Counselor Connection
Monthly Newsletter from FHS Counseling Department
January's Newsletter
The Forest Counseling Department is publishing a monthly newsletter in order to communicate important information to students and parents. These newsletters will cover important information such as upcoming events, college and career information, available scholarships, and helpful updates.
Please be sure to follow our new Instagram and Twitter pages! The handle for both is Guidancewildcat.
Check out Guidance's Instagram!
Please remember, Forest High School has a twitter as well and our TV Production crew as a YouTube channel with a lot of helpful information. *You DO NOT need a Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube account in order to check these accounts out for information*
Important Upcoming Events
Please know that events are always subject to change based on current events and outside factors.
Revised Semester Exam Schedule
Last Day of 1st Semester
Thursday, Jan 14, 2021, 08:30 AM
FHS Campus
Teacher Work Day-No School for Students
Friday, Jan 15, 2021, 08:30 AM
FHS Campus
Martin Luther King Jr Day- No School
Monday, Jan 18, 2021, 08:30 AM
FHS Campus
Activity Week
Tuesday, Jan 19, 2021, 10:15 AM
FHS Campus
Cap and Gown Pictures for Seniors-Make your Appt!
Thursday, Jan 28, 2021, 08:30 AM
FHS Activties
Interested in School Choice?
Are you interested in attending MTI or another school's magent program next year?
You must fill out the school choice application which is open now until the end of January. Check out the reference guide attached below for more information!
Interested in Attending College of Central Florida (CF)?
Attend a Virtual Meeting
Check out the virtual meeting dates for CF in January if you are interested in dual enrollment or being a future CF Patriot. These virtual sessions will walk you through dual enrollment and admissions requirements as well as help you with applications. The dates and links to sign up can be found here: https://www.cf.edu/explore/preview/virtual-information-sessions
Juniors Planning on Enrolling in College Upon Graduation-Please Read!
If you are interested in enrolling in college after graduation, you need to come up with your SAT and ACT testing plan now. It is important to look ahead and register for a test or two this year so you have the scores to apply in the fall. Make an appointment with Mrs. Thomas if you need advising on this plan. Below are the remaining dates for this year.
SAT:
Test Date: March 13th Registration Date: Feb 12th
Test Date: May 8th Registration Date: April 8th
Test Date: June 5th Registration Date: May 6th
ACT:
Test Date: Feb 6th Registration Date: January 15th
Test Date: April 17th Registration Date: March 12th
Test Date: June 12th Registration Date: May 7th
Test Date: July 17th Registration Date: June 18th
Will you be 18 by summertime and looking for summer job? See flyer.
Important Senior Information
Transcript Request Procedure
Letters of Recommendation Request Process
FAFSA Opens up October 1st!! Sooner it is completed, the better!
State Scholarship Information for Seniors
Scholarship Resources
Click on the Buttons Below for 2 Resources to Help You Earn Scholarships!
Available Scholarships
Marion County Scholarship Directory
Public Education of Marion County Scholarships
Florida Retired Educators Foundation Fund Scholarship
Harold S Schwartz Music Scholarship
Students are urged to APPLY EARLY! Due to COVID-19 precautions, audition schedule positions are limited.
Students eligible to compete for a Harold S. Schwartz Music Scholarship must be graduating seniors from a Lake, Marion or Sumter County High School or Academy, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. They must be planning to major or minor in music at a college or university of their choice during the following academic year.
Key 2021 Harold S. Schwartz Program dates are:
- Monday, March 1, 2021 - APPLICATIONS DUE
- Saturday, April 3, 2021 - Audition Day in The Villages (Mandatory for Applicants)
- Evening of Thursday, April 22, 2021 - Scholarships awarded in The Villages, FL (Mandatory for Winners)
Florida Association of School Resource Officers
SECO Scholarship
Jose Marti Challenge Grant Fund
Requirements:
• Submit a completed, error-free Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) by April 1, 2021 (available October 1, 2020). Applicants will be ranked by their application submission date, if necessary.
• Be of Spanish culture, born in or having a natural parent who was born in either Mexico or a Hispanic country of the Caribbean, Central or South America, regardless of race. Students of the following countries are not considered for an evaluation of this scholarship: Brazil, Spain and Haiti.
• Have earned, by the end of the seventh semester, a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale based on subjects credible toward a high school diploma for an undergraduate scholarship, or a 3.0 institutional cumulative GPA for undergraduate college work if applying for a graduate level scholarship. o A prospective undergraduate student must apply during senior year of high school and ensure that either the high school principal or designee certifies online the student’s 7th semester unweighted cumulative GPA to the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) by a date established by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). o A prospective graduate student must ensure that an admissions office official at the postsecondary institution the applicant plans to attend certifies the student’s institutional cumulative GPA online to OSFA by a date established by FDOE.
• Demonstrate a minimum of $2,000 in financial need by timely completing and submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in time to be processed error-free by the U.S. Department of Education on or before May 15, 2021.
Scholarship Search Engines
Fastweb Scholarship Search Engine: www.fastweb.com
Scholarships 360: scholarships360.org
Big Future Collegeboard Search: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
How To Contact your Counselor
9th Grade Counselor: Mr. Ecliff Telford Ecliff.telford@marion.k12.fl.us
10th Grade Counselor: Dr. Keyana Lyde Keyana.lyde@marion.k12.fl.us
11th Grade Counselor: Mrs. Shirley Thomas Shirley.thomas@marion.k12.fl.us
12th Grade Counselor: Mrs. Tracy Moody Tracy.moody@marion.k12.fl.us
ESE: Ms. Katherine West Katherine.west@marion.k12.fl.us