See AHA's Program of Studies for detailed information about academics and course offerings.
The following is AHA's grading scale. Grades are based on the following percentages:
A 94 -100%
A- 90 - 93%
B+ 87 - 89%
B 84 - 86%
B- 80 - 83%
C+ 77 - 79%
C 74 - 76%
C- 70 - 73%
D+ 67 - 69%
D 64 - 66%
D- 60 - 63%
F 59% and below
The criteria for the AHA honor roll are as follows:
To qualify for academic honors, students must have a minimum of four graded credits each trimester.
To earn an academic letter for High Honors, a student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.6667 for one academic year. These students will be honored at an academic reception in the fall of the school year following the year in which they earned the academic letter for High Honors. Seniors who have earned an academic letter for High Honors will receive their letter or chevron on Celebration Day of their senior year.
Academic Top 10
To qualify for Top 10 honors at graduation, a student must have earned at least 40 graded credits at AHA.
The Seraphine Ireland Chapter has established rules for selection for membership that are based upon a student's outstanding performance in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character as determined by the Faculty Selection Committee (FSC). These criteria for selection form the foundation upon which the organization and its activities are built. Membership is an honor bestowed upon a student. It is not an organization for which you can apply.
The selection process works in the following manner: seniors and juniors who meet the scholarship requirement (maintaining a grade point average of 3.6667 during their high school careers) are identified at the beginning of the second trimester. Seniors who have not previously been chosen for membership and juniors are given a Student Activity Information Form (SAIF) to complete during the second trimester, and the Faculty Selection Committee - a committee made up of five Academy of Holy Angels staff members and the NHS advisor, a non-voting member of the committee, determines by majority vote whether or not to admit the candidate. Senior candidates are notified of the outcome in December and junior candidates are notified of the outcome in January. Successful candidates are inducted into the National Honor Society at a ceremony in February.
The criteria for high honor roll and academic lettering is a 3.6667 GPA for one academic year. Students must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits for the academic year. The academic reception will be held in the fall of the following school year, and seniors will be recognized on Celebration Day.
The Academy of Holy Angels mission statement declares that the Academy develops the whole person by nurturing in students a sense of responsibility. In a faith community, we are called to live our values and to discern between what is right and wrong. As an academic institution, honesty is one of our highest values. If we are to develop as integrated people, all members of the community need to celebrate the moral honesty of others and at times challenge behaviors of those who violate the community’s academic integrity. We define a lack of academic integrity to be dishonest or deceitful behavior shown by people who gain an unfair academic advantage through, but not limited to, some of the following methods: plagiarism; copying another’s work; providing details of a specific test or quiz before, during, or after the event; the use of unauthorized aids on tests, such as cheat sheets or programmed calculators, cell phones, or ipods; or recycling/reusing a previous paper or project of one’s own or another’s without the explicit consent of the teacher.
Requirements concerning the use of turnitin.com
For some written assignments, students must submit their work to the Web site, turnitin.com so the originality of the student’s work can be verified. The site turnitin.com is intended to be used as a portal for students to turn in written assignments electronically, as a tool for staff to prevent and deter students from plagiarizing, and to teach students properly how to paraphrase and cite sources. When instructed to do so by the teacher, students must submit work to turnitin.com in order to receive credit for an assignment.
All who choose the AHA community and our mission will be held accountable for actions that violate our sense of academic integrity. Teachers, students and parents are responsible for maintaining this principle. Consequences for violations are listed below.
Moral honor is expected at AHA.
Consequences for Plagiarism and Cheating:
To better address the wide range of potential violations, infractions are classified and processed in two categories.
Class A Violations are offenses that students are assumed to recognize and understand as unethical from their first day at AHA. These automatically result in a zero for the assignment and count toward the three-strike policy (elaborated below) no matter when they are committed. They include:
Cheating on a test
Submitting another's paper, assignment, or homework under one's own name
Because the purpose of our policy is educational rather than punitive, however, teachers may choose to treat certain kinds of offenses as class B violations. These include errors of citation and of judgement leading to instances of plagiarism--whether intended or unintended--in student work, indicating that students require further instruction on proper use of sources and its importance. When judged to have committed a class B violation, students:
1) meet with their teacher to discuss the issue;
2) are assigned to remedial training on use of sources with the librarian;
3) revise the affected assignment (in whole or in part, at the teacher's discretion) under supervision; and
4) resubmit the assignment for up to 50% credit.
Failure to complete these steps will result in a zero for the assignment.
Class B violations do not count toward the three-strike rule during the first two trimesters of freshman year or the first trimester after a student transfers to Holy Angels. After that point, they count as a full strike.
The Three-Strike Rule
In addition to the class A and B procedures above, there are additional escalating consequences for repeat infractions, as defined below.
• First offense: Parents are contacted after one-to-one discussion between the student and teacher and the offense is entered into the student's record.
• Second offense: Parents are again contacted after one-to-one discussion between the student and the teacher. The offense incurs a two-day suspension with zero credit for missed work and is entered into the student's record.
• Third offense: The student is expelled. An appeals process is available.
Daily: Parents have daily access to student academic progress via the online gradebook on myAHA.
An interim report (near the mid-trimester mark) informs parents/guardians of a student’s progress. In addition, at any time during the trimester, a report may be issued in the event a teacher wishes to inform parents/guardians of a student’s progress.
Final Grade Report: A report card is issued within 10 days after the close of each trimester. Report cards and student transcripts are held until all obligations to AHA are fulfilled. These include the following being current or paid in full: tuition, detentions, fines, athletic fees, transportation fees and academic testing fees. Students must also have returned all books that need to be returned.
Interim and Final Grade Reports are available on AHA’s Web site www.academyofholyangels.org. Go to the Parents page and log into myAHA. Grade disputes must be addressed by the student and/or parent within 30 days of the disputed grade.
Incomplete Grades: Incompletes are given to students who face circumstances that prohibit them from finishing required work by the end of the marking period. Examples are illness and family emergencies. Students can make arrangements with individual teachers to receive an incomplete. Teachers enter “I” at the marking period. Students have two weeks from the end of the marking period to make up the work or it becomes an “F” on the permanent record. Giving an incomplete grade instead of a grade of F is not an option for students who have not done the required work on time.
Incompletes are not given at the end of the third trimester.
Students absent from school are expected to work directly with their teachers to complete their missed assignments. Additional assignments may be given upon return, and there may be some classroom or laboratory work, which due to its nature, cannot be made up or cannot be given full credit. If a student has excused absences for four or more days, homework assignments may be sent home. Students absent for more than four days consecutively (five days or more) will need to formulate, in communication with their teachers and a counselor, an academic trimester make-up plan that is in accordance with the Long-Term Absence section of this handbook.
When deadlines are established, the interpretation of the deadline and consequences of not meeting it lie with the person or group setting the deadline. Each community member is expected to stand behind the responsibility inherent in meeting the deadlines established. The Academy community believes that natural consequences should follow for not meeting deadlines. (Example: Students not completing and turning homework in on time may get a zero for that assignment; parents not responding to a deadline may miss an event.)
Parents, staff and students are expected to read the Star Connections, the primary source of information to the community, and will be held accountable for their part in knowing the contents.
Information needs to be communicated in a manner that allows adequate time for processing and/or feedback. All deadlines must be clearly stated.
Recognizing that it is easy to become over-burdened with too much information, all staff will work hard to coordinate and consolidate information to minimize information overload. At the same time, people must be responsible for information
that is shared.
It is the intent of the Board of Trustees and the Administration that students make satisfactory academic and service progress a priority. Satisfactory progress is generally defined as:
1. No F’s at the mid-trimester marking period.
2. No F’s at the trimester marking period.
3. No more than three D’s.
4. Maintaining a Trimester GPA of 1.7 (C-) or above.
5. Maintaining a “Current” Writing Portfolio.
6. Obtaining the minimum Service hours so as to be “Current.”
7. Maintaining a “Passing” status in On-Line Health.
*Must successfully complete items 5, 6 and 7 by Senior year in order to graduate.
Mid-trimester, failing grades and other requirements
Each trimester, students who receive failing grades at mid-trimester will be given a two-week period to raise the grade to passing. The two-week period begins three days after grades are posted. At the end of the two-week period if the student is passing and the appropriate paperwork is turned in to the Guidance Department, there is no consequence. Students who are not passing, or who fail to turn in the required paperwork, will be ineligible to participate for one game/contest/activity during that trimester.
