A 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, 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 English classes each year and meet minimum credit requirements to be promoted to the next grade level. Students must successfully complete a senior project and score a level 3 or 4 on the following end-of-course exams: Math I, Biology and English II. Exams count as 20% of the final grade in all classes A student must have a minimum of 28 credits to graduate, 22 state required classes and 6 local requirements.
Honors & advanced classes
Topsail High School offers many honors and advanced-level classes; students should consider teacher recommendations when registering for classes, and should take the most challenging courses they can.
Grading scale
A = 100-90
B = 89-80
C = 79-70
D = 69-60
F = 59 and below
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.
4 units in English
4 units in Mathematics
4 units in Social Studies
3 units in Science
1 unit in Health/Physical Education
6 electives, to include a 4-credit concentration
6 additional courses to meet the locally required 28 courses.
High school courses taken in middle school, and credits earned via Credit by Demonstrated Mastery will be placed on the student's transcript and will count towards credits required for graduation; however, only courses taken in grades 9-12 count toward the student's GPA.
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 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.
Must meet the required criteria on the Accuplacer Test at Cape Fear Community College and earn proficiency prior to enrollment OR have qualifying ACT or SAT scores.
Quality Points and Credit:
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.
Students will receive college credit for courses taken and passed.
All students will receive AP credit for each College Transfer course passed.
Class Rank
Grade Point Average 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.
A
B
C
D
F
Standard Course
4
3
2
1
0
Honors Course
4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
0
AP Course
5
4
3
2
0
All courses taken in grades 9-12 count for class ranking purposes.
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:
