SOME information about public high school (keep in mind that this information may change based on what school you’re in):
What grade does it start?
High school doesn’t always start in 9th grade but it usually does. In my district, it doesn’t. In my district, we still consider 9th grade high schoolers so they’re a little involved in our school but they’re not in the high school. In my district, they’re in the middle school building but they will take the bus to our school when there’s an assembly or when they’re involved in a sport. However, when writing a story about high school, you’ll want to have the 9th graders in the high school building because that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Vaping & hall monitors
Some students vape in the bathroom and hall monitors will randomly enter the bathroom to make sure you aren’t doing that. Hall monitors are too into their job. They literally think they of themselves as cops. A hall monitor has demanded that a girl student show that she has no vape in her bra even though the hall monitor had no reason to suspect that the girl was vaping as she didn’t even have a vape out nor did she act suspicious (the girl didn’t even have a vape). A boy student has mentioned that an old male hall monitor followed him into the boy’s bathroom and WATCHED the boy pee. When the boy very loudly said that the old hall monitor is weird, the teacher yelled at him for disrespecting a staff member. Hall monitors also make sure you aren’t fooling around in the halls when you’re supposed to be in class.
Dress code
Girls can’t show their shoulders in school since the school thinks that showing your shoulders would be a distraction to boys but we all know it’s because of the male teachers or other male staff members. Your shorts are not allowed to be too short. You’re not allowed to wear mesh clothing. You can’t have your hood up but you can wear a hat. You can’t wear a long coat during class but you can wear a short coat during class.
Freshmen
Sophomores (10th grade), juniors (11th grade), and seniors (12th grade) will all make fun of the freshmen (9th grade) if the freshmen give them a reason to. I have heard a freshman say that they’re in love with trees so that’s something that they would make fun of them for. Freshmen tend to be the most childish group of all in high school although you will obviously find childish people in every group.
Hallway
If you walk slow in the hall, people will step on the back of your shoe on purpose. You’re supposed to walk on the right side of the hall but some people don’t follow that unwritten rule. Some people will randomly stop right in front of you in the hall so you have to walk around them. I have to do zigzag walks everyday because of that. Some people will randomly stop right in front of you only to turn around which is either because they don’t know where they’re going or they forgot what hour it was for a moment.
Hours / classes
In high school, you have 6 hours (6 different classes). You have 6 classes during the first semester of school and 6 classes during the second semester of school. However, some of your classes may change as some classes are only one semester long. Even if you take a two semester long class, you may have to have it during a different hour (or with a different teacher or both) then you had the other semester. Some things you might hear a student say: “I should get to my 4th hour now but I’ll see ya later” or “I have to get to my English class but I’ll see ya later.”
Graduation requirements
English - You are forced to take English class in every grade (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th). Math - In 9th grade, you have to take Algebra 1. In 10th grade, you have to take Geometry. In 11th grade, if you had a C or higher in your Algebra 1 class, you would be placed into “Algebra 2 with trig.” In 11th grade, if you had a grade lower than a C in your Algebra 1 class, you would be placed into Algebra 2. In 12th grade, you can either take a math class of your choosing (like calculus) or you can take a math-related class that adds up to one school year such as forensic science and web design. Forensic science is only for one semester and web design is only for one semester which if taken together adds up to two semesters (which is a school year). Science - In 9th grade, you must take “investigations of Chemistry and investigations of Physics” which is a two semester long class. In 10th grade, you have to take biology. However, I have seen a senior within biology class because they kept failing the class. Most of the class is 10th grade though. In 11th or 12th grade (you get to pick which grade but most people take this in 11th grade), you must pick chemistry or physics. Chemistry is easier and more interesting though. History - In 9th grade, you have to take world history class. In 10th grade, you have to take economics during one semester and government during the other semester. In 11th grade, you have to take US history. In 12th grade, you DON’T have any history class (yay). PE / Health - You have to take 1 semester of PE during any grade of your choosing. Although, if you have a cool counselor like I do, you don’t have to take PE (I got out of it even though I have no physical issues and I never said I did). You have to take 1 semester of health class during 9th grade. During health class, we do meditation very often. World language - You have to take 2 years of either Spanish, German, or French. However, if you pick one language for one year and pick a different language for another year, it doesn’t count. For example, if you pick Spanish for one year and then take German the next year, it wouldn’t count towards your graduation requirement. If you pick Spanish for one year, you must take it the next. You can still take more than one language class but you have to take 2 years of the same language. Art - You must take one year of any art class of your choosing. While any grade may take art, you’ll find that there’s more juniors and seniors in it. Almost forgot to mention that if you don’t want to take an art class, you can take choir or band instead.
