Cambridge High School Class of 2017 April 20, 2017 Dear Parents and Guardians of Graduating Seniors: It s hard to believe that in a few weeks Cambridge High School s graduates will walk across the stage, receive diplomas, and move their tassels from right to left. As their Principal, I could not be prouder of what they have accomplished and all they have contributed to the culture of our high school. They were truly pioneers, and this experience will serve them well as they take the next steps in their lives. These next few weeks will be busy, and I have outlined in this letter the many activities planned for the CLASS of 2017. The graduation ceremony will be held Thursday, May 25 th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cambridge High School stadium. Seating is unlimited in the stadium. This year, we will have seating on the home side and visitor side of the stadium. In case of inclement weather, we will have a rain plan. Rain Plan All attempts will be made to have our graduation ceremony in the stadium on Thursday, May 25. If there is inclement weather on Thursday, we will make a decision to postpone the ceremony to Friday at 9:00 a.m. On Friday, we will make every effort to have it in the stadium. If there is still inclement weather, a decision will be made by 7:00 a.m. to bring it inside to the gym. If graduation takes place in the gym, then each student will be have four tickets which will be given to him/her at their rehearsal. Yearbook Distribution Yearbook distribution for seniors will be Monday, May 15 th. The yearbooks will be distributed starting at 7:30 a.m. in the aux gym concession area. Seniors who do not pick up their yearbooks at that time can pick them up at the aux gym concession stand during their lunch that day. All seniors who pre-bought will receive the yearbook. Any unsold yearbooks will be offered on a first come, first served basis on Thursday and Friday, May 18 th and 19 th. The cost will be $100 in cash only. 1
Baccalaureate Baccalaureate is a non-denominational, faith based service of worship that celebrates graduating seniors. It is a parent-sponsored, pre-graduation event. This year s service will be held on May 21 st at 4:00pm at: Stone Creek Church 13540 Highway 9 North Milton, GA 30004 Seniors presenting/performing should arrive at 3:00 pm and wear their graduation gown, collar, honor cords, etc. to the service. All other seniors should arrive at 3:45 pm. Dessert reception will immediately follow the service. Please contact Tara Moore at mooreta@fultonschools.org if you are a senior and would like to participate in the program. Final Transcripts and Graduation Checkout Surveys An official FINAL transcript will be needed by the college a student plans to attend to verify graduation from high school. Final transcripts will be processed after the final grades are posted (tentative release date June 2 nd ). All graduating seniors are required to turn in a Final Transcript Request Form to the Counseling Office by May 2nd. The transcript needs to be requested through Parchment.com or the same online program that was used to send the initial transcript to the college for admissions (for example, Common Application, SEND Edu). If the final transcript is being sent to AN ORGANIZATION (Sorority, Fraternity, Scholarship etc.) OR A PERSON, a letter size addressed envelope with a stamp must be provided to the Counseling Office. Parchment.com can be used to send transcripts by mail as well. If the student is not planning on attending a college next year, he/she should write one of the following on the form: work, gap year, military or any other specific plan. Additional instructions are provided on the Final Transcript Request Form. Students were given the Final Transcript Request Form during their English classes on April 20th, 2017. Forms can be picked up in the Counseling Office for students who were absent or do not have a class on campus. The form can also be accessed by visiting www.cambridgehscounseling.com/final-transcript-senior-exit-survey All seniors have to complete two separate surveys: one through Fulton County and one through GCIS called The Georgia Bridge Bill Postsecondary Plans. Both surveys are required for all seniors and are due by May 2nd. 1. Fulton County Schools Survey-Please visit www.cambridgehscounseling.com/finaltranscript-senior-exit-survey to access the survey. 2. GCIS Survey-Go to http://www.gcic.peachnet.edu/ to complete the Georgia Bridge Bill Postsecondary Plan. 2
Click on the first icon on the left side of the page that says Click Here to Enter Georgia Career Information System GCIS Sign in to your GCIS account using the user id as S+student number (eg. S1100222222) and password: Fulton01. Click My Portfolio. Under "What's My Next Step After High School click on My Next Step. Answer the question about the plans after graduating from high school. Click Save to add your next step to your portfolio. You have to SAVE in order to get credit for the activity! Senior Final Exams The final exam schedule for seniors for 2nd semester: Thursday, May 18 th 1 st period 8:20-9:20 2 nd period 9:26-10:22 3 rd period 10:28-11:24 4 th period 11:30-12:26 5 th period 5 th period final exam 12:31-1:27 part 1 6 th period 1:32-2:28 7 th period 7 th period final exam part 1 2:34-3:30 Friday, May 19 th 1 st period 8:20-9:20 2 nd period 9:26-10:22 3 rd period 10:28-11:24 4 th period 11:30-12:26 5 th period 5 th period final exam 12:31-1:27 part 2 6 th period 1:32-2:28 7 th period 7 th period final exam part 2 2:34-3:30 Monday, May 22 nd 1 st period 1 st period exam 8:20-10:25 2 nd period 10:35-11:19 3 rd period 11:25-12:09 4 th period 12:15-12:59 5 th period 1:05-1:49 6 th period 1:55-2:39 7 th period 2:45-3:30 3
