Freshmen
Note from the Guidance Office
Welcome to Progress High School for Professional Careers! (What, did you think you were done after middle school? Not a chance!)
High school can be a fun and exciting place to learn, make friends, and try new things as you grow into a more mature, more adult person.
But with these exciting opportunities comes responsibility. There’s going to be work. Studying, homework, papers, exams – you’re going to have to keep up if you want to succeed. Your teachers expect a lot from you.
The good news? You’re totally capable of achieving everything you want, and the Guidance Office is here to help. If you’re having a problem with schoolwork, friends, relationships, or even your parents, your Guidance Counselor can steer you onto the right track.
High school can be scary, but it can also be fun and exciting. Whatever it is, it will be “home” for the next four years. Let us help you find your place and your path, and let’s start by reading this handy booklet together!
Sincerely,
Your Guidance Team
Graduation Requirements
|
|
Regents Diploma |
Advanced Regents Diploma |
|
English |
8 |
8 |
|
Social Studies Distributed as follows: Global History (4) U.S. History (2) Participation in Government (1) Economics (1) |
8 |
8 |
|
Science (including lab) Distributed as follows: Life Science (2) Physical Science (2) Life Science or Physical Science (2) |
6 |
6 |
|
Mathematics Including at least 2 credits of advanced math (e.g., Geometry or Algebra II). |
6 |
6 |
|
Language Other Than English (LOTE) |
2 |
6 |
|
Visual Art, Music, and/or Theater |
2 |
2 |
|
Physical Education (Every Year) |
4 |
4 |
|
Health |
1 |
1 |
|
Electives |
7 |
7 |
|
Total |
44 |
44 |
As a freshman, you will be taking classes in English, Global History, Math, Foreign Language, Life Science, and Physical Education.
9TH GRADE COUNTS FOR COLLEGE!!!!!!
Optimizing School Sports
Progress High School has a number of athletic teams that you can try out for. There’s baseball, basketball, golf, handball, track, soccer, softball, and wrestling. Whatever you are into, there is a team for that!
Do you want more friends or better friends? If so, sports and clubs are a great place to meet a new best friend or maybe even a future prom date!
Progress also have a few clubs that you can join. Clubs are a great way to make friends and stay involved, and they look great on your college applications. Try out a bunch of clubs to see what you like and who you connect with.
Career Paths
You’re a teenager. You may feel like an adult, but the adult responsibilities are still a few years away. Whew! However, now is a great time to begin thinking about what you want to do once you “grow up”, because high school is the time to prepare for your future!
VIDEO GAME DESIGNER
Video games are big business and are becoming more and more mainstream – this is a career path with a future! Video game designers need to have a high school degree, and most large studios require a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college.
Students who are interested in this type of job should pursue computer science. Popular colleges with classes in video game design include technical schools like MIT, Rochester Institute of Technology, NYU, and Drexel.
As a high school student, you can start by learning about computer programming basics. It also helps to Wait, you’re telling me I could MAKE MONEY playing video games? stay current with new video games, but don’t let your hobby distract you from your studies – passing multiple math and science Regents exams is a must!
PSYCHOLOGIST/THERAPIST/PSYCHIATRIST
Being a therapist is an enriching career that allows you to help others and make a good living, and there is always a need for empathetic and caring people.
There are a few different ways to become a therapist. Therapists can be social workers, psychologists, mental health counselors, or psychiatrists. All of these professions require graduate school, which takes place after you graduate from a four-year college.
It takes two extra years to become a social worker, five extra years to get a doctorate in psychology, and eight years of graduate study to become a psychiatrist.
But don’t let these numbers scare you off! Being a therapist is a rewarding career, and there will always be people who need your help.
ENTREPRENEUR
Entrepreneurs are people who start businesses. They make their money by discovering the next big thing before it gets big.
Although no degree is required to be an entrepreneur, a background in business can be very useful. You can study business at a four-year college, or go to graduate school after college to receive a Masters in Business Administration.
You will also have to take economics as a senior in order to get a head start on understanding complicated concepts. Internships and summer jobs can give you an edge too and they look great on your college application.
SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVE
Technology moves so fast these days that it’s hard for some grown-ups to keep up. Not so for high school students! Still, no one knows what may be the next Facebook, Vine, or Instagram. The next Mark Zuckerberg could be walking the halls of FDR today – it could even be you! One thing is for sure – social media is big business, and it creates a lot of jobs.
There are tons of different ways to work in social media. Look for jobs in digital marketing or public relations, either at a marketing agency or within a large company. Social media also creates a lot of customer data that can be very valuable to companies and needs to be analyzed.
If you’re interested in social media, you can start by taking more math and science classes. Statistics and algebra are especially important when working with data. Knowing a bit about computer programming can also go a long way in the digital age!
CHEF/RESTAURATEUR
Everyone loves to eat, but some people have a special passion for cooking food and making delicious meals for others. If you’re one of these people, you could join the exciting world of restaurant owners and professional chefs. After graduating high school, chefs go to culinary school, which is a two-year program that teaches you everything you need to know to slice, dice, simmer, and sauté your favorite foods.
Chefs can work in restaurants, hotels or even for big companies. Once you have some experience in the kitchen, you can start to think about owning your own restaurant!
Restaurant owners not only need to know about cooking, but how to budget, hire employees, and run a business. You could end up owning the next hot restaurant in New York, and you could even end up on TV!
DOCTOR
Does this profession even need an introduction?!?
Depending on what you’re interested in, there are tons of different kinds of doctors out there. If you like working with kids, you could be a pediatrician. Sports doctors work with athletes to help them stay physically fit and on top of their games. Oncologists help people fight cancer, and you could be one of them, working on the cure!
It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to become a medical expert. Doctors need to graduate high school and go to a four year college, where they take classes in math and sciences (also called pre-med classes). After they graduate, there’s more studying in medical school. Once they finish their classes, doctors get even more training while working during a residency. It’s a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day, you’ll have an exciting, important job that earns a lot of money. Pretty good deal!
LAWYER
Another profession that needs little introduction…
Lawyers have an extremely important role in today’s society. They help put criminals behind bars, help defend the innocent, speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves, and make sure that justice is being done.
Being a lawyer takes a lot of training. After high school, lawyers go to four-year colleges. When they graduate, they must go to law school, where they spend another three years learning about how the legal system works and how different laws are made, applied, and interpreted.
ARE YOU NOTICING A PATTERN?? If you want to get a really cool and interesting job, you should go to college!
To go to the college of your choice, it will be very important to study and get good grades and test scores throughout high school. Start forming good study habits NOW and you’ll be off to a great start!
It’s also never too early to start college planning by researching the job of your dreams and finding out which colleges are strong in those areas. Be prepared. Have a plan.
You can also get a jump on your future through some nonprofit groups. Groups like The Children’s Aid Society and Good Shepherd Services offer mentoring services and programs to help you stay on track for college.
Freshman Year Tips
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Get involved in community service through your school and your community! Community service looks great on your college application because it shows that you care about helping other people. Colleges love that.
SPORTS
Progress High School has nearly 20 different sports teams, from basketball to handball to track. Participating in sports looks great to colleges because it shows that you have the discipline to practice and that you can work well with others.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Struggling in class? Having trouble getting your homework done at home? Progress High School offers extra help in every subjects, during your Lunch or After School, and has a homework club after school to give you a quiet place to work.
PASS ALL YOUR CLASSES!
If you want to go to a good college, you have to pass your classes, right? Do we even need to say it? Remember, colleges will look at ALL four years of your transcript, and it’s much easier to keep a high average than it is to fix a low one.
Do yourself a favor by spending some extra time studying for each and every one of your Classes. Focus especially on reading & vocabulary words and Mathematics – this will help you out when you need to take the SAT or ACT your junior year.
Examples of things to avoid?
Don’t Cut Class
Seriously. Going to class is really important if you want to maintain a competitive average and pass your classes. Think of it this way – if you stay in class, you’ll have a higher chance of graduating in just 4 years. By age 21, you can be off at college and working towards a job you want!
Stay Away From illegal Activities
You know what these are…things that can land you in the hot seat with the police! Having a police record makes it much harder to get into college, and you’ll have to explain each time you go for a job interview. Not breaking the law is an easy way to make sure your future stays as bright as it can.
Resist Negative Peer Pressure
Any of your friends who would pressure you to do any of these “bad” things aren’t the greatest of friends. Perhaps your friend just needs guidance from a smart Cougar like yourself – don’t be afraid to speak up for what’s right! Good influence is contagious!
What does your IEP mean?
IEP stands for Individualized Educational Program. It’s a plan put together by your parents and educational specialists to make sure that you get all the academic support and resources you need.
In New York State, more than 1 out of every 6 students has an IEP – in some schools, it’s around 1 out of every 4!
Tons of famous people would qualify for IEPs if they were in school today – actor Tom Cruise, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, chef Jamie Oliver, and President John F. Kennedy, to name a few. So if you have an IEP, you’re in good company!
Having an IEP does not hurt your chances of getting into college. An IEP can give you extra time on tests and SATs, and it may help explain lower grades or test scores.
English Language Learners Resources
Helpful Links for Families of English Language Learners:
¡Colorín Colorado!
A Bilingual website for families and educators of English Language Learners:
United States Department of Education Toolkit for Hispanic Families
Provides information about how you can help build your child's reading and language skills during the early years of life. Reading well is at the heart of all learning. Without the ability to read, children can't succeed in school.
Roadmap to College for English Language Learners/Multilingual Learners
This website delivers a guide for English Language Learners/Multilingual Learners on how to prepare for college and the steps required to achieve the desired goal.
New York Immigration Coalition
The New York Immigration Coalition aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. The New York Immigration Coalition promotes immigrants’ full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.