Good Afternoon, this is Steve Mares, principal of Athens Drive Magnet High School with announcements for the upcoming week. A copy of these announcements will be posted on our school website, emailed and texted to our school families, and e-mailed to the Athens Drive PTSA email group.
Just a reminder that our First Day of School is on Monday, August 27th! Please know that we will start the first day of school in Drive Time (Homeroom), beginning at 7:25 a.m.
Students will receive a new copy of their schedule in their Drive Time class. The schedule that students receive in their Drive Time class is their final schedule. We have had to adjust some of our students’ schedules as we have enrolled new students and had other students leave Athens Drive. Please understand that requests for schedule changes will be considered for the following reasons only:
1. Enrolled in a course you have already completed and received credit.
2. Enrolled in a course for which you have not met the prerequisite.
3. Do not have a full schedule of 4 classes.
4. Want to move up/drop down a level in a core class (Must have signed Release form if dropping Honors/AP course).
5. Course needed for promotion and/or graduation
If a student meets one of the above criteria, then a Request for Schedule Change form can be picked up from the Student Services office and completed. The completed form must be returned to Student Services no later than September 4th.
Please know that we will have Peer Ambassadors available in Student Services on Monday to provide tours to new students that were unable to attend Freshman Camp or tour this week. If your student is interested in getting a tour, please come to Student Services by 7:00 a.m. on Monday and an Ambassador will be assigned to your student.
Please know that we will have the same start and end time for school again for the 2018 – 2019 school year. School will start at 7:25 a.m. every morning and end at 2:18 p.m. Please know that First Period begins promptly at 7:25 a.m. and students are expected to be in class, ready to learn at 7:25 a.m. each day. For the first 10 days of school, students will have a Drive Time Class so that we can share important information and begin the year on a positive note. After those first 10 days, students will only attend their Drive Time Class on Fridays and for a few days when Report Cards come out. We won’t begin our new Advantage Time Schedule until the fourth week of school. Please visit our website (https://www.wcpss.net/athensdrivehs) to see the daily schedule for the school year.
If your student will be riding the bus to school, students and families that have transportation eligible bus riders can find our new bus routes for the 2018 – 2019 school year posted online at http://www.wcpss.net/routes. Look for Athens Drive High School on this page and click the link to find our bus routes. Please find the intersection nearest your residence and that will be your bus stop. Please be familiar with your bus route and plan to get to your bus stop at least 10 minutes early. Wake County Public School System will also share your student’s transportation route, stop, and estimated bus arrival time on-line in PowerSchool. Mr. Katz, our Assistant Principal who is responsible for Bus Transportation, will be in the Main Crosshall during both lunches to assist students who need assistance finding the correct bus, bus route, etc. There are many changes at the start of the new school year as new students begin riding the bus, new bus routes are created, and new drivers are trained. I would ask that you please be patient and understanding with transportation for the first few days of school. Thank you for your support.
With regards to carpool, please be sure that if you are dropping a student off in the morning you enter the school in one of two ways. First, you can enter our “Junior Parking Lot” off of Avent Ferry Road and pull up as far as you can around the curve at the entrance to the Library. The second way to drop your student off is entering our school lot by the Band Room entrance, off of Athens Drive. We ask that you stay to the left as you make your way down and around this one-way loop. Please remember that we also have a number of Special Transportation vehicles that drop students off in this loop in the morning. I ask that you please do not drop students off close to the Band Room entrance, as this backs up traffic for everybody in the morning. I also ask that you do not enter our bus loop area off of Avent Ferry Road, as that is reserved for bus transportation only. Thanks for your help in ensuring the safety of all of our students and staff.
Our first PTSA Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 28th, from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. in the Athens Drive Library. In addition to learning about ways you can connect to Athens Drive, we will also be voting on the proposed 2018 – 2019 PTSA Budget, as well as voting in Sherry Skinner as Vice President and Laurie Cockman as Secretary. There are so many ways to use your talents to support our students, staff, and school through your involvement in our PTSA. If you are interested in serving in any capacity, we look forward to seeing you at the meeting or please email our PTSA President, Lysa Fulbright, at president@athensdriveptsa.com. Thank you for making a positive difference!
Rising Juniors who are interested in the Junior Marshal Program can pick up an application in Ms. Crooks’ room, Room 2826, or Ms. Shouse’s room, Room 2812, before school, after school, or during “A” Lunch. All completed applications for our Junior Marshall Program are due by Thursday, September 6th.
Our first SAT Prep Course will soon be starting. The course will begin on September 4th and 5th so that the students taking the course will be prepared for the SAT that is being administered on Saturday, October 6th. This course is for Juniors and Seniors and the cost is $250.00. If your student is interested in enrolling in this course, he/she will need to see Mr. Remaley in Room 2618.
Senior parents, Mr. Remaley is our Senior Advisor, and he does an outstanding job communicating with our Seniors and Senior families. Please sign up for Mr. Remaley’s Senior Text Messages to get all the most up-to-date Senior Class event information. To enroll in his text message, please text the message: @theremaley to the number 81010. This is an invaluable resource for our Seniors and their families.
Seniors and our families, just another reminder that our Graduation date and time for our Class of 2019 has been finalized! Our Seniors will be Graduating on Wednesday, June 12th, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. at the Raleigh Convention Center. Please be sure to save this date and time to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2019! In addition, Seniors need to also be sure they attend the mandatory Graduation Rehearsal on Monday, June 3rd, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Another reminder that as we begin a new school year, I would like to ask all our students and families to be respectful of our Athens Drive neighbors. Please remind your students to park legally, drive in a safe manner, throw trash away properly in trash cans, and use appropriate language as they walk, drive, and move around our school campus. We want to be responsible and respectful neighbors, and I ask that we all represent The Drive in only the highest manner. Thanks for helping to carry on our 40-year tradition of excellence both inside and outside of the classroom!
Parents, as students prepare their outfits for Day 1 and beyond, I would like to again enlist your support in helping us maintain appropriate dress at school. Please be sure that students do not wear strapless shirts and dresses, thin-strapped shirts, tank-tops, short-shorts, clothing that reveals undergarments, and other clothing that violates the dress code. Hats will also not be allowed to be worn on school grounds. I would ask that we work together to be sure our students dress appropriately and focus on learning. We will be focusing on our dress code for the first few weeks of school, and I thank you for your support!
Please remember that if you would like to volunteer in any Wake County Public School System school you must register or reactivate prior to helping with any tutoring, office support, PTSA, sports, band, or club activity this school year. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe school climate conducive to learning.
Please remember to mark your calendars for our Fall Meet the Teacher Night that will be held on Thursday, September 13th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., prior to our Meet the Teacher Night, we will be holding a Senior Parent Meeting. In addition, also at 5:30 p.m., our PTSA will be providing information on how to support our school through volunteering and donating to our PTSA. Thank you for saving this night to engage with our faculty and connect to the school.
Please remember that we have another home Varsity football game this evening, Friday, August 24th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in our stadium against Broughton High School. Prior to the game, beginning at 5:00 p.m., the church that utilizes our school for their services each Sunday is hosting a Block Party to provide school supplies to students. Make it a special night at The Drive by coming early, taking in our Friday Night Lights activities, and building community. Please check out the Athens Drive Athletic website (http://www.wakecountyathletics.com/athensdrivehs) for all our game dates and times of all our Fall sports.
Those are all the announcements for this week. As always, I thank you for your incredible support of our school, and I look forward to a fantastic school year! Please continue to check the Athens Drive website (www.wcpss.net/athensdrivehs) for general information and to help you stay informed. I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend and enjoy the last remaining days of summer. Go JAGS and please take care.