Ashland High School

Ashland High School Parent Resource Packet 2013-2014

Inside find information about:

ADVISORY PROGRAM & TCB TIME

STUDENT HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHTS

DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE PREVENTION

EARLY COLLEGE CREDITS

Please direct any questions to our counselors: Last names starting with A-K Mr. Steve Smith [email protected] or Last names starting with L-Z Ms. Amy Kennedy [email protected] Or contact Ms. Zundel at [email protected] www.facebook.com/ahs.principal.zundel

AHS Administration proudly presents Parent Academy. This series of informational workshops and networking opportunities is designed to support student success in high school and in life. Parenting is a vital, complex, and humbling occupation. Please mark your calendars to join us as we put the pieces together for student success!

All events feature a panel of experts and a Q&A session from 7:00-8:30PM in the AHS Library.

Monday, September 25 – Open House 6:00-8:30PM (meet in the large gym) We want all families to attend Open House. Visit your student’s classes; meet teachers and learn how to support your student’s academic achievement.

October 2 – HAZING, HARASSMENT AND BULLYING PREVENTION Workshop provided by nationally recognized expert, Paul Coughlin from Protectors.org

November 6 – INTERNET AND SCREEN ADDICTIONS Technology is a powerful educational tool and has a dark side. How do we identify, prevent, and treat internet and screen addictions?

December 4 – COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: Advice for all grade levels Whether you are a parent of 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th graders, you will learn how to support your student in this process.

January 8 – Personal Finance Learn how to help your child develop good money habits and how to make college affordable.

February 5 – Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents Learn about the signs of anxiety and depression and successful treatments.

March 5 - Communication Strategies Talk so teens will listen and listen so teens will talk. We’ll study effective communication strategies.

April 2 – Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention Historically, AHS students use marijuana and binge drink at rates higher than the state average. We are changing this. A panel of local experts will share information, respond to questions and facilitate parent discussions.

May 7 – Empty Nest Syndrome We love our children, raise them to become independent, and then mourn their leaving. Learn 133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest from the author of a book by that same name. We’ll provide the tissues. Parent Resources

Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention Resources

Ashland High School has a tradition of excellence for which we are proud. Our students outperform their peers across the state on many academic measures. They also report using marijuana and binge drinking at higher rates than the state average. We want our students to be clean and sober. It’s important for the health and safety of our youth and the fulfillment of each student’s potential. abovetheinfluence.com Drug and alcohol abuse is a community problem and it requires a communitywide solution. Our youth deserve nothing less. Here are some practical tips to reduce the likelihood that your son/ daughter will use alcohol or drugs. Our goal is healthy, independent graduates who can pursue their next steps after high school.  MODELLING IS EVERYTHING Students observe the choices that parents make and detect hypocrisy.  SET LIMITS AND ENFORCE THEM Set an alarm clock to wake you at curfew time. Follow through with consequences no matter how exhausting it is.  REINFORCE GOOD CHOICES Most of our students are making good choice most of the time. Allow more independence and privileges when students do the right thing and demonstrate good decisionmaking.  START AN ONGOING CONVERSATION & LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN… Silence cell phones, turn off screens and be available when your teen wants to talk. Listen more than you talk. Support your teen in finding healthy ways to manage stress.  SUPERVISION Most alcohol and drug use occurs when school is not in session. Communicate with your teen. Check in after school and know where they are. Require your teen to be your Facebook friend.  KNOW HIS/HER FRIENDS Insist on meeting friends and parents of friends. Create a fun, healthy home environment, free of alcohol and drugs where teens want to hang out.  SUPPORT INVOLVEMENT IN ATHLETICS, ACTIVITIES AND HOBBIES It doesn’t matter what IT is as long as there is something he/she is interested in.  NETWORK WITH OTHER PARENTS We will publish a parent directory to facilitate this. Check and see if a parent is home when your son/daughter goes to another house.  LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS (Here are the sources for this document.) Parents the Antidrug http://www.theantidrug.com Above the Influence http://www.abovetheinfluence.com National Institute of Health: http://health.nih.gov/topic/MarijuanaAbuse http://health.nih.gov/topic/AlcoholandYouth/ChildTeenHealth Partnership for a Drug Free America (Excellent parent toolkit.) http://www.drugfree.org  LOOK FOR SIGNS OF ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Significant changes in behavior and friends, quitting activities, problems in school, significant change in personal appearance or hygiene, sneaking out at night.  GET HELP IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR TEEN IS USING Robin Stroh, AHS On Track Counselor AHS School Based Health Center Staff AHS Counseling and Administrative Staff Search

drugfree.org Drug and Alcohol Use Prevention Resources Student Resources The choice to be clean and sober is a matter of personal integrity. Here are some things to consider when making your choices and encouraging friends to stay clean and sober.

