Welcome back to school Class of 2011!
Summer school has ended, so has summer vacation, and now we embark on the Junior year of high school. So many important tasks are accomplished in the third year of high school and I will keep everyone informed of these items on this Quia page, which I will update regularly.
SCHEDULE CHANGES TO FIRST SEMESTER:
If you need to make a change in your schedule, the deadline is Wednesday, August 26th. Please read the policy for schedule changes in your student handbook. If you are having difficulties in a class, please come see me ASAP. If I am unavailable, please leave a note, so I know you need to make an appointment. Please be as specific as possible in your note - this will help me understand what changes you may be looking for, which will expedite the process. Thank you.
Junior year is a very important year in your high school career and it may even be considered the most important year in regards to college admissions. Keep in mind that when you apply to schools during your first semester of senior year, the LAST two semesters on your transcript colleges will see are those from your junior year - so, make sure you start off junior year strong! This means you should be taking challenging coursework and doing well in your classes. If you need academic assistance, please come see me as well as invest some extra time in the applicable academic lab or ask your teacher for extra assistance.
NEED ACADEMIC HELP? Seek out extra academic assistance with one of our labs. Please see the information below related to our three academic labs:
- MATH LAB: available 7:20 AM, all periods of the day in the math department
- WRITING LAB: available all periods in the library
- MODERN LANGUAGE LAB 7:30 AM on the second floor
TESTS
You will take two assessments this year, one in October 2009 (PSAT - "Preliminary SAT") and the other in April 2010 (ACT). You can use this summer as an opportunity to become more familiar with both assessments. Here is a link to the PSAT and here is a link to the ACT.
NAVIANCE
Junior year is the year we start speaking more about college. We will review the Naviance program again, but more in-depth. During our initial counseling sessions sophomore year, I introduced the Naviance program to students individually and provided a brief tutorial on how to use it. The student's e-mail address is their unique username and their password is the password they selected when they registered during the initial meeting. However, a small portion of students did not register yet since they need to sign up for an e-mail address first in order to register. I encourage those students to register for a free email address and contact me or Mrs. Smith so we can set up access to their account for Junior year. Please note that the Naviance system is set up in such a way that a student's username and a parent's username (remember, the e-mail address) CANNOT be the same username (e.g. CANNOT be the same e-mail address). Parents were mailed a registration letter at the end of Freshman year. If you need assistance in registering for Naviance, please e-mail me or Mrs. Smith and either of us will be glad to assist you.
During Junior year, I encourage students to begin thinking about their college plans, including developing awareness on college selection, college majors, and scholarship information. We will go over more of the program functions during Junior year together and talk about the college search process as well as discovering a career path and connecting that career to a potential college major.
SUMMER ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Summer enrichment programs offer education and experience to high school students in a specific area. These areas can be as broad as strengthening a particular academic skill, or as specific as learning about one particular area of focus, such as law, medicine, etc. Students may want to consider attending a summer enrichment program to help them gain experience in the area they are considering pursuing in college; by doing so, it may help students gain more insight into the career/major they are considering. Students can stop by my office for more information, or please visit our summer enrichment link at the bottom of this webpage for a list. Please be aware that deadlines are quickly approaching!
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
Students are selected to NHS after the first semester of their junior year, while some students may be considered after the second semester of their junior year. Students are selected by demonstrating excellence in four areas: scholarship (93% or higher at the end of their fifth and/or sixth semester), leadership, service, and character. For more information, please look on page 11 of the student handbook. Ms. Kirst (akirst@saintviator.com) and Ms. Kardaras (kkardaras@saintviator.com) are the moderators for NHS if you have any questions.
RETREATS
Juniors have two choices for their optional retreat experiences. The first option is a 2 day, 1 night retreat at Resurrection Retreat Center in Woodstock, which includes small and large group discussions, community building activities, mass, reconciliation, and quiet time for reflection. Juniors choosing this option will be absent from classes for 2 days. Juniors may also attend Kairos. Please see Campus Ministry for more information.
CONSTITUTION TESTS
Various juniors have taken both Constitution tests already (U.S. Constitution and Illinois Constitution) and have filled the constitution requirement. For those of you who have not, I encourage you to consider fulfilling this requirement sometime this year. There is an opportunity to take the Constitution Review class over the summer (non-graduation credit) which will help students prepare to take the exam(s) over the summer.
All testing and prep classes will be in room 139 at 7 a.m. You may choose to take both tests on the same date or you can choose to take the tests on separate dates. If you choose to take the tests on different dates, it is recommended that you take the U.S. Constitution test first due to the overlap in terminology.
Click on Constitution Tests to find out more information.
SOPHOMORE PARENT-COUNSELOR MEETING
At this meeting, I presented information on your student's PLAN test results, amongst other items pertinent to sophomore year. If you could not attend this meeting or have questions about the PLAN results, please contact me.
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