Rock Ridge Update Week of 4/13
Go Phoenix!
GREETINGS!
Welcome back from Spring Break!
It is our greatest hope that your families are doing well through these difficult times. Please know that the school will remain a resource and that we are available at any time with questions or concerns.
SCHOOL COUNSELING
Students please keep checking you school e-mail for information from your counselors.
Senior keep up on all of the changing admissions deadlines and extensions through NACAC
https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/newsroom/press-releases/nacac-update-coronavirus/
Juniors: If you did not have your 1-1 with your counselor before we closed, counselors are in the process of reaching out to you via email.
Sophomores & Freshmen: If you would like to request a course change, please complete this form.
Transcripts: Seniors and Juniors, your transcript is now accessible via your StudentVue under the Documents tab. You may use this transcript for scholarship applications and applying for summer programs. Sophomores and Freshmen, please contact your counselor if you need a transcript.
Here is a great set of resources from ACT.org. This site can help students and parent plan and research colleges and their programs. I has it all in one place from virtual tours to finding majors to options other than college. Click here https://www.act.org/content/act/en/students-and-parents/college-planning-articles.html
Colleges to Know:
Kenyon College https://www.kenyon.edu/about-kenyon/kenyon-at-a-glance/
Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, has a 500-acre nature preserve and farm on its hilltop campus. Founded in 1824, Kenyon is the oldest private college in Ohio. The small college originally educated all-male clergymen for frontier America, but it soon became a highly regarded seat of classical education whose graduates included statesmen such as U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. Today there are 33 majors leading to a bachelor's degree. In addition, the College offers 13 concentrations; pre-professional advising for graduate or professional school in business, education, engineering, law, and medicine; and a number of cooperative programs involving other institutions.
Kenyon College also has a big added perk: unlimited meal plans are included in students' room and board fees.
MEALS AND DISTRIBUTION
THIRD QUARTER GRADES - DATE CHANGE
The third quarter will be considered completed on March 11th. Beginning immediately, teachers will be accepting missing assignments and arranging eligible retakes assigned prior to and including March 11th. On April 24th, teachers will discontinue accepting these assignments and close the gradebooks for the third quarter. Grades will be submitted and finalized on May 1st.
We are awaiting directions regarding the 4th quarter, averaging and the grade closures for this year.
CONTINUITY OF LEARNING
- All contacts with students/classes will be both synchronous and asynchronous beginning this week
- Content will enrichment and should not exceed 30 minutes per subject per day (total of 150 minutes per subject, per week).
- We will be creating a schedule to support synchronous learning not exceed 30 minutes per week. This will be communicated this week in order to avoid conflicts.
- Thursdays will be an Office Hour Day – students may contact teachers via email with questions and concern they may have.
- Activities will be engaging and fun - please have students log in to be sure they are accessing Google and Google Classroom and reach out with questions/concerns.
REFUND INFORMATION
This week, parents and students may expect refund to begin - both credit and checks will begin and updates will be provided daily.
Spring Sports Fees: These refunds will begin this week.
Parking Fees: These pro-rated funds will be refunded beginning this week.
Field Trips: Many sponsors have already requested refunds. The DECA Trip, Yearbook, Debate, etc. have already been in touch and your refunds will be coming as soon as possible.
Senior Dues: We are hoping to celebrate our seniors and these dues pay for cap and gown, senior shirt and the senior breakfast/luncheon. We are certainly hopeful that we can plan some special events for our seniors and will be holding that money until we can propose a plan for our seniors.
School Lunch: School lunch money refunds can be made via the LCPS website using the Meals link along the lower shortcut bar then selecting Payment Options.
- School Nutrition
- From the toolbar on the bottom, click on MEALS
- Select Payment Options from the Red tile bar
- Scroll down to ‘Need a Refund?’
If there are fees not listed above that you need refunds for, contact the teacher/sponsor whom you paid. There is paperwork that they need to fill out to process the refund.
CAREER CENTER
Upcoming RRHS Events
Week of 4/6: Spring Break! (no newsletter 4/10)
Week of 4/13: Teacher work days 4/13 and 4/14
4/16: College Essay Writing Presentation: This presentation by Christopher Newport University rep, Kelly Scallion will now be a presentation you can watch at your leisure on or after 4/16. Juniors, you are welcome to submit questions to be addressed in the presentation related to essay writing or Christopher Newport University and Kelly will try to address them in her presentation. Please submit your questions no later than 4/13 here.
