NEWS - FRESHMAN-CLASS of 2028
2024-2025 BACK TO SCHOOL REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
1. Be sure to complete online registration on the shisd.net website
2. ALL students must have a current Proof of Residency at the time of schedule pickup. Also -all fines and fees must be paid and any school materials including Chromebooks and chargers returned before a schedule is released.
3. Freshmen Schedule Pickup - AUG 12th 8:30-9:30
Freshmen Orientation 9:30-10:15 SHHS Gym
Freshmen Meet the Teacher - AUG 12th - 10:15-11:15
INCOMING FRESHMAN NEWSFLASH...
Access to my Website: It is important to learn how to access my website, especially as you move into your senior year. Go to www.shisd.net and follow the link to High School/Faculty Pages/Counselors.
TUTORIALS: “THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY” is available to all students for tutoring, make-up work, earning back time for absences, and access to online credit recovery. Take advantage of this FREE opportunity every Thursday from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm in the high school library.
Morning Tutorials: Some of you may have experienced failure/difficulty due to poor grades in the past. Make sure you are taking care of your business here at school to get your average up to earn the credit for the semester/year. High school morning tutorials begin at 7:45 am & Thursday Night at the Library tutorials are from 4:00-6:00 pm weekly.
Absences – It is your responsibility to come to school. If you are absent from class for whatever reason, get with your teacher to make up your work. State Attendance laws require you to attend school at least 90% of each semester to earn credits. You cannot be successful in your classes if you are not at school!
Download the Spring Hill APP on your smartphone. It is a one stop shop for accessing your grades, the school’s website, Panther Nation, Remind 101, Blue Brigade and more. At the very least, make sure YOU and your parents have access to Skyward family. This is important to view grades, attendance, and class progress. Download the Skyward App on your smartphone.
Your GPA begins in the 9th grade year and English, Math, Science, and Social Studies courses count in the overall GPA. (see the following SHHS school website- http://www.shisd.net/hsinfo.html and go to the COURSE DESCRIPTIONS-high school for more information about GPA) YES, your freshman year absolutely DOES matter. Everything you are doing in class right now will be reflected on your transcript. Take the most rigorous courses offered that you can handle academically. Your GPA begins in the 9th grade. Be proud when I hand you your first transcript for a job well done!
Time management is important. With more and more freedom comes greater responsibility. You must take care of your business. If you miss school for an extracurricular activity, it is YOUR responsibility to get your make-up work. Don’t just assume the teacher is going to hunt you down and beg you to make up your work. ALERT- they won’t. Teachers expect YOU to be responsible for YOU!
You will need 6 credits by the end of your freshman year to enter the 2025-2026 school year as a sophomore. If you don’t earn the credits…. you repeat the class. (or attend summer school!!)
Plan to Graduate on the Distinguished Level of Achievement and know your endorsement: (STEM/BUSINES & INDUSTRY/ARTS & HUMANITIES/PUBLIC SERVICES/MULTIDISCIPLINARY): http://www.shisd.net/hsinfo.html - go back and watch the power-point over "Course Selection-High School" if you can’t remember information about ENDORSEMENTS!
Find your niche in high school. Become involved in some organization at Spring Hill. Your high school experience will be more meaningful if you are a part of a group. No one is going to ask you to join, you must put yourself out there and become a member of one of the many organizations available. The PACK is a great place to start!!!
Again, watch the reputation you are earning in school with your teachers and the school staff. These are the very people you will need to call on for letters of recommendation for college admissions and scholarships your senior year. In fact, if other opportunities arise your freshman, sophomore, and junior years, you might need those letters much sooner. Your behavior counts; school personnel will not write a letter at all or not write a favorable letter of recommendation for someone who has discipline record. Your best behavior counts every day - not just when you want to look good to your teachers.
Be careful of social media (Facebook, Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram). While these outlets may be fun and entertaining to some, they can cause you much heartache if they are abused. Be respectful and mindful of what you post and how you comment. Remember, what you post and how you comment today lasts FOREVER! Employers and college and military recruiters will check your social media accounts and anything damaging can and will come back to haunt you!!!!