During the 2nd trimester, students who are not “Passing” On-line Health or are not “Current” with their Writing Portfolio or are not “Current” with their Service hours will be given a two-week period to raise their status to Passing or Current. Students who do not rectify this, or who fail to turn in the required paperwork, will be ineligible to participate for one game/contest/activity during that trimester. (*Only one consequence per trimester applies).
Off Campus Privilege for Seniors is revoked for seniors whose status in W.A.C., On-line Health or Service Hours is “Incomplete” or “Not Passing” until that status is rectified...this applies to the entire senior school year. Off Campus Privilege is also revoked for mid-trimester failing grade, until that grade moves to passing.
Ninth grade participants are given a “transition period of grace” during the first trimester. There are no consequences of eligibility until the mid-trimester marking point of the second trimester.
Trimester, failing grades
Students who fail to meet academic progress standards will be put on Academic Probation (see below) at the end of each trimester. Students will be assigned, if possible, an RTI (Response to Instruction) study hall (an individualized study environment of one to six students) for more concentrated and monitored study during the school day of the subsequent trimester. This may be evaluated at the mid-trimester point of the subsequent trimester.
Off Campus Privilege for Seniors is also revoked for 2 weeks following a failing grade at the end of a trimester.
In addition, students are encouraged to get help using the following opportunities:
NOTE: College-bound students should be aware that a minimum GPA should be maintained for entrance into most colleges and is an NCAA and NAIA requirement for eligibility. You must go through the NCAA Clearinghouse Process (see the AHA College/Career Counselors for information).
A student is placed on academic probation, when trimester grades have been reported, if:
1. The student failed a required course (core course), or
2. The student has 3 or more grades of D+ or lower, or
3. The student has a trimester grade point average of less than 1.7.
A student is removed from academic probation when, at the trimester grading period, the student:
1. Has a trimester GPA of 2.0 or higher, and
2. Has no more than one grade of D+ or lower.
Academic probation means a counselor will be available during the trimester to assist the student in developing plans to address the academic shortcomings
Strategies to improve academic performance could include, but are not exclusive to, time management issues, weekly monitoring, assignment checks, and teacher contact. In addition, the parents of students on academic probation are encouraged to maintain regular communication with teachers via email or voicemail.
At the end of the school year, the principal and the counseling department will meet to determine if certain students on academic probation should return to the Academy of Holy Angels the following school year or if their return is contingent upon an academic contract. Prior to the end of a school year, information about students concerning their return the following school year is also gathered from teachers.
It is important that every student at the Academy of Holy Angels receives personal attention and develops a significant relationship with an adult staff member. To assist in accomplishing this, each student will be assigned to a homeroom that will be consistent throughout the student’s remaining years at Holy Angels. Homeroom time will be used by advisors to connect individually with students, distribute school information and advise on basic academic needs. Advisors may participate in student staffings as a result of their daily contact with the students in their homerooms.
Courses selected during registration are considered final. Books and supplies are ordered and teachers placed on the basis of selections. It’s best to avoid making changes after registration. Avoiding drop/adds assures the best possible schedule. After registration, a fee is $35 is assessed for any schedule change.
In order to make a course change, a student must submit a parent’s written permission for the change and pay the $35 fee at the time of the change.
Course change fees are assessed after registration in February. Likewise, when classes begin in the fall, the $35 fee will be assessed for any schedule change, including dropped classes.
Course changes without a fee are made for students if an incorrect class is scheduled, if a teacher recommends that the student take a different course, or if a course is inadvertently left off a student schedule.
Students may not add a class after the first five days of the trimester. Students may not drop a seventh class after the fifteenth day of the trimester.
Ninth and tenth graders are required to be in study hall. This time is provided for students to do homework and prepare other lessons. Therefore, the study hall is quiet. Students should bring textbooks to the study period. Talking, card playing and disruptive behavior are not to occur in a study hall.
Juniors and seniors may be assigned to a study hall, instead of the Commons, during their unscheduled time if they abuse the privilege of unscheduled time. Juniors who are free all of period five will be scheduled into a study hall.
RTI study halls are for the purpose of intense academic preparation. There generally are three to five students per section. Guidance counselors place students in guided study halls.
