Unlike many other high schools in Wake County, Garner Magnet High School runs on an A/B schedule. That means that instead of taking 4 courses during the fall semester and 4 different classes during the spring, students take 8 classes all year long on alternating days—4 classes that meet on A-day and 4 classes that meet on B-day.

Advantages of an A-B schedule:

• Students have an entire year to master course content; meaning more time to troubleshoot difficult subjects. This is especially helpful for math and foreign language to keep material fresh from year to year. AP students will also have an entire year to prepare for those exams in May.
• Although a class meets every other day, students still have the option to attend after school tutoring every day—this means they will have double the opportunities to get after school help on difficult subjects.
• Teachers and students are able to establish better relationships, working together from August to June. Parents can also start early in making contact with teachers when there are concerns.
• Open houses, registration, and final exams will occur once a year.

Tips for Success

Stay Informed

Always know what day it is (A or B). Consider making a chart or calendar to keep on the refrigerator so your child will know which materials he/she needs to bring to school that day. Hint: If you lose track, check the GMHS website! The day is always posted!
Use PowerSchool! Every parent can have their own account and password. Stay up to date on grades, attendance, and progress toward graduation.

Stay Organized

Keep a separate notebook for each class (or combine with dividers) so all notes and work for each class are easily and quickly accessible.
Keep an agenda. Help your child get into the habit of writing down assignments, deadlines, and test dates during the school day. Then review with your child in the evening to make sure they are prepared with their homework or studying for the next day.

Stay on Top

It can be tempting to put A day homework off until A day rolls around again. Be careful. If your child lets that happen they are much more likely to get behind and overwhelmed by assignments. Establish healthy habits for completing work and not procrastinating. Then, if your student is struggling with a particular concept, they potentially have TWO afternoons to work on it with their teacher rather than one.
Maintain email communication with teachers or stay connected through the teacher’s website. Edmodo is an excellent resource through which teachers send reminders to students and parents about upcoming due dates.

Organization and time management go hand in hand. If you have a system for remembering each of your tasks and knowing how much time to spend on each, then you've demonstrated an organizational skill.

The first step to organization is to set a goal so that you can determine the appropriate action steps to take along the way. Let's say your goal is to graduate high school. You should learn your promotion and graduation requirements so that you know what classes you'll need to pass and plan to take each year. Trojan, passing Biology makes a lot more sense when you know it's a required action step toward crossing that big stage and receiving your diploma!

Sometimes Trojans' grades suffer because they don't know how to study effectively or they aren't studying enough. Either way, you can learn new study tips that will make studying feel less like a drag and more like a student responsibility that you're equipped for and that gets you results. You'll find your new and improved grades rewarding to yourself, teachers, friends, and family!

Try these tricks:

• Just start. Once you get going, it is MUCH easier to continue.
• Reward yourself (a snack, a short walk) for making progress.
• Work with a friend. Encourage each other.
• Design your own study schedule. Stick to it!
• Be in control! Don’t let a TV show or a text message stop you!

Stress can interfere with effective time management and goal setting. To cope with stress...

Make healthy choices - eat, sleep, exercise

Get support and/or try to understand your feelings

Keep a sense of humor and perspective

Resolve or eliminate sources of stresses

Identify how to prevent stress in the future

Common reasons for chronic absenteeism:

• Skipping
• Homelessness
• Immediate need to work for household survival 
• Limited motivation
• Limited supervision at home 
• Long term suspensions 
• Medical issues
• Mental health issues
• Over aged for current grade
• Parenting students with limited childcare resources

If you identify with any of the reasons above, please consider talking with your counselor or our school's social worker.

The more meaningful you make your high school experience, chances are you'll want to attend and make good grades. There are so many ways to become involved and enjoy your time as a Trojan. Plus, participating in extra-curricular activities or volunteering in your community makes a you a competitive applicant to college or for a job opportunity. It shows you are well-rounded and able to interact well with others.

Clubs and Organizations. Don't have an interest on this list? See a teacher, counselor, or administrator for more information on starting a new club.

Career Development Opportunities like job shadowing, internships, mock interviews, resume writing, and Career Tech. Ed. course offerings. Contact Ms. Daughenbough in room 301 for more info!

Trojan Athletics. Also take a peek at this Garner Trojans 2015 NCHSAA State 4A Championship Highlites video to sense how meaningful being a part of a team can be.

GMHS JROTC

GMHS Fine Arts

Volunteering

Summer Opportunities. Don't let the summer pass you by. Use the time wisely to participate in camps, leadership seminars, volunteerism, and much more to begin building your resume.

If you're nervous about attending a club or activity for the first time alone, see your teacher or counselor. We can introduce you to a top-notch Trojan in your club of interest who enjoys helping others and can go with you for the first time!

1 out of 10 students dropout of high school because of repeated bullying and approximately 160,000 teens skip school a day because of bullying (www.dosomething.org) Trojans, that's not okay! And, it shouldn't be okay with you whether you're being bullied or know someone else who is.

GMHS has a zero tolerance anti-bullying policy. If you see something, say something! See a teacher, counselor, or an administrator for help if you or someone you know is being bullied. GMHS staff is trained to handle these issues in an anonymous way.

Explore the following bullying prevention resources to learn more:

• WCPSS Harassment and Bullying pages to understand how GMHS staff intervene to address bullying. 
• Bullying Prevention Tips about warning signs, being bullied, being a bystander, monitoring, and reporting.
• Bullying Defined to fully understand who is effected by bullying and how.
• Bullying Myths and Facts to learn the truth about what is considered bullying.
• StopBullying.gov to get help or take a stand now!

"I AM" video created by our courageous Trojans! An all inclusive Trojan community led by the GMHS Mens Basketball Team's example--Garner athletes take on adaptive PE class in "March Madness." Read more here. Trojan Sophomore, Johnson Hansen, for the 2nd consecutive year has won the WCPSS Bullying Prevention Video Contest! Johnson will be honored at a school board meeting and his video will be placed on K-12 School Counseling blackboard and the WCPSS Intranet! Way to take a stand, Johnson! Anti-bullying week--each year our counselors, students, and staff join together to address and prevent bullying. Students and staff wore orange last October to take a national stand against bullying! Trojans making a difference

Typical Reasons Why Students Dropout

• Academic Failure
• Attendance/Preparation
• Lack of Connection with the school
• Pregnancy
• Financial Difficulties
• Dislike school
• Lack of interest in school
• Outside influences
• Disciplinary Issues
• Lack of Educational support

Effects of Dropouts on Society

• High School dropouts contribute $60,000 less in taxes every year.
• USA could save $17 billion in Medicaid and healthcare cost by graduating all students.
• If the male graduate rate went up by 5% the nation would see an annual savings of $49 billion in crime related costs.

Dropout Statistics for NC

• Despite increases in student membership each year, WCPSS continues to maintain a steady decline in dropout counts. In 2012-2013, the WCPSS high school dropout rate fell to 1.95%, its lowest rate ever. The WCPSS rate is lower than the state’s rate. The NC overall rate decreased in 2012-13 to 2.5% from 3.01% in 2011-12.
• Other large school districts in North Carolina, including Durham (3.2%), Forsyth (2.7%), Mecklenburg (3.0%), and Guilford (2.1%) had higher dropout rates in 2012-13 than did WCPSS. Of those districts, only WCPSS and Guilford have had a rate below the state average in each of the past 13 years.
• The WCPSS dropout rate for Hispanic/Latino students (4.1%) fell for the seventh consecutive year, marking a 50% decline since 2005-06.
• Since 2007-08 (6.84%), the dropout rate for the Black/African-American student group has been steadily dropping (2.8%). This group had the highest decrease in dropouts (1.8 percentage points), followed by Hispanic/Latino students (0.9 percentage points).
• After 8 years of a dropout rate in the 2-3% range, White students’ dropout rate has steadily lowered since 2007-08 to 1.1% in 2012-13.
• Students with disabilities (SWD) continued their previous years’ trend, lowering their dropout rates in 2012-13 to 2.9% (SWD). The dropout rate for limited English proficient (LEP) students in 2012-13 was 7.1%.

Reference: WCPSS Data and Accountability July 2014

Parents: How can I prevent my child from dropping out?

• Ensure your child attends school every day.
• Review your child’s grades in school: interim reports and report cards.
• Meet with your child’s teachers.
• Set up an academic plan for your child.
• Meet with your child’s counselor, social worker, nurse, and/or SAP counselor.
• Encourage your child to be involved in positive school and/or community activities.
• Notify the school if you have financial difficulty so that they may link you to community services.
• Require your child to read every night.
• Let your child know that you value education as important to his/her future.
• Set aside time every day for homework, even if your child doesn’t have any.
• Limit the amount of time your child watches television and plays video games to no more than one or two hours each day.
• Help your child use problem-solving skills in difficult situations at home and at school.
• Praise good behavior.

Reference: National Center on Secondary Education and Transition

Benefits of Staying in School High School graduates live 9 years longer than high school dropouts Dropouts are more likely to face poverty High School graduates earn $28,000 a year vs. dropouts who earn $19,000 a year Over a lifetime college graduates make over $1 million more than high school dropouts High School dropouts are 3x more likely than college graduates to be unemployed, 2x more likely to live in poverty and 8x more likely to go to prison than high school graduates High school dropouts are more likely to get divorced, and be single parents of children who dropout 68% of state prison inmates are dropouts Reference: Career Connections

Wake County Resources

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North Carolina Report Card

www.wcpss.net/results/nc-reportcards.html

Student Support Services

www.wcpss.net/departments/
studentsupport.html

Student Assistance Program Counselor (SAP Counselor High School)

www.wcpss.net/school-directory/

 

Community Resources

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Haven House

www.havenhousenc.org/
Phone: (919) 833-3312

Teen Outreach Program

www.raleighnc.gov/arts/content/
PRecRecreation/Articles/
TeenOutreachProgram.html

 

National Resources

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America’s Promise Alliance & Grad Nation

www.americaspromise.org/

National Dropout PreventionCenter/Network

www.dropoutprevention.org
1-866-745-5641

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

www.ndpc-sd.org/
1-866-745-5641