AVID Monthly
February 15th, 2022
Dear AVID families,
February brings us to prepping for some of the most important times of the year -- AVID recruitment for incoming 9th graders and the ACT! We are working hard to make sure all 8th graders and their families know about the additional strategies and skills AVID reinforces and the benefits for students just beginning to consider their college journey. If you know of a family with a current 8th grader, please tell them about AVID and the experience you or your child has had as part of the OHS program.
This is also the time of year where we dive deep into ACT practice and test-taking skills/strategies. I closely track the progress students are making from their first ACT attempt in October to the test date just right around the corner - March 8th. Please encourage your son/daughter to attend the practice night in the REC on March 7th from 6:30-7:30 PM. I know all their hard work will pay off! As always, please let me know if you need anything.
Jaime Regan
AVID District Director and Elective 11-12 Teacher
“The harder we question, the harder we hunt. The harder we hunt, the more we learn.” — Patrick Rothfuss
AVID Strategy of the Month
The Importance of Critical Reading
Similarly, the ACT® report, “Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals about College Readiness in Reading,” suggests that rigorous reading is key to college readiness. Key findings include:
• Not enough high school teachers are teaching reading skills or strategies, and as a result, students are losing momentum in readiness for college-level reading. [We focus intently on building these skills in the AVID elective class]
• Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are more likely to be ready for college and those who are less likely to be ready. A complex text will contain multiple layers of meaning, not all of which will be immediately apparent to students upon a single superficial reading. Such texts require students to work at unlocking meaning by calling upon sophisticated reading skills and strategies.
The ACT report describes complex text using six aspects:
1. Relationships: Interactions among ideas or characters in the text are subtle, involved, or deeply embedded.
2. Richness: The text possesses a sizable amount of highly sophisticated information conveyed through data or literary devices.
3. Structure: The text is organized in ways that are elaborate and sometimes unconventional.
4. Style: The author’s tone and use of language are often intricate.
5. Vocabulary: The author’s choice of words is demanding and highly context-dependent.
6. Purpose: The author’s intent in writing the text is implicit and sometimes ambiguous.
College of the Month: University of Oregon
Location: Eugene, OR
Founded: 1876
Annual Tuition: $39,309 (out-of-state total cost)
Most Popular Majors: Business, Social Science, and Psychology
Graduation Rate: 71.9%
Acceptance Rate: 83.8%
Notable Alumni: Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight (co-founders of Nike), Ann Curry, Ken Kesey, and MANY More!
ACT Practice in AVID 10: Tristan Monroe
For the last couple of weeks, we have been doing ACT practice and learning test taking strategies. We have taken the Reading and Science practice tests so far. We are using those tests and going over questions we got wrong during tutorials on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Doing these practice tests will help us be more capable of getting a good score on the ACT next year. During this semester we will also be using a program called Method Test Prep to work through lessons to help us prepare for the actual ACT. On March 8th, the juniors will be taking the ACT and all sophomores will be taking the PreACT. The PreACT is a test that will give us a projected score that we could possibly get next year.
Webstore Course Fees
AVID 11 Families, the Chicago trip is moving ahead as planned. We will be updating the webstore to include the Chicago train ticket, hotel, and food estimate soon. Please look for an email regarding specific details.
ACT Final Tips/Tricks Practice Night
Juniors are invited to the Raccoon Exploration Center at 6:30 p.m. to review important test-taking strategies and other tips and tricks. We will review and practice a few questions before sending everyone home for a good night’s sleep!
>> Juniors: Click here to sign up for a Tips & Tricks time slot
Monday, Mar 7, 2022, 06:30 PM
Oconomowoc High School, East Forest Street, Oconomowoc, WI, USA
SAVE THE DATE : AVID 11 Weekend Trip to Chicago
Friday, Apr 1, 2022, 11:00 AM
Hyatt Centric Chicago Magnificent Mile, North Saint Clair Street, Chicago, IL, USA
SAVE THE DATE: AVID Family Dinner
Tuesday, Apr 5, 2022, 06:00 PM
Oconomowoc High School, East Forest Street, Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Atomic Habits: Cole Manne
This semester, in AVID 10, we are reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. The book focuses on ways that little changes and routines can make big differences over time. For example, if you are getting one percent better every day, you will be almost 38 times better by the end of the year. We are also learning how little things that are bad can have a big impact too. If you get one percent worse every day, by the end of the year, the results will be 0.03 times as good. We are reading this book in order to learn simple ways to form good habits and break bad ones. This has helped me personally apply myself to things like school and working out, and making sure that I am doing the little things to help me succeed. I have started applying daily routines to certain things to help me stay on the right track to be my best possible self.
Learn more about Atomic Habits on Goodreads or read it along with us!