Blaine High School student handbook

The Counseling Department is designed to deliver services to students in the areas of academic development, career development, and personal/social development.

Please use the following office professional contact information to report an absence:

Shireen Hassan - A - Da

763-506-6702

Shireen.Hassan@ahschools.us

Joan Ericksen E - La

763-506-6517

Joan.Ericksen@ahschools.us

Ann Edwards Lb-R

763-506-6609

Ann.Edwards@ahschools.us

Michelle Pouliot-Drew S-Z

763-506-6607

Michelle.Pouliotdrew@ahschools.us

Melody Anderson - CEMS

763-506-6507

Melody.Anderson@ahschools.us

Students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity by producing work that represents their own effort and proficiency toward learning standards. Students may only submit work created with artificial intelligence (AI) assistive technology (like ChatGPT, Claude, Bard/Gemini, etc.) if specifically authorized and modeled by teachers. Students who turn in AI-generated assignments/assessments as their own will not receive credit until proficiency is demonstrated.

Students may earn a letter in academics based on their cumulative grade

point average at the end of each school year. (Seniors are recognized after

trimester 2 of their senior year.) For a student to letter in academics, the

student must have the following weighted cumulative grade point averages:

• 9th Grade - 3.90

• 10th Grade - 3.85

• 11th Grade - 3.80

• 12th Grade - 3.75 (after trimester 2)

Advisory is a 36-minute block of time on Mondays between second and third

hour to help students connect with teachers, provide work time, and support

social-emotional learning. Advisory is part of the BHS school day and all

attendance/conduct rules apply.

Students are asked to exit the building by 2:30 unless they are with a staff

member. There is a warning bell at 2:25 and a final bell at 2:30. Students must wait

for their rides at the front entrance between the doors.

All students attending schools in Anoka-Hennepin District 11 are responsible for attending school daily, except when excused, and being on time for all classes and other school day functions. The school retains the right to determine excused absences. For any absence, it is the students’ responsibility to find out what was missed during the class period and to make up the coursework. When it is impossible for a student to be in class, the school will accept excuses for illness, family emergency, sanctioned school activities, and individual needs as determined by the administration. Please submit an absence through ParentVUE or call your student’s office professional between 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on the day your student is absent from school. An online submission or a phone call must be made every day a student is absent unless prior arrangements have been made through the office professional or the absence will remain unverified/unexcused until contact has been made. When a student has a medical appointment during the school day, students must also have a parent submit a note, phone call, or online submission including the date, type of appointment and time to be excused to the office professional before the school day begins. Students will be issued a pass to leave class and are expected to return to school if possible.

Any change in address or phone number should be reported to the Data

Management Secretary or their Office Professional as soon as possible so the school always has correct information. This is crucial if an emergency arises. Students planning to move from the school must have an official records request submitted by the new enrolling school.

Please see Blaine High School website for schedules.

Detention is a consequence that is assigned for various forms of misbehavior. Detention is held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. All detentions must be completed before a student can attend a dance, purchase a parking permit, sign up for an activity, etc.

No fundraising activities are allowed on school property without permission from the activities director. Requests for approval of the distribution of materials must receive prior approval from the principal or appropriate building administrator. The principal shall determine if the materials are appropriate in the school setting and whether the distribution is reasonable in time, place, and manner that does not disrupt the education programs or interfere with the educational objectives of the school district.

Blaine High School offers behind-the-wheel driver’s training to all students who have completed the classroom course. The School Board, to defray part of the expense of behind-the-wheel driver’s training, has established a fee of $260 per student. This amount is payable at the time of registration for behind-the-wheel training. Classroom driver’s training is available as a regular class, after school, and in the summer. There is a charge of $70 per student for after-school classes that are offered periodically throughout the school year. These fees may be subject to change.

Both a weighted and unweighted GPA will be produced. The grade values for regular and honors courses are listed below.

Class rank is calculated and reported based on GPA. It is the composite ordering of all students’ GPAs. As GPAs change, so do class ranks. As grades are entered into the system, calculations are run, and class ranks are produced. Most grades are entered into the system at the end of a trimester. However, additional situations outside the usual grading window include:

• Incompletes are changed to grades.
• Transfer students’ grades are added to the system.
• Dropped students’ grades are removed from the system.
• PSEO grades are added when received from the post secondary institution.

Pass/Fail option can be requested for upper level elective courses only. Option needs to be selected before the last week of the trimester the course is being taken. Maximum pass/fail classes are two, per school year.

Any time grades are added or removed, and calculations run, the class rank will change.

More information about GPA and class rank is available from the Counseling Office. Any students seeking specific GPA or class rank status should see their counselor.

Students must meet the requirements established by the School Board to receive a diploma from Blaine High School. Students may participate in the graduation ceremony if they are within one credit of meeting all graduation requirements. Students who are short the necessary credits for graduation may earn additional credits through credit recovery. It is the students’ responsibility to be aware of their credit status. Students with credit concerns should contact their counselor.

Honors Graduation Requirements:

In order to graduate with honors from Anoka-Hennepin, the following criteria must be met. Honors graduation status is determined by the cumulative, weighted GPA at the end of trimester two of the senior year. PSEO students’ status will be determined after the fall semester. Rounding will not occur.

Highest Honors:

Weighted GPA of 3.9 or above. Students must take at least 10 credits in honors courses from two or more departments during their high school career.

High Honors:

Weighted GPA of 3.6 or above. Students must take at least six credits in honors courses during their high school career.

Honors:

Weighted GPA of 3.3 or above. No credits in honors courses are required.

Time of registration - All students register for the following year in January. The exact dates each year are determined by District 11 and the administrative needs of Blaine High School.

Schedule Changes - Based on student choices, the final schedule is determined for all three trimesters, and teachers are assigned to specific courses. Because staff is hired and schedules are built based on registration information, students and parents should consider registration choices as final. No schedule changes will be made after a trimester begins unless the request meets one of the following criteria:

• Student failed a prerequisite and is no longer eligible for the course

• Student never took the prerequisite

• Computer error (example: 2- 1st period classes)

• Open period to fill

• Medical reason (requires doctor's note provided to the school)

• Changing to an online version of the course

• PSEO schedule updates

Students are subject to an “F” grade if a class is dropped after the 10th day of the trimester.

Pass/Fail Option can be requested by students for upper-level elective courses only. Maximum pass/fail classes are two, per school year.

Please call Health Services at 506-6604 or 506-6504 if your student is diagnosed with a health condition or illness. A public health school nurse and a health paraprofessional are on duty to assist students. Students should receive a pass from their teachers before leaving class to visit Health Services. Other services available include: vision, hearing, blood pressure and scoliosis screening, health counseling, medical referrals and immunization records. Please send your student with a note to their office professional in the main office to excuse them for a medical appointment. The student will receive a pass to leave during the appointment time. If the student does not have a note, please call the attendance number on page 1 to excuse your student. It is difficult to reach students during the school day for appointments with late notice.

The IMC is open from 7:10 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Our facility has over 22,000 print and non-print media available for student use. You may locate and check availability of our materials by using the IMC catalog.Books are checked out for three weeks and are renewable for the same period. Students need to present an ID to check out materials. Overdue notices will be sent out during class,and students must be cleared of fines to continue IMC borrowing privileges.The IMC subscribes to a variety of periodical databases which students may use in the building and from home. If you have internet access, an information sheet with passwords will allow you to access these databases from home. Pick up this information sheet fromIMC staff. The computers in the IMC are for classes and students working on class projects. Teachers will sign up to use the IMC as a class, and a sign in sheet is available for individual students to use the facility with permission from their teacher. These computers are for school use only and you are expected to follow district and school guidelines for appropriate and fair use of information technology.

For the safety and security of everyone in the building, failure to identify oneself will result in discipline.

The “I (incomplete)” grade indicates that a student has not demonstrated proficiency in the course standards. If you receive an incomplete, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with the teacher to complete the necessary coursework.

School lockers are the property of the school district. Inspection of the interior of lockers may be conducted by school authorities at any time. Students may not share/change the locker that is assigned to them unless authorized by a school official. The school cannot be held responsible for stolen property.

Articles found in and around the school should be turned in to the security desk by the main entrance where the owners may claim their property by identifying it. Unclaimed articles will be donated to local charities.