Read, read, read, and learn the vocabulary words your teachers are teaching you in class. A good, solid vocabulary foundation is essential for success in college and in the world of work. Being able to write well is certainly essential in college. Being articulate when you speak and write is worth lots of money and respect in your future. The ACT & SAT will test you on vocabulary and reading and these skills are essential to doing well on these college entrance exams. Many students will say "I don't have any homework" but your homework in high school each night should be to go over the notes/vocab that was taken in class that day and to be studying/preparing for any quizzes/tests that are on the schedule. In high school, you may not have a nightly worksheet to complete in each of your classes, but your responsibility to your classwork is to review your class notes daily so that you will be prepared for the next day's lesson.
Visit the College Board website and register at www.collegeboard.org. ****Be sure to put the username and password you create somewhere safe- such as the "Notes" in your Smartphone- because you will have to know these things to log back on in the future. There is a world of free college information here. You can also register for the SAT Question of the Day to be sent to your email. This is great practice for the SAT, and it will only take you about five minutes per day to answer the question, but it will be five minutes towards a good score on the test!
Khan Academy is a FREE online tutorial site linked to the college board. Use it if you are struggling in MATH.
End of Course (EOC) Exams. Remember you have 5 exams that you MUST pass in order to graduate high school (Algebra 1, Biology, English 1, English 2, US History)
Begin writing a resume and update it often. On this resume, you should list all of your school activities, community activities, church activities, honors, awards, volunteer hours and projects, work experience, technology skills, and advanced courses you have taken. Don't leave out a thing! Then when you are ready your senior year to compile a professional resume to attach to your scholarship applications, you won't need to try to recall all that information. You will have it at your fingertips!
Continue to volunteer for school, community and church projects. Record all of these experiences on your resume. This is very important to colleges as some scholarships are based solely on volunteer and community experience. Almost all ask for your volunteer experiences as do college admission applications.
Looking for a volunteer opportunity? - The Longview Public Library is always looking for volunteers, age 13-18, to help in the Youth Department. Students may help with shelving materials, tidying the department, or help with programs for younger children. No experience is necessary and we are more than happy to train volunteers. We offer flexible hours and can work with the student’s schedule. Also, we are happy to prepare recommendations for jobs, colleges or scholarships for our volunteers. If you are interested, contact Monica Wood, the Youth Services Supervisor at (903)237-1027.
Labor Market and Career Information (LMCI) for HB5: For the 28th consecutive year, LMCI will be operating a bilingual toll-free career information Hotline at 1-800-822-PLAN. As an alternative to on-line career information resources, a student call to the Hotline will result in career information for up to three occupations or colleges of their choice; in addition to a handful of useful brochures on financial aid, finding the right job, and a pocket resume.
On-Line Reality Check: There is nothing more motivational than seeing the relevance between educational attainment and your earnings power. Reality Check, www.texasrealitycheck.com, is designed to help you understand the connection between lifestyle aspirations and the importance of postsecondary education. Reality Check allows students to make lifestyle choices, create a budget, and then view the occupations and preferred education levels that support those choices. There is also an APP for That! Reality Check is available FREE in the iTunes store.
Texas CARES (www.texascaresonline.com): This a multi-media career information system, designed to help students interactively address education and career exploration questions. Texas CARES Online is a comprehensive career information system to guide your students through the college and career decision-making process, available to every student free of charge.
Texas Work Prep (www.texasworkprep.com): This is an on-line job search tutorial product. A visit to this site will allow a student to take an on-line course on tips for finding a job (Texas Job Hunters Guide) or being successful on the job (Succeed At Work). Each course takes less than two hours and can be used as an excellent exercise as part of a Career Orientation course.
Looking for a volunteer opportunity? - The Longview Public Library is always looking for volunteers, age 13-18, to help in the Youth Department. Students may help with shelving materials, tidying the department, or help with programs for younger children. No experience is necessary and we are more than happy to train volunteers. We offer flexible hours and can work with the student’s schedule. Also, we are happy to prepare recommendations for jobs, colleges or scholarships for our volunteers. If you are interested, contact Monica Wood, the Youth Services Supervisor at (903)237-1027.
Labor Market and Career Information (LMCI) for HB5: For the 28th consecutive year, LMCI will be operating a bilingual toll-free career information Hotline at 1-800-822-PLAN. As an alternative to on-line career information resources, a student call to the Hotline will result in career information for up to three occupations or colleges of their choice; in addition to a handful of useful brochures on financial aid, finding the right job, and a pocket resume.