Paxon School for Advanced Studies

1. Paxon School for Advanced Studies 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade School Counselor 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. Make Sure You Visit Our Website • paxonguidance.weebly.com • Counselor emails • How to schedule appointments • With Teachers: ext. 116 • With Counselors: Contact individually • Calendar of events • College/Career Planning • Subscribe to the blog (on homepage)

5. Important Dates • PSAT: • October 14, 2015 during the school day at Paxon. • National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarship qualifications are based on 11th grade PSAT scores • ACT: • Register at www.ACT.org • Take ACT with Writing • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in September, October, December, February, April, and June • SAT: • Register atwww.collegeboard.com • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in October, November, December, January, March, May, and June *See your Counselor for waivers if you qualify*

6. The Redesigned SAT • The Redesigned SAT: • First administration: Spring of 2016 (current 11th graders will primarily be the first to take this) • Writing section will be optional (but still need to take this) • Key Changes: • No longer a penalty for guessing • Total score possible: 400-1600 For more information, please visit www.collegereadiness.collegeboard.org

7. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2016 & 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)

8. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2016 & Beyond • Completion of Extended Essay • Completion of CAS requirement • Completion of all IB assessments (internal and external) • Passing score on the FSA: grade 10 Reading • State required EOCs (Algebra, Geometry, Biology, US History-necessary for scholar designation) • Cumulative unweighted 2.0 GPA

9. 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, all of the above will need to be taken.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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 2015-2016 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

13. 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 2015-2016 & Beyond • 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

14. 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/

15. DISCLAIMER 9th & 10th Grade Students and Parents Information Overload DO NOT WORRY ABOUT CAS RIGHT NOW!!! More info on CAS requirements will be provided in September of Junior year.

16. CAS & Community Service for IB Students • 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 non-profit agency. Be very careful with doing service at/through religious institutions – not every thing counts • CAS and Community Service should be meaningful. • To eliminate headaches later, ALWAYS check with Mrs. Culpepper

17. CAS & Community Service for IB Students • IB 11th and 12th grade students complete a Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirement which is documented online using the ManageBac website. https://psas.managebac.com/login • Only ‘service’ experiences/projects logged for CAS may count towards Bright Futures (students must complete the Paxon Community Service forms) • Community Service completed in grades 9 & 10 count towards Bright Futures, but not for CAS. For more information on CAS, visit the ‘CAS’ page on the Paxon IB website.

18. 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

19. Sample CAS Experiences/Projects

20. Places for CAS/Community Service *Anything being documented as community service must be at a non-profit organization

21. Early College Planning – Get Involved NOW!!! • Extracurricular Activities: 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

22. Sample Application – Extracurricular Activities

23. College Planning • Start visiting colleges and universities NOW….before you make a final decision. • Colleges visit Paxon to speak to students (Lunch) • Schedule posted outside of the school counseling office, on the Paxon school counseling website, linked on school website, and said during announcements • Students must have teacher permission to miss class to attend if scheduled during a lunch when they have class or during class time (extremely rare).

24. The dorms looked like this on the website….

25. …But they really look like this

26. The Center, One Foundation • Representative: Mr. Nelson McCoy • Available during lunch (non-early dismissal Wednesdays) • Provides scholarship and college planning information tailored to student needs

27. Jacksonville College Fair October 10, 2015 (Prime Osborn Convention Center) • Information Sessions • Bright Futures Scholarship Program • Federal Financial Aid • College Planning Nuts and Bolts • FACTS.org – Online Academic Advising • Writing The College Admissions Essay • Historically Black Colleges and Universities • Scholarship Search Tips • Get With The Times And Use The Web

28. Additional college & career planning resources Links available at paxonguidance.weebly.com

29. www.floridastudents.org Video Tutorials

30. SAT Prep – Khan Academy

31. www.floridashines.org Formerly www.flvc.org

32. Bigfuture.org A Resource from The CollegeBoard

33. Chart an AP Course to a College Major or Career

34. Paxon Guidance Website paxonguidance.weebly.com

35. Questions, Comments, Concerns Speak to Your Counselor