American High Schoolsby Holly Walker

Students

High school includes students which are in 9th to 12th grade (ages 14 to 18).

9th graders are called Freshmen10th graders are called Sophomores11th graders are called Juniors12th graders are called Seniors

Schedule and Subjects

School starts at 7:30am and goes until 2:30 pm. At the start of the day, students say the pledge of allegiance. Students have 30 minutes to eat lunch, which they eat together at school.

All students have to take English, Science, Math, and History. Gym is also required. Students choose electives such as music, art, band, technology, or foreign language (usually Spanish or French).

Grades

Grades can be numbers or letters. Schools either use the letters A to F (A is the best and F is failing) or numbers 0 to 100 (below 65 is failing).

Vacations

School starts at the beginning of September and finishes in the middle of June. Students have nearly 3 months of summer vacation.

They also have 2 days off for Thanksgiving, almost 2 weeks off for Christmas, 1 day off in January for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, one week off for Easter, and 1 day off in May for memorial day.

Sports

FootballBasketballVolleyballSwimmingTrack and FieldSoccerCheerleading http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXRWQa9tQLw

Mascots

Dances

School dances are very common. A Homecoming dance is held at the beginning of the school year to celebrate the school's football team.

Prom is the major dance at the end of the school year for seniors, and students vote for a Prom King and Prom Queen.

Buses

Americans usually do not walk to school because it is too far away. Most students take the school bus.

It is free. You wait in front of your house, and the bus

stops in front of your driveway. At the end of the day, the bus will bring you home.

Lockers

Students move from class to class. Teachers do not change rooms. Students leave their belongings in their lockers. They have 4 to 5 minutes between classes to go to their lockers.

Graduation

When students finish 12th grade, they graduate from high school

There is a graduation ceremony with speeches and music, and students receive their diplomas.

They wear a cap and gown to the ceremony.