Topsail High School

New building

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Topsail High School was held on December 12, 2006 at 2:00 PM and on December 30, 2008 construction was completed on the new school, located within walking distance to the former Topsail High School and Topsail Middle School. The new school opened for students on January 5, 2009, with a capacity of 1500 students. The new 224,727-square-foot (20,877.8 m²), two-story high school facility includes two gymnasiums, a theater/auditorium wing, and a separate shop building for wood, metal and automotive classes. The former Topsail High School building has been renovated and is now occupied by Topsail Middle School starting in August 2009.

Student life

The school has a population of students consisting of 90% White, 8% African American, 1% Latino, and 1% other. The school Electric Vehicle Class has placed first in the Nation in the past eleven years in the EV Challenge competition. Topsail High School has been used in production for The CW's TV show One Tree Hill. Many students participated as extras in early 2007 when the Topsail High School gymnasium was used for filming basketball scenes for One Tree Hill.

Classes

Students must pass their Math and English classes each year to be promoted to the next grade level.

Starting with the entering Freshman class of 2006-07, students must successfully complete a senior project and score a level 3 or 4 on the following end-of-course exams: English 1, Algebra 1, Civics/Economics, Biology, and US History.

Exams count as 25% of the final grade in all classes

A student must have a minimum of 28 credits to graduate, 14 state required classes and 14 electives.

Honors & advanced classes

Students selecting Honors/Advanced classes are expected to achieve no less than a strong “C” average to receive Honors/Advanced weighted credit. In classes with a state end of year exam, students are expected to exhibit strong proficiency as well.

It is important that all students realize they must follow a College Tech Prep or College/University Prep curriculum. Students planning on attending a Community or Technical College would select the College Tech prep curriculum. Students in the College Tech Prep Program must take a minimum of four (4) course electives from one of the major Tech Prep content areas, i.e.: Health Sciences, Bio/Chemical, Public Service, Business, Commercial and Art Production, Construction, Engineering. One elective must be an advanced level course. Internships and apprenticeships may be an option for students who have completed a Level II course with approval by Mrs. France.

Grading scale

Graduation requirements

Students graduating from a Pender County high school must successfully complete 28 course units on block scheduling in grades 9 through 12 as described below.

the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

Algebra I, if successfully completed in 8th grade, will be placed on the student’s transcript and will qualify as a prerequisite for Geometry; however, only those Math units earned in grades 9-12 count toward the number of units required for graduation.

Students who transfer from another state without block scheduling will be assigned their unit potential minus four (4).

Dual enrollment

Students may enroll in college courses and gain high school and college credit simultaneously. Tuition fees are waived if courses are taken at Cape Fear Community College. Book costs are not waived and must be paid by the student. Tuition fees are not waived if courses are taken at UNC-Wilmington. Dual enrollment applications with school administrative approval, completion of registration card and placement test scores are required prior to enrolling. Three to five semester hours of college credit is equal to one (1) unit of high school credit. Students must take at least two courses at Topsail High School and may not register for classes off campus that are offered at the school unless there is a scheduling conflict.

UNC-W requirements

1. GPA: 3.5
2. Must be 16 years of age
3. Must complete Dual Enrollment Application with school administration approval.
4. Must have a PSAT score of 110 and/or SAT score of 1100

Quality Points and Credit:

1. Students will receive one unit of high school credit if the college contact hours are no less than 135.
2. Students will receive college credit for courses taken and passed, if the college contact hours are no less than 135.
3. Only four courses will be figured into the GPA per semester (unless a student is taking 5 or more courses on the high school campus).

Cape Fear Community College requirements

Note: Cape Fear Community College Huskins Courses have been canceled for the 2009-2010 school year due to budget cuts.

1. Must be 16 years of age.
2. Must complete Dual Enrollment Application with school administration approval prior to enrollment.
3. Must complete the registration card prior to enrollment.
4. Must meet the required criteria on the Accuplacer Test at Cape Fear Community College and earn proficiency prior to enrollment.
5. Students enrolled in the following qualifying Huskins courses must take the Accuplacer test and meet proficiency requirements or have a score of 470 on the SAT Critical Reading section and/or a score of 450 on the SAT Math section:

Quality Points and Credit:

1. Students will receive one unit of high school credit for three to five hours of college credit passed, if the contact hours are no less than 135.
2. Students will receive college credit for courses taken and passed.
3. All students will receive honors credit for each College Transfer course passed.
4. Students may not receive high school credit for more than four courses per semester. Only four courses will be figured into the GPA per semester (unless 5 courses are taken on the high school campus).

Clubs

Topsail High School offers the following clubs:

To participate in clubs or sports, students must meet Athletic Eligibility requirements.

Class Rank

Grade Point Average (GPA) will be used to determine rank in class, honor roll and other academic honors. Three levels of courses will be used to determine rank. They provide a fair and equitable method for comparing the academic achievement of students who choose to take Standard, Honors or Advanced Placement courses.

All courses taken on the Topsail High School campus in grades 9-12 count for class ranking purposes. Students in Dual Enrollment courses may count a maximum of 4 courses for class ranking purposes (may include a combination of Topsail High School courses and Dual Enrollment courses but may not exceed 4 courses). Honor ranking will be determined at some point during the Junior and Senior years. To be included in the honor ranking, a student must have been in attendance a minimum of one full semester. In the event of ties, a school may use a numerical average to break them.

Sports

Athletic Eligibility

Student athletic eligibility is determined by the successful passing of fifty percent of the classes in the semester prior to the semester of the sport participation. Serving as an on-campus intern, teacher assistant, and media assistant does not count as a class for eligibility. Students must be present in school no less than 85% of the semester in order to be eligible for the next semester’s sport season. Topsail High School currently provides the following sports: