Home of the Panthers Freshman Parent and Student Orientation

1. Newfane High SchoolClass of 2016Mr. Thomas Stack, Principal Mrs. Debra Zapp, Assistant Principal Home of the Panthers Freshman Parent and Student Orientation

2. Finding Your Way Science, Art and Technology Wing Faculty Parking Lot YOU ARE HERE Main Office – always sign in for every visit.

3. A Typical Freshmen Schedule

4. Class Advisors and Clubs Involvement in high school is a BIG key to student success!!! Clubs usually meet after school from 2:25 to 3:05 – many students take the late bus home. More information on our school website…

5. SPORTS Fall: Football Football Cheerleading Girls Volleyball Boys and Girls Soccer Boys and Girls Cross-Country Girls Field Hockey Boys and Girls Golf Winter: Boys and Girls Basketball Basketball Cheerleading Wrestling Boys and Girls Swim Team Spring: Baseball Softball Boys and Girls Track and Field Boys and Girls Tennis Extra-Curricular Options ACTIVITIES Art Club, Science Club, Drama Club, Tech and Motor Sports Club, Musical, Model U.N., Peer Leadership, Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.), Student Senate, Varsity Club, Yearbook, Robotics Club If you have questions about athletics, please contact Mr. Doug Ames ACADEMIC CLASSES & ORGANIZATIONS AP & College Courses: Biology AP English 10 & 11 Calculus I & II Statistics AP Euro History AP U.S. History Spanish Psychology   AP Government Organizations: National Honor Society BOCES – G.E.D. – ALLIED HEALTH

6. Dates to Remember for Fall 2012 School for students begins - September 5, 2012 September 20, 2012 - High School Open House November 9, 2012 - End of 1st Marking Period November 22-23, 2012 - Thanksgiving Break November 29, 2012 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (1/2 day)

7. COURSE # OF COURSES REGENTS EXAMS English 4 Courses Must pass one exam Social Studies 4 Courses Must pass two exams (Global and U.S. History) Mathematics 3 Courses Must pass one exam Science 3 Courses Must pass one exam Physical Education 2 Courses (every other day - .5 credits per year) Art or Music 1 Course Second Language 1 Course Health .5 Course Electives 3.5 Courses Total 22 total courses 5 Regents Exams New York State Graduation Requirements for Entering Freshmen Class of 2016 For many parents, we remember having a choice of Regents or Local classes. Now, there are ONLY Regents classes and all students must pass 5 in order to graduate.

8. Planning to Graduate…. and for beyond“Begin with the end in mind”- Stephen Covey • Students can expect to receive daily homework. Homework prepares students to effectively communicate in class discussions and assessments. • Colleges will look at your grades as a freshmen and your success will give you more choices. • Take challenging courses such as those ones offered in AP and through NCCC • Read, Read, Read. Read your textbooks but also read for pleasure – know how to do both. • Become involved in high school – volunteer in our community, try many things to meet many people and find out what you really want to do with yourself. • Keep a list of your accomplishments – leadership roles, activities, awards, community involvement, etc. This will help when you apply for colleges later.

9. Regents Diploma with Honors and Academic Letters If a student successfully completes the requirements for a Regents Diploma AND averages over 90% on ALL five Regents exams – A Regents Diploma with Honors will be granted. For an Academic Letter – students must achieve a 90% or better average for each of the first three marking periods.

10. Attendance / Course Requirement Policy • In order to be successful, students need to be here to receive the instruction. • In full year courses, students must be in attendance 85% of the time – this allows a maximum of 28 absences per class. • In half year courses, students must attend 85% of classes – this allows for a maximum of 14 absences. • If your son or daughter is not able to attend school temporarily due to a medical condition, please ask the doctor’s office to provide appropriate documentation and contact our guidance office to make alternative arrangements including possible tutoring. Absences that occur while tutoring is in effect do not count against our Course Requirement Policy. • If a student is absent, tardy or being excused the student must have a written parent/guardian excuse.