Access to student records is prohibited to a third party without written authorization. The Academy of Holy Angels will release records at the written request of a student’s parent/guardian. AHA will document such requests as to the recipient of the information, information requested, and date. Student data may include: attendance, immunization, academic records, standardized test data, and necessary Minnesota State High School League good-standing status for athletic/activities participation.
Pursuant to State Statute 121A.64, a student’s “History of Violent Behavior” is an educational record that will be transferred to an enrolling school district (revised July 2008). See the complete policy on staff notification of violent behavior by students in the Discipline and Codes of Conduct section of this Parent and Student Handbook.
*FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
(Academy of Holy Angels policies and procedures regarding Privacy of Education Records)
A. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this policy, AHA uses the following definitions of terms:
B. RIGHT OF ACCESS AND LIMITATIONS
C. RIGHT TO COPIES AND LIMITATIONS
If copies are provided to the parent or eligible student, the fee for copies will be at AHA's actual cost per page. An invoice for the cost of copying will be included with the records provided.
D. PROCEDURE TO INSPECT EDUCATION RECORDS
Parents and eligible students may inspect and review the student’s education records upon submitting a signed and dated written request addressed to the principal or assistant principal of AHA.
An appropriate AHA staff person will make the necessary arrangements for access as promptly as possible and will notify the eligible student or parent of a reasonable time and place where the records may be inspected, but in no case more than 45 days from the receipt of the written request.
E. DISCLOSURE OF EDUCATION RECORDS TO THIRD PARTIES
AHA will disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education records to a third party only with the signed and dated written consent of a parent or the eligible student. The written consent must specify:
Education records may also be disclosed without consent from the parent or eligible student to legally designated individuals or entities, including school officials, including teachers, who have a legitimate educational interest in the records. A student’s “History of Violent Behavior” will be provided to school staff who have a legitimate educational interest. See the complete policy on staff notification of violent behavior by students in the Discipline and Codes of Conduct section of this Parent and Student Handbook.
A school official is:
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is:
AHA specifically reserves the right to disclose "directory information" to any party without a student's consent. "Directory information" includes information contained in an education record of a student which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
Parents or eligible students nonetheless have a right to request that directory information be kept confidential. Such a request should be signed by the parent or eligible student and submitted in writing to the Principal or Assistant Principal of AHA by the end of the first full calendar week of the new school year. Such letters will be effective 365 days after they are received, and the directive to maintain confidentiality then expires unless it is renewed for the next school year.
F. REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OF EDUCATION RECORDS
Parents or eligible students have the right to ask to have education records corrected if they believe that the records are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights. A student’s “History of Violent Behavior” is included in these records. See the complete policy on staff notification of violent behavior by students in the Discipline and Codes of Conduct section of thisParent and Student Handbook. The procedure for requesting an amendment is generally summarized as follows:
G. ANNUAL NOTIFICATION
Parents and eligible students will be notified annually of their rights regarding education records by publishing this policy in the student handbook or by placing this policy in student registration packets.
H. COMPLAINTS
A parent or eligible student may file a written complaint at the following address concerning alleged failures of AHA to comply with the requirements of the federal student privacy law:
Family Policy Compliance Office,
US Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue Southwest
Washington, DC 20202-4605
I. INTENT
This policy is a summary of AHA’s student records policy. Other rules, exceptions, or conditions may apply, as required by applicable law. In any case where a policy provision is incomplete or incorrect, it is the intent of AHA to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
Sacred Places Curriculum is used for the purpose of fulfilling the Protection of Children and Youth mandate of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It is a safe and healthy relationship education program for the prevention of sexual abuse; it is not about sex education. If you have questions about this curriculum, please talk directly with the health teacher, a theology teacher, an administrator, or counselor. Parents can opt-out students on this section of the curriculum with a written request to the Teacher and Principal. Parents can get more detailed information in the Program of Studies.
In cooperation with the Richfield School District, AHA wants to inform parents that students with disabilities attending elementary or secondary private schools in Richfield may be eligible for special education services through the Richfield Public Schools.
Any time throughout the school year, if a parent believes a child may be eligible for special education services, the parent should contact AHA's Learning Variations Specialist for more information.
Additional information about Richfield School District's special education services also can be obtained from the special education director, Mary Pat Mesler, at 612-798-6043.
