WBHS Counselor Connection & News
News & Info for the WBHS Community April 29, 2020
In this issue:
- Senior Signing Day Information
- Senior Honor Recognition Procedure
- College and Career Center 10th and 11th Grade Parent Sessions - NEW!
ACT/SAT Test Prep - Advice from seniors
Making the College List
Scholarships 101
- Brown Bag Lunch Series for 10th and 11th Grade Students
Parchment Basics
ACT/SAT Test Prep - Advice from seniors
Making the College List
Scholarships 101
Career Search Tools
Essay Writing Basics
- AP Testing Update - NEW
- Covid Statement from Michigan Colleges and Universities
- SAT/ACT Updates
- Test Optional Colleges for Class of 2021
- Virtual College Fair - Michigan Colleges
- Your Future's So Bright - Oakland Schools Event
- MCAN College Host Decision Day Events
- College Board's Career Exploration Tool - Free until July!
- Mrs. Essig's Top Picks - Articles of Interest
Senior Signing Day is Friday! Join the fun!
Seniors - On May 1st at 12:20 p.m. (12 = Senior Year: 20 = Class of 2020) show us where you’re going next year by shouting out your plans beyond high school via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with the hashtags #LifeAfterLakers, #IDecided and #BetterMakeRoom. Examples may include you sporting your college gear, Tik Toks with friends, dressing up as your future profession or handmade posters. Get your props ready, Tik Toks planned with friends, be creative and have fun. We're looking forward to celebrating with you. You deserve it and so much more!! We look forward to seeing you on May 1st at 12:20 p.m
Seniors - Important information for Honors Recognition!!
CLASS OF 2020
West Bloomfield High School wants to recognize and celebrate the awards received by the Class of 2020. In this most unusual year – we will find an unusual and special way to share and celebrate!
We are creating a video of Honors Recognition, and once this video is created you will be able to see and share it with others. As always, teachers, advisors and coaches are compiling their award lists.
A significant part of this event is a listing of any scholarships that you may have received from ANY college you applied to. The colleges do NOT notify the high school, so we count on YOU to notify us.
We need direct verification of the award you received, so in many cases this involves forwarding an email notification to us or attaching a photo of the award which can be emailed to us. We cannot acknowledge awards without verifying scholarship information from a direct email and/or picture submission.
IF YOU HAVE EARNED ANY SCHOLARSHIPS, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND SEND THE APPROPRIATE EMAIL NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, MAY 15TH.
1. Forward scholarship emails or attach a picture of the scholarship letter in an email and send to Mrs. Karen Brody (Karen.brody@wbsd.org).
2. Type your FULL NAME (in all caps) at the top of the email, scholarship title, and scholarship amount (total amount over 4 years)
3. The subject of the email should be your first and last name and the word HONORS (in all caps), for example: Karen Brody HONORS
We appreciate you taking the time to send your scholarship information, so that we can celebrate the great accomplishments of the Class of 2020!
THANK YOU!
College and Career Center Parent Sessions
Per many parent requests.... Please join us!
Friday, May 1st 2 p.m. ACT/SAT Prep
Mrs. Essig and current seniors will be on hand to discuss test prep advice and answer your questions. This is the fourth session we are offering on this topic.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
Monday, May 4th 3 p.m. Making Your College List
Mrs. Essig will share valuable tools and links for creating the
college list. This will be our third and final session on this topic.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
Monday, May 11th 3 p.m. Scholarships 101
Join us for a discussion of where to start with the college
scholarship search process. Mrs. Essig will share several links, spreadsheets & helpful tools.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
******Due to privacy and safety, please look inside the College and Career Center/Counseling Google Classroom 24 hours prior to the event for the login information to the upcoming Zoom meeting.
Junior Parent Virtual Financial Aid Presentation - If you missed the Virtual WBHS Financial Aid Presentation held in April, you can click here for other sessions:
https://oakland.edu/financialservices/events/
Essay Writing Workshop - Via College Essay Guy - FREE Opportunity for WBHS Students (Parents can listen in.) Register here: https://www.collegeessayguy.com/sub-ceg-for-schools-students. NOTE TIME DIFFERENCE!
Monday, June 1st (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
Wednesday, June 3rd (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
Friday, June 5th (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
Brown Bag Lunch Topics - College and Career Planning for 10th and 11th Grade Students UPDATED
******Due to privacy and safety, please look inside the College and Career Center/Counseling Google Classroom 24 hours prior to the event for the login information to the upcoming Zoom meeting.
Parents and Students Welcome:
Friday, May 1st 2 p.m. ACT/SAT Prep
Mrs. Essig and current seniors will be on hand to discuss test prep advice and answer your questions. This is the fourth session we are offering on this topic.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
Monday, May 4th 3 p.m. Making Your College List
Mrs. Essig will share valuable tools and links for creating the
college list. This will be our third and final session on this topic.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
Monday, May 11th 3 p.m. Scholarships 101
Join us for a discussion of where to start with the college
scholarship search process. Mrs. Essig will share several links, spreadsheets & helpful tools.
10th and 11th grade students and parents are welcome to join in.
Students Only:
Parchment Basics - Learn how to send your transcripts to colleges and employers. You will create a Parchment account to use during your senior year. Please ensure you have an email address besides your WBHS email to use.
Friday, May 1st- 1:00 p.m.
Career Search Tools - Unsure what you want to do with your life? Learn how to use Xello and other free career search tools to learn more about career possibilities.
Monday, May 4th 1:00 p.m.
Highly Selective College Admissions - Join us with a virtual discussion with Ms. Laura Tapper from Dartmouth College. Wednesday, May 6th 2:00 p.m.
Essay Writing Basics - Start to brainstorm a variety of topics for your college essays. Hear from current seniors how to make the most of your essays and ability to adapt them.
Friday, May 8th 1:00 p.m.
Junior Parent Virtual Financial Aid Presentation - If you missed the Virtual WBHS Financial Aid Presentation last week, you can click here for other sessions.
https://oakland.edu/financialservices/events/
Essay Writing Workshop - Via College Essay Guy - FREE Opportunity for WBHS Students
Register here: https://www.collegeessayguy.com/sub-ceg-for-schools-students
- Monday, June 1st (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
- Wednesday, June 3rd (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
- Friday, June 5th (10:00-11:30AM OR 4:00-5:30PM PACIFIC TIME)
AP Testing Update from College Board
Additional information is now available to help guide students through the exam day experience.
New Resources
•2020 AP Testing Guide (.pdf/10.9 MB): The guide, designed for educators to walk their students through test day, provides information about:
◦The AP Exam e-ticket
◦Five steps to take before test day
◦Understanding the test day experience
◦Exam scores, credit, and placement
•2020 AP Exam Day Checklist (.pdf/526 KB): Teachers should have their students complete this checklist for each exam they take and keep it next to them while testing.
•Explainer Videos: New videos are available to give students quick, easily accessible information about their test day experience, what they need to do to prepare, exam security, and more. Explore the playlist.
Other Reminders
•AP Exam Demo (available May 4): AP students should use the clickable exam demo to practice the different ways to submit their exam responses. The demo will help students confirm that their testing device will be able to access and run the online exam. If they can’t access the demo, the final slide of the Testing Guide can help them troubleshoot. The sample content in the demo will be the same for all users and isn't a practice exam. We’ll send educators and students an email to remind them when the demo is available. Please encourage your students to take this important preparation step.
•Online AP Classes and Review Sessions prep week: The week before exams, online AP classes will focus on the exam day experience and sample exam questions.
•Student Outreach: If any of your students are having difficulty receiving College Board emails, walk them through the steps on the "Confirm your email address" page.
•Information for AP Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish Language and Culture Exams:
◦The above exams will be administered using a new dedicated app, the AP World Languages Exam App. Students taking these exams must use this app on smartphones or tablets. This free app will be available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store the week of May 11. We’ll email students and their teachers to let them know when the app is available to download. Visit our site for more details.
◦A video walk-through of the test-taking experience will be available the week of May 4.
◦Details on accommodations for the above exams are also now available.
◦If your students are unsure about accessing the app, or if they don’t have a device, they can fill out this survey (or you can complete it on their behalf) as soon as possible so we can help support them (applicable to U.S. and U.S. territories).
•Information for AP Music Theory Exams:
◦Before exam day, students will need to print or hand copy the 2020 Music Theory Answer Sheet and gain access to an audio recording app or software before exam day. Please see more information on the website.
Fall 2020 Admissions COVID-19 Plans from Michigan’s Four-Year Universities and Colleges
SAT/ACT UPDATES
SAT - College Board https://pages.collegeboard.org/sat-covid-19-updates?excmpid=SM48-ED-CB-tw
Test Optional Colleges
Attend a college fair from the comfort of your own home!
Promoting the Publics: Michigan Spring College Fair.
The fair will be taking place through CollegeFairsOnline.
The fair will take place May 5-7, 2020. We will all be "live" during the following days and times.
- Tuesday, May 5: 11 a.m. to 2p.m.
- Wednesday, May 6: 2 to 5 p.m.
- Thursday, May 7: 5 to 7 p.m.
Seniors - Are you planning to attend a college in Michigan?
MCAN Event -
College Host Decision Day - We have 13 colleges and universities ready to welcome your seniors to their campus and support their college-going process - what a great way to celebrate the Class of 2020!
Please use our Decision Day College-Hosted Celebration Schedule to share with your students. This will be updated as we learn more from universities and the most recent update is on the bottom-left of the document.
Free Career Exploration Tool until July 31st
Your Future is So Bright!
Coffee with Counselor - Virtual Pop In Meetings - Join us!
Check your email for dates and times for daily virtual meetings with our counseling team!
Counseling Department Appointments
If you have not submitted your course requests for next year, please submit this immediately as we are working on scheduling for next year. Thank you!
https://sites.google.com/oaklandschools.net/wbhs-counselor-appointments
Mrs. Essig's Top Picks
SCHOLARSHIPS - Where to look
Please note that Ms. Essig posts all scholarship information on our Twitter account. You do not have to have a Twitter account to read the posts. We post opportunities in the newsletter twice and then remove them. Please follow the Twitter page for the most up-to-date opportunities!
https://twitter.com/WBHSCounseling
Look for #WBHSScholarships2020.
How do I find scholarships?
1. Apply for Financial Aid after October 1st. www.FAFSA.gov
2. Check with each college in which you are applying for merit based scholarships and deadlines.
3. Check for memorial and alumni scholarship opportunities at each college in which you may qualify.
4. Check with student’s/parent’s employer, banks/credit union, religious & civic affiliations, etc. for scholarships.
5. Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/WBHSCounseling Click on the hashtag #WBHSScholarships2020.
6. Read the Counselor Connection
7. Conduct a search by using a national search engine, such as www.fastweb.com, www.scholarships.com, www.myscholly.com, etc. Be sure to create an email address just for these searches as students will receive a lot of email. There is no need to pay money for these services! Watch for scams!
8. Check Careeronestop: https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx
9. Beginning Class of 2020,College Board Opportunity Scholarships. https://opportunity.collegeboard.org/
10. For more information: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/finding-scholarships#how-find
11. Remember it takes work to receive most scholarships! You won't know if you don't try!''
*** Please a note that WBHS cannot endorse or properly "vet" the sheer number of scholarships that come our way. It is up to the student/family to determine.
Scholarships with May deadlines
Break Through Junior Challenge
https://breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org/
SCIENCE IS HUMANITY’S SUPERPOWER
TAKE THE BREAKTHROUGH JUNIOR CHALLENGE
MAKE A 3-MINUTE VIDEO EXPLAINING A BIG IDEA IN PHYSICS, LIFE SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS OR THE SCIENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
You can take part in this year’s Challenge as long as you’re:
- 13 or older by 12:01 AM PDT on April 1, 2020
- Not older than 18 (not yet 19) as of 11:59 PM PDT on October 1, 2020
We welcome submissions in English from anyone of those ages, including homeschooled students, students with disabilities, and students from all over the world. For additional details, check out the Rules.
Mike Rowe Foundation Trades Scholarship
MI Student Aid Scholarship Search Tool
Scholarship links
Calendars/Schedules
Important Contacts
WBHS Counseling Department
A-CU Kelly Casinelli
CV-HA Joanne Wegrzynowicz
HB-LO Karen Brody
LP-PO Felicia Neumann
PR-TE Lisa Thompkins
TF-Z John Hepper
College & Career Counselor Noelle Essig
Administrative Staff
Mr. Eric Pace, Principal
Ashleigh Larkin, Assistant Principal
Eric Pierce, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director
Jamie Glinz, Assistant Principal
Dr. Stephanie Griffin, Assistant Principal
Email: noelle.essig@wbsd.org
Website: https://www.wbsd.org/west-bloomfield-high-school/counseling-office
Location: 4925 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, USA
Phone: (248)865-6768
Twitter: @WBHSCounseling
OK2SAY
1-855-565-2729
Text - 652729
https://www.michigan.gov/ok2say
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Text - HELLO to 741741