Dream Team Chronicles
Late Spring/Corona Virus Edition
March Madness
AP Testing
Please be mindful that all AP exam materials have been ordered, students who signed up to take the AP test must take the exam. If a student opts to back out of the exam, they must pay a $40 fee.
The exam dates are as follows:
Parent Request: Career Advice for students
Dear parents,
We are looking for parents to come in to Wolcott High School and give our students advice and insight about your careers. Where do students see themselves 10 years from now and how do they get there?
Career day is scheduled for Thursday, May 3 from 8:45am to 10:45am. Career day is a great opportunity to get students thinking about their future. All students will be scheduled for three-30 minute career presentations.
8:50 Presenters are brought to classroom locations
Group 1 9:04-9:34 (30)
Group 2 9:38-10:08 (30)
Group 3 10:12-10:42 (30)
10:45 Breakfast for career presenters
Each career day volunteer will be scheduled in a classroom with a teacher and up to 25 students per group. A late breakfast will be provided to all career day volunteers at 10:45.
Could you spare a few hours of your day and give advice to our students about your career? Please let me know if you would like to share your expertise, have any questions, or know someone that will come in.
Career day will not be possible without numerous speakers. Please consider this request; we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Nancy Cyr
Wolcott High School
Career Center
(203) 879-7602-direct line
(203) 879-8157 to leave a messageINTERN'S CORNER
Monthly reminders to inspire, motivate and encourage you to be successful, happy and healthy!
How Important are Grades Freshmen Year?
While some may think their grades freshmen don't matter, they do! Colleges and Universities love to see an upward trend with grades and rigor of courses, so keep on working hard and check out this article about what it is that Colleges and Universities will be looking for!
Parents: Ninth-Grade High School GPAs Matter
High schoolers who do well freshman year are more likely to graduate and attend college, a new report finds.
By Alexandra Pannoni, Digital Producer
Nov. 13, 2017
Freshman year of high school is a big deal for students, socially and academically.
Parents should pay attention to this big transition in their student's life, says Janice K. Jackson, chief education officer of Chicago Public Schools.
Many parents believe their teens need more freedom in high school, says Jackson, a former high school teacher and principal. But she says parents should aim to give their teen increased independence while still providing social and academic support to help students succeed.
How well students perform academically in ninth grade can predict their future success, according to a 2017 study from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. The group looked at the freshman-year grades of about 187,000 Chicago public school students from 2006 to 2013.
Parents should consider the following reasons for why a successful freshman year is crucial.
1. Ninth-grade GPA can predict graduation. The Chicago report authors found that freshmen with A’s, B’s and C’s were much more likely to graduate high school than their peers with lower GPAs, says Lauren Sartain, co-author of the study and a senior research analyst at the Consortium.
More than a decade ago, Chicago officials started paying more attention to success during freshman year. After doing so, Jackson says they saw more students complete ninth grade, and that led to higher graduation rates. Among their efforts, school officials use early warning indicator data, such as attendance rates, to determine which freshmen need extra help before school even starts.
2. Freshmen GPAs often mirror junior-year grades. The relationship between ninth- and 11th-grade GPAs is super strong, says Sartain. That really illustrates the importance of freshman year, she says, because junior-year grades are often an important factor for college admission.
But freshmen who struggle can still turn around their grades, says Sartain. For example, about half the students in the study with a D-level GPA in ninth grade improved to a C-level GPA by 11th grade, she says.
3. Academically strong freshmen are more likely to attend college. “It's all about getting that B or better,” says Sartain, in terms of the grade freshmen will need to be more likely to start and remain in college.
Ninth-grade marks were also a better predictor than test scores of whether students would be successful in high school and college, Sartain says.
“That's not to say that test scores aren't important, because colleges obviously look at test scores and grades, among other indicators, when making admissions decisions,” she says.
Her colleagues at the Consortium have found through other work that high test scores give students access to more selective colleges, she says. “But grades do a much better job of predicting how successful you are in college once you get there.”
Putting in the work in ninth grade will really pay off for students, Sartain says, because finishing high school and college is strongly related to career success.
Know How to Recover from a High School Sophomore Slump
The sophomore slump is one of the most common and problematic hurdles that a high school student faces. It is also entirely avoidable and fixable.
In order to recover from – and prevent – a sophomore slump, it is important to understand the cause of this phenomenon and the steps you can take to reach success once more.
1. Why do sophomore slumps occur? The first year of high school is often an exciting time. You settle into new surroundings, meet new teachers, establish a new routine and make new friends. High school is also quite a leap from middle school, both in terms of academic difficulty and the level of independence expected of students.
Many students carefully prepare for their freshman year, and this can encourage the development of a clear-cut set of goals that students have a plan to meet.