Tuesday, May 23 rd Wednesday, May 24 th 8:20-10:25 3 rd period exam 8:20-10:25 4 th period exam 10:25-10:40 Break 10:25-10:40 Break 10:40-12:40 2 nd period exam 10:40-12:40 6 th period exam Final Exam Exemption Incentive Policy The Final Exam Exemption Incentive Policy provides all students the opportunity to exempt final exams provided a student misses no more than three documented days of that particular class per semester and has a class average of 70 or above. If a student has more than three documented absences per semester in a class, he/she may still exempt with an average of 93 or above. Seniors can exempt up to six final exams should they meet the Final Exam Exemption Incentive Policy requirements. Requirements: Three or fewer documented absences (excused and unexcused) in the class you wish to exempt the final exam No OSS or Friday Night School Average 70 Students can request to exempt the final exam in an AP course or the graded experience in an EOC class, based on the Final Exam Exemption Incentive Policy. An End of Course (EOC) test cannot be exempted, however a student may exempt the graded experience in an EOC course when it is provided during the final exam testing period. Classes that you cannot exempt the final exam: On-line courses Courses that have a state mandated assessment Any Move-On-When-Ready course. The following approvals and signatures are required for exemption: Teacher for the course exam to be exempted Parent or guardian Administrator In order to apply for an exam exemption, the student is responsible for completing the Google form. Parents will approve the exemptions through ZipSlip. The link will be available on April 27 th through May 5 th on www.cambridgehs.org. Honor Cords Graduating seniors with an overall average of 88.0 or above at the end of first semester of their senior year are recognized as Honor Graduates. Honor Graduates are distinguished in the 4
graduation ceremony by wearing a gold Honor Cord with their cap and gown. Students may purchase Honor Cords in the counseling office during school for $10.00. Photographs Our official school photographer, BPI, will be taking pictures at graduation. Pictures can be viewed and purchased at http://www.bpiphotography.net. Outstanding Textbooks/Devices Seniors are responsible for returning all textbooks and/or devices at the end of each semester. If textbooks and/or devices are not returned, they are considered missing and it is the responsibility of the student to pay the replacement cost of the book and/or device. Students will be notified of the amount. Failure to return the missing textbook and/or device, or pay the amount due, will lead to the student s diploma being held. Graduation Rehearsal, Slide Show, Commemoratives, and Dinner Seniors will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 th, for the following events: Graduation rehearsal Seniors will arrive at 4:00pm in the stadium. Senior slide show and important graduation information (students only) After rehearsal, there will be the senior slide show and important reminders about graduation in the auditorium from 5:00-6:00pm. Senior dinner and commemoratives (students only) Following the slide show, students will pick up their Cambridge Post commemorative envelopes and dinner will be served in the cafeteria. In case of rain, tickets will be put into the commemorative envelopes. Senior Breakfast There will be an informal drop-in breakfast on Thursday, May 25 th, at Chick-fil-a on Windward Parkway from 8:30 10:30 a.m. for all seniors. There is a set menu for breakfast that will be free of charge to seniors. Parking and Seating at Graduation Due to the anticipated crowded parking, you are encouraged to be in the stadium by 7:00pm, and to carpool if possible. Gates to the stadium will open no earlier than 5:00pm. The Highway 9 access point to the school will be closed. You will need to enter the school parking lot through the Bethany Bend or Cogburn Road entrance. Overflow parking will be available at Stone Creek Church and Kings Ridge Christian School (Cogburn Road entrance). We will have shuttles in the school and stadium parking lots, as well as 5
Stone Creek Church and Kings Ridge should you need assistance. State-permitted handicapped parking is available in the school and stadium parking lots. We encourage you to drop off your senior to save school parking for family and friends. This year, we will have seating on the home side and visitor side of the stadium. Your student will be able to tell you which side they will be sitting on. There is handicapped accessible seating in the stadium and for those needing assistance, drop-off will be available in front of the stadium. There will be on-duty police officers to assist you. In an effort to support family members who may have health issues affected by the heat/sun, we will provide a shaded area prior to the ceremony. Graduation Recommendations Graduation is a special time for our community. In an effort to establish a standard of integrity and excellence in our graduation ceremony at Cambridge High School, we ask for your assistance with the following: Remind graduates to dress appropriately for the occasion. Remind graduates that cell phones should be silenced. Remind graduates as well as family and friends that while we encourage celebrations of individuals during the ceremony, it is important to be sensitive to all guests desire to hear their son s and/or daughter s diploma being conferred. Graduation The graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 25 th, at 7:30pm, in the Cambridge High School stadium. Gates open at 5:00 pm for seating. Seniors need to arrive at 6:15pm in their caps and gowns. Men will report to the auxiliary gym and women will report to the auditorium. Students should wear appropriate attire for the graduation ceremony. Young men should wear a white shirt, tie, dress slacks, and dress shoes. Young ladies should wear a dress or blouse and skirt, and flat shoes. The dress should not hang below the hem of the graduation gown. Please make sure your student arrives for the ceremony appropriately attired. Students should not wear t-shirts, haltertops, tank tops, jeans, shorts, etc. Many exciting things have been planned for the remaining few weeks. Let s continue working together so that we can enjoy this wonderful time in the life of your student. The safety of all of our graduates requires the school and the home to work as partners as we celebrate together the accomplishments of the Class of 2017. Sincerely, Dr. Edward J. Spurka, Principal 6