TOPS HS Weekly Scholar
February 1, 2016 - Today we LEARN. Tomorrow we LEAD!
K12 Parent/Learning Coach Information
Do you need a place to go for tips, reviews on navigating the OLS, and perhaps to even find out outings, events, and make parent connections? Please visit our K12 TOPS Start Page. Bookmark the website and visit it often throughout the year!
Your TOPS Faculty and Staff
Leslie Smith
Katie Skillrud
Bre'Anna Murphy
Shannon Peacock
Ashley Deets
Teri Heims
Tom Troxell
Stephanie Makulinski
Coordinator
Maren Garza
Bryan Lankford
TOPS Lead Teacher
Kysha Baker-Winters
11th & 12th Grade
Jennifer Grissom
9th & 10th Grade
Amara Theriault
Christiana Robinson
Stephanie Blondeau
Candace Leatherbury
Charles Greene
Jaime Compton
Allyson Arnwine
Lead Teaacher
Dr. Kimberley Weathers
Mariana Ward
Kmail- under "teachers," look for Maren Garza
Email- mgarza@k12/com
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO, MRS. GARZA! WE LOVE YOU!
Teacher Paws for Praise!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JOmK_N-0D5GwogaKy0iV7ElOdYboReDxBW9-4PxjxQk/viewform
K12 National Clubs
Are you interested in building social relationships with other students across our K12 schools who may have a shared interest with you? Click on the link below to learn more about the clubs and sign-up!
Learning Coach Mentor Meet-Ups!
Mentor Meet ups are a great place for new learning coaches to get their wings!
Here are the dates for the rest of the year.
A kmail will come to families on the day of each MMU with the link. 12/15/15, 1/6/16, 2/2/16, 2/16/16, 3/1/16, 3/24/16, 4/5/16, 4/28/16, and 5/10/16.
Click here to attend: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/meeting.jnlp?sid=559&password=M.EB4760030647691F835133FECEBBBC
School Outings and Events Calendar
Would you like to connect with other K12 Texas students and parents? Would you like to meet some of our teachers and staff? Please be sure and visit our calendar of events. We look forward to getting the chance to meet you in person!
Click here for our calendar: http://tops.k12start.com/calendar/
Mark Your Calendars!
Feb. 16- Interim Assessments (English I & II)
Feb. 29- Interim Assessments (Alg. 1, US History, & Biology)
Mar. 7-11- Spring Break
Testing Dates
May 2-6: HS EOC testing (some of our teachers will be out helping with this testing)
May 9-12: STAAR testing (grades 3-8) and Retesting (grades 5,8)
June 21-24: STAAR retesting (grades 5,8)
July 11-15: HS EOC Retesting
Online Learning Course
Please aim to have the OLL course completed over the break if you have not already!
College Info
Helpful sites:
Collegeboard: https://www.collegeboard.org/
Federal student aid:
Interested in Scholarships? Try these.
- Seniors, continue to focus your college research and narrow down your choice of colleges that you will apply to. Remember your goal should be 5 colleges: 2 that are your “dream schools”, 2 that you have a pretty good chance of being admitted to and 1 safe school to which you already meet the entrance requirements.
- Seniors, apply for a PIN number at www.fafsa.ed.gov so you will be ready to apply for financial aid. Remember both you and your parents need a PIN number. Curious to know how much money you might get for financial aid? Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and click on FAFSA4caster to find out!
- Continue to search for scholarships. Remember this should be your part-time job right now! It is truly hard work applying for scholarships, but the reward is so worth it in the end when you see those scholarships begin to add up. Sign up for a FREE scholarship search engine like www.fastweb.com and the site will email you scholarships that match your profile.
- Seniors, continue working on your college applications. Get those essays written and out to others to proof read for you. Remember, a good essay can get you into the college if you are considered “on the bubble” for admission! Make it your goal to get all of your applications completed by the end of Thanksgiving break. You will feel so much less stress when those applications are in! I’ve attached at the back of this newsletter the application deadlines according to the applytexas.org website for all the 4 year colleges in the state. However, please double check with the college website to make sure these dates are correct.
- Reflect on your 1st semester grades and progress. Are you on track? Are you making good progress toward completion of all your classes? Remember colleges do look at grades in conjunction with test scores as an indicator of college success. They are very important, so buckle down and create a plan for you to earn the best grades possible!
- Register for the ACT is at www.actstudent.org. Register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com. If you are a senior and have not taken these tests or you want to try and raise your scores, please register ASAP.
In Addition to Kmail, you may reach us at following numbers and emails:
Katie Skillrud, Operations Manager: 972-420-1404, Ext. 1001 kskillrud@k12.com
Bre'Anna Murphy, Registrar: 972-420-1404, Ext. 1005 bmurphy@k12.com
Bryan Lankford, Lead Teacher (Math, Science, PE/Health):
972-643-8606 blankford@k12.com
Allyson Arnwine, Lead Teacher (ELA, SS, and Spanish):
972-905-1714 aarnwine@k12.com
Maren Garza, Counselor: 214-945-4251 mgarza@k12.com
Main TOPS Office: 972-420-1404