Lunches and breakfasts are served to Blaine students in compliance with State Department of Education regulations. All students will use their student ID number for school meals

1. No food or drink from our cafeteria is allowed outside of the cafeteria or patio.

2. Students are not allowed to leave campus during lunch.

3. Students may not order food to be delivered during their lunch period.

4. Taking food/items that you have not paid for is considered theft.

5. Be respectful to the environment by cleaning up after yourselves.

6. Students may only attend one lunch period.

7. The cafeteria, patio, and main commons are the only areas open to students during lunch.

Please contact our school office supervisor at 506-6502 to make a request for accommodations to effectively participate in the education of your student. Accommodations may include: TDD at the school office, language interpreters, converted into large print, Braille, audio tape, translations, or architectural accessibility at the school.

A parking permit is required for all vehicles on school days during school hours. Trimester permits will be sold for $35. A limited number of annual permits will be offered for $105.00. Parking lot fees apply to ALL students: Part-time, STEP, PSEO, Work Programs, Internships, etc. There will be more students requesting parking permits than we have spaces available. Permits will be sold in the following order:

1. Seniors, PSEO, Work Program, and STEP will have first access to annual and trimester parking permits over a published period of time.

2. Juniors will have second access to permits over a published period of time.

3. Sophomores will have third access to permits over a published period of time. All remaining permits will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be a limited number of daily parking spaces available for students who need to drive occasionally at the cost of $2.00 per day. Lost or stolen permits may be replaced for an additional cost if parking permits are still available. Students who abuse parking lot rules and regulations may have their vehicles booted with a fine attached and/or lose their permit privileges. Permit fees will not be refunded. Vehicles parking on school property without a valid permit or parked illegally will be warned, and then an immobilization boot will be attached to the vehicle and removed at a $25 fine to the owner. Vehicles on school property are subject to search by school officials. The south lot is reserved for staff; the southwest, northwest and the north lots are reserved for students; the speed limit is 10 mph; park only in marked spaces at all times. Blaine High School is not responsible for damaged or stolen property.

It is expected that student behavior during all pepfests is the same as in the classrooms. Students are expected to show respect for the speakers and their adult supervisors. Pepfests are held in the fieldhouse at 7:40 a.m. Students who choose not to attend must report to the cafeteria.

The Physical Education Department offers a variety of physical education activities so students with health conditions or physical limitations may still participate in phy ed activities. Students who have restrictions need to obtain a doctor’s note indicating specifically what the limitations include and the length of time restrictions are needed. These restrictions are to be brought to health services where the school nurse and the physical education department leader will develop a modified program to fit the student’s restrictions. Short-term or parental excuses need to be brought directly to the student’s physical education teacher, and that teacher will decide upon a course of action. The classroom teacher and the student's support team will work together to develop a plan if the student misses an extended amount of participation time.

Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance on Mondays during the daily announcements. Anyone may elect to not participate. Students must respect another person’s right to make that choice.

Clothing should not distract from the learning environment.

• Undergarments should not be visible.
• Clothing should not promote illegal activities, compromise the safety of students and staff, or be too revealing.
• Headwear should not conceal a person’s identity. Faces need to be visible at all times.

No list can cover all possibilities. You will be asked to change if your clothing is found inappropriate before you can return to class.

• Staff will use the BHSConnect application when assigning student passes. The system requires teachers to select the appropriate type of pass and teachers are responsible for ensuring that they are using the system each time they send a student out of the room.
• Students are allowed 12 passes each trimester.
• Student passes will not be issued to students for the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes of each class period.

A student is considered tardy if he or she is not in class when the bell rings. Being tardy to class is a disruption to the teacher and other students. If a student is more than 15 minutes late to any class, he or she will be documented as an Unverified Partial (UNP) which is counted the same as truancy. Detention, MLC, loss of parking privileges, and/or other consequences will be assigned for continued tardiness to class.

Any student who does not report to class or is more than 15 minutes late (Unverified Partial) to any class period will be considered truant. In addition, Minnesota Statute 260.015 considers a child who has three unexcused absences to be a “continuing truant.” After seven unexcused absences, a report must be filed with Anoka County.

Blaine High School is equipped with video cameras in an effort to maintain the health, welfare, and safety of students, staff, and visitors as well as the protection of school property. Due to data privacy concerns, this video can only be viewed by school personnel.

All visitors must swipe their ID cards to obtain a visitor’s pass at the front entrance. Visitors need to check in at the security desk and the main office before accessing any other parts of the building. Student visitors and alumni are not allowed during the school day.