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High School 2016 – 2017 – 10th Grade
A Year goes by fast and trying to remember what was done throughout the past year isn’t so easy. Here is the High School Tenth Grade recap for 2016 – 2017. My son, T has been doing well in school from the get go. He isn’t a genius by any means. He just does well. He is ranked in the top 25 of his High School and probably ranked the same in Elementary and Middle School. There were no rankings for Elementary of Middle School but that’s just my guesstimate.
High School Tenth Grade Academics
My son this past year took the following:
- Algebra II
- World History A.P.
- Physics I A.P.
- English Honors
- Spanish Pre- A.P.
- Orchestra
Don’t really count P.E. but he received an A in that as well. He ended up with an A average unweighted.
What is weighted and unweighted G.P.A. ?
Here is a quick explanation on unweighted and weighted. Unweighted is your actual average for all your classes from a scale of 4.0 to 1.0. The 4.0 is the highest and equals an A. However, many kids take Honors and A.P. classes and there needs to be a differentiation on harder classes to regular classes. The honor classes are given a higher percentage and the A.P. classes are given a higher percentage than honor classes. Depending on the school it can go up past 4.0 for weighted.
Why is this done?
This is done so the kids that are taking harder classes get rewarded for taking hard classes. If there was no weight given to more challenging classes then kids taking easier classes would most likely have higher G.P.A.’s. This is very important for schools in ranking kids highest to lowest. Who really is #1, #2, etc.. Colleges want to know the rankings of prospective applicants. The better colleges use rankings as an important factor in admissions.
What are EC’s?
Extracurricular activities are basically Activities that go above and beyond regular school work. There are various activities that can be placed in this category such as sports, music and arts, volunteering, work, writing, etc. I will go through what my son does and you can extrapolate into what your child does or will do. There really isn’t any activities that trump any others. However, from all the research I’ve done, colleges LOVE it when you show an absolute passion for one or two and excel at them.
My son’s EC’s:
- Cello
- Swimming
- Volunteering
Music – Cello
My son has been playing cello since the 2nd grade. This is connected to one of the volunteering activities that he participates. He was able to start playing in the Youth Orchestra in our County since the 4th Grade. Throughout the following years he’s skill level has increased to a really high level. This past year he finished 7th year with the County Orchestra. He’s the best in his High School, which is going a long way in his standing in our city. We love everyone that is in our School District’s Music and Arts Departments. They are our son’s biggest advocate and go out of their way to help him.
Competitions
My son entered into three competitions this past year. He placed first, finished top 5 and didn’t place in another. They were all good learning experiences in a multitude of ways. The excitement of winning was great in he won a Grand Prize of $500 and played with a full orchestra. Not placing in music competitions seem to be based on many factors such as talent, hard work and skill. What we learned this past year is that it also depends on the judges as well as the music piece you perform. (If you want to learn more about that email me and I’ll let you know more.)
Swimming
This past year my son swam for his High School Swim Team for the fourth year. He no longer swims competitively on club teams. (If you want the whole story read it here.)
Volunteering
My son has been volunteering for the past two years at two different places. The first is at a Science Camp at his old Middle School during the summer. He participated in it while he was in Middle School for all three years. He built a great rapport with teacher who ran it and was invited to volunteer as a high school mentor.
The second group that he volunteers for throughout the school year is the place he first learned to play cello. Again, with this group he wanted to give back to the place that helped him get started in a very important part of his life. He helps in teaching cello to young kids every week. Also during the school year there are fundraisers that he is asked to play. He makes sure to play in all of them.
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