Attention all upper classmen. You know who you are. It was freshman year and you just thought that there would always be time to do things like, homework, study for tests, class work and all the other things you needed to do to pass your class. Adjusting to high school life was difficult for many of us. However, just because you messed up doesn’t mean that you are not going to graduate.
One of the items that will help PHS become the number one school in New Jersey is getting our graduation rate numbers up. PHS is therefore offering various ways to make up your credits. Some of these ways you probably know about and others are new, so you might not have heard about them yet. Summer school has been around for a long time, but sitting in a hot overcrowded class is not conducive to learning. In an effort to help students regain their lost credits during the regular school year there are other opportunities.
The newest addition to PHS’s credit recovery game plan is Saturday morning classes. They start at 8:00 and end at noon. The good news is that you do not have to wear your uniform, but you do need to wear your id. What better way is there to make up a class, that you should have passed already, than to get up and do it on a Saturday morning when you would just be sleeping in anyway.
The first step is to go to your guidance counselor and sign up. Then, you will need to get a permission slip signed by your parent in order to take this class. I am sure your parents will be happy that you are making good use of your Saturday mornings and not just watching tv or sleeping in.
Some other opportunities for credit recovery are the period 9 classes. These were offered last year too, and every year the number of students in this program and also the percentage of students who are passing these classes continues to rise. PHS is well on its way to becoming number one through these programs that will allow students to achieve as much as possible. Period 9 is a relatively painless way for us to get credit for a class without coming to school an extra day. Go to guidance and get signed up for any of the period 9 classes being offered.
One of the key goals of this school is to get the graduation rate for this year above 75 percent. However, the school can’t just do this on its own. It will take all of us working together to achieve this objective. If you need a class, go get it done. No one will do it for you. PHS is giving us all the opportunities we need to succeed, so let’s take advantage.
By Mitzi Montilla
