Waterloo High School Student - Parent Handbook

Students:

Welcome to  Waterloo High School.  It is our hope that you will approach this year with enthusiasm to learn and a determination to succeed.

You are being provided with this Student Planner to help you make efficient use of your time.  Students succeed in school when they organize their time, develop good study habits, maintain good attendance, and participate in extra-curricular activities.  Your Student Planner provides you with student handbook information, space to record short-term and long-term homework assignments, and an area to list all school extra-curricular activities. 

We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities available to you at Waterloo High School.  Be positive, make friends, enjoy learning, and you will be successful.  Have a great year!  

This handbook serves as a general guideline to school procedures.  Situations may arise during the year that are not addressed here, and it may become necessary to amend certain provisions. 

Tim Kreinberg , Principal
Chris Clemons, Assistant Principal

Waterloo Loyalty

Our voices sing loyalty to you
Dear old Waterloo
Colors of our Alma Mater,
We salute you too
And as we go marching down the years
Through life’s joys and tears
Your spirit guides
Your shelt’ring hand o’er us still cheer.
So let us
Send out a cheer
For dear old Waterloo High.
Shouts shaking thunder down from the sky.
Cheer on our colors, bright orange and black,
And pile up those goals
We’re behind you every Jill and Jack.
So, fight on boys, fight,
We know you’ve got what it takes
Vict’ry will come to you
But win or lose, be a regular guy
For that’s the spirit of Waterloo High.

Class Schedule

Guidance Services 

Guidance services are available for every student in the school.  These services include assistance with educational planning, interpretation of test scores, study skills, help with home, school and/or social concerns or any question the student may feel he/she would like to discuss with the counselor.  Students may not miss classes in order to meet with the counselor except in emergency situations.  Students wishing to visit the counselor should contact his / her guidance counselor in to arrange for an appointment.

Advanced Placement:  Advanced Placement (AP) is a program of college level courses and exams for secondary students.  Over 90% of colleges and universities give credit and/or advanced placement to students whose AP Examination grades are considered acceptable.  WHS does not offer any courses that totally follow the AP curriculum.  WHS does offer honors classes that may prepare students for AP Tests.  They are:  American History CH, American Problems CH, College English CH, Spanish IV H, German IV H, and Calculus H.  Early second semester, students in these classes may elect to take the AP Exams.  The tests are scored on a 5-point scale:  5 (extremely well qualified), 4 (well qualified), 3 (qualified), 2 (possibly qualified), and 1 (no recommendation).  The majority of colleges and universities accept scores of “3” and many accept scores of “2”.  The fee for the test ($70 to $80) must be paid at the time the test is taken.  There are no refunds once the seal of the test is broken.  Some colleges and universities grant up to a full year of college credit through AP testing.

Auditing a Class: Students who earn a “D” in a class that is a prerequisite for a more advanced class are encouraged to “audit” (retake) the prerequisite class in order to better prepare themselves before continuing with the more difficult class.  When auditing a class, students will receive academic credit toward graduation, and grades earned will count toward GPA, honor roll and class rank.  Students must have permission from their guidance counselor in order to audit a class.

Change of Address: Changes in student addresses or phone numbers should be reported to the Guidance Office as soon as possible. 

College Credit Courses

St. Louis University offers twelve semester hours of credit at Waterloo High School through its 1-8-1-8 Program.  Students taking these courses may transfer these credits to most but not all colleges or universities.  Check with your counselor for information on which colleges accept these credits.  Students enrolled in the 1-8-1-8 classes must take all semester exams even if the student is not earning college credit. 

Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to take these classes.  Tuition for these classes must be paid to St. Louis University.  A grade of  “C” or higher must be earned if college credit is to be awarded.   Age restrictions may apply.  See the guidance office for details.

The WHS courses taught through St. Louis University:

Southwestern Illinois College classes taught during the normal school day are tuition free. Classes taught through Southwestern Illinois College: 

Southwestern Illinois College courses taught as “Early Bird” classes are for college credit only if prior arrangements are made through guidance.  Classes taught outside the normal school day are taught by teachers employed by the college and require the student to pay tuition to SWIC.  Students are responsible for purchasing their own textbooks.  Classes taken outside the normal school day from SWIC are transferable to any college that accepts community college credits.  Age restrictions may apply.  See the guidance office for details.

