Guidance Gazette
2019-2020, Issue 3
November 2019
National Scholarship Month
Native American Heritage Month
North Carolina School of Science and Math
The NCSSM Application for the Class of 2022 is now open!
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics offers a world-class education, both residential and online to juniors and seniors from across the state who excel in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. NCSSM also embraces the humanities, including interdisciplinary studies, cultural studies, world languages, the fine arts, entrepreneurship, economics, and social sciences.
Eligible applicants may apply to all three programs — Residential, Online and Summer Ventures — using one application on CFNC.org. Note: NCSSM Application opens on October 15 and close
Students who plan to apply must take the SAT by December 7, 2019, or ACT by February 8, 2020.
2019-2020 High School Open Houses:
These half-day events are designed to give middle and high school students and families a comprehensive overview of life at NCSSM. Visitors will enjoy a tour of the campus, as well as engaging information sessions about our innovative residential and online programs.
Saturday, November 9, 2019 - Registration is Now Full
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Middle School Open House:
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Registration will open one month before the event date.
2019-20 Webinars
Webinars are intended for 9th and 10th graders who are interested in applying to any NCSSM program. The webinars are designed to give you an opportunity to learn more about NCSSM, the various programs we offer, and the application process, without having to travel to our campus. All webinars take place on Thursdays at 7 pm. The dates and topics are as follows:
August 15: Meet your Admissions Representative (Recording)
August 29: Standardized Testing Needed for the Admissions Process (Recording)
September 12: Why Summer Ventures?* (Recording)
October 10: Applying to NCSSM: Which Program is Best for Me? (Recording)
October 17: A Day in the Life of a Summer Ventures Student* (Recording)
October 24: Essays That Make an Impact (Recording)
November 7: Research Opportunities at Summer Ventures*
December 5: A Day in the Life of a Summer Ventures Student*
January 9: One Last Question: Finalizing Your Application
January 23: My Application Is Submitted; What’s Next?
*Webinars in italics are specifically about Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics and are intended for current 10th and 11th graders. Other webinars are more focused on the Residential and Online programs.
To participate in a webinar, you must register for it. Registration is available up to one month before each webinar. Once you have registered for the webinar, the webinar link will be displayed on your confirmation page. Space is limited, so we recommend registering early! Video recordings for each webinar will also be made available on this page the following week.
If you have any questions, please contact us at admissions@ncssm.edu.
Career & College Promise Interest Meeting
Representatives from PCC will be at RCS to discuss the FREE dual enrollment program that allows students to earn college credit while still in high school. Rising Juniors, this would be the perfect opportunity to get your questions answered and sign-up for classes starting in the 11th grade.
Thursday, Nov 14, 2019, 06:00 PM
RCS Library
Help your teen get a jump start on schoolwork in 10 minutes!
Homework will seem less of a chore if your high schooler does a little work in advance. When your teen has just 10 minutes of spare time, she can get a head start on her homework by:
- Learning three or four new vocabulary words for English or a foreign language.
- Skimming the next chapter in a textbook.
- Completing one or two math problems.
- Reviewing a few of the new terms that will be introduced in the next math or science lesson.
- Finding one or two sources for an upcoming paper or project.
- Reviewing the notes she took in each class.
Reprinted with permission from the November 2019 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2019 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc. Source: R. Dellabough, 101 Ways to Get Straight A’s, Troll Communication.
Transcript Request
For North Carolina Colleges/Universities
Submit your transcript from the CFNC Transcript Manager
Go to CFNC.org.
Sign in with your CFNC account.
Choose Apply.
Choose To College.
Choose Transcript Manager.
Enter all necessary information in Your Profile and qualify to submit transcripts electronically.
Select the Go to Transcript Manager button.
Select a college from the list and click Send My Transcript. Track the status of transcripts requests from this screen.
The college/university should receive a successfully requested transcript within 1-2 business days.
For Colleges/Universities Outside of North Carolina & Special Programs
To send an official high school transcript to out-of-state colleges/universities, special programs, current high school students and graduates must submit a Transcript Request Form.
Transcript Request Forms are located on the wall outside of Room 222, the front desk, and are linked on the Guidance page of the RCS school website.
Please be sure that all areas of the form are completed and that it contains the complete mailing address for the college/institution or special program to which the transcript should be mailed. Incomplete forms can not be processed. Requests should be submitted at least one week before the transcript is needed.
Featured Scholarships & Special Programs
Criminal Justice Fellows Program
The CJFP is a forgivable educational loan program for high school seniors and graduates in eligible counties that want to go into the criminal justice field in a certified position. This fellowship will fund an Associate Degree from any North Carolina community college. Students who receive the educational loan would have 5 years to repay, though it would be forgiven if they enter and remain in a criminal justice profession within NC for 4 years in an eligible county. For more information, visit NCDOJ’s Criminal Justice Fellows Program web site. Applications Open November 1, 2019, and Close May 31, 2020
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Scholarships can open doors for students who aspire to go to college but don't have the funds. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's College Scholarship Program is an undergraduate scholarship program available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend and graduate from the nation's best four-year colleges and universities. In addition to the monetary award, Cooke Scholars receive comprehensive educational advising, significant cohort-based programming, and graduate school funding, as well as access to a thriving network of more than 2,600 fellow Cooke Scholars and alumni.
The Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program application (exclusively through the Common App) closes November 13, 2019.