11. The Food • Our cafeteria is open for breakfast daily • The doors close at 7:45 a.m. to allow students the time to get to first period on time. • Students arrive here around 7:25 on bus, they have plenty of time to drop off books at locker and eat in our cafeteria. • Food selection includes bagels, french toast, cereal, breakfast pizza, milk, juice, and much more. • A healthy breakfast is important to get the brain ready for a good day at school. • Lunch • Every student has several choices for lunch. There are hot meals, sandwiches/wraps and salads. There are new changes to the school lunch this year that take into account new federal school lunch guidelines. The most important changes are that tomato soup will be the only soup offered, grains and protein will be reduced, fruits and vegetables increased, grains must be whole wheat, only skim and 1% milk will be offered and flavored milk will be skim milk. • Since there are forty minutes to eat, our students are not rushed. • Since students will not eat continuously for this time, we recommend they bring a book to read or to get ready for their next class. Best behavior out of respect for staff and students is expected. • Students can choose to eat in either the East Dining Room or West Dining Room . • Like all schools, our cafeteria is regularly inspected and we are proud of our record. With that in mind, students are not permitted to “order out” food from outside sources and eat in our dining rooms. • We have a “closed campus” which means that students are expected to stay here for lunch and not leave school during regular school hours without parental permission and a written excuse.

12. More about FOOD • New federal guidelines have changed the cost of breakfast and lunch this year for our high school students. • Breakfast cost - $ 1.25 Lunch cost - $ 2.00 • To approved students, we offer FREE and reduced lunch price meals. These applications are available at the high school main office. • If you prefer to pay by check (semester, yearly, monthly) – please write the check out to Newfane Central School Cafeteria and give it to our cafeteria manager, Mrs. Judy Hugaboom. • Example of payment options: If lunch price was $2.00 then…. • $2.00 x 90 = $180.00 (semester) • $2.00 x 180 = $360.00 (year) • $2.00 x 20 = $40.00 (month – approximately) • Please do not give your child large dollar denominations to bring to school, it’s not a good idea for security reasons.

13. All Cell Phones Must Be Turned Off Upon Entering the Building Electronic Entertainment/Communication Devices – Cell phones, iPods, and any other electronic devices are not to be used by students during the school day. Items may be confiscated and secured in the main office until the end of the day. Repeated infractions will result in progressive disciplinary consequences. Please review student handbook in agenda for formal policy. AS A REMINDER, THERE IS PHONE FOR STUDENT USE AVAILABLE IN THE MAIN OFFICE.

14. Parking, Bus Drop-Off, Student Car Rider Drop-Off, Student and Visitor Building Entrance Now that we have two distinct drives off of One Panther Drive, it seems appropriate to share with our users the rules and procedures concerning the use of the roads, parking areas on our campus, and entrance into our building. Faculty, Staff, Administration, Visitor, Volunteers, and Handicapped Parking The lot immediately in front of the school is designated for faculty, staff, administration, visitors, volunteers, and handicapped only. The area has clearly marked signs and ground symbols. Faculty and staff also have the newer parking lot on the south side of the building. There are spaces reserved on the north side for cafeteria staff, and some faculty members. Students and visitors are not allowed in this area because it is also the loading zone for deliveries to our cafeteria and a parking site for coaches and officials after school. Student Parking Students are assigned parking in the student parking lot on the west side of our tennis courts. A parking sticker is required for students to enter and park in this lot. Students are not to park in any other areas of our campus. Students parked in other areas will be subject to disciplinary action and may have their vehicles towed. Students should not park on private property near school as this upsets our neighbors. Bus Drop Off School buses drop off and pick up students in the circle in front of the school. While the buses are using the circle, no private vehicles are allowed for obvious safety reasons. As a reminder, our buses drop off students in the morning between 7:20 and 7:40 a.m. – please do not enter the bus circle during this time, it jeopardizes the safety of everyone and we have a designated area for drop offs at the north end of our campus. As an FYI, buses arrive in waves; therefore, just because a bus is not in the bus circle does not mean it is a good time to use the bus circle. Student Drop Off and Pick Up In the morning: we advise drivers to stay completely out of the bus circle and to take the left turn toward the student parking lot. Once the driver is near the sidewalk, briefly stop to drop off the student(s) and slowly drive away and circle around the student parking lot back out on to the same driveway. During the school day: we have provided space for visitors in front of our school. Please use a temporary visitor’s space, walk in the main entrance, stop in to the office, and sign your son/daughter out then exit. After school: again, no private vehicles are allowed to enter a bus circle while buses are waiting. Students may be picked up at the end of the sidewalk that leads directly to the student parking lot. Because we do have buses arriving after the ninth period bell, this is advisable. Student and Visitor Entrance All students and visitors must use the same door to enter the building while school is in session. The door is adjacent to the main office and it leads into the hallway just outside the main office, which is a short right turn away. We encourage everyone to use this entrance because it is so close to the office. This makes it easy for all visitors to sign-in and allows us to give everyone immediate assistance.

15. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BEGINNING SCHOOL Student Schedules Returning student’s schedules are included in this mailing, incoming freshmen students will receive schedules at Freshmen Orientation. If there is a concern, please call our Guidance Office at 778-6564 and ask for your counselor. Once the school year begins, all schedule changes must be completed within the first two weeks of school. First Day of School Please remember, the first day for our students is Wednesday, September 5th, 2012. On that day, students will report to their first period class by 7:47 a.m., which is also referred to as their “homeroom.” Our daily announcements will be held at the beginning of second period, so we have added a few minutes to the period. Student/Parent Handbooks The handbooks will be handed out to freshman students during Freshmen Orientation on August 28th. Returning students will receive their handbooks/planners in school during the first week. We will briefly review this material in classes, however, we strongly encourage all parents to sit down with their children to study the handbook in detail. Student Absenteeism Student absenteeism can negatively impact student achievement. The attendance policy will be strictly enforced. Every year, students are dropped from course and they lose course credit because they simply do not meet attendance requirements. Please read the policy carefully in the student/parent handbook. Dress Code We expect students to fully comply with our dress code. Although we will discuss this briefly in classes, all students in attendance here know appropriate attire for an academic environment and we expect their cooperation in this regard. Student ID Cards All students are issued one free student ID card after they have their picture taken. The company that produces the cards (Legacy) is the same company that takes the yearbook photos. Students that choose a different photographer for their yearbook photo are encouraged to have their photo taken here for free in order to get an ID card. The ID card is useful in a number of situations (some employers require an ID) and we encourage all of our students to take advantage of it. Since we do not produce the cards, replacements are not available. Confiscation of Items not Permitted on Campus If we confiscate an item that is either not allowed or used inappropriately, parents can reasonably expect that we will secure the property until the parent has an opportunity to come in and pick it up. Typical items confiscated are CD players, cell phones, IPODs, hats, bandannas, etc. We will continue to follow the school policy regarding cell phones which states that they should not be visible or heard during the school day and should be turned off during the day. School Website: please check our school webpage regularly during the school year to keep up with all the school news. The website is: www.newfane.wnyric.org

16. What about the school food? The school cafeteria prepares a breakfast, lunch and after school snack on every regular school day of the year. Students typically arrive here in the morning around 7:30 a.m. and the first class begins at 7:47. Therefore, there is plenty of time for them to stop down to the cafeteria and eat breakfast and still be on time for their first class of the day. For lunch, there are two cafeterias for students to choose from and three lunch lines (one sandwich line and two meal lines). Students have many healthy food choices and the prices are very reasonable. If you have questions or concerns, please contact our Cafeteria Manager, Mrs. Judy Hugaboom. Where do I drop off my kids? The most advisable location before school is by the sidewalk that leads in to school from the student parking lot. We discourage drop-offs in front of the high school for obvious safety reasons. What time does the first period start? It starts promptly at 7:47 a.m. and we refer to this period as “homeroom.” When does the regular school day end? Most students leave school after ninth period that ends at 2:25 p.m. If a student stays after school for extra work with a teacher, they will ride home on a late bus that leaves from our bus loop at the High School. In order to ride the late bus, students must have a signed pass from the teacher that supervised them. How can I communicate with teachers? You can call during the school day and our office secretary will connect you to the teacher’s voicemail and the teacher will call you back as soon as possible. If you have an e-mail account, all teachers can be reached through the mail by writing their first initial and full last name @newfane.wnyric.org For example, Debra Zapp would be: dzapp@newfane.wnyric.org How long is the lunch period? We have a nine period schedule and lunch is the same length as any one of the periods, forty minutes long. Should my son/daughter bring a lock to use for Physical Education?Absolutely. Unfortunately, there are some students that will steal or damage other student’s belongings. Our Physical Education teachers repeatedly warn the students to be careful, to never bring valuables and, if necessary, to give them to the teacher to secure during class. Also, we make every reasonable effort to lock the locker room doors from the outside so no outside entry is allowed. Please purchase a combination lock that your son or daughter can use anytime they have Physical Education class, or for any after school sports and activities. My son told me that it’s okay to listen to his iPod in school. Is this true? No, it’s not really true. The reality is, iPods are now cell phones, Internet machines, text messages, and more – not simple music players. Additionally, they are very expensive entertainment items and we are unable to guarantee their security. Finally, we dealt with hundreds of classroom interruptions in the past year during class time as a result of inappropriate use. For those reasons, we advise students to keep their iPods and other entertainment gadgets at home. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

