Fall Newsletter
LAHS School Counselors
Application time is here!
Reminders to seniors about applications:
-Complete the SAT form
-stop in guidance office to fill out application forms and give to Mrs. Aikey once you apply
-match your Naviance account to Common App (if applying in Common App)
-come ask for help :)
Naviance tutorial here and LAHS Naviance tutorial here
applying direct to institution
Matching your account
College Night is BACK !
Colleges and universities want to TALK to you in person :) We will be hosting College Night to be held at Bucknell University’s Gerhard Fieldhouse on Monday, October 11th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. This evening provides an excellent opportunity for you to meet representatives from approximately 60 colleges and universities and to obtain information. A list of participating schools will be distributed closer to the event.
SAT/ACT Dates
Register for SAT online with College Board. You will need to create an account. Stop by the Guidance office with questions/directions.
Despite all the new changes with SAT Optional Application, we encourage all students to take the test.
Seniors are encouraged to test in October to ensure scores are back by application deadlines.
Juniors are encouraged to take the PSAT in the fall 2021, and SAT once in junior year (recommended Spring).
SAT Dates for 2021-22:
November 6, 2021; registration deadline Oct. 8, 2021; late registration October 26th **
December 4, 2021; registration deadline Nov. 4, 2021
March 12, 2022; registration deadline Feb. 11, 2022 **
May 7, 2022; registration deadline April 8. 2022
June 4, 2022; registration deadline May 5, 2022 **
**given at LAHS
ACT Dates for 2021-22:
October 23, 2021; late registration October 15th **
December 11, 2021; registration November 5th
February 12, 2022; registration January 7th
April 2, 2022; registration February 25 **
June 11, 2022; registration May 6th
July 16, 2022; registration June 17th
College/University Representatives Visiting LAHS
PSAT for Juniors
Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
Who should participate? Juniors
Reminder this is a test that could qualify students for scholarship opportunities.
Date: October 26, 2021
Cost: $18.00 (Cash or checks made out to LAHS)
**Register in Guidance Office by October 22nd**
Sophomores will have an opportunity to test in Spring 2022.
AP Information
Students will need to register for Advanced Placement Exams by November 15, 2022. Students have been given instructions on how to “join” their current AP classes and will have the option to order the exams. Cost of each exam is $96. Fee reductions and waivers are available through the Guidance Office for qualified students. Money will be collected in March. This year, there will be a fee for any unused/cancelled exams.
Letter of Recommendation Tips
Seniors- now is a good time to start thinking about asking a teacher for a letter of recommendation. This should be a teacher that knows you well and can speak to your efforts in the classroom. Most schools are looking for 1 or 2 letters but Naviance/school websites will provide most accurate information. Be sure to ask your teacher in person first and you give them ample time prior to deadlines so you can be courteous in providing necessary information to your recommender.
Juniors - It is best to do this prior to the end of the junior year to give our teachers enough time to write a strong letter for you. his starts the process so you can be courteous in providing necessary information to that teacher.
This youtube video is helpful in some tips. (Do note this is Johns Hopkins and all schools are different. You can check Naviance and the college/university website with specific admissions info). Email us or stop into Guidance if you have questions.
PHEAA/Financial Aid - October 26th
We will hold a Financial Aid night virtually on October 28, 2021. You can also review this newsletter with the recording from last year. For more information you can go here and or PHEAA's website you can reach out to our PHEAA representative, Tiffanie DeVan, with questions or concerns at tdevan@pheaa.org
Remember - ALL college bound students should fill out the FAFSA - consider it your "insurance policy" on college.
In addition, private colleges require CSS Profile . Click here for the list of universities who need this completed.
**Seniors - Class of 2022 can start filling out the FAFSA after October 1, 2021.**
PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency) is offering many great webinars on from scholarship searches to loan timelines.
College Affordability and Transparency Center (CATC) – The CATC is an excellent resource for students and families to explore different characteristics about colleges, including costs, net price, retention, and graduation rates.
PHEAA has numerous platforms to support students and families including these YouTube videos here
September- Suicide Prevention Month & October Bullying Prevention
September was Suicide Prevention Month. High School is a time when many young people experience significant stress from life transitions such as gaining more independence and responsibility and thinking about their future. That stress has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, we’ve seen striking glimmers of resilience – the ability to bounce back from a negative experience or difficult challenge.
What is most important for those struggling with mental health is to know they are not alone and there are resources to help them. 1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness each year. 1 in 6 youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year. (NAMI) All of us have mental health!!
It is essential to know where to go if you need help. Resources here
We encourage all students to save the CrisisTextLine in their phone 741741 and reach a trained crisis counselor by typing HELLO. Yes, these are real people, trained to help us through hard times.
ChildMind has great resources for families as well. You can access their website here
If you need more information or have questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch with us or our social worker, Jared Curry, as we have a local counselor resources list.
Study Skills Tips
Here are some valuable strategies for effective study skills from, Princeton Review:
- Identify more than one study space. Variety helps!