“Anything that makes me less ‘me’ is not for me.” Do alcohol and drugs help me to reach my goals? No. Consider this: “Doing alcohol and drugs can lead to significant health, learning and mental health problems, which can ruin your future. It impairs judgmen, which can lead to risky decisions when it comes to sex, reckless driving or doing things that would normally seem stupid to you. Alcohol and drugs can affect your performance in school and in sports. You may even get kicked off your team, lose your license, your parents’ trust and the respect of peers.” (Above the Influence)

The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your chance of becoming addicted to alcohol at some point in your life. More than 4 0% of people who begin drinking before age 15 eventually become alcoholics. Source: NIAAA; Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge, 2003

Marijuana use interferes with concentration, memory, and motor skills. It interferes with motivation, leads to poorer school performance, and can cause users to disappoint the people most important to them.

Is marijuana really so bad for me? The answer is yes!

 Marijuana is illegal.  Marijuana now exists in forms that are stronger with higher levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient than 30 years ago.  Studies show that someone who smokes five joints a week may be taking in as many cancer- causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.  Hanging around users of marijuana often means being exposed not only to other illegal drugs, but also to a lifestyle that can include trouble in school, engaging in sexual activity while young, unintended pregnancy, difficulties with the law, and other problems.  Marijuana use can slow down reaction time and distort perceptions. This can interfere with athletic performance, decrease a sense of danger, and increase risk of injury.  Regular marijuana users can lose the ability to concentrate that is needed to master important academic skills, and they can experience short-term memory loss. Habitual marijuana users tend to do worse in school and are more likely to drop out altogether. Read more about the negative consequences of marijuana on students.  Teens who rely on marijuana as a chemical crutch and refuse to face the challenges of growing up never learn the emotional, psychological, and social lessons of adolescence.

Source: The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign's Behavior Change Expert Panel

Web Concerned about your use or the use of a Web resources with incredible videos, friend or familiy member? quizzes, facts, mythbusters and more. Girls and Boys Town National Hotline Call 1-800-448-3000 (24/7) http://checkyourself.com The Girls and Boys Town National Hotline http://www.abovetheinfluence.com is a 24-hour crisis, resource and referral line staffed by highly-trained counselors who can Early College Creditsrespond to your questions. Earn college credits while you’re in high school! You can begin your college education in high school and graduate with credits on a college transcript. There is no downside to this program. It saves you and your family time and money. We recommend that students register for Rogue Community College and/or Southern Oregon University credits when they take any eligible classes at Ashland High School. These classes will simultaneously fulfill AHS graduation requirements. Please review the AHS, RCC and SOU websites to see AHS classes that qualify for credits: www.ashland.k12.or.us/sou

Rogue Community College (College Now) http://www.roguecc.edu/CollegeNow  Credits are free.  Credits transfer directly to Oregon universities.  Credits transfer as elective credits to most US colleges.  RCC does not award credit for grades below a B.

Southern Oregon University (Advanced Southern Credits) http://www.sou.edu/youth/asc/index.html  Credits are offered at a significant discount.  There is wide acceptance of SOU credits nationwide.  SOU issues transcripts regardless of the grade earned in the class.

Advanced Placement (AP) Tests http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html  Students enrolled in AP classes take the AP exam in May.  The score earned on this exam may translate into college credit.  Note: We recommend that AP students register for RCC and SOU college credits in addition to taking the AP exam.

SOU Early Entrance http://www.sou.edu/youth/early_entry  Available to 11th and 12th graders.  Credits are offered at a significant discount.  Students can register for any undergraduate classes on a space available basis.  These classes do NOT count for AHS graduation requirements.  These classes generate an SOU transcript only.