Paxon School for Advanced Studies

1. Paxon School for Advanced Studies 9th and 10th Grade Guidance 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. Important Dates • PSAT: • October 16, 2013 during the school day at Paxon. • National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarship qualifications are based on 11th grade PSAT scores • ACT: • Take ACT with Writing • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in September, October, December, February, April, and June • Register at www.ACT.org • SAT: • Students can take practice tests and question of the day • Offered in October, November, December, January, March, May, and June • Register atwww.collegeboard.com *See your Counselor for waivers if you qualify*

5. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2013 and Beyond • English: 4 credits (honors level or higher w/at least one IB or AP course) • Math: 4 credits (honors level or higher; geometry or higher w/at least one IB or AP course) • Science: 4 credits (honors level or higher w/at least one IB or AP lab science) • Social Studies: 4 credits (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: 9 credits (This includes 1 IB 6th subject studied over 1 or 2 years)

6. District Approved IB Diploma CurriculumGraduation Requirements Class of 2013 and Beyond • Completion of Extended Essay • Completion of CAS requirement • Completion of all IB assessments (internal and external) • Passing score on the FCAT: grade 10 Reading • State required EOCs (Algebra, Geometry, Biology, US History) • Cumulative unweighted 2.0 GPA

7. 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, the above will need to be taken.

8. 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 2013-2014 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

9. 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 2013-2014 • 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

10. 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/

11. Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA For courses graded on a semester basis (A final grade is given for the fall semester and a final grade is given for the spring semester)

12. Weighted vs. Unweighted GPA For courses graded on a year-long basis (One final grade is given at the end of the school year) Ex. Biology, geometry

13. Community Service • 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 not for profit agency. Be very careful with doing service at/through religious institutions – not every thing counts • To eliminate headaches later, ALWAYS check with your counselor BEFORE starting the service hours

14. CAS vs. Community Service for IB Students • IB 11th and 12th grade students complete Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) hours which are documented online using the ManageBac website. https://psas.managebac.com/login • Only the ‘service’ hours logged for CAS will count towards Bright Futures. • Community Service completed in grades 9 & 10 count towards Bright Futures, but not for CAS.

15. 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

16. Places for Community Service

17. Early College Planning – Get Involved NOW!!! • 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

18. Sample Application – Extracurricular Activities

19. www.FLVC.org Formerly www.FACTS.org

20. Bigfuture.org A Resource from The College Board

21. Paxon Guidance Website paxonguidance.weebly.com

22. Questions, Comments, Concerns Thank You!