End of Semester Counseling Updates

We're approaching the halfway point of the school year. With that comes studying for exams and solidifying your semester 1 final grades.

How your semester grade is determined for each class:

• Term 1 (40%) + Term 2 (40%) + Exam (20%) = Final Semester Grade (100%)

Your final semester grade is what will be posted to your official high school transcript.

With semester exams fast approaching, it's time to create a study plan. You should arrange to study in chunks for each class (as opposed to cramming the night before).

Here are some great resources for getting some support while studying for your exams:

• NHS Peer Tutoring - Stop by the Career Center Mondays or Wednesdays after school from 2:10-3:10 or on Tuesdays during all lunches and bring your review or study materials. National Honor Society students will be on hand to help you review and create a study plan. Stop by to see Ms. Parks in the Career Center if you have any questions about getting some help studying.
• "Finessing the Finals" - Freshman Exam Study Sessions - For Freshmen Students Only on January 9th, January 11th, and January 16th from 2:15-3:45pm in the LHS Cafeteria. All 9th graders are invited to attend. Bring your books, study guides, and notes. Snacks provided!

Final Exams will be January 17th-19th and each day will be a half-day for students. The schedule of exams is as follows:

• Wednesday, January 17th - 1st and 4th Hour Exams
• Thursday, January 18th - 2nd and 5th Hour Exams
• Friday, January 19th - 3rd and 6th Hour Exams

All students will have access to 2nd semester schedules on Friday, January 12th in the afternoon. Students may log on to their Student Access accounts and view the schedule. Please check your schedule and contact your counselor before 2nd semester starts if there is an error or issue that needs to be addressed.

Please note:

• Your schedule was created based on your course selections. We work hard to give you everything you wanted to take and designed course offerings around what you selected.
• In order to accommodate almost 1500 student schedules, it is not always possible to give every student each class they requested which means it's possible a course you put as an alternate was scheduled.
• It is common for classes to change hours or teachers in order to accommodate elective class selections. It is not always possible to keep you in the same hour or with the same teacher.
• We try to keep class sizes as small as possible and we have limits as to how many students can be placed in one class or on a teacher's caseload.

We receive many, MANY schedule requests each semester. The majority of these requests are students wishing to change elective courses (which they previously selected) or to be put in a specific hour or with a specific teacher. In order to create full schedules for all LHS students and ensure everyone has their mandatory graduation requirements, most of the time these elective schedule requests cannot be accommodated and are given lower priority.

If you see any of the following on your schedule, you have a scheduling issue that needs to be addressed:

• Your have two courses in conflict (scheduled for the same hour)
• You need a specific course for a graduation requirement that is not currently on your schedule
• You already completed a course on your schedule through summer school or credit recovery (e2020)
• You are missing one or more hours on your schedule (all students must have a full 6-hour schedule)

Please fill out the online Schedule Request Form so that we can organize and address your request as quickly as possible. Please note: We will respond to your request via the email address you provide, so check your email!

You've probably been getting college acceptance letters, debating your options for after high school, and enjoying a busy final year. Don't start slacking now!

You're in the home stretch with just over a semester to go. Attendance is probably the best predictor of how a student will do during senior year. The students who struggle at the tail end of high school are often times the students who struggle to attend regularly.

Your senior year is your last opportunity to prepare yourself as best as possible for what comes next. For many of you that means college, military, training, or starting employment. Make the decisions now that will put you in the best position to succeed during the next chapter of your life.

Parents and students, check out this slideshow/article from US News & World Report focusing on 10 Study Habits for College Bound Teens.

Each year local organizations offer many scholarships specifically for Lakeland students. These scholarships are available to a wide variety of students and focus on different qualities. Some emphasize athletics, some academic achievement, and some extra-curricular activity, some community service.

Check out the LHS Counseling Scholarship & Financial Aid page beginning February 1st to access all of the LHS Local Scholarship applications.

Students A-F - Mrs. Warner

Students G-L - Mrs. Alfano

Students M-Ra - Mr. Dougherty

Students Re-Z - Ms. Rushton