PRHS Ridge News Issue #17

April 4, 2024-2025

Issue #17

April 7-11: Spring Break

April 22: Quarter 4 Midpoint

April 28-May 2: Milestones EOC Exams

May 5-16: AP Exams

May 13-14: Senior Final Exam

May 20-21: Underclassman Final Exams

May 21: Last Day of School

May 23: Graduation

GCPS Calendar

Student Course Requests for the 25-26 school year can be viewed on StudentVUE. Course requests are tentative and are subject to change. As classes are built and changes are made throughout the coming months, these changes will be reflected live on StudentVUE. If a course becomes unavailable, the student's next choice will be moved in to the Course Request. Course requests will not show teachers, periods, or semesters. Final schedules will be available at the end of July.

Seniors graduating in the spring graduation ceremony must fulfill one of the options below in order to exempt final exams for Quarter 4/Semester 2:

A. An average of 90 or above in a specific subject (in AP courses this would be BEFORE the 10 points added) will exempt the student from that objective final exam only. Applicable performance exams will still be required and will count its full weight.

B. If a student has Honor Graduate status, meaning the student has an overall average GPA of equal to or greater than 90.000 as of the end of Quarter 2, December 2024. The student may exempt all objective final exams, regardless of their average in the class. Applicable performance exams will still be required and will count its full weight.

Students may NOT exempt Georgia Milestones that are required by the state of Georgia and our local school district. Seniors may only exempt the local and district test given on the final exam date.

Senior final exams are May 13 and 14. A form will be available on MyPaymentsPlus for parents complete for any senior exempting an exam. The form will give permission for the student to leave campus early. More information will be available as we draw closer to the end of the school year.

If a student is eligible to exempt an exam, he/she must turn in or pay for lost textbooks, Chromebook and charger to the Media Center on May 14th. Seniors must have cleared all outstanding school-related fines from the Media Center, parking office, cafeteria, sports/clubs, etc. by May 20th.

If a student is eligible to exempt an exam, he/she may still choose to take the exam. If the student decides to take the exam, it will count the same as the final exam for all other students in the class

Please congratulate the following students who are our 2025 GHP Finalists and will be attending the summer residential program at Georgia Southern University this summer!

• Mackenzie Ondre: Dance
• Katie Hayes: Dance
• Aditya Arora: Engineering- Electrical & Computational
• Nicole Lee: Music- Piano
• Gabriella Kim: Music - Strings: Violin
• Eric Shu: Music- Strings: Violin
• Rehani Wijeratne: Theatre
• Seh Hee An: World Languages- Chinese
• Jewelian Lunceford: World Languages- Latin
• Ayesha Rahman: World Languages- Latin
• Alice Oh: World Languages- Latin

Peachtree Ridge Jazz Orchestra presents Night of Jazz in Parson's Ally Downtown Duluth. The concert will be from 7pm-8pm and is FREE! We will feature some classics such as Georgia on my Mind, Someone to Watch Over Me (Ella Fitzgerald), and Spain (Chick Corea) with many more selections to follow. This year we have a vocalist that will truly enhance the overall experience!

Come kick-off spring break with some relaxing vibes.

A popular PRHS tradition for each graduating class, Senior Letters! Letters and note can be dropped off at school starting on April 21st. Please make sure student's full name and ID number is on the envelope. Letters can be dropped off in the vestibule area at the front of the school. Deadline is May 14th. Please contact Elaine Vernon (elaine.vernon@gcpsk12.org) with any questions.

Peachtree Ridge encourages students to volunteer their time to help and assist others. People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. For some it offers the chance to give something back to the community or make a difference to the people around them. For others it provides an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge. See the PRHS volunteer webpage for more information and learn how to receive a graduation cord for volunteering.

2025 Graduates

All volunteer hours must be entered by Monday, May 7, 2025. All hours entered as of this date will be used to determine if you earned a cord.

Buy tickets by April 4th $90 on GoFan.

Last chance tickets start April 14th (price will increase).

