Academic Awards
Honor Roll. To be eligible for honor roll,
a student must have a GPA of 3.0 or above with no D’s, F’s or Incompletes.
Kansas State Scholar criteria includes
completion of the Kansas Regents recommended curriculum (see above), a GPA that ranges
from 3.39 to 4.0 unweighted, and an ACT score that ranges from 27 to 36.
National Honor Society
recognizes scholarship, character, service, and leadership. Membership is by invitation only. Students who are invited
to and are interested in joining will attend a mandatory meeting in
September where they receive all necessary documentation forms and
membership instructions. The Lancer Chapter considers membership for all
junior and senior students who:
- Have a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.6 at the end of their
sophomore or junior year.
- Document no less than 20 community service hours by a specified date
(usually in January of the initiation year). It is the candidate's
responsibility to submit and keep hours updated on forms provided at the
initial meeting.
- Are endorsed for their leadership ability by a sponsor/coach of the
activity to be considered (three leadership "credits" are
required).
- Have five adults (three of which have taught the candidate at East) who
will rate their character.
-
Selected students are required to attend the initiation ceremony and pay
a membership fee, which includes the honor cords worn at graduation.
- Students who participate in chapter meetings, school-sponsored service
projects and maintain a GPA of 3.6 will graduate with a distinction of
being a NHS member and wear honor cords at the graduation ceremony.
President’s Award for Educational
Achievement. This award is presented to seniors who have attained an unweighted GPA of 3.5
or above and received a score at or above the 85th percentile on a nationally
standardized test.
Governor’s Scholar. This program
honors the top one percent of the graduating class based on the GPA for the first seven
semesters.
Honor Grad. To qualify for honor grad, a
student must be on the honor roll every semester from 9th through 12th
grade with no recorded D, F, or Incomplete. All semesters must have a minimum of five
letter grades. P, K, Q, E, etc. do not count as letter grades.
Scholarship Pins. The criteria to receive
scholarship pins include six semester grades of "A" and no grade lower than a
"B" for the previous year (i.e. juniors are awarded on grades made as
sophomores, seniors on grades made as juniors). Summer school and night school grades
cannot be included. Seniors who have received one-, two-, and three-year pins during their
high school career are eligible for a four-year scholarship pin that is presented at
graduation.
Academic Reporting Calendar
| 1st quarter: |
9/12 |
progress
reports to students |
|
10/17 |
grade cards
to students |
| 2nd quarter |
11/7 |
progress reports
to students |
|
1/12 |
grade cards
to students |
| 3rd quarter |
2/6 |
progress
reports to students |
|
3/27 |
grade cards
to students |
| 4th quarter |
4/17 |
progress
reports to 9-11th grade students |
|
4/17 |
progress
reports mailed home for 12th graders |
|
6/5 |
grade
reports mailed home |
Attendance/Homework Requests
It goes without saying that regular school
attendance is the single most important factor in academic success. Students must attend 85%
of all class periods to receive credit for a course. This policy does not
distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, regardless of the reason. Parents are
ultimately responsible for students attending school, including study halls. An absence is
declared unexcused if a student fails to attend a class or if he/she leaves school
during school hours without a permit from the office. Absences are excused for:
- Personal illness;
- Serious illness or death of a family member;
- Emergencies needing the student’s
services or presence at home;
- Religious observances of the student’s
own faith;
- Participation in a school-sponsored
activity; or
- Planned absences requested in writing and
approved in advance by the administration.
Parents should report any absence as early
in the day as possible to the Attendance Center or the Attendance Hotline, 913.993.6645.
Planned Absences. Students
will be excused in advance for an absence only with parent verification to
the school stating the student’s name, date(s) of absence, and reason for absence.
Appointments. Students needing to
leave school for personal appointments must bring a written parental request for dismissal
that includes the name and grade of the student, the date and time to be dismissed, and
the reason for dismissal. Students should bring the written request to the Attendance
Center before school on the date of the appointment to get a permit to leave
the building. Any exit without a permit is an unexcused absence. Students need to
check back in with the Attendance Center on their return to school. Further information on
attendance is found in the school district’s booklet Attendance Requirements and
Discipline Procedures and the Shawnee Mission East calendar.
Homework Requests.
Attendance & Homework requests after 3rd
day of absence- Parents/ guardians of students who are out of school due to illness for 3
or more days may contact
Julie Curry, 993-6630,
eacurry@smsd.org. This can only be requested through the Counseling Office if the student has been
out for 3 days or more.
Teachers will be contacted by e-mail and have 24 hours to respond to
homework requests. For this reason, this procedure is best used for long-term illness. To
contact teachers directly, go to www.smsd.org/schools/smeast/staff.htm.
Teachers will be contacted by e-mail and have 24 hours to respond to
homework requests. For this reason, this procedure is best used for long-term illness. To
contact teachers directly, go to www.smsd.org/schools/smeast/staff.htm.
College Credit
Early college credit may be earned by
advanced students through the College Now and Quick Step programs, as well as through AP
testing (discussed above).
Dropping a Course
Students are expected to stay in the
classes they have chosen. Any changes should be made prior to the beginning of a school
year or semester. After the first couple of days, the only option in dropping a class for
credit is to be a lab assistant (initiated by the student). No other academic class may be
substituted after the first few days of a semester. If, during a semester, a student wants
to drop a class, they must follow a specific procedure, beginning with a conference with
their academic counselor. If a student drops a class, a study hall may be the only option.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
The traditional method
for computing GPA is to divide the total number of academic grade points earned by the
total number of course units. The district awards extra credit for honors courses. There
is a slight statistical advantage to taking additional courses beyond the minimum
required. GPA is calculated at the end of each semester, not at the end of each quarter.
There is more discussion of GPA in the Student Program Planning Guide. While a
student’s grade point may have significant impact on selective college admissions,
the decision on whether or not to enroll in a class should not be based solely upon what
impact it will have on a student’s GPA.
Progress Reports/Grade Cards
The
5th week of every quarter all students will receive a
progress report card. Progress report cards will be given to the
student (they will not be mailed). Exception: we will mail
4th Quarter Senior progress report cards. Report cards are not
mailed, but are sent home with students the following week after Quarter
1 and Quarter 3 ends. We will mail Semester 1 (end of second
quarter) and Semester 2 (end of fourth quarter) grade cards.
Graduation Requirements
The graduation requirement for
all students is 23 total units. The Student Program Planning Guide from Shawnee Mission
School District gives the suggested sequence and selection of courses.
Graduation
Worksheet
A
graduation worksheet is an unofficial list of all the classes your have
taken and the grades per semester. It also shows you the
graduation required curricula and how much you have completed. To access
your go to: http://www.smsd.org/students/
then click on graduation worksheet. Sign on with your East access code.
Homework
Kansas
Introduced
to Kansans just over a year ago, the free service offers 4th
through 12th grade students interactive guidance in math,
science, social studies and English from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a
week. Math and science assistance in Spanish is available from 4
to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
Homework
Kansas
automatically connects participants with a tutor, who could be any of
1,300 teachers, graduate students and other professionals scattered
across
North America
. All tutors are subjected to background and reference checks.
To access
Homework
Kansas
, students simply need to go to www.homeworkkansas.org
and enter their Kansas Library card from their local public library or
school library. The service can be accessed from any internet-connected
computer. If the student does not already have a
Kansas
library card, they can acquire one for the State Library of Kansas at
the same site immediately.
For further
information, please contact Jackie Lakin via email: jlakin@ksde.org
or by phone: (785) 296-2144.
