HNGA News Brief

We are excited to have welcomed Mr. Scott Kersh and Dr. Darlene Hudson to the HNGA family this past week! Even in their short time at HNGA, they have already positively impacted our school culture and have acclimated themselves to our students, faculty, parents, and guardians! Together, they have nearly 30 years of school leadership experience, and we feel very blessed to have their combined experience as we finish out this school year!

All Habersham County Schools will be closed on Monday, February 21, in observance of Presidents' Day.

Habersham Central has begun the process of registering rising 10th graders for their courses and electives! If you or your student has a question about registration or if you were unable to attend HCHS' Parent Night last week, please contact HCHS' 10th-grade counselor, Dan Keef at DKeef@habershamschools.com.

As students and their guardians are discussing 10th-grade classes, you may want to consider Habersham Central's Advanced Placement (AP) courses. For more information on which AP courses are offered, the AP Capstone Program, which students could be a candidate for AP courses, and answers to other FAQs, please use the links below for more information.

AP COURSES

AP CAPSTONE

In an effort to create and maintain exceptional schools, the Georgia Department of Education has created a Georgia Parent Survey that is available for all parents and guardians of HNGA students. Survey responses will be anonymous and submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education.

The Georgia Parent Survey is also available in Spanish. Parents may select the Spanish version within the survey. The Georgia Parent Survey link is posted below.

Your feedback on the survey is greatly appreciated and will be used to ensure HNGA continues to be a high-performing school.

With only 64 days of school remaining this year, there must be a sense of urgency for students to earn their credits this year. Our goal is for 100% of freshmen to earn 8 credits, with 5 being in their core content courses, plus Health and Personal Fitness. We suggest that parents and guardians use PowerSchool to monitor your student's progress towards the goal of promotion to 10th grade, with a minimum of 5 credits.

Students who are in danger of dropping credits in their core content courses will soon be required to attend our mandatory lunch study hall. We use study hall as a way of holding students accountable for their work, as we attempt to instill in our students that their high school graduation is only earned by doing the hard work.

If you have any questions regarding grades, missing assignments, or make up work, please reach out to your child's teachers for more information.

Congratulations to Laurel Jordan (pictured below with Mr. Leenman) for winning HNGA's prestigious Raider Salute Award, sponsored by Habersham County's Rotary Club. This award is given quarterly, and the recipients must have demonstrated excellence in academics and in service to the community.

Laurel was nominated by her science teacher, Mr. Ben Bolton, for her dedication to her work in Honors Physical Science, her contributions to HNGA through Key Club, and her work with her peers.

Laurel was recently recognized at Rotary for her impressive accomplishments. Way to go, Laurel!

Data shows that a student's attendance in their 9th-grade year is one of the most important indicators of high school graduation. More than test scores, socioeconomics, or 8th-grade data, having good school attendance in one's 9th-grade year automatically puts the student closer to high school graduation.

While it is important to monitor your student's health each day, we ask that if your student has a fever lower than 100.4* and is healthy enough to attend school, that they are at school every day. We work hard each day to create a school culture where students are beating down the doors to get in each day!

HNGA is partnering with The American Heart Association to raise awareness and money to fight heart disease, which causes one out of every four deaths.

Every Friday during the month of February will be a hat day where students can pay $1 to wear their favorite hat in support of the American Heart Association.

Hat Day Stickers will be sold in the cafeteria and in the auditorium before school by members of Student Council.

Students who are enrolled in Foundations of Algebra, Algebra 1, or Geometry have the opportunity to attend after-school math tutoring. Tutoring is available every Monday and Thursday, 3:30-4:30PM.

There is free transportation for all students. Please reach out to your student's math teacher with any questions.

The HNGA dress code is the same dress code as each of the middle schools. This includes pajama pants and bedroom attire. Dresses, holes in jeans, or shorts (for all students) must be no higher than 3" above the knee, as well.

Also as a reminder, sweatshirt hoods are not allowed to be worn in the building as this is a safety issue.

For more information, please reference page 17 of your student's handbook.

Students who continually break the dress code may receive school consequences.

Students are permitted to use cell phones at HNGA for classroom instructional purposes only and only with the teacher's permission.

Parents who need to communicate with their student throughout the day are encouraged to call the front office, where there is also a phone for students to use as needed.

Students may use headphones/earbuds for instructional purposes only, and should not be worn in the hallways, cafeteria, etc.

The consequences for violations of our cell phone policy are as follows:

1st Offense: The student picks up the phone from the front office at the end of the day.

2nd Offense: A guardian picks up the phone from the front office at the end of the day.

3rd Offense: A guardian picks up the phone from the front office at the end of the day plus a day of In School Suspension (ISS).

Habersham Ninth Grade Academy will provide a positive, safe learning community, equipping and empowering students with skills necessary for graduation and post-secondary pursuits.

Email: CFranklin@habershamschools.com
Website: https://hnga.habershamschools.com/
Location: 171 Raider Circle, Mount Airy, GA, USA
Phone: 706-778-0830
Facebook: facebook.com/HabershamNinthGradeAcademy