4/27: College Admissions Series: Juniors, we are creating a series of short video chats with college admission reps from instate, out of state, private and public universities to answer questions you may have. You can ask about admission timelines, financial aid, how do you look at transcripts, how important are extra curriculars whatever is on your mind about colleges. Please submit your questions here by 4/16. We will then start to share this series the week of 4/27.
News You Can Use
Juniors: If you did not have your 1-1 with your counselor before we closed, counselors are in the process of reaching out to you via email.
Sophomores & Freshmen: If you would like to request a course change, please complete this form.
Juniors & Sophomores: What do Pokeman, Starbucks, Intl Business, Academic Common Market and Chicken Tender Wednesday’s have in common? They are all answers I received when I asked our college admission reps to name two academic programs and one feature of their university that makes them unique. Attached is a complete list of answers from over 30 of our admission reps.
Student Aid During These Times: VirginiaCan.org has put together a list of resources related to college access.
Loudoun County Based Scholarships: Continue to be a work in progress. LCPS Admin is working with all Loudoun County Scholarship organizations to 1. Push the deadline back and 2. Clarify what materials are needed in the application package; example: unofficial transcript. As the new information is received it is being updated in Naviance. I have also noted in bold below any confirmed changes. Please email me with any scholarship needs or questions.
Transcripts: Seniors and Juniors, your transcript is now accessible via your StudentVue under the Documents tab. You may use this transcript for scholarship applications and applying for summer programs.
Sophomores and Freshmen, please contact your counselor if you need a transcript.
NOVA Non-Pathway Seniors: NOVA is exploring alternative ways to place students in to courses without taking the placement tests. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can reach out to Thomas Chalk, our NOVA rep at tchalk@nvcc.edu.
NOVA Pathway Seniors: Ms. Nieves is working to set up online 1-1s for after April 13th to schedule classes. If you have questions for her now, you can reach her at snieves@nvcc.edu.
NOVA is also working on some online orientation programs for all students. You can learn more about NOVA and orientation here.
CollegeSteps at NOVA: Is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower students living with learning and social challenges through structured post-secondary support. They have extended their deadline to enroll for support during the 2020/21 school year. Learn more here.
Seniors – If you have made a deposit on your school, please let your other colleges know you will not be attending. This helps these schools open spots for others who might be on a wait list. You can notify these colleges via the general admissions email founds on most college admissions homepages.
Seniors & Juniors – the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has put together this website as a resource for you. For colleges that participate you can learn if they are pushing back the May 1 deposit date to June 1 (for example George Mason is now 6/1) or who is allowing visitors and when. Some schools are still accepting applications and in some cases you can still qualify for merit scholarships: https://www.nacacnet.org/college-admission-status-coronavirus The colleges are working hard to try to get information out and help you with your decisions and research.
Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores – UPDATED: This link now includes LIVE virtual info sessions and admitted students event in Columns N & O. This link takes you to a Google doc where 900+ schools are listed based on CollegeBoard data and has links to virtual tours for each https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sO7pVos0EvK0BvXoMbnyg00K6r7hXbOQE0HNXF4N4eM/htmlview
SAT/ACT –The August and fall dates are normally not available for registration until May. I am hoping they move that timeframe up this year.
SAT – June 6th (While we can not travel in VA, College Board has not cancelled June 6 yet.)
ACT – June 13th (those who signed up for the April ACT will be able to take this one for free)
ACT - July 18th
SAT & ACT Test Prep – You can find a lot of test prep resources on our site. Some have online programs for a fee and others are free.
4/18: The Rock Ridge PTSO is waiving the $15 fee for the practice ACT or SAT. In addition, regardless of whether we are back open or not, you can take either of the practice tests AT HOME. You can sign up for either test here. Revolution Prep offers all its test prep services online. If you sign up for your services you are also supporting the RRHS PTSO through their partnership..
Scholarships
The RRRHS PTSO offers four scholarships and a senior may apply for all four scholarships. The student/family must be a PTSO member by April 1st. Scholarship applications are due 4/17.These scholarships can all be found on Naviance. Please be sure to read the info on Naviance carefully for updated submission instructions.
The RRHS Athletic Boosters also recognize graduating seniors through several different scholarships. The student/family must be an Athletic Booster member by April 1st. Scholarship applications are due 4/26. These scholarships can also be found on Naviance.