However, students may not feel as motivated once they reach sophomore year. After all, high school is no longer new at this point, and effort can wane without the push that comes from trying to prove yourself in a new environment.
The thought of three more years of high school can make completing assignments, studying for tests and other such responsibilities seem like a grind. Your performance can subsequently suffer, leading to a sophomore slump.
2. Why is sophomore year so important? The first step in avoiding a sophomore slump is to recognize the importance of your sophomore year. Sophomore year is a prime opportunity to build on the content and skills you learned as a freshman and to work toward performing at your peak as a junior.
If you regress as a sophomore, you may find yourself struggling to strengthen your academic record in your junior year rather than focusing on ACT and SAT prep, as well as AP, IB and honors courses. This can negatively affect your college applications.
3. How can I recover from a sophomore slump? If you find yourself mired in a sophomore slump, the most important thing to remember is that it is not the end of the world. Sophomore year is important, but not as important as your junior year. While it is not an ideal situation, a strong recovery during your junior year can do quite a bit to reverse the effects of a sophomore slump.
To successfully recover, you first need to review your sophomore year. Honestly assess your effort. It can be difficult to admit that you did not try as hard as you could have, but if you honestly feel that your sophomore slump was the result of your absolute best effort, you might have little reason to believe that you can improve.
In either case, take proactive steps to improve both your effort and your performance and to find a new source of motivation.
Take a moment to think about what is most important to you right now. Your motivation might lie in improving your competitiveness for college, or in proving to yourself that your sophomore slump was not indicative of your abilities as a student.
A student of mine, once, after drifting his way through his sophomore year Latin class, recovered to score a 5 on the AP Latin Exam as a junior and has used that as a springboard to an extremely successful senior year.
Once you settle on a new motivation, set several short-term goals that will help you achieve this vision.
For instance, perhaps you would like to raise your English grade to a B. To do so, you might decide to complete all of your outstanding homework assignments within one month, and to begin studying for all test two weeks in advance. When you reach your goals, be sure to reward yourself.
You can also reach out to your teachers and to your guidance counselor for their advice. Ask how you can improve in their classes – if applicable – as well as whether they can recommend specific resources or supports.
As with most things in life, perspective is key. What may seem like an impossibly long sophomore year becomes a valuable period of growth when you reframe high school as a four-year journey.
If you find yourself having to rebound from a sophomore slump, what may first seem like an impossible position can become more manageable when you consider that a strong recovery and an excellent record of junior-year achievement can turn your slump into a small bump in the road.
High school is a marathon – not a sprint – and sophomore year is just one part of this journey. How you adapt and adjust during this journey is what will ultimately impress colleges most.
It's Not Too Early to Start Your College Essay
2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
All About Me/ Activity Sheet
SAT School Day
Senior Corner
SCHOLARSHIP TIME!
What to Do If Your FAFSA Application Gets Flagged for Verification
Five steps to avoid losing out on college loans, grants, and scholarships
By Donna Rosato
March 07, 2018
67 SHARES
Even in the best of circumstances, applying for college financial aid can be a daunting task. But this year many students are facing a new obstacle: They’re being asked to submit additional documentation before they can get financial aid money.
To apply for financial aid, you must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which has more than 100 questions about your family's finances and demographics. Filing the FAFSA is generally required in order to receive federal loans and grants, as well as aid awarded by states, colleges, and some scholarship programs.
Some students began submitting applications in October 2017, the earliest possible date, for the 2018-2019 school year. But others wait until they’ve been admitted to schools before filing a FAFSA.
In past years, about 1 out of 3 FAFSA applications have been selected for what's known as verification, an audit-like process to prove the information provided is correct. This means that in order to receive an aid offer, you have to fill out more forms and submit additional documentation to each school.
The Spike in Verifications
A 1-in-3 chance of an audit may seem high—but last fall the audit rate surged even higher. Many colleges reported double-digit increases in verification rates.
At some schools 50 percent or more of filers were being selected, according to a November survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Some colleges reported more FAFSA verifications in the last few months of 2017 than they had in the entire previous application year.
The Department of Education says the auditing spike was due to changes in the financial aid process in the prior academic year, including an earlier filing deadline and a temporary glitch in the IRS Data Retrieval tool, both of which led to unusual filing patterns. That threw off the algorithm that is used for the selection process and is based on previous student filing behaviors.
The good news is that the verification rate has returned to normal levels. The change came after NASFAA and many of the colleges who reported spikes in verification flagged the issue to the Department of Education late last year. In response, the agency investigated and adjusted the algorithm.
