O'Plaine students were visited over the last couple of week by the Post-Secondary Counselors in their lunch study halls. Post-secondary options and resources were presented. Students also completed a post-secondary planning survey. The State of Illinois requires students to take a career survey by the end of their Sophomore year. This survey also often initiates thoughts about next steps and the data helps inform our post-secondary programming. Students, if you missed the presentation and/or were not able to access the survey, click here for the presentation and here for the survey.

This semester is all about you, Freshmen & Sophomores! In this issue you will find many post-secondary Spring events and opportunities, including:

• Camino a College on 2/2 for our Freshmen & Sophomore Spanish-Speaking Families
• HBCU College Fair 2/20 & HBCU Spring College Tour Opportunity
• Freshmen Post-Secondary Night on 2/16
• Scholarship Workshop on 2/24
• College Reps Visiting O'Plaine
• College Fair at CLC on 3/9
• Career Speaker Workshops & More!

Details for these opportunities and more are below. As always, I welcome students to stop by the College and Career Center in Room 258 (by the Library) to meet with me during your lunch study hall on Tuesdays or Thursdays (no pass needed, and I will take your attendance). You can also email me to make an appointment. It's not too early to start planning for your future. I hope you take advantage of these awesome upcoming events and opportunities!

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Grayslake Area Public Library is hosting a free, full-length virtual practice ACT or SAT on February 4th. To register, click HERE. Participants are not required to be a library card holder.

Waukegan Township is hosting a FREE college fair at Waukegan High School on Monday, February 20 from 10 am - 3 pm with HBCU and non-HBCU colleges, CLC, branches of the military, guest speakers & more! We do not have school that day, so it would be a great way to spend your day off! Prior registration is required. See flyer for more info and scan QR Code to access registration. Waukegan Township is also hosting HBCU college tours this Spring! The Township will be here on Thursday, February 9 during all lunch periods in the cafe. Be sure to stop by and talk to them for more information on Historically Black Colleges & Universities and these amazing upcoming opportunities!

Save the date! Over 140 colleges from all over will be a part of this fair later this Spring. The fair is from 6-8 pm at the College of Lake County in the PE building. Click here for more info and to see which schools are coming. Families are highly encouraged to attend if college is something your student is thinking as a post-secondary option. We hope to see you there!

Attention Engineering Students: Do you thrive with some fun competition and have an eye for design? U of I's annual Engineering Open House includes a High School Design Competition on 3/31. The theme for this year's competition is Roller Coasters. The team that designs a roller coaster that keeps a ball rolling on it the longest wins. Click here for more info and here to register your team if interested (deadline to register is 2/25). Rules and regulations can be found here.

College reps are coming to O'Plaine to meet with interested students starting at the end of February. By attending, you can expect to hear about a school's majors, admission requirements, student life, housing, tuition, financial aid & more! Attending a college visit also provides you with the opportunity to make a first impression and demonstrate interest to the college rep who will likely be the first person reading your future college application! Visits are a panel format with multiple colleges per visit to maximize exposure for students.

The visits are a period in length, and students are expected to arrive on time and stay for the duration. All visits are in the College & Career Center (unless otherwise noted). Once scheduled, you can view the list of colleges coming and register in MaiaLearning under events. Students were shown how to do this in their lunch study halls this semester, but see Ms. Hartley if you have questions or need assistance. Please review the college visit expectations and procedures below.

• Students must be passing the class they'll miss to attend the visit (yes, we do check!)
• Students must sign up in MaiaLearning by the end of the school day prior
• Students are limited to 3 college visits/semester
• If the visit coincides with your lunch, you are permitted to eat during the visit
• College visits are open to both freshmen and sophomores
• Limit 30 students per visit - first come, first served
• Students are permitted to miss class to attend (attendance will be excused) but are expected to talk to your teacher prior to the visit for make-up work
• If you have an assessment, presentation or project due that period, you're expected to go to class and can email Ms. Hartley after for any info provided

For students interested in learning more about the US Military, representatives from the US Army & Marine Corps will be in the Cafeteria during all lunch periods this week and one the future dates listed below. Stop by their table to ask questions or receive additional information.

For past info and opportunities shared, visit prior issues below.

• Click here for the December 19, 2022 issue
• Click here for the November 22, 2022 issue
• Click here for the November 7, 2022 issue
• Click here for the October 10, 2022 issue
• Click here for the September 20, 2022 issue
• Click here for the September 5, 2022 issue
• Click here for the August 2022 issue