Greenhouse Scholars
The Greenhouse Scholars' Whole Person Program is designed to provide a well-balanced support system during college. With Greenhouse Scholars, students will experience one-on-one mentorship, professional networking, internship access, leadership skill development, access to individual grants, and a renewable need-based college scholarship. Becoming a Greenhouse Scholar means they’ll get the support they need throughout their time in the program to start a ripple that will create change in their community today.
The deadline for part one of the application is November 22, 2019. Early applications are encouraged as there is a part two application due on December 2, 2019. Learn more by visiting greenhousescholars.org/apply.
TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation's largest college access and success program for immigrant youth with DACA or TPS status, or that meet TheDream.US immigration eligibility criteria. It opened its new round of scholarship applications for the 2020-21 academic year on November 1, 2019. TheDream.US has provided more than 6,000 scholarships to students who are attending one of its more than 75 partner colleges and universities in 15 states and Washington, D.C. The National Scholarship provides up-to-$33,000 scholarship for high school or first-time college students and community college graduates, closes February 27, 2020. The Opportunity Scholarship, an up-to-$80,000 scholarship for first-time college students, closes January 30, 2020. Learn more by visiting thedream.us/scholarships/.
The Jackie Robinson Foundation
No one succeeds in college alone. That's why The Jackie Robinson Foundation offers promising minority students not only a generous four-year grant to assist with the costs of attending college, but also a full support network of fellow scholars, alumni, and professional mentors to help them excel in school and beyond.
The deadline for applications is February 1, 2020, so encourage your eligible students to apply right away. Learn more by visiting jackierobinson.org/apply/.
North Carolina High School Athletic Association
NCHSAA Scholarship and Grant Applications are now open. The NC High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships for senior student-athletes at NCHSAA member schools, who are selected as recipients by our scholarship committee. For information regarding eligibility and deadlines please visit the NCHSAA Scholarships page. https://www.nchsaa.org/students-parents/nchsaa-endowed-fund-scholarships
Show your teen that learning is about more than grades
When you ask your teen how he is doing in school, you probably want to know what his grades are. While that is a legitimate concern, the process of learning is just as important.
Show your teen you are interested in what he is learning by asking him questions about:
- His accomplishments in his classes. How did he handle the most difficult math problem he recently faced?
- The most recent test he took. Don’t ask about his grade. Instead, ask if he thinks the test was a good way to measure how well he knew the material? Why or why not?
- The book he is reading. Can he give you a summary of the plot? Does the story remind him of anything in his life?
- Experiences that may have changed his way of thinking. You may be able to share some of your own school experiences that had a similar effect on you.
Questions like these show your teen you want to know what he thinks about what he’s learning. They also show that you are concerned about his development and that learning is about far more than grades.
Reprinted with permission from the November 2019 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2019 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc. Source: “Grades vs Learning: Shifting Attention to What’s Important,” The Graide Network, The Chicago Literacy Alliance, niswc.com/high_grades.
Triangle Youth Leadership Conference: Student Applications Open Now for 2020 Conference
The Triangle Youth Leadership Conference is organized by NCSU Student Organization Triangle Youth Leadership Services, and is now in its eleventh year!
TYLC will immerse your students in hands-on workshops, empower them to develop action-focused service projects, and give them a chance to explore NC State's campus and interact with like-minded peers from across North Carolina.
Learn more about Triangle Youth Leadership Services and the conference here: triangleleadership.com
TYLC11 will be held January 24th and 25th, 2020 on NC State's campus,
Summer Ventures
Mrs. DeVillier's Testing Corner
Pre-ACT – 10th graders will be taking the Pre-ACT on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. Information handouts, along with permission slips to check out early after testing are available from Mrs. Knaub or from Mrs. Jodi DeVillier in Room 114. Results should be back in early December and Mrs. DeVillier will be visiting classrooms to review those with students. For questions or more information, please contact Mrs. DeVillier at devillierjh@roxborocs.org or at 336.597.0020, ext 114.
PSAT Results – Attention 11th graders and all other students who took the PSAT on October 16, 2019, results will be available online beginning Monday, December 9. Students should look for an email from the College Board at the email address they provided when they took the test.
Mrs. DeVillier will schedule a time to meet with students to go over the results with them and discuss how they can use those results to prepare for future college entrance exams.
New Changes Coming to the ACT! – Beginning with the September 2020 national test date, the ACT will be offering several new features. First of all, the ACT will be offered online, and students who take the exam online will get their results back in two business days. Students will still have the option of choosing to take the ACT paper/pencil or online, but the quick turnaround on online results will be very beneficial for seniors with college application deadlines. Also, provided students have already taken a full ACT, if they are interested in retaking the ACT, they can choose to only re-take certain sections of the ACT rather than the entire test. This will allow students to focus their study efforts on only the subject areas they feel they need to improve. And lastly, the ACT will provide not only score results for the most recent date the student takes the ACT, but they will also begin providing “super score” results. They will take the student’s highest score on each subject area of the ACT, including previous times the student took the test, and create a new “super” composite score. College and universities often calculated these higher scores on their own, but now ACT will be providing these “super scores” to students as well as reporting them to colleges and universities if the student requests. More information is available at www.act.org/MoreChoices.
At this time, these new changes will only be offered on ACT national testing Dates. Stay tuned for more information on when they will be offered on school testing dates, such as when NC 11th graders take the ACT in the early Spring of their Junior year.