*SWIC placement test must be taken prior to enrollment in this class.

College Entrance Requirements: The following high school subjects are required of freshmen entering Illinois community college transfer programs and public universities:

For admission to most selective colleges, and for math and science majors, 4 years of math and science are recommended.  The criteria for college admission are grade point average, rank in class, college admission test scores, academic courses taken in high school, and participation in extra-curricular activities.  Specific entrance requirements vary according to the college and degree pursued.  It is the responsibility of the student to make sure they have taken the appropriate high school courses required by their specific college program or technical school.

Early Graduation

Students must complete seven semesters of high school and complete all requirements before they may graduate.  Students having met all the requirements for graduation will be considered for early graduation only if the following criteria has been met: 

The student has PSAE scores in the “meets or exceeds” category. The student has a cumulative attendance history of 10% or less absence rate. The student has registered and is enrolled in a junior college program, enlisted in the military; has been accepted into a vocational apprentice program, or has a unique family hardship situation.  Each hardship case will be acted upon independently. Students may not use correspondence credit to graduate early.

Early Release / College Attendance

Seniors may be released early in the day to attend college classes at Southwestern Illinois College.  Students granted early release must pass all current classes, have a “meets or exceeds” the Prairie State Exam, have a 95% attendance rate, and have an excellent discipline record.  

Extra Course Credit

When granting credit to the Waterloo High School students for work done outside of the regular Waterloo curriculum, the Waterloo Board of Education establishes the following policy:

A student can earn a maximum of two credits in these four categories: night class, college class, Virtual High School or correspondence class.  Credit will also be given for approved summer session classes.  No credit will be given for life experiences, military or proficiency tests.  All classes for credit must have the approval of the High School Principal prior to enrollment in the class.  Proof of passing the course must be submitted to the Guidance Counselor or Principal.  Regardless of a student’s outside-of-school classes, a student must maintain a full class schedule at Waterloo High School.

Financial Aid for College

Students who want to continue their education beyond high school should not be discouraged because of lack of money.  The state and federal government uses financial need as a primary criterion for giving or loaning money to students.  For information about grants, loans, scholarships and applications to college, see your guidance counselor.  All applications must be returned to the Guidance Office at least five days prior to the deadline.  

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The total number of honors credits that will be counted for GPA is limited to 16.5.  At the end of 6 semesters students having a GPA above 4.0 may drop any “A” from their GPA calculation in excess of 14 credits.  At the end of 7 semesters it is 17.5 credits; and at the end of 8 semesters, it is 21 credits.  The purpose of this option is to allow students to take as many electives as they wish to and not have their GPA lowered by making an “A” in an non-honors class.  Students with straight A’s taking a heavier load of honors classes early in high school may temporarily have a class rank that is better than students who take the same honors classes later.  Final class rank is based on the cumulative GPA after 8 semesters.  Beginning with the class of 2005 speeches will be given at graduation by the two valedictorians with the greatest number of A+ grades.

Grading System: Letter grades are issued at the end of each quarter on the following scale:

                                  Points     Grade  Regular Points  Honors Points

                                 99-120       A+                 4.0      4.5

                                 94-99         A                   4.0      4.5

                                 92-93         A-                  4.0      4.5

                                 90-91         B+                 3.0      3.5

                                 87-89         B                   3.0      3.5

                                 85-86         B-                  3.0      3.5

                                 82-84         C+                 2.0      2.5

                                 76-81         C                   2.0      2.5

                                 73-75         C-                  2.0      2.5

                                 71-72         D+                 1.0      1.0

                                 67-70         D                   1.0      1.0

                                 65-66         D-                  1.0      1.0

                                 60-64         F+                    0        0

                                 50-59         F                      0        0

                                 0-49           F-                     0        0

                                 I                Temporary Grade

(The letter “I” is used to indicate incomplete work.  It is used only in cases where circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as illness, have made it impossible for the student to meet course requirements.  The “I” is changed to an “F” if the required work is not completed within the amount of time set by the teacher (within two weeks).