PPS School Counseling Newsletter
Week 4: May 4 to May 8
Mental Health Support and Resources
We want to hear from you!
South Students: Visit link below for South Avenue audition information!
Get a Reality Check
As an adult, you need to pay for housing, food, clothes, transportation, and other items. Find out how much money you need to earn to cover your expenses. Then find out which occupations support this lifestyle.
Click here to begin your assessment: Reality Check and follow directions below to access it (it is a little lengthy to get started but well worth it)
- Choose 'Massachusetts Resident'
- Choose Plymouth and enter zip code
- Click on Assessments on top toolbar
- Then look for 'What lifestyle can I afford?' box and choose 'Reality Check'
- Scroll down to begin choosing options
Free SAT Personalized Practice through Khan Academy
What does Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy offer students?
- A personalized plan tailored to their strengths and weaknesses based on their previous PSAT/NMSQT® or SAT results or our diagnostics
- A chance to hone their skills with thousands of practice questions, hints, and video lessons
- Eight official full-length practice tests online or on paper
- Instant feedback and adaptive recommendations for what to practice
- A personalized practice schedule to get reminders for when to practice
- Expert tips and strategies for the test.
Students who prepare using Official SAT Practice see substantial improvement in their SAT scores.
Studying for 6-8 hours with Official SAT Practice is associated with an average 90-point score gain from the PSAT/NMSQT® to the SAT.
Our research has shown that students who study daily (e.g. 5 days a week) for short periods of time (15-30 minutes) are able to build a more successful habit of practicing for the SAT.
- Link your College Board and Khan Academy accounts to get automatic personalized recommendations based on your PSAT performance, or take diagnostics if you didn't take the PSAT.
- We'll recommend practice to you based on your results. You can practice other skills any time you'd like, even if we didn't recommend them to you.
- Video and text explanations will help you learn the skills covered on the test and show you how the test is structured.
- Be sure to take some full-length practice exams, too! We recommend taking them without interruption to give you a sense of what to expect on test day.
First Steps:
- Visit the Khan Academy Official SAT Practice website, and click the Practice Now button.
- If you are a new learner, the website will start by asking you a series of questions, including which test you want to practice for: the SAT or the PSAT.
- An image of a screen asking you which test you want to practice for, the SAT or the PSAT.
- The PSAT/NMSQT® has the same content as the SAT, but minus the hardest questions and the essay. Find out more information on the PSAT.
- If you’ve already taken the PSAT and want to practice for the SAT, you do not need to take the diagnostic tests as shown below. The PSAT now serves as your diagnostic—all you need to do is link your Khan Academy and College Board accounts, and we’ll automatically recommend practice based on your PSAT results. We recommend that you link your accounts so that you can get started more quickly!
- View this video to learn how to link your accounts.
- If you have not taken the PSAT or do not want to link your accounts, the next step will be choosing which subject you’d like to focus on first: Math or Reading & Writing.
- If you choose Math, you will be sent to a series of diagnostic quizzes in math. These quizzes help us figure out what you already know and what you need to work on. With this information, the system can craft an ideal practice plan for you.
- NOTE: It is only necessary to take the diagnostic quizzes if you have not linked your Khan Academy and College Board accounts.
- After you complete the four diagnostic quizzes, the summary page will lay out your starting skill levels in a variety of math categories. Skill levels change to reflect your mastery. The highest skill level, which you can reach through extended practice, is Level Four.
- The goal of the diagnostic quizzes is to give you deliberate practice in the areas where you need the most help.
- You also have the option to work on other specific skill areas if you don’t want to focus on content that the system suggests. You can scroll down to view all of the skill categories and to watch videos that will help build your muscles in specific content areas.
- Finally, we highly recommend that you access the Full Exams tab for full-length SAT practice tests. Whole practice tests are some of the most crucial tools to help prepare you for test day. The Khan Academy system will use the information from your full length tests to give you even more personalized practice!
- If you have more questions, check out our FAQs.
College Bound Citizens WebEx Series 2020
COLLEGE BOUND CITIZENS – WEBEX SERIES
We’re here and Made Ready to assist you, your students and their families.
As your students are faced with decisions that will shape their future, while also adapting to new ways of learning, Citizens Bank is pleased to offer a series of live, remote learning sessions focused on navigating the financial path to college.
Understanding Your Award Letter
Designed especially for College Bound Seniors and their families to help them understand their financial aid package, answer questions that come up after the acceptance, and explore both federal and private options for financing any gap not met by free aid. Helpful tools to compare the cost of colleges are explored and our experts answer your live questions.
· Tuesday, May 12th,, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
· Wednesday, May 27th, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Financial Aid Basics
Designed for rising Seniors and their families to help understand financial aid, preparing for and starting the FAFSA form this fall, and understand financial aid components like scholarships, grants, federal loans and how to finance the gap. This live session includes time to ask questions and have them answered by our experts.
· Tuesday, May 5th, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
· Thursday, May 14th, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
· Wednesday, May 20th, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
· Tuesday, May 26th, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Understanding Credit
Designed to help students and their families understand how building and maintaining credit is critical to achieving financial well-being. Your credit score is an important number that influences the ability to finance major life events such as paying for college.
· Tuesday, May 12th 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
· Thursday, May 28th, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Anyone interested in participating in any of these sessions may register here.
- If you are interested in custom sessions presented specifically for your school outside of the dates and times listed above, please email collegeboundcitizens@citizensbank.com and one of our Relationship Managers will contact you to schedule a time and date that is best.
- For additional resources including our upcoming scholarship opportunity, please visit our College Bound Citizens website at citizensbank.com/collegeboundcitizens.
We Miss You!
We miss you all. Stay in touch, stay connected, and let us know what you need. We are here to support you.
All our best,
PPS School Counseling Departments