- Get real. Be realistic about how long your assignments should take
- Track more than homework in a school planner. Include all activities and social commitments and plan accordingly.
- Use class time wisely. If you have time after class, ask your teacher to clarify a concept that seems fuzzy.
- Start small. Complete assignments in small chunks.
- Create a simple system to stay organized. Try separate folders for handouts for each subject. Nothing fancy!
- Look over your notes each night. Fill in details. Highlight key concepts. Interacting with your notes will help you remember them.
- Establish a routine. Try to do homework around the same time every day.
- Study a little every day.
- Don’t let a disappointing grade keep you down. Take proactive steps to improve.
- Create a distraction-free zone. Turn off the devices! Or at least turn off the notifications until homework is done.
- Make a friend in every class. Help and support each other!
From tips that your LAHS teachers use/recommend:
- Join classroom quizlets- Espo said this is the key to getting a good grade in his class.
- I like chunking an assignment by working backwards from the date it's due. Such as: 5 days= 4-5 separate goals that get me to completion.
- Associate any new content with something you already know. Images help the most but sometimes words or ideas are all you can manage.
- Procrastinators start telling a fib to yourself about when that paper is due so you write it a day or two earlier and have time to revise.
- Make an appointment over flex or in class with your teacher to talk about your paper so you need to have most of it done earlier than the due date again so you have time to revise.
- When in doubt about MLA formatting, go to Owl Purdue's website.
- Make a quizlet for vocabulary and use the word in a sentence to help you remember definitions.
- If you forget easily what you read, make yourself a picture summary (with captions if your art skills aren't great).
- Organize your items for class by titling Google docs or having a specific color folder for each class to keep paper materials in.
- To study, call a friend and quiz each other by making up questions and thinking what would the teacher ask, you are helping yourself narrow down the material you need to work on. If not, find an imaginary friend or pet to tell the information to like they need you to tell them how everything works. By explaining things out loud, you clarify your understanding and see where you have holes you need to go back and look to fill from the text.
United Way FREE Tutoring
Join the United Way Youth Ambassadors
The Susquehanna United Way is looking for students who are interested in joining a group to help to raise awareness about important topics like substance abuse, mental health, and suicide prevention working in their schools and communities. This is a great way for students to get connected with others that want to also make a difference in their communities.
Some activities that these students have been involved in is a Teens Teach Tech video series where they work to educate the public about social media. In the past they have also created radio PSA discussing substance abuse, and last summer we had Students Mental Health discussion where we discuss different ways we can better our mental health.You can access this video here.
Any student interested please contact Mrs. O'Connor :)
Free Tips on application essays from The "College Essay Guy"
Are you struggling to write your college essays or need ideas?
Your counselors are happy to discuss your essays and give you feedback but the "College Essay Guy" has lots of good pointers. You can visit his website here.
United Way WorkForce Guide
A 2020 Lewisburg graduate and a student at Susquehanna University, Mario Colon, worked on this comprehensive guide for students and families in our community where all the early college, workforce, and career programs in the area can be featured as a one stop shop. Key information is featured such as requirements, contact, brief overview, cost, and more. Links are associated with every program, and some students can even participate in more than one. 20 programs featured across 12 organizations mainly for those aged 16-24.
You can find this link here
Graduation Projects
Please contact Dr. Zack zack_b@dragon.k12.pa.us if you have any questions.
Scholarship opportunities - start saving now!
Scholarships are a type of financial aid that help make college more affordable. Unlike loans, you don’t have to pay back a scholarship award. It’s never too early to start thinking about how to make college affordable, so we created a tool to match you to scholarships based on your background, achievements, and future plans.
Scholarship opportunities to start saving now. These scholarships are randomly selected each month under your College Board account.
Join a mailing list for email scholarships updates like this site
Class of 2023 Junior Meetings
Dr. Zack is holding individual meetings with all juniors to go over future planning. Topics discussed are career goals, courses that would support career goals, senior year options such as the ACE program, SUN, and Bucknell or Susquehanna courses, and college admissions tests.
Looking for a part-time job?
Search the here for jobs and check out the "job openings" binder in the Guidance office.
Most businesses will put "Hiring" signs in their windows or have applications on their websites.
Remember you will need a work permit that you can get in the front office from Mrs. Dittmar.
LAHS Guidance
We welcome your communication with questions or concerns.
Mrs. O'Connor oconnor_e@dragon.k12.pa.us (A-K)
Mrs. Fennell fennell_v@dragon.k12.pa.us (L-Z)
Dr. Zack zack_b@dragon.k12.pa.us (K-12 Career Counselor)
Mrs. Aikey aikey_t@dragon.k12.pa.us (Student Services Secretary)Email: oconnor_e@dragon.k12.pa.us
Website: www.lasd.us
Location: 545 Newman Road, Lewisburg, PA, USA
Phone: 570-522-3225
Facebook: facebook.com/LAHSGuidance
Twitter: @LewisburgHS