9th Grade


Welcome to Piedmont High School!


5 Tips for Freshman to keep in mind for the school year:


  1. Make a plan of what the next 4 years should look like. Think ahead and be positive.

  2. Get involved! Be part of your community by joining a club, sport or volunteering at local events. Don’t just help at your school, be recognized as a superstar volunteer in your community. Colleges, future employers, recruiters etc., all love to see “real involvement”.

  3. Take pride in your work. Did you know that colleges only see your final grade for the semester in the classes that you take? (They do not see your report card grades.) Freshman and sophomore grades are extremely important. These are the grades sent to your potential college. The time starts now, your freshman year, that grades will 100% matter!

  4. Be mindful of the choices that you make. You do not want anything negative to be connected to your high school transcript when submitting to future colleges. Your digital “footprint” matters too. Believe it or not, colleges, places of employment, the military, etc, all can follow you on social media and make decisions off of what they see.

  5. Begin to research colleges or places you would like to be employed with. Look at what is required of you in order to be accepted at each college or to work there. Not all colleges or jobs you are interested in will have the exact program you may want to pursue. Meet with your counselor to talk about your options and opportunities.

8 Things I Wish I Knew as a High School Freshman

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-things-i-wish-i-knew-as_b_7829766


Freshman Parent Survival Guide

Did you know that you can keep track of your students grades through Powerschool? Make sure that you check this site weekly so you do not receive any surprises at the end of the 6 weeks. https://ucps.powerschool.com/public/home.html

Not sure of drop off or pick up times with your bus route or if there is a substitute driver? Sign up for "Here comes the bus". Here comes the bus is a bus App that allows you to get notifications of any transportation changes and can notify you when the bus is near your house. https://herecomesthebus.com/

Does is seem like your child runs low on lunch money often? Check out the UCPS prepay.com website. This site allows you to add money to their lunch account and it also shows exactly what your child is spending your money on each day. https://www.k12paymentcenter.com/

Parents should feel free to e-mail teachers anytime there is a question about performance or behavior. E-mail is one of the best ways to keep track of student performance.

Take advantage of Piedmont High’s tutoring program on Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30 to 4:00.

North Carolina Exit Standards

Be sure to review the high school exit standards for public schools of North Carolina.

Visit this website and view pages 14-20 for easy to understand flow charts.

Beginning freshman year, students are working diligently to meet these requirements in preparation for graduation!


Things to know/do as a Freshman:

  • You must pass three out of four classes to get your driver’s license.

  • You can only miss 7 days in a class. If you miss more than 7, you do not pass the class.

  • Make better grades in my 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. These are the grades that colleges will initially see.

  • Be more active in community service and extracurricular activities. This helps you stand out on college applications.

  • How to compute your GPA- Add your quality points and divide by the number of classes. Quality points are points awarded to you for the grade you made in a class.

GPA Quality Points:

CP Honors AP

A=4 A=4.5 A=5

B=3 B=3.5 B=4

C=2 C=2.5 C=3

D=1 D=1.5 D=2

Grading Scale:

A: 90-100

B: 80-89

C; 70-79

D: 60-69

F: 59 and below