HOUGH HOWLER

PTSA NEWSLETTER

****Back to School Information - Please read the entire Howler and make sure your friends are on the distribution list as this is the best way to stay informed.***

Volume 6 Edition 3

August 18, 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

Important Dates

Open House August 19 9-11:30 am

Tenders for Sale at Open House

Student Schedules

10 Point Grading Scale & Other Important Changes

2015-2016 Husky Fund Direct Donation Campaign

PTSA Student Memberships

Morning Student Drop Off

PE Uniform Online Ordering Available

PTSA Student Representative Application

Theater Auditions

PTSA Partnership with Main Street Books

Hough High School Marching Band

Tenders Gift Cards on Sale 1st Tuesday each month during lunches

Hough PTSA Spirit Restaurant Nights at Tenders First Tuesday of Each Month

Re-Link Your Harris Teeter VIC Card Today

Back To School Forum on Bullying and Cyberbullying August 26

FLBA News

Hough Social Media - Twitter!

Summer Assignments

Counselors Corner

Substitute Cafeteria Workers Needed in North area CMS Schools

Alma Mater

Hough Howler Submissions Deadline Schedule for Articles

Important Dates

Link Hough Calendars to your Smartphone

Click here for Calendar of Important Dates (as of August 18, 2015)

Hough High PTSA has created Google Calendars that parents, teachers and students can print out in calendar view or sync with their smartphone calendar. Information to link the Hough High calendar to your smartphone:

*Hough High School Calendar Calendar ID: houghhighptsa@gmail.com Ical address: click here

*Hough Athletics - all sports calendars click here; For instructions on how to sync calendars with your iOS device (iPad, iPhone, and IPod Touch) click here

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Academic Calendar 2015-2016

Open House

Wednesday, August 19^th

9-11:30 am

Submitted by Laura Rosenbach

Our Open House is an opportunity for freshman, new students and their parents to walk their schedules and figure out where their classes are. Upperclassmen and parents can also come during this time.

The Hough PTSA will have a table set up to answer any questions you may have about membership, the Huskies Fund, volunteering or linking your card to Harris Teeter. This information will also go home with students on the first day of class.

The Hough Athletic Booster Club will have a membership table if you would like to join or purchase a season pass.

The Hough Spirit Store will also be open during that time and you can purchase a PE uniform in the gym.

***Homeroom teachers will be posted on the Hough website and/or the front office window by the open house.***

August 19^th Open House Snack Opportunity

Submitted by PTSA VP Fundraising, Debbie Wood

Does meeting your teachers and catching up with school friends give you an appetite? Tender's Restaurant will have their mobile Tender's Tent set up at open house on Wednesday, August 19^th. The Tenders Tent will be open 10am-12pm. Meal deals including, 3 chicken tenders (dipping sauce of your choice), chips and a drink for $5 will be cooked fresh to order. You can also buy just a drink or just chicken tenders. All proceeds from the Tenders Tent will be donated back to the Hough PTSA. Please stop by and grab a snack to go.

Student Schedules and Power School

From Connect Ed Message and Student Services Website

Student Schedules are now available for viewing on Powerschool. At this time, schedules can only be accessed through parent logins. Students will receive their login information at the start of school. Parents needing their PowerSchool login will need to come to Hough between 8-2 to pick up a copy of the login and password. Due to security reasons, we are unable to provide login information through telephone calls or emails. Students who need to submit a schedule change can do so through the Students Services website that is linked on the Hough webpage. Schedule changes will only be considered for specific reasons that are outlined on the schedule change form. UPDATE: Currently students are only able to view the 1st semester of their schedule on PowerSchool. Students may pick up the full schedule at Hough from 8:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. Please DO NOT complete a schedule change request if you can not view your entire schedule. We are currenlty working to resolve this issue in PowerSchool.

10 Point Grading Scale & Other Important Changes

Submitted by Daina Wouillard

There are several important changes for all NC public school students for the 2015-16 school year as related to grading: 1) the 10-point grading scale, 2) changes in quality points, and 3) numerical grades on transcripts. Attached is a letter from NCDPI addressed to parents that fully explains the changes. In summary,

High School Grading Scale, Grade Point Average Calculations

In October 2014, the State Board approved a standard 10-point grading scale to begin with the 2015-16 school year for all high school students. This scale will not include "pluses" or "minuses." Grades from prior years will not be altered retroactively.