17. If my son or daughter tells me that something “bad” might happen, whom should I call? On many occasions, parents have knowledge of an impending incident before the school because their kids talk about it at home. If this happens, please help us to prevent anything “bad” from happening and give the school administration a call at 778-6550. Is there an “open lunch” for students that drive a car? No. There is no such thing as “Open Lunch,” students may not leave the building during the school day. My daughter occasionally needs an aspirin for headaches, can she keep them in her locker? Absolutely not. Students that take medicine need to register the medication with the school nurse and keep all medications in the nurse’s office for obvious safety reasons. This is true for every medication. Please contact our school nurse, Mrs. Brown at 778-6554 . Where should I go to pick up my son/daughter to leave school early? During school hours, we only have one door available for entry, the door adjacent to the Main Office. Please park your car in the visitor’s spaces reserved for you in front of the Main Office and walk in the main entrance. Once inside, the office is just to the right. Students will not be excused from school via phone calls, only written excuses are to be accepted. Why can’t my son or daughter use their cell phone during the school day? For a multitude of reasons, mostly that it is a distraction to the educational process. If a child needs to make an emergency call during the school day, we have a phone available in the main office. Our policy is that cell phones should not be seen or heard, however, students may possess them for use before and after school. Students that abuse these privileges may have their cell phone confiscated, which requires a parent to drive to school and pick it up. Are the computers protected or filtered from access to “harmful” sites? Yes. We use the same filters on our Internet system as many schools in Western New York. The filter prevents students from accessing sites that contain inappropriate pictures and/or language. As most of us realize though, new sites are developed daily that may be potentially harmful or inappropriate. In order to prevent students accessing these, each computer lab is outfitted with software that allows the teacher to observe what every student is doing on the computer at the same time. If the teacher feels that sites are inappropriate, they have the ability to “freeze” the computer and block the student out. From there, administration is called to investigate further. All students are also advised about the inappropriateness of “chat room” sites or “blogs” that are not related to our educational program. Over time, we have found that the keys to Internet safety are not only filters and supervision; it’s also having a consistent approach with our parents. Parents that closely monitor their children’s Internet usage at home find that their children are much more likely to use the Internet for practical and educational purposes. Are there places for my son or daughter to work on homework before and after school? Yes. Our computer-writing lab and our library are available before and after school for students to work on schoolwork. To use the library after school, students need to secure a pass from the subject area teacher that they intend to work on in advance. Students that choose to stay in the library after school are expected to arrive early and quietly work until the late bus arrives. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

18. The Newfane PTSA Our high school receives tremendous support from our local PTSA. • Agendas • Our picnic lunch today • S.A.T. Preparation Classes after school • Graduation Reception • $3000.00 in College Scholarships Help support the Class of 2016 by joining the PTSA again this year. Memberships on sale during our Open House on September 20th.

19. HOT DOG COOKOUT Please join us… Take a look around the building, our cleaning staff has worked tirelessly to get our building ready for school to start again. Please feel free to ask questions. We look forward to the next four years in high school. Thanks to our Juniors/Seniors for their assistance in making this day possible.