Parent FAQs

Components of the modified NHS schedule include:

The traditional A/B-day schedule will remain in place Monday through Thursday of each week, with Monday and Wednesday generally A-days and Tuesday and Thursday generally B-days. Four classes will meet each day for approximately 90 minutes each, with the first hour on A-day devoted to seminar.

A C-day format will be added on Fridays, with all seven academic classes meeting for a shorter time of 45 minutes each.
The seminar block will move from second hour on B-day, to first hour on A-day to accommodate a blended instruction format that will provide greater flexibility for students and teachers. In addition to offering students the opportunity to pursue, enrich and remediate their course work, the seminar block will be used by teachers to work with students on grade-level specific instructional modules that will be required for students to receive seminar credit. Students also can use this blended seminar time on Mondays and Wednesdays for individual learning opportunities and experiences both in and outside of school.
The Friday C-day format will include a 74-minute lunch/seminar block in the middle of the school day that students can use to have lunch, meet with teachers during “office hours,” and work on class work. Students also will be required to report for a short seminar block during this timeframe.

Q: How will the new blended seminar format work and how will it benefit students?
A: First and foremost, it is important to note that there will be no blended seminar until the end of September to give students and staff time to adjust to the new schedule.

Once under way, the first block (1A) blended learning seminar opportunity on Mondays and Wednesdays will provide greater flexibility for students to pursue areas of interest and work independently. Students can still use the time during seminar for more traditional purposes such as meeting with teachers to get extra help, making up tests, working on homework, and meeting with classmates to work on group projects. However, under the blended model students can also use this time either in or outside of school to enhance their learning and understanding and address their individual areas of interest. This can include SAT preparation, digital citizenship, academic integrity, college and career readiness, completing college applications, job shadowing, or volunteering in the community, to name just a few. On blended days, students will be required to report to seminar for the last 20 minutes of class. The A-day seminar block also will be used by seminar teachers for a blended instruction model in which grade-level specific instructional modules will be required for seminar credit.

Not every 1A seminar block will be used for blended learning, and on those day students will be required to report to their seminar class at 7:20 a.m. (the start of the school day). Students will be informed by high school administration and/or their seminar teachers as to which days will be blended learning seminars and which will be traditional seminar days.

Q: What is blended learning?
A: Blended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It represents a much greater change in basic technique than simply adding computers to classrooms; it represents, in many cases, a fundamental change in the way teachers and students approach the learning experience. There is a general consensus among education innovators that blended learning has three primary components:

In-person classroom activities facilitated by a teacher.
Online learning materials, often including pre-recorded lectures given by that same teacher.
Structured independent study time guided by the material in the lectures and skills developed during the classroom experience.
A course created in a blended learning model uses the classroom time for activities that benefit the most from direct interaction. Traditional education tends to place an emphasis on delivering material by way of a lecture, while in a blended learning model lectures can be videotaped ahead of time so the student can watch on their own time. The classroom time is more likely to be for structured exercises that emphasize the application of the curriculum to solve problems or work through tasks.

Q: How will C-days work?

A: Under the C-day format, students will attend all 7 academic classes for a shorter period of 45-minutes with a 6 minute passing time (one minute different than passing on A-days and B-days). The opportunity for students to have each class three times each week will provide more consistency in the instruction and learning process. At the same time, we recognize the need to be intentional about how C-days are used when it comes to student assessments, classroom activities and Thursday night homework assignments/studying to ensure students don’t become overwhelmed.

Student Travel Booklets

Students will receive travel booklets that allow them to visit any of their teachers during seminar. Students “sign-out” to a teacher when they leave their seminar room and the teacher initials the line when the student arrives to his or her room and when the student leaves. You can view these pages to find out how your student is using their time in seminar.

Parent Portal

MiStar’s Parent Portal is a web application that provides parents with direct access to student data via the Internet. Using a confidential PIN (personal identification number) and password, parents can connect to the school district’s student database using a web browser and view their child’s data, such as progress reports, attendance records, report cards, transcripts, and more.