Local school districts are required to follow the new scale at the high school level (grades 9-12). Although it is not required at grades K-8, local school districts may use the scale in lower grades if desired.

Under the new scale, grades and grade point average calculations will be applied as follows:

A: 90-100 = 4.0

B: 80-89 = 3.0

C: 70-79 = 2.0

D: 60-69 = 1.0

F: < 59 = 0.0

Quality Points: In addition to the grade scale change, new standards for quality points also take effect in the 2015-16 school year. These new standards affect only ninth graders in the fall of 2015-16 and all students entering high school after that year. This change does not affect students who will be in grades 10, 11 or 12 in 2015-16.

The new quality points standard will provide an additional .5 quality point to Honors courses and a 1.0 additional quality point to Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, community colleges courses, or four-year university or college courses taken in high school. This eliminates discrepancies between AP/IB and community college or college/university courses and quality points and provides the same additional quality point to all college-level coursework.

For example, a student who earns an A in an AP course would receive a weighted 5.0 grade for that particular course. A student who earns an A in an Honors course would receive a weighted 4.5 grade.

Also, student transcripts will now include numerical grades, in addition to the GPA and letter grade.

2015-2016 Husky Fund

Direct Donation Campaign

Submitted by PTSA VP Fundraising, Debbie Wood

The Husky Fund is the primary fundraiser for the Hough High School PTSA. All funds contributed to this campaign are tax deductible and will go to enhance school wide technology as well supporting various programs and events such as Homecoming, the annual Powder Puff Football game, Senior class events, school beautification, scholarships, as well as much needed staff appreciation. No donation is too small, every dollar will count! Be sure to check and see if you could be eligible for a matching contribution from your employer. Many companies participate and will match your donation dollar for dollar!

Please click on the following link to access a donation form and return in an envelope to the front office. Attention PTSA Fundraising. If you have any questions please contact Debbie Wood, VP Fundraising at debbiewood1@roadrunner.com.

Husky Fund Donation Form

Thank you for supporting the Hough High PTSA!

PTSA Membership Form

Important - Morning Student Drop-off

Submitted by LtC Ott Siebert

Morning Student Drop Off - New Traffic Flow in the Student Parking Lot

Beginning this school year we will implement a second student drop off point located in the student parking to help mitigate the large volume of cars dropping off students in front of the school. This second drop off point is for morning drop off ONLY...NOT FOR AFTERNOON PICKUP! Afternoon pickup will continue to be in the front of the school.

Please view this YouTube video for more specifics on the new traffic flow/drop off point in the student parking lot: 2nd Student Drop Off Location

Attention 9th grade students and others in PE classes

PE Uniform Ordering Online

Submitted by Masonori Toguchi

We will start taking orders for the 2015-2016 PE uniforms on August 1! Use the Online School Payment portal to place your order using a credit card. We have also attached images of the new uniform styles that now include women's shorts. You can also place your order at the open house on August 19, paying by cash or check. All orders placed online or at school through August 15 or at the open house will be ready for distribution in PE classes starting the week of August 31. Please make sure that you print the order form, fill it out and bring it with you to place or pick up your order. Have a great school year!

The Hough PTSA is looking

for candidates to be

Student Representatives!

Submitted by PTSA President, Amy Mory

Student Representatives must function as leaders, possess positive attitudes and maintain a minimum weighted GPA of 2.5 or higher. A PTSA Student Rep is required to join the PTSA, attend all PTSA board meetings, participate in PTSA activities such as open houses, curriculum nights, spirit events, etc. The students will be chosen from applications that can be accessed by the link below:

Application with explanation of expectations

Applications must be returned to the PTSA mailbox in the front office by noon, Wednesday, August 19^th. Interviews will be conducted on Thursday, August 20^th and Friday, August 21^st.

The applications have more detailed information, however if you have any further questions, please contact Hough PTSA president, Amy Mory at amy@techmor.com.

Dear students and parents of the Hough community,

The Hough Howler is the primary way we communicate news regarding Hough High School and it is a great source for all the information you need to know to stay in the loop.

