Students and Parents/Guardians,
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and are now rested and renewed for the final stretch of the semester. The campus is full of Christmas spirit thanks to the creativity of our Austin Society volunteers. As the semester comes to a close, the faculty and I applaud the effort of our students throughout this semester. The main purpose of this Academic Update is to make you aware of a few items in anticipation of the weeks ahead and the close of the first semester.
Time Management & Communication
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Managing your time and communicating with your teachers is critical - stay on top of your assignments as the semester closes and exam preparations begin. The finish line is close!
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Utilize your free periods and community time to your advantage.
Exam Information
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Tuesday 12/12 is the last full day of classes. All periods (A-H) will meet that day.
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Study days (12/14 and 12/17-18) allow students more time to focus on each exam day’s subjects and is more collegiate in its design - exam days and study days will alternate.
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For High School students, day one exams will be administered on Wednesday 12/13; Thursday 12/14 will be a study day; day two exams will be administered on Friday 12/15; the weekend 12/16-17 will be study days; day three exams will be administered on Monday 12/18. (
CLICK HERE to download and print the exam schedule).
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For eighth-grade students, the exam day is 12/13. Exams will be administered in Math and English only. Semester one concludes for 8th graders on 12/13. There is no school for 8th grade on 12/15 and 12/18. Merry Christmas! (
CLICK HERE to download and print the exam schedule; this 8th-grade schedule also includes both the standard schedule and the adjusted schedule for students who receive extended time on semester exams).
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All students in grades 9 to 12 who receive extended time on semester exams will follow an adjusted schedule (
CLICK HERE to download and print). The counselors will be communicating with these students by 12/12.
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Each student is required to be on campus to complete his exam during the scheduled time period. A student may arrive late or leave early if he is not scheduled for an exam in a time slot listed on the schedule.
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From the student handbook. EXAMS AND EXEMPTIONS | Only Seniors and second-semester Juniors may be exempt from taking semester or final examinations in non-AP level courses. Exemptions are at the discretion of the faculty member, but may only be given to students who have at least an unweighted 93 average for the entire course. All students enrolled in AP level classes are required to take both a midterm and final exam (typically the CollegeBoard AP Exam.) Should a student elect not to take the CollegeBoard AP Exam, an AP equivalent exam will be administered by our AP teacher; there are no exemptions from AP exams.
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If a student is absent on the day of a scheduled exam, the formal makeup exam day is Tuesday, December 19 with two time slots available: 8:00 am to 9:30 am and 9:45 am to 11:00 am. This is the only day for makeup exams. Please see Mrs. Pippett in the main office of Augustian Hall on 12/19.
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If a student misses an exam (s) on the scheduled day and does not complete said exam(s) on the formal makeup day, an incomplete for the course will be entered on the report card until the exam is completed in January 2024. In this case, the student will need to make up his exam(s) after school on Jan 4th or Jan 5th with me. Note: exams are 75 minutes in length so alternate transportation home will need to be arranged (The student will not be done in time to ride the bus).
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Buses will depart at 2:15 pm each exam day.
Thank you for taking the time to review the exam dates and policies. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me.
Students: Remember, preparation is the key to success! Stay focused and you'll surely excel in your exams. Wishing you the best of luck and tremendous success in the closing weeks of the first semester.
In Augustine,
Mrs. McHugh