “Where do the other sixty percent live?”

“National Institute on Drug Abuse Annual Survey” Released 12/20/2006, University of Michigan The annual study, in its 32nd year, surveyed 50,000 students in the 8th, 10th and 12th grades at more than 400 schools nationwide. It found, that over the last year:  "...An estimated 840,000 fewer teens reported using illegal drugs now compared to five years ago, [John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy]

That was the good news, the rest isn’t so good.

     Underage drinkers buy $22.5B of alcohol annually. This represents 20% of US alcohol purchases. (Columbia Univ., 2006) An estimated 36.5 percent of high school seniors reported using illicit drugs at some point in the year.

One-third of 8th graders said they had consumed alcoholic beverages, compared to more than a half of 10th graders and two-thirds of seniors surveyed. That also was a small decrease among the three grade levels. But the number of 10th and 12th graders who reported getting drunk increased slightly. "Teens increasingly are getting high with legal drugs like painkillers and mood stimulants, and they’re turning to cough syrup as well.” As many as one in every 14 high school seniors said they used cold medicine “fairly recently” to get high.

  Fewer teens overall drank alcohol or used illegal drugs in the last year; a small but growing number were popping prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin and stimulants like Ritalin.

Marijuana remained the single most abused drug among teens, although its use also dropped slightly. Nearly 12 percent of 8th graders reported using it, compared to 25 percent of 10th graders and 31 percent of high school seniors.

 Nearly 10 percent of high school seniors admitted to using excessive dosages of Vicodin, a slight increase over the last year. Nine percent of 8th graders sniffed glue, spray paints, cleaning fluids or other inhalants, a slight decrease from past years.  "...There is this mistaken belief that intentionally abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs is somehow safer than abusing street drugs,” said Steve Pasierb, president and chief executive of the New York-based

Partnership for Drug Free America

. 'What parents don’t realize is that this is about your kids taking six pills with a beer.'

  “In its own surveys,

The Partnership

has seen an increase over three years in the number of kids who said they get a buzz from cold medicine that contains dextromethorphan — commonly known as “Dex” or “skittles.” “People may say this is a passing fad, but it represents a whole new tier of substance abuse,” Pasierb said.

  NY Times, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001, A14 “ My kid doesn’t smoke pot. She’s either at school, soccer practice, piano lessons or at a friend’s house.”

 “I usually get stoned at school, after soccer practice, before piano lessons, or at my friend’s house.”

 “Just because you know where your kids are doesn’t mean you know what they’re doing. So if you don’t want your children smoking pot, talk to them.”  “Talking with your children doesn’t mean telling them you are going to break their legs if you find they are using drugs.”  “Questions, and Parents – The Anti Drug.”  Partnership for a Drug-Free America

PARENTAL AWARENESS

     Behaviors Peer Groups Apathy/Depression Avoids Family “Hides” on weekends      Hygiene Power Struggle Grades/Citizenship Rebellious/Defiant Angry

Rely on your instincts

If something feels wrong, it probably is wrong.

ATTITUDE “

ATTITUDE IS ANGER

”

DENIAL

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“It can’t happen to my child.

” – It can, and it may.

– Our children are extensions of ourselves.

– “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work.

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That must belong to someone else.”

– We all need to look beyond the obvious.

 Good kids can, and will, make bad decisions.

 Expect it. We all learn from our mistakes. That’s part of growing up.

Even though they may say so, or think so, most teenagers are not...

       Buying it Wearing it Drinking it Doing it Saying it Smoking it Etc.

APPROPRIATE ADULT SUPERVISION

     “Who’s going to be there?” “What will you be doing?” “Will the parents be there?” Remember – – Other parents are asking the same questions. Call if you have any doubts.  Hug and kiss them when they come home.

BELIEVE IN YOUR INSTINCTS

 “True love means you care enough to question, confront, test, and search.”  “Children are entitled to unquestionable love, not unquestionable trust.”

From a 9/2001- 1/2002 NPR PSA: “It’s not pestering, it’s parenting.”

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Guilt

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The gift that lasts a life time.

one (symbolic) parenting tip….

ENCOURAGE INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Minisink Valley High School

Education - A Caring and Sharing Process

  All students can achieve success.

Successful Schools - Successful Partnership – school staff – parents – students  Please feel free to communicate with us and become involved in your school.

INTRODUCTIONS

 Counselors  A-COO     COP-GOU GOV-KIS KIT-MZ N-SEA  SEB-Z : Brian Rosenberger : Matthew Caputo : Brian Golden : Allison Vreeland : Christine Thomas : Loretta Bogdanski  MEET THE DEPARTMENTS: – Department Chairs in Cafeteria following presentation.

Graduation Requirements Class of 2011

Four major topics dealing with what students must do in order to graduate:  Course requirements = The subjects you must take to earn a high school diploma.

 Credit requirements =The number of courses (Units of Credit) in each subject that you must take.  Testing Requirements =The tests that you must take and pass in these subjects.  Scoring requirements =The minimum grade you must achieve on these tests to be granted credit for the courses in each subject you must take.

COURSE / CREDIT REQUIREMENTS  MVHS 07-08 CHOICES www.minisink.com

         English Social Studies Math Science Foreign Language Physical Education Health Art or Music 4 Credits 4 Credits 3 Credits 3 Credits 1 Credit 2 Credit (1/2 per yr.) .5 Credit 1 Credit Free Electives – JROTC, Business, Tech., Photography, etc.

3.5 Credits 22 Total (Minimum for Graduation)

NYS TEST REQUIREMENTS

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REGENTS DIPLOMA

 Score 65 or above on 5 required Regents – 1- English – 1- Math – 2- Social Studies – 1- Science  

ADVANCED REGENTS DIPLOMA

Score 65 or above on 8 required Regents exams.

– 1-English – 2-Math – 2-Social Studies – 2-Science – 1-Foreign Language

LOCAL DIPLOMA

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REQUIREMENTS

: STUDENTS MUST PASS AT LEAST

FOUR

REGENTS EXAMS WITH A MINIMUM GRADE OF

65

, AND RECEIVE NO LESS THAN A 55 ON A FIFTH REGENTS EXAM.

MINISINK VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION

THE TWELVE STEPS TO SUCCESS

Be a winner!!!!!

BE CONFIDENT

Successful people believe in themselves.

BE RESPONSIBLE

Successful people choose to respond with appropriate behavior and accept the consequences of their actions.

BE HERE

Successful people go to work or school regularly .

BE ON TIME

Successful people are prompt.

BE FRIENDLY

Successful people accept the differences of others.

BE POLITE

Successful people show courtesy.

BE PREPARED

Successful people have their materials when needed.

BE A LISTENER

Successful people listen to instructions and follow directions.

BE A DOER

Successful people do their work to the best of their ability.

BE A TOUGH WORKER

Successful people keep trying.

BE A RISK TAKER

Successful people have courage and are willing to run the risk of failure.

BE A GOAL SETTER

Successful people plan for the future

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