If you know an incoming student, please mention this to them and forward this email using the forward link on the bottom of the page. They should then click on the above box to be added to the Hough High School PTSA and/or Husky Athletic Club email distribution list(s). Or just refer them to the main Hough webpage and click on the link on the left titled Hough Howler. We send out a bi-monthly newsletter, the PTSA's Hough Howler, Husky Sports Updates and occasional informational email for Hough organizations. Your name and email address are not given to any third party organizations.

If you are no longer and student or parent of a Hough student and wish to unsubscribe from future emails, please click on the link at the end of this email titled Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe. Thank you!

Theater Auditions

Submitted by Catherine McDougall

ANNOUNCING A NEW PTSA COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
WITH

Submitted by PTSA Bookfair Chairperson, Deanna King

This year Main Street Books and the Hough PTSA have paired up to provide copies of any book titles that teachers from Hough assign to their students for units of study. Once teachers assign the book, a bulk order will be made with Main Street Books and multiple copies will be made available for students to purchase. The store has agreed to donate back to the PTSA 10-20% of all sales of the books ordered for our school. This will be true for any purchase made during the entire school year, not just for a short window at the start of each semester. The PTSA is excited to offer this opportunity for our students while providing flexibility to our teachers, raising funds for the many PTSA projects planned for the school year, and supporting a small business within our school's community. So when it's time to get that assigned novel, help us support Hough High School by supporting Main Street Books as well.

Hough High School Marching Band

Already in Full Swing

Submitted by Christina Shaul

The William A. Hough High School Marching Band has already started rehearsing for their upcoming season. They had three full days on campus July 29-31, practicing marching and the music they will play in the stands and on the field, went to Camp Lutheridge, in Arden, NC from August 2-7, where they were able march outdoors in cooler temperatures, and wrapped up their pre-season training August 11-13.

This year's band features 100 musicians and six color guard members, and is led by Band Director Robert Carrington and student drum majors Meredith Steele and Bryn Rumer. "Students are working hard to learn the music for this year's show, 'Legends of King Arthur,' and we're excited for the band competition season that starts in late September," said Carrington. "We have all worked so hard these past two weeks, and I know that will continue when we start regular practices next week," said Co-Drum Major Bryn Rumer. "I'm so proud of everyone."

The Hough High Marching Band will play at the first home football game of the season on Friday, August 21.

The Hough High Band Boosters are selling "Attractions Dining and Value Guide" as their first fundraiser of the season from now until August 28. The book costs only $20.00 and is filled with coupons that are valid now through December 31, 2016, offering over $5,841 in savings at local restaurants, stores and attractions. Please contact a member of the Hough Band Program to buy yours today. Have questions? Please contact Jennifer Townson at vp@houghhsband.com or Eric Feldman at president@houghhsband.com.

Tenders Gift Card

PTSA Fundraising Opportunity

Submitted by Hough PTSA VP Fundraising, Debbie Wood

New this year the PTSA will be selling $10 Tenders gift cards for only $7!! Take advantage of this great deal. Use anytime, you can stock up for the whole year! The gift cards are good for any purchase, from milkshakes to chicken. No expiration date. The gift cards will be available for sale at lunch time outside of the cafeteria on the first Tuesday of the month. First Sales Date is Tuesday, September 1st!

Hough PTSA Spirit Restaurant Nights

Tuesday, September 1st

Submitted by Hough PTSA VP Fundraising, Debbie Wood

Join us at Tenders Restaurant the first Tuesday of every month during the school year to help raise money for the Hough High PTSA. Starting Tuesday, September 1st, Tenders will donate a portion of that night's proceeds back to the PTSA. Be sure to say you are with Hough when placing your order. 4:00-9:00pm. Go ahead and mark your calendar now, the first Tuesday of every month, Tenders Restaurant Hough Spirit Night!

Please re-link your VIC Card Today!

Harris Teeter's Together in Education program is a fund raising program for schools in our community. When customers purchase select Harris Teeter Brand products using their VIC card, Harris Teeter contributes a percentage of those purchase dollars to the schools of their choice. In addition, a percentage of each prescription filled in a Harris Teeter pharmacy will be donated as well. Customers must have their VIC card linked to a TIE school in order to participate. We need your support! This is a painless way for us to raise needed funds.

You must re-link each year on/after August 1st!

Please consider linking your Harris Teeter VIC Card to the following Hough organizations:

PTSA # 8376

Husky Athletic Club # 8348

Band # 8414

JROTC # 8368

Chorus # 2072

Rugby # 2685

Orchestra # 3191

There are several ways to re-link your VIC card:

� click on this link Harris Teeter Together in Education

� Customer Service desk

� At the checkout counter

� Call 1-800-432-6111 (number located on the back of your VIC card)

You can link up to 5 organizations/schools (funds will be divided equally).

Harris Teeter Together in Education Logo

_____________________________________________________________________

Link your Target Red Card to Hough

*This program runs year-round so you do not need to re-link yearly*

Hough is linked to Target's Together in Education program! Enroll today and Target will donate a percentage of each REDcard purchase you make to our school!(Only one school can be selected.) Call 1-800-316-6142, visit Target.com/tcoe or an in-store kiosk to sign up and designate Hough as your school today! No need to re-link each year!

Click here to find out more about this program and to link your REDcard to Hough

Back to School Forum on Bullying and Cyberbullying

Wednesday, August 26th, 4:00-6:00pm

Davidson Town Hall, 216 Main Street, Davidson

The Foundation for Respect Ability is presenting a community back to school forum on bullying and cyberbullying. The forum will provide a dialog for parents to address issues with bullying and cyberbullying with a panel of area experts and to create awareness of available resources.

Panelists Include:

John Concelman, Character Development Initiatives Specialist CMS schools

Dana Jarrett, Principal Davidson Elementary

Lynn Hennighausen, President, Davidson Lifeline

Officer Phil Geiger, Davidson Police Department

Sid Krupkin, Director of Education for the Foundation for Respect Ability

Some of the content will include:

The definition of bullying and cyberbullying: what it is and is not
Identifying behaviors that can detect if a child is a target of bullying
Communication strategies between parent and child
The schools' role in bullying and cyberbullying
How to work with the school system to resolve an issue
Long term effects of reporting an incident
Law enforcement's involvement in the school and in the community regarding these behaviors
Role of an SRO officer
When and what to report: to the school and to law enforcement
Social media and law enforcement
Cyberbullying and suicide: QPR training

This forum is free to the public. Parents and Community Leaders are invited to join in this important discussion.

Seats are Limited. To reserve your seat please contact Diane Benson atxbullying@gmail.com or call 704-438- 9798.

Future Business Leaders of America

(FBLA) News

Submitted by Rachel Laminack

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) helps prepare students for future careers in business, builds social skills such as public speaking, and improves leadership skills. Members can compete at a regional, state and national level. Students who join in the first two weeks of school will get $10 off membership. Information regarding interest meetings and membership will be communicated soon. If you have any questions email hough.fbla@gmail.com.

Editors Note: Student Clubs typically communicate their club meeting and membership information via flyers posted at school, during the morning and afternoon announcements, twitter accounts (very important - see the end of the Howler) and through the Howler.

Hough Social Media

Check us out on Twitter!

Twitter Accounts that all Hough Students/Parents/Staff should follow

@CMS_WAHoughHS (Hough administration)

@HoughHighNews (Hough High News - student leadership)

@HoughAthletics (Hough HS Athletics)

@ClubHusky (Husky Athletics Club)

@HuskyAthleticClub (Husky Athletic Club)

@HoughGuidance (Student Services aka Guidance)

@CharMeckSchools (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools)

Hough Departments

@HoughHSBand (Bands)

@HoughOrchestra (Orchestra)

@WAHoughSingers (Chorus)

@HoughMarketing (Marketing)

@HuskiesHough (Hough High JROTC)

@HoughTheatre (Hough Theatre)

Hough Clubs/Organizations

@houghDECA (DECA)

@HoughHighNHS (Hough High NHS - National Honor Society)

@HoughMath (Hough Mu Alpha Theta - National Math Honor Society)

@HoughHistory (Hough Rho Kappa - National History Honor Society)

@HHS_worldclub (Hough International Club)

@HoughHistory (Hough Rho Kappa - National History Honor Society)

@pinpointhough (Pinpoint-Hough - online student newspaper)

@houghjadvisory (Junior Advisory)

@SophAdvis (Sophomore Advisory)

@HoughYearbook (Hough Yearbook)

@HoughMarketing (Hough Marketing)

@HoughHeARTClub (Hough HeART Club)

@FBLAHough (FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America)

Hough Athletic Teams

@Hough_Cheer (cheer)

@HoughSoccer (soccer)

@HoughFB (football)

@HoughRunners (cross country, indoor track & outdoor track)

@swimcoachtim (Waterdog - swimming)

@houghwrestling (wrestling)

@houghbaseball (baseball)

@HoughRugby (club rugby)

If you would like your sports team or Hough organization listed, please send an email to LPetry@mindspring.com.

