Today (Friday) marks the end of Trimester 1, and we will be officially one-third of the way through the academic year. Below please find ten facts that will provide some important information.

1. All students will receive trimester grades in all their courses; for their trimester electives, these grades mark the conclusion of their experience in the course.

 

2. Teachers of Seniors are working to get their grades finalized by Friday, Nov. 22, so that we can send these grades as part of updated transcripts to colleges and universities to which the students have applied. This November marking period is generally beneficial to students who have applied early decision, early action or rolling admission—it’s one more up-to-the-minute data point for college admission offices in a highly competitive landscape.

 

3. Students in other grades will not have their final trimester grades until Friday, December 6. That gives teachers time to grade any final assessments they are taking in this week and to compute their final trimester averages.

 

4. Please note that Freshmen in biology, English and Global Perspectives are all graded on a P/F basis instead of on an A-F scale. The P grades count for credits but do not factor into a student’s GPA.

5. Grade reports will be available for parents to view as of 4:00 pm on December 6. I highly recommend that parents take the time to read through these reports on their own, reflect on them, and then discuss with their children, rather than look through the reports together for the first time. Try to maintain a growth mindset about what you see, emphasize the positive when you can, and highlight areas of progress.

6. The second trimester begins Monday, December 2, and at that point many students will have new classes. Students in new electives may have a different free block than they did in their previous trimester. Most often, students who are in yearlong classes will stay with the same teacher in the same block, but occasionally we need to make a switch in order to accommodate some other need or request of the student.

7. Students have received their second trimester schedules. Once Trimester 2 begins on Dec 2, students may request to drop or change a course after they have attended at least one class period of a class they have signed up for. They may add a class so long as the class is not full, and it works with their schedules. Students must petition me if they wish to take more than 5 academic courses or more than 6 total classes. Generally speaking, we want a student to have at least one “free” block out of the seven available class periods. (All 9th Graders have a mandatory study hall as their “free” block.)

8. Second trimester athletics (winter sports) have already begun. Team sports started on Nov. 11 and all others started this past Monday (Nov. 18). Games and competitions will start as early as this weekend.

 

9. Trimester 2 runs from Dec. 2 – Feb. 27. Mid-trimester 2 is set for January 17, after which progress reports will be sent out.

10. At the end of the year, we do not average all three trimester grades to generate a separate year grade. For yearlong classes, each trimester generates its own mark and receives .33 credit.