The Costly Delays of Verification
Even under normal circumstances, however, FAFSA verification can be a high-stakes and often slow-moving process. With $120 billion in federal college aid being allocated each year, the Department of Education wants to make sure that colleges are stringent about providing money to qualified students. As a result, the vetting process, which the college runs, can take weeks or months.
For students being audited, verification delays make it more difficult to compare offers and figure out which schools are a good financial fit. “You won’t know what it will really cost you to go to a school until your financial aid package is completed and verified,” says Karen McCarthy, director of policy analysis at NASFAA.
Delays may also cause you to miss out on valuable aid. While most schools don’t require a decision on whether you’ll attend until early May, many states and colleges have winter deadlines for financial aid, or they award financial aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Any hold-up in your FAFSA means you could be shut out of that aid pool.
The verification process can be hardest on those who need the aid most. This group includes first-generation students, who don’t have family experience applying to college, as well as those from lower-income families. In a typical year, 56 percent of students who are eligible for income-based federal Pell Grants get flagged for verification, according to the National College Access Network (NCAN), a nonprofit that advocates for ways to improve college completion rates.
How to Avoid Verification Problems
There's no way to completely dodge the risk of being selected for verification. Some people are selected at random and some schools (typically smaller colleges that give out a lot of aid from their own endowments) verify 100 percent of people who apply for aid. Still, there are ways to lower your chances, as well as streamline the process. Here's what to do:
Double-check your FAFSA. Make sure the information you provide is consistent throughout the application. Also, be precise—don’t use estimates—and don’t leave any lines blank if you don’t know the answer. You can cut down on mistakes if you use the IRS Data Retrieval tool which automatically imports information from your tax returns to the FAFSA.
Stay on top of communications. After you file your FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education that gives you basic information about your eligibility for financial aid. If you are selected for verification, there will be an asterisk next to your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) figure on the SAR. You will also get an email notification from each school that accepts you, not the Department of Education.
Prepare your paperwork. Even if your odds of being audited are low, it makes sense to have your supporting documents organized ahead of time. That includes ordering a tax transcript, which will include additional information you file with your tax return, such as a schedule listing certain incomes and deductions. You can get your tax transcript free online or request it by mail through the IRS’s Get Transcript service at irs.gov/transcript.
Laura Irene Sosa, a college counselor at two high schools in Houston, tells all her students to order a tax transcript immediately after filing their FAFSA. “Verification is a lengthy process and you need to be ready,” says Sosa, who says 80 percent of the 320 seniors at her schools have been flagged for verification so far.
Respond quickly. If you do get selected for verification, don’t wait to respond. Schools have tight deadlines for delivering this documentation—if you miss that deadline, you may not get any federal financial aid.
Every school has a different verification process, so check your student portal online to find out what you'll need to provide. Under the financial aid tab, you’ll see a list of the requested documents—you may only be asked fill out a verification worksheet or you may need to supply documents such as a W-2, proof of the number of people in your household already enrolled in college, child support payments, or a tax transcript.
Get help. If you are selected for verification and have questions, work with your school’s financial aid office. If you are a senior in high school applying for aid for the first time, talk with your guidance counselor. You can also get help from counselors at nonprofit organizations such as Reach Higher or by contacting the Federal Student Aid office. You can call 800-4-FED-AID (800-433-3243) with questions, or check out explanatory videos on the office’s YouTube channel.
If you haven’t filed your FAFSA yet, the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office hosts an #AskFAFSA session on Twitter from 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern time on the last Wednesday of each month. A different topic is featured each month related to financial aid. Archived transcripts of the question-and-answer sessions are posted at Storify.com/FAFSA.
Lew DeLuca
Lewis J. DeLuca, Jr., M. Ed.
Student Financial Literacy and Advising Coordinator
Southern Connecticut State University
Wintergreen 108E
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515
Phone: (203) 392-8862, Fax: (203) 392-6541
2019-2020 Counselor Breakout
Mrs. Taryn Villano-Corso
Seniors A-D 2020
Juniors A-D 2021
Sophomores A-F 2022
Freshmen A-F 2023
Mrs. Alyssa Giedra
Seniors E-L 2020
Juniors E-L 2021
Sophomores G-Ma 2022
Freshmen F-L 2023
Mrs. Kelley Brochu
Seniors M-Sa 2020
Juniors M-Sm 2021
Sophomores McC-So 2022
Freshmen M-S 2023
Mr. Mark Wursthorn
Seniors Sc-Z 2020
Juniors So-Z 2021
Sophomores Sp-Z 2022
Freshmen T-Z 2023
WOLCOTT HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
Email: amobley@wolcottps.org
Website: www.wolcottps.org
Location: Wolcott High School, Bound Line Road, Wolcott, CT, United States
Phone: 203-879-8157
Twitter: @dreamteamwhs