College, Career, Military Readiness
Friendswood ISD
March 2023 Update
Summer is the time when students can participate in activities to enhance their skills and dive deeper into their interests. This month's newsletter will highlight a few summer programs and camp opportunities offered by colleges and universities both in Houston and across the state, which allow junior high and high school students to explore their passions. It will also highlight a couple of very handy resources provided by Texas Oncourse for parents to further guide junior high and high school students in the college and career exploration process and to bring awareness to the various tuition guarantee programs at colleges and universities across the state of Texas. As always, be sure to check out the FHS College and Career Website and visit past newsletters for additional information and resources, and subscribe to the mailing list using the orange "Follow" button for upcoming newsletters!
Summer Experiences that Enhance Learning
Many colleges and universities offer summer programs, camps, and academies for students with a focus on specific subject matters of their interest. These programs allow students to take their learning to a more meaningful level while providing them with a taste of college life, in some cases allowing them to live in residence halls and participating in learning and activities on the college campus in a true college environment. The age range of accepted students varies by camp and college, with some geared towards upper-level high school students and others available to students as early as junior high. Below are just a sample of the offerings available to students. Engaging in these experiences provides students with authentic, hands-on learning opportunities as well as an ability to demonstrate developed skills, dedication, and passion in their specific areas of interest. This can be valuable in their post secondary journey especially with choosing college majors or trades and with tying real world learning and experiences into college essay and scholarship responses.
Houston Area Summer Programs
Wonderworks is a non-profit organization that provides several pre-college summer learning experiences in arts and humanities through University of Houston and Rice University. These programs are open for 10th - 12th graders who show promise in the camp specific areas of interest and admissions is competitive. Storylines is a summer long reading-intensive exploration of written and film based fiction, and includes creative writing. Students analyze short stories and film to understand how to create fiction that resonates with the audience. From the Ground Up exposes students to architecture through hands-on projects and field trips. It also provides a portfolio workshop, which is highly beneficial to students wanting to apply to architecture school, since many college architecture programs require portfolio submission during the college application process. Closer Looks presents an exploration of art and art history through lectures, discussions, readings, films, writing, and field trips. Moving Pictures introduces students to production, editing, screenwriting, twentieth and twenty-first century cinema and criticism. Good Vibrations is an exploration of music history and music appreciation. Finally, Rules of the Game does a deep dive into democracy via history, political science, law, public policy/administration, philosophy, and classics. Each of these camps provides students with an opportunity for in-depth learning in their specific areas of interest.
Envision's Aerospace and Aviation academy held on the campus of Rice University is a 12-day intense, hands-on learning opportunity hosted in conjunction with some of the leading minds in the space industry. The camp is geared specifically towards students interested in a career in aerospace or aviation sciences. Students can learn more or register at the Aerospace and Aviation Academy website.
For students wishing to explore a career in the Maritime Industry, San Jacinto college offers a summer camp for junior high and high schools students at their state-of-the-art waterfront Maritime Facility in La Porte. This is a one-day camp hosted for 6th - 8th graders on one day and 9th -12th graders on a separate day and the cost is only $5! Registration links and more information can be found here.
Residential Sea Camp at Texas A&M Galveston is a week-long residential adventure exploring the wonders of the marine and estuarine environments for campers ages 10-18 years old. A wide variety of marine and ocean specific areas of focus are provided during camps throughout the summer, ranging in topics from marine biology, fishing, oceanography, ocean careers, ecotourism in Costa Rica, and many more! Some are also specifically tailored to Gifted and Talented students. TAMU-G also offers Day Sea Camp for younger students ages 6 - 11 years old, as well.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences department plans to hold the inaugural Clinical Laboratory Sciences Summer Immersion Program in summer 2023. This intensive one-week program will be offered to high school and early college students interested in the medical laboratory sciences profession. Students will apply through a competitive application process and twenty students will be selected for this program.
Summer Programs Across Texas
The University of Texas at Austin offers high schoolers a variety of residential summer educational experiences. The UT Computer Science Summer academies offer several one week summer camps in conjuction with major industry partners in the areas of Robotics, App and Game Development, and Graphics programming. UT McCombs School of Business offers a six-day Summer Business and Leadership experience to rising junior and senior high school students and gives them the chance to learn and interact with McCombs students, faculty, and corporate representatives. My Introduction to Engineering is a five-day camp offered through the UT Cockrell School of Engineering for current high school juniors to discover engineering through participation in an engineering team project, hands-on activities and interactions with engineering students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Texas A&M University also offers a variety of educational programs including an Aggie STEM summer camp for middle and high school students with real-world learning opportunities in STEM education through project-based learning. The School of Architecture hosts Camp ARCH, a one-week summer program for high-achieving 10th - 12th grade students. This week long interdisciplinary experience acquaints students with potential careers in architecture, visualization, construction science, landscape architecture and urban planning. Camp BUILD is a one-week high school camp for juniors and seniors. Students have the opportunity to explore Civil Engineering as a major at Texas A&M and experience Aggie culture at the same time. Camp activities include design projects, departmental lab tours, and evening recreational opportunities.
Texas Christian University offers a wide variety of academic and athletic camps for high schools students, as well a broad range of camps in music that are geared towards general band interests as well as instrument specific opportunities.
The Honors College at Texas Tech University offers the Anson L. Clark Scholar Program, an intensive seven-week summer research program for twelve highly qualified high school juniors and seniors to have a hands-on practical research experience with outstanding and experienced faculty. The program includes social activities and weekly seminars. This is a highly selective program and students apply to subject specific areas ranging from cell and molecular biology to chemistry, computer science, business, history, economics, and more!
Handy Resources from Texas Oncourse
Tomorrow Ready Texas
Tomorrow Ready Texas is a new resource from Texas Oncourse that can help parents explore college and career options with their students. This new resource provides customized information related to the student’s specific needs and aspirations and includes many different options for: four- and two-year colleges, trade schools, military pathways, and more. At Tomorrow Ready Texas, parents will find personalized step-by-step action plans for all these different options. It includes resources specifically for students with disabilities, and parents can also register to receive information for more than one child. Tomorrow Ready Texas will keep parents updated on deadlines and to-dos, so they don’t miss opportunities to help their teen succeed. All they need to do is sign up for a free account. Tomorrow Ready Texas is a free state resource available to all parents and guardians in Texas.
College Tuition Guarantee Programs in Texas
Check out the Tuition Guarantee Program pamphlet below, which lays out various tuition guarantee programs across Texas colleges and universities. This is a helpful resource that parents and students can use to determine if their household income qualifies the student to receive tuition assistance from participating public and private colleges and universities across the state of Texas. These programs provide renewable tuition support to eligible Texas residents who have been accepted to the college and have submitted any necessary financial aid documents by the program deadlines. This assistance can come in the form of partial tuition coverage for higher income households or complete tuition coverage for lower income households. One important note is that the private schools with higher tuition have a higher threshold of qualifying household income, so families may be surprised that the might actually qualify for tuition assistance from some of these institutions and not even realize it.
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Upcoming Testing Dates and Information
SAT School Day Score release
Thursday, Mar 23, 2023, 08:30 PM
Friendswood High School, Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
AP Testing dates and information
Monday, May 1, 2023, 08:30 AM
Friendswood High School, Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
Testing Accommodations- Information for 504 and Special Education Students
- Accommodations Information for College Board Exams (SAT/PSAT/AP)
- Accommodations Information for the ACT exam
- Who to Contact for Testing Accommodations Information
- 504 students need to email Lead Counselor, Krystal Fletcher
- Special Education students need to email ARD Facilitator, Samantha Eubanks
- Questions regarding test day information or special testing procedures can be directed to the Testing Coordinator and Assistant Principal, Delaney Lyon
Resources for Past and Upcoming Tests at FHS
- Click here for information about How to Send SAT Scores.
- Visit the Advanced Academics Website for the latest information and guidance on ACT, AP, PSAT, and SAT testing
FAFSA Application/Opt Out Form PAST Due
Monday, Jan 23, 2023, 04:00 PM
Friendswood High School, Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
Contact info
Nishi St. John
FISD College and Career SpecialistEmail: nstjohn@fisdk12.net
Website: https://fhs.myfisd.com/explore-fhs/ccr
Location: 702 Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
Phone: (281)482-3413
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FHSmustangs
Twitter: @fhsmustangs