Outside of the regular school day, Gwinnett students have many opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities. For a number of reasons, you’re encouraged to participate in one or more extracurricular activities while you are in high school. For one, students who are involved are more connected to their school. For another, extracurricular competitions allow you to represent your school and earn recognition for your achievements. Extracurricular activities offer you  a chance to learn something new or learn more about something that interests you, to develop a talent, or perform with your peers. Extracurricular activities also give you an opportunity to develop and demonstrate leadership. Following is a general introduction to extracurricular options that may be available. However, offerings vary from school to school.

Explore the options available at your school and get involved!

Athletics

Gwinnett’s athletic programs focus on the importance of teamwork, how to cope with success and disappointment, and the necessity of physical well-being. High schools may offer the following athletic teams:

Adapted Sports

Handball, basketball, and football are available for students with physical disabilities (Gwinnett Heat).

The governing body for all competitive interscholastic teams is the Georgia High School Association (GHSA).  The GHSA by-laws state, “All students establishing eligibil- ity as entering 9th graders are automatically eligible for the first semester.”

All entering 9th graders are eligible to try out for all GHSA- sanctioned activities at the high school. Students participat- ing in GHSA events must meet GHSA eligibility require- ments. To be eligible to participate in, practice in, and/or  try out for interscholastic activities, a student must pass classes that carry at least 2.5 units counting toward gradua- tion the semester immediately preceding participation.

Note: The GHSA requirements for being on track for gradu- ation and the GCPS promotion policy are not the same. Please refer to the high school requirements for promotion to see the differences in the requirements.

Students may not practice or participate in athletic activities on a school day if they have been absent for more than one- half of the day or have served in-school suspension that day.

All student-athletes are subject to the GCPS Code of Conduct for Athletes, which sets high expectations and consistent consequences for all students participating in GHSA-sanctioned athletic activities. See the “Student Par- ent Handbook” for the Code of Conduct. Check with your high school coach or counselor on how Carnegie units earned in middle school affect NCAA eligibility.

Students have numerous opportunities in the following visual and performing arts areas:

By audition, students may qualify to participate in the Kendall Orchestra, the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony, and other fine arts performance groups.

GCPS high schools have a strong tradition of success in academic competitions. Here are just a few competitions in which students compete as teams or individuals.

‡GHSA-governed extracurricular competitions

Each school’s website has a list of available clubs. Examples of clubs found in Gwinnett high schools include:

• Academic and co-curricular clubs that focus on math, science, writing, foreign language, technology, business and marketing, and other areas of
• Service and leadership groups, and honor
• Special-interest clubs, such as debate, chess, broadcast, publications, the environment, sports, and more…