Are you done yet?

Summer Assignments

Submitted by Justin Keene

All students attending Hough High School next year need to visit the summer assignment website to see if there is summer work for any of their courses next year. There are summer assignments posted for the majority of AP Courses, English, Math and other courses. Please look at this website now so that the amount of work involved does not surprise you later in the summer.

Summer Assignment Website

Counselors Corner

Submitted by Daina Woullard

Attention All Hough Students and Families: Please visit the

Student Services Website often to provide students and families with important information regarding class registration, high school and college planning. We continue to update the site through the school year.

Earn while your children learn!

Substitute cafeteria workers needed

in North area CMS schools

Submitted by Hough Cafeteria Manager Jennifer Maskulyak

Apply at Jennifer's Temps,1973 J.N. Pease Place - Suite 202, Charlotte, NC 28262

Hours: M-F: 8:00am - 5:00pm P: 704-510-1556 F: 704-510-2053 E: jobs@jennifertemps.com

William A. Hough High School Alma Mater

We hail thee Alma Mater

our voices let us raise.

Alma Mater

With Husky pride and honor

we sing now full of praise.

To remember lasting moments

our friendships never will fade.

Hough High, march on forever

victorious all our days.

Want to print a copy and share with your friends to help you sing?

Click here. Come on Hough, let's start a new tradition and show our school spirit after Hough sporting events. Please watch the video to learn the Alma Mater.

Hough Howler Submissions

Next Deadline: September 1 Noon

Deadlines for Articles This Year

The Hough Howler is the electronic newsletter compiled by the Hough PTSA that communicates the most current Hough High School News and and information. We encourage all Hough staff members, booster clubs and Hough student clubs to provide us information to publicize to the over 2600 Howler e-mail subscribers in the Hough community. Articles must be specific to Hough, Hough PTSA, Husky Athletic Club, other Hough clubs/organizations or CMS specific/principal approved.

Deadlines: During the school year, there are two deadlines a month for articles - the 1st and 15th of each month at NOON. During the summer months, the Howler has less frequent deadlines. Please pay attention to these deadlines as sometimes that date is on a weekend or during a holiday. If there is something urgent that needs to go out, the Howler will be distributed on a more frequent basis at the Editor's discretion. The Howler may be distributed within a few days past the deadline, so please submit your articles on time, or even better, early! Thank you for your cooperation.

Requirements for submssions: Articles should be typed in Arial 11 font; if you want a picture included, please indicate placement within text and submit a separate jpg file. If you want to link to a document or flyer, please send fllyer or document as a pdf file. If you want it as an image in the article, please send as a jpg file. If including a picture, please indicate names of those in picture (left to right.). Editor reserves the right to edit or decline articles not meeting the abovementioned criteria.

Future 2015-2016 Howler Deadlines:

(2015) September 1, September 15, October 1, October 15, November 1, November 15, December 1, December 15 (2016) January 1, January 15, February 1, February 15, March 1, March 15, April 1, April 15, May 1, May 15, June 1 (Summer) July 1

Submit articles to Linda Petry, Hough Howler Editor at LPetry@mindspring.com.

Please click on the above box if someone forwarded this email to you and you would like to be added to the Hough High School PTSA and/or Husky Athletic Club email distribution list(s). We send out a monthly newsletter, the PTSA's Hough Howler, Husky Sports Updates and occasional informational email for Hough organizations. Your name and email address are not given to any third party organizations.

If you wish to unsubscribe from future emails, please click on the link at the end of this email titled Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe. Thank you!

Important Links:

School website PTSA website Husky Athletic Club website

Band website Chorus website

School telephone number: 980-344-0514