POLICY REGARDING PLACEMENT INTO THE ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAMS

It is the responsibility of each student to sign up for the AP class they are interested in. No counselor or teacher will pre-register any student into any weighted class without a student initiated request.

Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (academic unweighted)

Students must have their English 10 or World History teacher fill out the placement form.

A grade of “C” or less in any core English or Social Studies class will eliminate the individual from consideration.

A social studies and English designee will sort the applications and give the registrar a list of the top 22 students based on their unweighted GPA.. The remaining qualifying individuals will be placed on a waiting list. In the case of a GPA tie, the teacher placement forms will be used to break the tie.

Three class slots will be left open for summer “move-ins.” These individuals will have to qualify the same way as the returning student body. If a class does not have the required 25 student enrollment at the start of the school year, the waiting list will be used to fill the class.

ATTENDANCE

California law requires a youth from age six to eighteen to attend school full time unless he/she has graduated, received a certificate of proficiency, or is otherwise legally excused from full time attendance.

The Morongo Unified School District Policy states that ninth through twelfth grade students may not have more than nine unexcused absences per semester per course. If the nine days of unexcused absence per course is exceeded, the student will not receive credit for the course. Students are considered to have an excused absence from school when he/she is sick, has a medical or dental appointment, or is attending a funeral of a member of the pupil’s immediate family. Absences for almost all other reasons are considered unexcused, even if the absences are requested or approved by the pupil’s parent/guardian.

For each absence, a written note, signed by a parent/guardian, giving the day of the absence and the specific reason for the absence, is to be turned into the attendance office before 7:10 a.m. on the first day a student returns from an absence. Parents may also call the attendance office at 367-9591 to clear absences. Failure to do so results in an unexcused absence with assigned consequences. Parents or guardians are expected to clear full day unexcused absences within two weeks. Single period unexcused absences cannot be excused by a parent once the student has arrived at school. The Administration will require a doctor’s note if absences due to illness become excessive, even though they are cleared by a parent. This is due to a concern for a chronic health issue that could become a danger to other students if not addressed by the parent and the student. Any unusual health conditions that are not covered by the regular attendance policy should be brought to the attention of the attendance clerk and the administration.

A student who is absent from class or school without the prior consent or knowledge of the parent/guardian is truant. Truant students shall be assigned Saturday School for the truancy. Students who leave campus without permission are considered truant, and those absences will not be cleared. Daytime Loitering tickets for juvenile court may also be issued by administration for students who are truant.

Students who have more than six unexcused absences in any one class will not receive semester credit for that class. Students may earn back time from unexcused absences by attending Saturday School for the amount of time they have been marked unexcused.

Students with continued absences will be referred to the School Attendance Review Team/Student Consultation Team. The student will be offered opportunities to improve school attendance. However, if the student continues to be truant and/or absent, he/she will be referred to School Attendance Review Board (SARB) to consider stronger measures. For more information regarding SARB, please contact the High School.

Tardies

When the student is late, the discipline matrix consequences will be enforced.

Off Campus Permits

The Twentynine Palms High School is a closed campus all day including during the lunch periods. Students must obtain permission from the front office prior to leaving campus during the school day. A note from a parent or guardian is to be presented to the Attendance Office before an Off-Campus pass will be issued. When returning to campus, students must check in through the Attendance Office before going to class. While we understand that there may be a special occasion (i.e. birthday etc.) where a parent may want to check their student out of school during lunch to spend the time with them, please do not make such events a regular routine. We do not have the manpower in the front office to accommodate checking students in and out of school during the lunch break and it puts a strain on the system at our busiest time of day.

 CHEATING POLICY

Each student is expected to perform the work assigned. Academic dishonesty is not tolerated in any classroom. We consider you to be cheating if you:

• Copy, fax or duplicate assignments that will be turned in as “original”

• Exchange assignments by print-out , disk transfer or internet and then submit as original

• Write formulas, codes, or key words on your person or objects for use on a test

• Use hidden reference sheets on a test

• Exchange answers with others (giving or receiving)

• Take someone else’s assignments and submit it as your own

• Use the internet for the purpose of translation for a foreign language class where the translation was to be worked out by the student.

• Submit material (written or designed by someone else) without giving the author/artist name and/or source. This is called plagiarism.

• Do not follow additional specific guidelines on cheating as established by the teacher.

• In assignments where the teacher assigns a pair or group to work together, students may share information, but individuals will still have responsibility for work that must be arrived at independently.

Sexual Harassment POLICY:

It is the policy of the Morongo Unified School District to afford all persons, regardless of their sex, equal rights and opportunities and freedom from unlawful discrimination in any program or activity conducted by the District. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwelcome advances, conduct or communication of a sexual nature, explicit or implied, physical, verbal, or written, which have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive response from the recipient(s). All cases of sexual harassment will be investigated and handled in accordance with the discipline matrix.

 OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP

Twentynine Palms High School participates in Operation Clean Sweep in conjunction with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. Under this program, students who are caught using tobacco or tobacco products, fighting, threatening other students, committing vandalism, affixing graffiti, littering, stealing, being truant, or disrupting the peace will receive a ticket to appear before the traffic court judge with their parent/guardian. Students found guilty of these infractions face financial fines and/or community service. These rules apply to students from the time they leave home in the morning until they return home after school.

  DANCES

All TPHS dances are for TPHS students only. Guest passes shall be authorized only for prom. The administration shall make the final decision on whether a guest pass will be issued or not. No reason need be given for the administration to refuse to issue a guest pass. Students who are taking a guest to prom must obtain a guest pass from the Activities office in advance and will be held responsible for the conduct of their guest at all times. No one will be allowed to leave and come back into a dance. No junior high students may attend any TPHS dance. School dress code applies and will be enforced at all dances. The school discipline matrix is in effect at all times. Inappropriate dancing will be cause for a student to be asked to leave a dance. .

Students who are left at dance for longer than 15 minutes after the end of a dance will be prohibited from purchasing another dance ticket that year (or next year if prom) and parents will be billed the cost of the chaperone overtime. Debts will be paid to the school before a student will participate in any graduation activities.

 DRESS CODE

The staff and administration feel the following dress code guidelines will encourage students to dress for success and be prepared to appropriately participate in the educational process.

All students shall dress and groom for school with attention to neatness, cleanliness, decency, and safety. The school considers dress to be inappropriate when:

1. The dress of a student brings undue attention to the degree that it disrupts or could distract from the educational process.

• The apparel denotes affiliation with gangs that advocate disruptive or illegal behaviors.

• The clothing implies involvement in or advertises for any substance or product that it is illegal for a minor to possess or use.

• The dress exhibits or insinuates profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or racial, ethnic or sexual slurs.

5. It creates a safety hazard for said student or others at school or violates the health and safety code for public places.

Examples of specific dress code violations at Twentynine Palms High School include:

• Shirts that reveal excessive midriff, cleavage, or any undergarment. Tube tops are unacceptable- shirts must have straps.

• See-through clothing, torn and/or tattered clothing, and safety pins used for decoration on clothing items

• Clothing that is extremely tight or short (including skirts and shorts)

• Any clothing item with decoration depicting the Iron Cross ( i.e. Independent Logo and West Coast Choppers)

• Wallet chains, web belts with initial buckles, extra long belts

• Pants that will not stay up without the aid of a belt (NO SAGGING)

• Overalls not buckled at shoulders/suspenders hanging

• Bandanas of any kind, hair nets and do-rags

• Jewelry with spikes or any accessory that could cause injury. Safety pins are not to be worn as decoration.

• Undergarments must be worn at all times and may not be visible

• Shoes are to be worn at all times.

• Baseball caps and visors must be worn with the bill forward, be unaltered, and may not be worn indoors.

• Knit caps may only be worn when the temperature is below 50 degrees.

• Clothing with inappropriate messages or logos or pictures (i.e. Playboy, Pimp)

• Putting a coat or sweater over any of the above infractions does not bring the student into dress code compliance.

The administration and the Discipline Committee will address any dress code concerns/questions that arise. Continued violations will be addressed per the Discipline Matrix. The administration reserves the right to amend or add to this dress code at any time without prior notice. All decisions regarding appropriate dress shall lie solely with the administration.

 ELIGIBILITY

Students involved in athletics or activities that have a practice schedule and/or performances of some kind attached to it are subject to the eligibility policy which requires participants to meet the following standards:

Semester Quarter grade reports: 2.0 GPA w/ no “F” grades and no “No credit” marks are required. At the end of the grading period (quarter semester), a student must have a 2.0 GPA with no “F” grades to eligible to play or continue to play in the sport or activity in any capacity. Eligibility and ineligibility are determined by these reports.

Coaches may make more restrictive academic requirements for weekly participation if they do so in writing for students and parents. Example: Benching a player for one game on a week where a progress report shows less than a 2.0 or a “F” grade. This does not mean the player is removed from the team, nor does it mean indefinite benching. It simply gives the student an opportunity to raise their grades as agreed upon by the coach and student.

To perform the day or weekend of an event, a student must be in school for a minimum of 3 periods on the day of the event or the Friday before the weekend event. This is also the case for attending a dance, a game or any other event as a spectator or participant. Students may not attend activities at night if they were not in school the day of the event or the Friday of a weekend event.

VALEDICTORIAN POLICY for Class of 2022 and beyond...  

 1.   Must successfully complete five Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment classes across at least three different disciplines. Courses must be taken at a comprehensive high school where the student has been legally enrolled. No online courses will be accepted to meet this criteria;

2.   Student with the highest unweighted total GPA for grades 9-12 will be the valedictorian

3.   Student with the second highest unweighted total GPA will be the salutatorian;

4.   In the event of a tie, the student with the highest combined S.A.T scores (Math and Verbal scores from any one date that are posted prior to the end of the first semester of the senior year) will be the valedictorian. Scores from separate administrations of the S.A.T may NOT be combined. All S.A.T scores to be considered shall be from ONE administration date of the test:

5.   In the unlikely event that a tie still exists, there will be co-valedictorians and the third place student will become the salutatorian;

6.    Valedictorian and salutatorian selections will be made at the end of the first semester of the senior year with first semester grades factored in.

All decisions involving the ranking of senior year students and the conferring of honors or high honors status will be made at the end of the first semester of the senior year.

No student receiving an honorary diploma may be the Valedictorian or Salutatorian.