How do I obtain a login ID and password? If you are new to the school district, you should receive your PIN and password in the mail. If you have registered for the 2015-16 school year and are new to the district, you will receive your PIN and password in the Fall. You can easily reach the site by clicking on the “black star P” icon on the top of your NHS screen.

District & Building News

How do I receive district & building news? The Northville Public School district and Northville High School send out valuable information via LISTSERV. To sign up for this information by clicking on the following link: Email Subscription (ListServe)

Communication with Teachers

How do I contact my child’s teachers? E-mail is a great way to contact teachers. Since many of them share rooms with other teachers, it may be difficult to reach them by phone. Their e-mail address is listed on the Northville High School webpage. Click on Staff and then click on the letter that is the first letter of the teacher’s last name. If you know how to spell the teacher’s first & last name, you can type the first 6 letters of the teacher’s last name followed by the first 2 letters of teacher’s first name. Put that in front of @northvilleschools.org. Some teachers have resources on MOODLE or a teacher webpage. Refer to the teacher’s class syllabus to for more information.

Student ID Card

Students can use their student ID card to pay for lunch. This feature is available in the Parent Portal program which will give parents the ability to electronically add a payment to their child’s cafeteria (food services) account. To utilize this feature, log in to the Parent Portal system, click on the “Cafeteria” module and then click on the “Online Food Services Payments” link in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Once completed and processed, the payment will be immediately applied to the child’s cafeteria account. These transactions are processed through PayPal which charges a processing fee of $0.30 plus 2.9% of the transaction total. A PayPal account is not needed to complete the transaction. Payments can be made with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.

Attendance & Missed work

How do I notify the school of my child’s absence? See handbook for school policy.

How do I obtain my child’s missing work if s/he is ill?
If your child is out of school for an extended period of 3 or more days due to illness, contact the counseling administrative assistant at 248-344-3810 or email your student’s teachers. When notified, teachers will drop off any available assignments in the counseling office lobby. Please allow 24 hours for homework turnaround.

What should I do if I know my child needs to miss school in the future?
When it is necessary to miss school for more than a day because of family business, students must submit a pre-arranged Absence Form to their teachers a minimum of three (3) days prior to the absence. The forms are available in the attendance office.

Pre-arranged absence forms are available in the office for those students who know in advance that they are going to be absent. After the absence form has been signed by the parent and each teacher, it must be presented to the Attendance Office. The teacher has the option of requiring the student to make-up work either before the pre-arranged absence or upon returning. Teachers are to report the student absent on the day that the student is not in class and record it as an absence in their grade book.

What should my child do upon returning to school from an absence?
After returning to school from an absence, students must make contact with teachers by the end of the B day following the absence. At this time the student and teacher will agree upon how make up work will be completed. Students are responsible for making-up all assignments. However many days your child was absent will be the amount of time s/he has to complete missing work.

Calculation of GPA

A semester course at Northville High School earns a .5 credit. For calculating Grade Point Averages add the total honor points and divide by the number of credits attempted. Use the following chart for honor points to calculate Grade Point Average for classes earning .50 credits.

Value of Honor
Grade Grade Points
A+/A 4.0 2
A- 3.666 1.833
B+ 3.333 1.6665
B 3.0 1.5
B- 2.666 1.333
C+ 2.333 1.1665
C 2.1
C- 1.666 0.833
D+ 1.333 .6665
D 1.0 .5
D- . 666 .333
I/E 0 0

Each quarterly report card will show the Grade Point Average for that marking period. The cumulative Grade Point Average and the total credits attempted/passed are only recorded at the end of the semester.

Clubs & Organizations

Please encourage your child to become active in a school activity. Research has shown that this fosters connection to the school for a more positive experience and more investment in success. Various clubs and organizations at NHS and their sponsors can be found on the Arts & Activities link.

Lost & Found

Articles lost during the school year are placed in the counseling office. Students may come to the counseling office during the school day and claim their possessions. Items not claimed by the end of each quarter will be donated to a charity organization.