November 18, 2015

Post date: Nov 18, 2015 3:12:27 PM

HS Guidance News by Chrissy Kafkalas (kafkalac@jenkintown.org) 

The Mock ACT will be held on Monday, November 23 from 12noon to 4pm in the Cafeteria (10th and 11th Graders)– If you did not sign-up by the deadline, you can show up and test on Stand By….meaning that after everyone checks in, if there are extra exams, you will be permitted to test.

FINANCIAL AID NIGHT has been scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 6pm in the High School Guidance Suite.  Parents of 11th and 12th Graders are welcome to attend. 

PSAT Results (10th and 11th Grade) will be mailed home in late January/early February.  The PSAT is new this year which will result in a longer scoring window.  **Please note: The school only receives one student copy, therefor, the PSAT results are only mailed to the custodial parent**

Interested in business or health care careers? Would you like a culturally diverse summer educational experience?  

Applications are now available for Lehigh University - Pennsylvania for Global Entrepreneurship & The University of Pittsburgh – Health Careers Scholar Academy.  Current Sophomores and Juniors may apply; the application deadline is February 15, 2016.  

For more information on the Global Entrepreneurship: http://www.iacocca-lehigh.org/Iacocca/psge/

For more information on the Health Careers Scholar Academy: http://www.hcsa.pitt.edu 

FOR SENIORS:

• FINANCIAL AID NIGHT: Tuesday, January 12 at 6pm in the High School Guidance Suite. 

  • VERY IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your child is checking their email for important emails from the schools where they have applied too.  Many schools REQUIRE students to create a school account to check the status of their application and for many——> to check the admissions status.  Not only that, but I have been hearing from many students this year that colleges are emailing them directly and letting them know if they are missing application materials and/or request ions MP1 Report Card Grade to be sent.  If your college is requesting grades, you MUST notify Ms. Kafkalas.

  • Make sure that you are watching your college application deadlines, log into Family Connection to review your college list, to request transcripts and to review journal entry notes. 

  • Do you know if our schools requires the CSS Financial Aid Profile?  Not sure what it is?  Find out here: https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile 

  • Available Scholarships:  Did you know you can do a scholarship search in Family Connection.  Login today to see what scholarships are available to you.  Here is a preview:

    • Boston University Trustee Scholarship: Deadline to apply is December 1, 2015: http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/costs-aid-scholarships/scholarships/trustee/

    • Mensa Education & Research Foundation Scholarship Essay Contest: http://www.mensafoundation.org/what-we-do/scholarships/

    • Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarship Program: Deadline to Apply is January 20, 2016: http://www.rmhc.org/rmhc-us-scholarships 

FOR JUNIORS:

• The Mock ACT will be held on Monday, November 23 from 12noon to 4pm in the Cafeteria.

  • FINANCIAL AID NIGHT: Tuesday, January 12 at 6pm in the High School Guidance Suite. 

  • Guidance is starting to set up Junior IGP Meetings with the first appointment starting on November 30.  Please contact Chrissy Kafkalas at kafkalac@jenkintown.org to set up your appointment.  Appointments start as early as 7:30am and the last appointment is at 3:00pm (Please note that 7:30am meetings are limited).  The meetings run 45 minutes and the meeting is held with the parent(s) and student.  We will review the HS Transcript, plan for senior courses, talk about college admissions testing, and so much more. 

  • The Third Junior Workshop will be held during the week of December 7th.  This workshop will focus on the high school transcript and school profile as well as a Career Interest Inventory.

    • Previous Workshops:

      • Week of October 26th: 1st Workshop: Intro to Junior Guidance Workshops, Overview of Family Connection, Intro to College Admissions

      • Week of November 9th: 2nd Workshop: Intro to College Board/SAT New vs. Old, and the ACT.  Click here to download the packet that was given to the students: https://goo.gl/eLDzTa 

FOR SOPHOMORES:

• The Mock ACT will be held on Monday, November 23 from 12noon to 4pm in the Cafeteria. 

  • Tuesday, January 12, 2016: Eastern Center for Arts and technology will be visiting Jenkintown to give an information Session to all 10th and 11th grade students.  These sessions will be given during the school day.  To  learn more about the programs offered at Eastern, please visit: http://www.eastech.org/eastern-programs/faq/ 

  • Wednesday, February 24, 2016: Eastern Center for Arts and Technology Field Trip for interested 10th and 11th grade students. ****DID YOU KNOW THERE WILL BE A NEW PROGRAM FOR THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR:  ANIMAL SCIENCE/VET TECH!****

• The Sophomore's will begin their guidance workshop in the next month or so. The focus of the workshops will include the following:

  • Intro to Family Connection

    • Career Cluster Finder: The Cluster Finder will help the student learn what career clusters may be a good match based on activities that interest them, personal qualities that they have and subjects that they enjoy studying in school.

  • High School Transcript and the meaning of the GPA and credits.

  • Getting involved: Extra-Curriculuar Activities and Volunteering and the Resume

FOR FRESHMEN:

• The Freshmen will begin their guidance workshops start Monday, November 30, 2015:

  • 1st Workshop (Week of November 30th) will focus on Intro to Family Connection

    • 2nd Workshop (TBD) will focus on the High School Transcript and the meaning of the GPA and credits and getting involved: Extra-Curriculuar Activities and Volunteering and the Resume and a Healthy On-line Social Media Presence.

  • 3rd Workshop (TBD) will focus on —>Do What You Are Self Discovery Personality Type Assessment: This report will provide the student with information about their personal Characteristics.  They will learn about careers that are matched to them and their personal strengths and blind-spots. The personality type is not an exact science, however, understanding your type can help guide you in making better decisions about your future.