The details:

• Prom 2025 will be on Saturday, April 26 at Gas South Ballroom
• Juniors and Seniors are eligible to purchase Prom tickets
• Two tickets can be purchased under one PRHS student ID number

• PRHS Student ID number is the ACCESS CODE to purchase tickets

• Guests must be between 14-20 years old

• Tickets are limited, so purchase soon!

If you have any questions, please email Elaine Vernon at elaine.vernon@gcpsk12.org

Students and parents who would like to learn more about the GA Milestones End of Course (EOC) testing can visit the Experience Online Testing Georgia Website. This practice site is a chance for students to learn more about the structure and content of the Georgia Milestones Assessments, experience online testing, and practice using online tools.

Peachtree Ridge Students will take an EOC at the end of the following courses:

• 11th Language Arts (April 28-29)
• Algebra Concepts and Connections (April 30)
• U.S. History (May 1)
• Biology (May 2)

Yearbooks can be ordered at yearbookordercenter.com #25659. Order by April 27th to be guaranteed a copy.

www.scholasticimages.com

Please visit the Scholastic Images website for your custom Class Rings, Letter Jackets, Senior Packages, and Personalized Announcement orders!

Scholastic Images will be on campus throughout the year during lunches. The next date is Tuesday, April 15th. Cap and Gown will be distributed during all lunches to seniors who have paid senior dues as of April 13th.

Be sure to check out the PRHS Counseling Office eCLASS page. It is students' 24/7/365 resource for all things academic, career, and social/emotional related!

Use the link above to see the full list of college and military visits.

Sports tickets can only be purchased via GoFan with a credit or debit card to home sporting events. To purchase a home ticket for games please click on PRHS GOFAN. Many other schools are also going touch-less for tickets as well. If they are using GoFan, those tickets will also be available under Peachtree Ridge.

February

Halle Broxton- Tennis

Luke Clanahan- Baseball

Coach Alderdice- Lacrosse

The time has come for our annual Physical Day held here at PRHS! Physical Day will be held on 4/14/25 (Monday night after Spring Break) beginning at 5:30pm in the Main Gym. Physicals are conducted by our physician partners at Northside Hospital. The cost is $20 per person. Tickets can be purchased on GoFan. Athletes must buy a ticket ahead of time as we must have an accurate count to properly staff this event. Athletes should come with their history portion of their physical form completed in order to ensure a quick and smooth process. Athletes can print a blank physical form out ahead of time, or use the link below to print one. Mrs. Postma in her office to obtain a blank physical if they are unable to print one. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Blank physical form link

GoFan ticket purchase link

Soccer Tailgate for Senior Night

Tailgate starts at 4 PM

Game starts at 5:30 PM

Schedule: May 13th and 14th

Rising 10-12th graders: 2:30pm-5:00pm

Rising 9th graders: 5:00pm-7:00pm

Must have COMPLETED Rank One Account

Please see the links below to keep up to date on all important senior dates, events, and announcements. There will be a monthly Senior Newsletter as well as the senior website and the senior google classroom.

The March Senior newsletter includes information about the 10 graduation tickets seniors will receive.

• April 2025
• March 2025
• February 2025
• January 2025
• December 2024
• November 2024
• October 2024
• September 2024
• August 2024
• July 2024

Understanding AI

It is important for students to develop an understanding of how AI tools are developed and why they create the results that they do. Students should be critical users of AI, evaluating if and how AI should be used in different settings. Students follow the GCPS Acceptable Use Policy for Students and should follow their teachers’ guidance on the use of AI tools and ask for clarity before using if they are unsure.

Opportunities for Student AI Use

• Aid Creativity: Students might harness generative AI to spark creativity across diverse subjects, including writing, visual arts, and music composition.

• Collaboration: Generative AI tools can support students in group projects by contributing concepts, supplying research support, and identifying relationships between varied information.

• Communication: AI can offer students real-time translation, personalized language exercises, and interactive dialogue simulations. It can also help students consider different ways or tones in which they might communicate an idea or message.

• Additional Practice and Learning: AI can help generate personalized study materials, summaries, quizzes, and visual aids, help students organize thoughts and content, and help review content.
• Thought Partner: Students may use AI to help clarify, summarize, or even analyze their own ideas in development.

