Courtland Counseling Newsletter
Let's make your future happen!
In this issue
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12: Upcoming Events
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12: Parent Workshop Descriptions
Grade 12: Local Scholarship Application
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12: Stay Focused … Stay On Track!
Grades 9, 10, 11: AP Courses
Grade 11: Juniors and their Future Plans
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12: Goodbye PASS … Hello ParentVUE
Grade 11: SAT Prep Workshop for Juniors
Grade 12: College Financial Aid Workshop
Grades 10, 11: Is Your Daughter Interested In Engineering?
Grades 9, 10, 11, 12: What Is CTE?
February 4:
Parent Conference Night, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
AP Information Night, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
SCTC Open House, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
February 6: Parent Workshop: Finding Scholarships/Financial Aid for College, 8:00 a.m., Computer Lab
February 7: ACT
February 10: Student Workshop: Finding Scholarships/Financial Aid for College, Cougar AM, Computer Lab
February 11:
Germanna Community College Recruiting Visit, 9:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m., Seniors must sign-up with their counselors.
Germanna Community College Information Session for Juniors, during Cougar AM in the auditorium
JROTC Rising Freshman Information Night, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Courtland High School Auditorium, current Freshmen are also invited.
February 13:
Parent Workshop: Power of the Schedule & 4-Year Plan, 8:00 a.m., auditorium
Deadline for registering for the March 14 SAT
February 16: Make up snow day
February 17: Student Workshop: Power of the Schedule & 4-Year Plan, Cougar AM Computer Lab
February 24:
Germanna Community College Recruiting Visit, 9:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m., Seniors must sign-up with their counselors.
Germanna Community College Information Session for Juniors, during Cougar AM in the auditorium
February 26 & 27: Interims given to students
AP Information Night: To AP or Not to AP…that is the question. Do AP classes build confidence and better study skills? How can you earn college credits from AP courses? How can AP courses create greater academic success in college? Come and learn the answer to these questions! You will have the opportunity to talk with current AP students, AP teachers, and a College Admissions Representative.
Finding Scholarships/Financial Aid for College: College is the plan, but you don’t know how you are going to afford it? FAFSA, EFC, SAR sound like alphabet soup to you? Come and join us for a hands-on opportunity to find scholarships. You will also receive a general overview on the financial aid process. It’s is NEVER too early to start!
Power of the Schedule & 4-Year Plan:
What courses should my student take? What level: regular, advanced or Advanced Placement? Join a discussion regarding your student’s course selections throughout high school to better help them reach their goals.
Local Scholarship Application: now available in the Counseling Office. The Local Scholarship Application covers those scholarships that are not listed on NAVIANCE.
Students are strongly encouraged to continue checking NAVIANCE weekly for updated scholarship information.
STAY FOCUSED … STAY ON TRACK!!
It is hard to believe this school year is half over!! Students have been working hard on their academics, active in extra-curricular activities, and getting the most out of their high school experience. There have been many early mornings and late nights for students and it is easy to understand if they are feeling tired and at times overwhelmed.
Parents, please encourage your students to STAY FOCUSED….STAY ON TRACK! There is an old saying “anything worth having is worth working for." This is especially true when it comes to being successful in high school. It is important for students to stay focused on their goals for after high school, to maintain a high grade point average, and to continue to stay active in extra-curricular activities.
Parent,s encourage your student to stay on track by maintaining a daily routine of coming to school and not letting the pressures of high expectations overwhelm them. They can do it!
AP (Advanced Placement) COURSES
Why Take AP courses?
In general students who score a 3 or higher on the AP exam …
1. Perform well in subsequent college courses in the discipline
2. Perform well overall in their first year of college
3. Are more likely to graduate in four years
4. Are more likely to major in their AP subject or a related discipline
5. Are more likely to have better outcomes in college compared to student who take dual enrollment courses
What Can AP Courses Do For Students?
Credit earned through AP can …
1. Enable a student to earn college credit while in high school, saving tuition costs
2. Allow more academic freedom to double their major or minor, or take more advanced courses or even graduate-level classes; and
3. Provide the opportunity and time to study abroad or work part-time.
What Kind of College Credit Can a Student Earn From an AP Course?
College credit for AP courses is awarded based on the AP exam score and vary from college to college. Students are advised to carefully review each college’s AP Exam policy.