The state of Minnesota has authorized local public school districts to loan texts, standardized tests, and individualized instructional materials to pupils attending a nonpublic school established and operating within the school district boundaries. On behalf of all AHA students, a request has been made that textbooks, standardized tests and individualized instructional materials be provided on loan this school year. A parent’s acceptance of this policy as part of the AHA Student Handbook indicates acceptance. Parents who do not wish to receive the named items should contact the Principal. The dollar amount provided by state for 2021-22 school year is $79.13.
Most textbooks and materials are furnished to all students free of charge on a loan basis. It is the student’s responsibility to take care of loaned materials. For any materials abused a fine is assessed. Lost books are paid for according to their replacement value. Grades are not given until lost books are returned or paid for. If books are not paid for, the amount of the fine is posted on the tuition bill.
Transfer Students
When students transfer to Holy Angels, their grades and GPA will be accepted as provided by the former school. Only advanced courses at AHA qualify for weighted AHA grades.
Policy for Accepting Study Abroad Students
Academy of Holy Angels (AHA) recognizes the benefits that study abroad students or students who live and/or hold citizenship outside of the United States can bring to the school. The school also recognizes the responsibility it has to create a positive experience for students who travel thousands of miles to attend AHA. To meet these objectives, AHA will adhere to the following policy when accepting study abroad students.
AHA prefers to accept students connected with fully accredited and nationally known programs like Nacel Open Door. We also enroll students coming to us independently on an F-1 visa provided they have secured housing through legal guardian or relative. If they do not, then we refer them to our Designated Local Coordinator who works with families to find suitable housing and supervises the students .
The Academy of Holy Angels will stringently follow all rules of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) regarding all study abroad students’ participation in MSHSL activities.
A student who holds citizenship and/or residency in another country and who chooses to live with a local family (not his/her own parents or guardians) may apply for admission to AHA. In order to ensure adequate authority and supervision of the exchange student, one condition for acceptance is that the student’s parents/legal guardians must sign over legal guardianship to the local family while the student lives with them and attends AHA.
All non-U.S. students must be in full compliance with the Student and Visitor Exchange Program (SEVP) and its Information System (SEVIS) requirements.
Adopted by the AHA Board of Trustees May 22, 2006.
If a student wants to transfer to a new school but remain eligible for participation in AHA varsity sports for one year following the transfer, the following stipulations must be met:
Tuition-paying students are extended access to the privilege of participating in the co-curricular programs offered at Academy of Holy Angels through the varsity level.
Under Minnesota Statute 124D.03 Enrollment Options Program and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Transfer and Residence Bylaw 111.00, when a student transfers to a new high school without a change of residence by their parents, that student may participate in co-curricular programs in their previous high school if their parents elect that option, and they may retain “full eligibility for varsity competition for one (1) calendar year at the school where the student enrolled prior to the transfer after which time the student shall become fully eligible at the school to which the student has open enrolled.”
Students entering Academy of Holy Angels under this Statue and bylaw must meet all participation requirements and rules set by the MSHSL and Academy of Holy Angels. This includes Holy Angels’ participation rules on attendance, chemical health, behavior, and academic including writing-across-the-curriculum and college portfolios. Students participating under this rule must have earned and must continuously maintain grades of C- or better beginning from one calendar year previous to the start of the season. Full tuition, registration and activities fees for the entire school year must be paid in full prior to the start of the athletic season.
Failed Required Courses
Grades for Required Courses
Elective Summer School Courses
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is an integral part of each student’s learning at the Academy. WAC ensures that students have writing experience in a variety of formats and that they have writing opportunities in each of their classes. As a part of WAC, students maintain writing portfolios throughout their high school careers that include samples of a variety of writing formats--narrative, expository, technical, and more. Portfolios are a way for students to demonstrate the range and depth of their writing abilities and encourage them to practice the process of writing--imagining, prewriting, drafts, and revision. In the spring of their senior year, all students participate in a portfolio conference with an AHA staff member to review their writing progress. A complete portfolio is a prerequisite for graduation.
All Academy rules that apply to students under age 18 also apply to those who are age 18 or older. Where dictated by the legal status of students who are 18 years of age or older, certain procedures will be modified in their application to such students.
( posted 7/13/11; updated 7/5/12 mn; 7/11/12 mn; 8/9/12 mn; 6/13/13 mn; 6/19/14 mn; ; 6/26/18 cd; 6/19/20 cd;1/6/23hn)
