Welcome to High School!
Whether you are the parent of a high school Freshman or simply new to Pickens High, you will find valuable information here. Entering high school is a major milestone for every child and their parent or caretaker, and it can have its fair share of challenges. One thing we hear a lot from parents and caretakers is, “Things have changed so much since I was in high school.” Yes, they have! The following page contains information that can help you navigate some basics in the world of high school.
You won’t find a definitive supply list for the entire 9th grade as you have for past grades because most students are taking different combinations of classes. In fact, very few classes at the high school level have specific material requirements, and these will be listed in the syllabus at the start of the course.
In high school, organization is key.
Start with the Basics:
Binders (1” or 1.5”) for each core class
Filler paper
Dividers
Pens/Pencils
Colored Pencils
Highlighters
Folders
Notecards
Planner/Agenda
These can boost your organization:
Hole punch to fit in your binder
Dividers with built-in pockets (or just punch holes in pocket folders)
Mini Stapler
Flash Drive / USB storage
Post-it notes or page markers
Paperclips
Expanding file (to store old tests and papers at home)
A note on Agendas:
PHS does not provide agendas to students, but I highly recommend that every student use some type of planner. Students believe that they can hold every detail of their day and upcoming work in their memories, but this isn’t realistic.
A good planner doesn’t have to be expensive. Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart have a good selection of planners and pocket calendars with monthly or daily pages.
Some students prefer to use a digital planner on their cell phones, but in my experience few actually remember to use these since their phones are full of so many great distractions.
The best planner is one that your child will actually use. Please take the time to help them find one that will work for their personal style. Planning and organizing are important skills for adulthood and they are skills that must be taught and practiced.
A note on Organization:
Just like with agendas, the best organization system is one that your child will actually use. One key is to keep it simple. Here are some ideas:
Use a separate 1” binder for each class.
Papers that need to be turned in can go in the front pocket of each binder.
Have a “shove it” folder for papers that don’t get filed away during class. Make it a habit to help your child go through the folder every day and put papers where they go.
Every few weeks, have your child empty out their bookbag and organize everything. We all need to reset from time to time!
Remember that most teenagers are just disorganized by nature; they need your help to learn these habits. You could organize everything for them and have a perfect system in place, but they need to learn how to practice these skills in a way that will work for them. Give guidance and show them how you organize and plan things; and make getting organized and planning for the week a family activity.
Pickens High School and the School District of Pickens County use several means of sharing information and keeping in contact with parents and guardians!
Schoology - Schoology is our most important communication tool. It gives parents/guardians 24/7 access to their child's grades, serves as your child's "teacher pages" with notes and assignments, allows parents/guardians and students to directly message their teachers, and is our platform for making general daily announcements. You can access Schoology from a computer or as an app on your smart phone.
For each student, there is a parent account and a student account. If your child attended a SDPC school last year, their account moved up with them and your parent/guardian login information will be the same. Otherwise, information will be shared either at registration or during the first week of school on how to access your account.
Student and parent accounts may be slightly different. You may not be able to view all of the content that your child can. When in doubt, have them log into Schoology from their Chromebook.
More information about Schoology can be found on the SDPC website.
We need every parent/guardian to have access to their Schoology account so that you are informed and involved in your child's education. If you have issues with your Schoology login, please contact our data entry specialist.
Email/Text - Announcements and updates from SDPC are often shared via email, text, and even on Facebook.
Emailing staff - Email may be the fastest way to communicate with teachers, administrators, or other school staff. You can find a list of teacher email addresses on the PHS website.
Report Cards - Report cards are sent home with students. Please refer to the school calendar for those dates.
High schools within the School District of Pickens County are operating this year on a hybrid schedule, combining the Semester Block schedule with A-Day/B-Day scheduling. The goal of this is to strive to help all students be successful. Experience has shown us that many students benefit from the Semester Block schedule, but many programs and classes work better on a yearlong schedule.
You can view a video on how to read your child's schedule here. Here are some quick notes about the Hybrid Schedule:
Students still have the opportunity to earn 8 credits each school year.
There are still 4 periods in the school day.
Morning classes (1st & 2nd periods) will be Semester Block. Students will attend these classes every day during the semester.
Afternoon classes (3rd & 4th periods) will be A-Day/B-Day. These classes will last the entire year and will alternate back and forth between A-days and B-days.
Due to the alternating nature of the A-Day/B-Day schedule, students may have up to 6 classes at a given time, but will still only have 4 classes each day.
Students in South Carolina must earn 24.0 credits in order to graduate. You will receive much more information about this at your child’s Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) meeting later this year, and we will help your child track their progress toward graduation every year. (Please note that the Personal Finance requirement begins with the Class of 2027).
4.0 English
4.0 Mathematics
3.0 Science
1.0 US History
0.5 Economics
0.5 US Government
1.0 Other Social Studies
1.0 PE / JROTC / Marching Band 1
1.0 Computer Science
1.0 Foreign Language OR Career &
Technology class
0.5 Personal Finance
6.5 Elective credits
= 24.0 Credits