Some schools
1. Give credit only for certain AP Exams
2. Accept scores of 3 for all AP Exams
3. Accept only scores of 4 or 5
4. Offer different amounts of credit for scores of 3, 4, or 5
5. Do not offer AP credit for courses in the major
6. Offer AP credit but only up to a maximum # of credits
7. Offer AP credit but only if the student registers for a more advanced course in the same subject area
JUNIORS: LET’S MAKE YOUR FUTURE HAPPEN!
Coming up in February, the Counselors will be offering sessions during Cougar AM to help every junior prepare for the future. We are surveying the juniors regarding their plans, and they will be assigned to the presentations accordingly. However, they are free to attend any additional presentation. PLEASE ENCOURAGE your student to attend!
4 Year College – Getting Ready To Apply: February 9, February 18, or February 26
2 Year Community College: February 11 or February 24
Military: February 20
Employment: February 5
SAT PREP WORKSHOP FOR JUNIORS
Has your junior student taken the SAT this year? Students who are planning to apply to colleges next fall need to make sure they have achieved their desired SAT scores prior to application deadlines. If students want to increase their scores, they must study and apply some time and effort; therefore, we recommend that juniors take the SAT twice so that they have time to improve their scores before taking the SAT again in the fall of their senior year.
Courtland High School is offering an SAT Prep Workshop on Saturday, February 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for juniors to prepare for the remaining SAT tests this spring. To sign up go to www.sat.org/register .
The remaining test dates are:
Test date Registration deadline
March 14th February 13th
May 2nd April 6th
June 6th May 8th
GOODBYE PASS...HELLO PARENTVUE
Important Dates to Know: (All dates are tentative)
January 30- February 13 – PASS will still be available
February 14 – February 20 – Transition Period - No PASS, No ParentVUE: You can contact teachers for updates.
Week of February 16 – Letters will be arriving with ParentVUE login credentials
February 20 – ParentVue goes live
February 23 – Grades will be available on ParentVue
COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOP
· Financial Aid Workshop and FAFSA Completion Event
· At Germanna Community College
· Saturday, February 7, 2015
o 9:30 a.m.: Check-In
o 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.: Financial Aid Workshop
o 11:00 a.m. to noon: FAFSA Completion Assistance
· To reserve a seat email: Financialaid@germanna.edu
IS YOUR DAUGHTER INTERESTED IN ENGINEERING?
The Society of Women Engineers at the University of Virginia invites high school juniors to apply for a place in their High School Visitation program, taking place Saturday, February 28th, 2015. The program is designed to benefit participants with all levels of engineering experience, but they particularly target those students who are not yet familiar with the field but may be interested in applying to engineering schools or pursuing an engineering career. High school juniors and sophomores may apply
Student must apply and the application must be completed by 11:59 pm on Friday, February 13, 2015. For more information and the application go to: http://uva.swe.org/high-school-visitation-info.html.
WHAT IS CTE?
From The Association for Career and Technical Education, www.acteonline.org
Today’s cutting edge, rigorous, and relevant career and technical education (CTE) prepares youth and adults for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers.
CTE Works for High School Students
High school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates.
- 81 percent of dropouts say relevant, real-world learning opportunities would have kept them in high school.
- The average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 90.18 percent, compared to an average national freshman graduation rate of 74.9 percent.
- More than 70 percent of secondary CTE concentrators pursued postsecondary education shortly after high school.
CTE Works for College Students and Adults
Postsecondary CTE fosters postsecondary completion and prepares students and adults for in-demand careers.
- A person with a CTE-related associate degree or credential will earn on average between $4,000 and $19,000 more a year than a person with a humanities associate degree.
- 27 percent of people with less than an associate degree, including licenses and certificates, earn more than the average bachelor degree recipient.
CTE Works for Business
CTE addresses the needs of high-growth industries and helps close the skills gap.
- The skilled trades are the hardest jobs to fill in the United States, with recent data citing 806,000 jobs open in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and 293,000 jobs open in manufacturing.
- Health care occupations, many of which require an associate degree or less, make up 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations.
- STEM occupations such as environmental engineering technicians require an associate degree and will experience faster than average job growth.
- Middle-skill jobs, jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor's degree, are a significant part of the economy. Of the 55 million job openings created by 2020, 30 percent will require some college or a two-year associate degree.
The above data and citations are available from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education, the American Association of Community Colleges, and publications from RTI International and MPR Associates.