English class titles
English class in 9th grade is called Freshmen English, English class in 10th grade is called Sophomore English, English class in 11th grade is called Junior English, and English class in 12th grade is called Senior English. Because of that, everyone in your English class will be in the same grade as you. Nobody is in a different grade than you in your English class. It’s the only class in which everyone will be in the same grade as you (because if someone younger than you is SUPER SMART, they can end up being in your math class even though most of your math class is your grade). If it’s the first semester of school, your English class title will have the letter A at the end of it. If it’s the second semester of school, your English class title will have the letter B at the end of it. Ex: Senior English A is during the first semester and Senior English B is during the second semester.
What are electives?
Electives are generally classes that aren’t relating to the graduation requirement classes. However, if it’s PE or art class, it is both a graduation requirement class and an elective. So your English, math, history, and main science classes aren’t electives. Some examples of electives: woodshop, forensic science, dental class, cosmetology, zoology, robotics, welding, computer science, car repair, furniture building, nursing, web design, and graphic design.
School pictures & schedules
A few weeks before school starts, you’re supposed to walk into the school to take your school picture, receive your class schedule, and receive your very own personal Chromebook that you’ll have to return at the end of the school year.
How do you know what lunch you have?
There’s 3 different lunches which are all based on who your 4th hour teacher is. If you have 1st lunch, you have to go to the lunch room immediately after your 3rd hour ends. If you have 2nd lunch, you won’t go to the lunch room until the middle of your 4th hour. If you have 3rd lunch, you won’t go to the lunch room towards the end of 4th hour. That means that it is possible that your friends might not have the same lunch as you so you might have to sit next to some random people.
Lockers
I’ll be honest, in my high school, we don’t really use our lockers. We are allowed to bring our backpacks to class with us as long as it is to the side of your desk and isn’t in the way of where someone may be walking. Since we’re allowed to, everyone brings their backpacks to their class. Athletes use their lockers the most. A time in which some people will use their lockers is when they have two pairs of shoes or when they need to put their coat away. Some students will decorate the inside of their locker. However, not everyone does that as we don’t even use our lockers that much. I for one have never used my locker even though I’m now in my last year of high school. I haven’t even bothered to find out where my locker is because I don’t need it. You can tell what locker belongs to an athlete because on the outside of the locker, it will say so. It’ll have their name and sport number on it but not directly on the locker obviously. It’s a piece of paper attached to the locker.
Can you have snacks or drinks in class?
You may bring a water bottle to any class and drink it in any class. Most teachers could care less if you bring a snack into class. However, some teachers are very strict about having no snacks in their class. On the first day of school, your teachers will tell you if they allow you to have snacks in their class or not. Some teachers don’t want you to bring a colored drink to class but most teachers allow you to bring any drink into class. If the teacher has an allergy to something, they’ll put up a sign and will completely ban anything with their allergy from entering their class.
Titles for 2 semester long classes
If a class is 2 semesters long, you will find that it will say “* class name * A” during the first semester and “* class name * B” during the second semester.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I can answer any of them especially since I’m a senior (last year of high school). Oh! And I almost forgot to mention that there’s one police officer within a high school. As for hall monitors, there’s usually about 4 or 5. If you’d like me to create a fake high school class schedule for your characters so it’ll be easier on you, let me know.