Newly Added Scholarships in Naviance: Home > Colleges (top right) > Scholarships & Money > Scholarship List
ANY DATE WITH A LINE THROUGH IT MEANS A NEW DEADLINE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AND UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICATION IS ON NAVIANCE. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHECKING NAVIANCE AS IN MANY CASES MORE THAN THE DATE HAS CHANGED.
4/15: C. Richard Walk Masonic Memorial Scholarship
4/15: Servant’s Heart – Joshua’s Hands Essay & Video Scholarships - 3 @ $1,000
4/15: New application on Naviance - Triple Point Security
4/15: Loudoun County Chapter of Izaak Walton League Conservation Scholarships
4/15: WMCCAI - Washington Metropolitan Chapter Community Associations Institute
4/15: NEW: Horatio Alger National Career & Technical Scholarship
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation – Allia Watts Scholarship
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation Scholarship
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation-Clarice Elizabeth Abney Scholarship
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation-JADE Scholarship
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation-LT Charles Spencer
4/17: Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation-Kim Vismale
4/17: VESA (Virginia EL Supervisors Association) Scholarship
4/17: Deadline moved to 5/10 - Sterling Soccer Club Scholarship
4/24: Loudoun Roadrunners Association
4/30: Updated – Jewel Scholarship
4/30: Ryan Bartel Foundation Acceptance of Others
5/1: VRLTAEF (Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association Education Foundation) Scholarships
5/1: Virginia Sheriff’s Institute Scholarship
5/1: Loudoun Valley Community Center Scholarship
5/1: The Ophelia Scholarship ($1,000)
5/1: The Joan Gooch Scholarship ($1,000)
5/1: The Edward Gerald Jones, Sr. Scholarship ($1,000)
5/1: The Nellis Group Academic Scholarship ($1,000)
5/1: The SJB Academic Scholarship ($1,000)
5/3: Northern Virginia B’nai B’rith Sports Scholarship
5/15: Updated - Culinary, Event, Tourism & Hospitality Scholarship
5/15: Updated – Women’s Club of Loudoun – open to MATA graduates
5/15: Updated – Committee for Dulles Community Outreach
5/25: Updated – A Gift for Textile Studies
5/31: Tronfeld West & Durrett Step by Step – 5 @ $1,500
Summer Programs/Jobs/Internships
Amazon Web Services Internships – Seniors, if you are interested in applying for the paid internships at AWS you may apply here. Interviews will be in May. The interviews will be behavioral based. If you did not attend their webinar last night you will want to learn about this interview. Contact me for more information.
https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/1098771/work-based-learning-program-universal-tech
https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/1101375/work-based-learning-program-logistics-specialist
American Pools – Lifeguarding info sessions. Learn more here.
4/10: Rising Seniors interested in law, Thomas D. Horne Leadership in the Law Program. This is a wonderful, local program. Learn more and apply here.
4/16: The Virginia Latino Higher Education Network’s Hispanic College Institute (HCI) is a free 4-day, overnight program that gives you the opportunity to learn about the college admissions process while meeting Latinx professionals and engaging with Latinx college students from all over our Commonwealth.
4/30: NEW: 2nd TMCF Fleischer HBCU Scholars Program at Virginia State University summer camp. This summer, VSU is once again partnering with Thurgood Marshall College Fund to offer 50 students an opportunity to participate in an amazing FREE, 1-week residential program that will be held on the beautiful VSU campus. This program provides rising high school seniors, who will be graduating from high school in 2021, the opportunity to experience college-life, entrepreneurship, and business courses for the duration of the week. TMCF Fleischer HBCU Scholars Program at Virginia State University
FAQs
What are the Common App Essay prompts for 2020-2021? The Common App Essay prompts for 2020-2021 will remain the same as this year. Learn more here.
What are the Coalition App Essay prompts for 2020-2021? The essay prompts can be found here.
Attachments:
2020 Colleges Unique.pdf
RESOURCES ABD QUICK LINKS
Quick Links:
1. Updates regarding COVID19 from LCPS
2. This link will assist in finding the stops and areas for breakfast and lunch distribution.
3. LCPS - Resources for enrichment and educational activities
Using that same link, you may be able to locate ideas for elementary and middle school students. There are also digital resources that LCPS' has approved for parents to use.
4. If you have questions for LCPS, you can submit them using this link:
CONTACT or call 571.252.6499. This hotline is available from 8 am to 5 pm each weekday.
5. This resource is from the CDC. This guideline provides some comprehensive information.
6. The National Association of School Psychologists