Prohibited AI Use

• Bullying/harassment: Using AI tools to impersonate others for bullying, harassment, or any form of intimidation is strictly prohibited. All users are expected to employ these tools solely for educational purposes, upholding values of respect, inclusivity, and academic integrity at all times.
• Overreliance: It is important not to become too dependent on AI tools. These tools lack human insight or understanding of specific situations. Students must continue to practice critical thinking by reviewing and evaluating outputs generated by AI before use. Use of AI should be meaningful and responsible.
• Plagiarism, Cheating, and Misrepresentation: Students should not copy from any source, including generative AI, without prior approval and adequate documentation. Any work that has portions created or sourced from AI and is presented as a student’s original work without citation and/or teacher-approved use of AI is considered plagiarism. Students should always follow teacher guidance on the use of AI and cite their use of AI, when use is allowed. Students should also refrain from using AI to misuse intellectual property or misrepresent the likeness of others.

Learn more about GCPS AI Position

Follow the GCPS Student Tech Tips Playlist for Tech Tips for more information about student Chromebooks.

Go to PTSA Store to purchase a membership for $10. This is a new PTSA webstore.

Parents, students, and teachers aren't the only ones that can join the PTSA. Did you know grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even business owners can join the PTSA as well. There is no limit to how many family members, friends, or business owners can join. Active involvement in the PTSA allows you to stay informed about the school polices and initiatives, ensuring your voice is heard. Please consider joining today.

on Facebook

on Instrgram

855.CommunitySchool@gcpsk12.org

Driver's Education?

SAT/ACT Prep Classes?

Defensive Driving?

ESOL?

Summer PE/Health?

Credit Recovery?

End Zone after-school tutoring?

Facility Rental?

Contact the Community School

ONLINE summer course taught by PRHS instructors. Space is limited!

SIGN UP NOW!

Cost: $500 Dates: June 2-25 No class on June 19

Sign up on MyPaymentsPlus today!

For more info, email: nina.hidalgo@gcpsk12.org

Peachtree Ridge Community School has five different sessions of Driver's Ed schedule for the 24-25 school year.

When does class meet?

Session 4 - June 2-5- Monday-Wednesday, 8AM-4PM, Thursday, 8AM-2PM, in B206

Session 5 - July 14-17 Monday-Wednesday, 8AM-4PM, Thursday, 8AM-2PM, in B206

Do I need to attend every class to earn credit for Driver's Ed?

YES! You must be present at ALL classes to earn credit.

What should I bring to class?

You will need to bring a pencil, water bottle, and dinner or a snack.

What is the deadline to register?

Please see MPP for each session’s deadlines.

When do I get to practice driving?

Students must complete 30-hours of classroom learning, log 20 hours of driving time with a parent, and be comfortable behind the wheel, BEFORE driving time can be scheduled. Driving times are based on instructor and student availability and are scheduled on a first-response basis. We strive to complete driving with students within 120 days from course completion.

What does the class cost?

$450 - in-person class plus 6 hours driving, $385 - 6 hours driving ONLY Additional driving time may be scheduled for $65/hour.

What if I have additional questions?

Contact nina.hidalgo@gcpsk12.org or visit www.gcpsk12.org/Page/26555.

We have a variety of shelf-stable pantry items and some hygiene products available for families in need.

Families are welcome to come shop our CARE closet, or we can prepare bags for them. Our office is happy to have these ready for pick-up or drop-off at a family's residence or a discrete location.

Click here to request food or hygiene items.

If you would like to learn more about the CARE Closet that was started by a former PRHS family, please visit their website: https://carecloset.org/

The End Zone offers after school study space and peer tutoring. You can learn more about the End Zone on the PRHS website. The End Zone will be open Monday-Thursday, 2:30-4:30pm. We also have our End Zone Weightlifting program in the Lions' Den.

Need tutoring? Use this link to sign up for tutoring in the End Zone.

Check out the homepage of the Peachtree Ridge Website for more information from the front office at www.PeachtreeRidge.org about certificates of enrollment, drivers license documents, and transcript requests.