COUNSELING 411
January 2017 (Volume XXXII)
SCHEDULING IS ON SCHEDULE
Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will begin the process of meeting with counselors to schedule classes for the 2017-18 school year. Counselors will meet with students in small groups starting the week of February 6th and continue through early March. All students will bring home a 2-part Course Request Sheet to review with parents/guardians. Please take time to look over this information with your son/daughter to discuss the classes selected which will include required classes for graduation as well as elective classes. Students should return the signed yellow copy of the Course Request Sheet to his/her counselor as soon as possible. The pink copy of the Course Request Sheet is the student’s copy and should be kept at home.
CHALLENGING COURSES ARE STILL BEST
Nearly every career requires writing so utilize English classes to read, analyze and develop writing skills. And don't skip a year of math because one could lose momentum and the understanding of concepts. NACAC notes, "Students that take math in each year of high school are far more successful in college than students taking only three years of math classes." NACAC recommends considering the following plan of courses.
GRADE 9: English 9; Algebra 1 or Geometry; Earth Science or Biology; World Language 1 or 2; World History; one elective
GRADE 10: English 10; Algebra 1 or Algebra 2; Biology or Chemistry; World Language 1 or 2; U.S. History or AP U.S. History; one or two electives
GRADE 11: English 11 or AP English; Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus; Chemistry or Physics, World Language 3 or 4; Government or AP Government, Economics or AP Macro Economics; one or two electives.
GRADE 12: English 12 or AP English; Pre-Calculus, Calculus or AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry or AP Physics; AP Microeconomics; AP Psychology
*Source NACA https://goo.gl/OL9YU0
STOP BY THE HOUSE
Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017, 07:00 PM
Livonia Career Technical Center
TIME IS MONEY
"Students who file the FAFSA in the first three months of availability have historically received more than double the grant funding * - that is, money that does not have to be repaid - as those who file later" , noted Kelli B. Grant, financial contributor for CNBC.
* 2015 study from Edvisors.com https://goo.gl/Xuwhrj
LUCKY NUMBER 7
(www.parchment.com) and should contain first semester grades from senior year. All first semester grades should be posted to transcripts by the week of February 15th. If you make your request for a seventh-semester transcript prior to February 15th you should select HOLD for GRADES option. If you request your seventh-semester transcript after February 15th you should select CURRENT TRANSCRIPT. If you have questions please talk with your counselor.
GRADE A
A recent University of Michigan study published in the Journal of Family Psychology noted that a punitive appproach to "unacceptable" grades can actually result in lower achievement. Research done by the university noted that punitive strategies do not address the underlying issues when a student is not learning, nor does it provide the student with concrete skills or strategies to reach excellence in future classrooms.
What are your expectations? Families might consider discussing this issue as we come to the end of our first semester and students move to a new semester and new opportunities to learn.
FREE SAT HELP
GET IN THE GAME
Roughly 460,000 student-athletes compete at the DI, DII and DIII
level at more than 1,000 college and universities. Another 60,000 student-athletes compete at over 250 NAIA institutions and nearly that same number of student-athletes competes at more than 500 two-year colleges. Could you be one of these college student-athletes?
Currently there are nearly eight million high school student-athletes and NCAA * estimates that with the exception of ice hockey and lacrosse all other college sports have less than 10% of those high-school athletes playing the sport at the college level. NCAA stresses, "As a college-bound student athlete, you (student) are responsible for your eligibility - that means planning ahead, taking high school classes seriously and protecting your amateur status."
One of the best resources for a high school student-athlete interested in playing sports at the college level is the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete. This free resource can be downloaded from NCAA at https://goo.gl/CMjNYq. Another helpful resource for the college bound student-athlete is Get in the Game: Tips for Student-Athletes and their families which can be downloaded from the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) at https://goo.gl/Yrb3JA.
Fewer than 2% of NCAA student-athletes will go pro in their respective sport; however the experiences and lessons learned as a college student-athlete are applicable in the career world. And NCAA notes that overall, student-athletes graduate at higher rates than their peers in the student body. So, if you are interested in playing college sports - be sure to get in the game and start your planning now.
* Source NCAA https://goo.gl/yb8TaE
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
* no residency requirements to participate/no registration necessay