9th grade
Your freshmen year is the beginning of your high school career. Start off strong and remember that everything you do will be preparing you for your future.
Overall items you should be concerned with during your freshman year. Please refer to the drop down menu for specific items.
Develop your time management and organizational skills. We recommend that every student utilize some sort of dedicated planner/notebook/calendar (paper) to help them succeed in this task.
If you intend to take AP/IB/AICE classes in future years, you will need to make sure you have taken any prerequisites.
Get help if you are struggling in any core classes. Core classes are more closely appraised by potential colleges when applying.
Explore your interests and get involved on campus by participating in various clubs.
IMPORTANT TIPS:
Use the College Map Mentor's Academic Organizer to keep track of your classes, grades, awards, certifications, accolades, community service, clubs, sports, work, etc. Collect all of the information you need to complete your applications in one place.
Check your school email daily. If you cannot check it daily, please check it weekly.
Do NOT send emails from your school email to any company or person outside of Palm Beach County Schools....you will NOT receive a reply as the emails will bounce.
Use the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) website to take practice exams for B.E.S.T., EOC's, FAST, and Florida Civic Literacy Exam.
FALL
Find out who your advisor/dean is and introduce yourself
Choose a challenging and rigorous class schedule
Create a 4 year academic plan
Get involved on campus (club/team)
Take school-wide PSAT (usually in October)
Start exploring colleges and attend college fair
Volunteer - earn community service
SPRING
Start working on a high school resume - make sure update your College Map Mentor's Academic Organizer
Start a Raise.me account and keep track of your accomplishments
Choose challenging classes for 10th grade
Plan for summer community service, internship or potential class (learn coding, or reinforce your math skills on KhanAcademy
Take FASTs and EOCs
Explore colleges & potential careers
SUMMER
Make a list of things that interest you
Perform any summer reading/work
Clean up email account (school & personal)
Update your College Map Mentor's Academic Organizer with your 2nd semester grades
Take an assessment to figure out what you may want to do in the future.
Career Finder by College Board
Career Exploration Tool by College Board
Princeton Review (you will have to sign up for an account to see your results)
Think about potential colleges and possibly visit 2 or more colleges