march april 2017 newsletter (1)

MOUNT OLIVE HIGH SCHOOL Guidance Newsletter V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: What...

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MOUNT OLIVE HIGH SCHOOL

Guidance Newsletter V O L U M E

3 ,

I S S U E

4

M A R C H

2 0 1 7

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: What’s Hap2 pening in Guidance College Boot Camp

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Preparing for Standardized Testing

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What a Wait- 4-5 list or Deferral Mean for College Admissions Post HS Readi- 6-7 ness—Skills That 18 Year Olds Need Important Dates! Mark Your Calendars!

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Transitions As we move from winter to spring, March and April are also a time of transition for our students. It’s an exciting and often stressful time for our seniors as they learn which colleges they have been admitted to, and which have denied their application. See the article on p. 4-5 for some great information about acceptances, waitlists and denials.

second semester grades. Don’t take a chance with your admissions. For our underclassmen, they are at a crucial point in the school year when they can pull their grades up and make a difference for their final year-end grades. Make a study plan, ask for extra help, go to Homework Club. Do whatever you can and don’t settle!

Seniors should also remember that senioritis is real, and must be avoided since it may affect their grades, and colleges take close note of

Parents and Students! Remember to check the Guidance Website and Google Classroom on a regular basis for updates! Spotlight on School Policies—Tardiness Some parents wonder why their student is marked late when they know they saw them leave on time. When you come to school in the morning, are you happy to hang around and socialize until after the bell rings? Are you that kid running up the stairs because you were in the cafeteria getting coffee? What happens if you’re on the bus, get to school on time, but are late to TAG? Same thing as if you were arriving at school in the middle of first block. You need to be in TAG before the bell rings, or you will be marked late. Three lates in the same marking period equal one lunch detention; four equal an administrative detention; five equal a two-hour administrative detention. Seniors who are late more than six times will lose their parking privileges. Students who are late to class must have a signed pass from a teacher or administrator or they will also be marked tardy. Not only will being late earn you detentions, but you’re losing out on class time and disrupting the class. Practice good habits so you’re on time!

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What’s Happening in Guidance!

The underclassmen have submitted their scheduling requests for next year and counselors will schedule individual meetings with each student over the next few months to review their choices. Freshmen learned how to use Naviance and completed Personality Inventories last month. They found careers that matched their personalities, and started searching for colleges that have majors for those careers. Sophomores interested in Morris County Vocational School participated in a field trip to the Denville campus to learn about the various programs in time to apply for the 2017-18 school year.

Juniors and their parents met with counselors in December and February to review the college planning process as well as post-high school planning. Juniors should start thinking about teacher recommendations for college. Which academic teacher knows you the most and will write you a great letter of recommendation? Don’t wait too long to ask your teacher; some of the most popular teachers may have a backlog and you don’t want to find out that it’s too late! Seniors are entering the home stretch for college applications and should receive their decisions next month. We are using Google forms this year for seniors to input their names for graduation and diplomas and hope to use it for many more applications.

College Application Boot Camps Guidance counselors are holding college planning sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays during unit lunch in the B-Wing writing center. Counselors are available to help with: • Research colleges and universities. 

Construct a list of prospective schools.



Take virtual college tours.



Create an organization system.



Explore scholarship opportunities.



Develop a resume.



Prepare for college essays and supplementary questions.



SAT prep work by accessing personalized study guide on collegeboard.com

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Preparing for Standardized Testing SAT’s or ACT’s approaching? Standardized testing can range from the SAT and ACT, to PARCC, to the Accuplacer and ASVAB. It affects all grades and, no matter how old you are, it is important to prepare. Not only do you need to know the material that you are being tested on, but you also need to be in the right frame of mind in order to do well. The most common barrier that prevents kids from doing their best on standardized tests is a combination of anxiety, negative thinking and self-doubt: “I’m so nervous I could throw-up.” “What if I don’t get into a good college?” “I’m a horrible test taker.” “I did awful the first time and I’m never going to improve my score.” When the mind is consumed with such thoughts, this becomes your reality. According to Norman Vincent Peale, “you are not what you think you are; you are what you think you are.” Mental attitude is the X factor that determines our destiny. So what is the game plan here? How students help themselves to re-shift their thinking, to “think success:” 1. Practice relaxation: I’m not talking about channel surfing while munching on a bag of chips; I’m talking about taking 5 to 10 minutes a day to find a quiet, distraction-free place. Start by closing the eyes and focusing all attention on breathing. Concentrate on feeling relaxation enter the body with each healthy breath. Within one minute, the oxygen levels in the blood increase, the heart rate decreases and stress begins to melt away. Practicing this simple exercise religiously can eventually eliminate stress. 2. Visualization: Imagery is a powerful, underutilized method for shifting thought. It is best to practice imagery and visualization when in the relaxed state mentioned in step 1. You can begin to imagine yourself showing up on the day of the test feeling confident, relaxed and focused. The more you practice imagery, the more receptive the subconscious becomes. And it is the subconscious that is responsible for 90-95 percent of all thinking. Practice visualizing the outcome you want and you’ll be amazed at the results. Let me repeat that: Practice visualizing the outcome you want. 3. Physical exercise: No, exercising isn’t just about building a strong body. In fact, cardiovascular exercise has been proven to be more affective for treating anxiety and depression than psychotropic medication. Furthermore, regular physical exercise promotes brain-cell development and has been linked to higher test scores. In a nutshell, exercise promotes mental clarity and retention. My advice, show up to the exam room sweaty and see what happens. By practicing these simple strategies, you can expect on exam day: • Optimal alertness and concentration • Increase in confidence • Improved retention and recall • Mental clarity and focus • Calm nerves

What the Waitlist or a Deferral Means for Your College Acceptance By Peterson's Staff May 10, 2016

Waitlisted. Application deferred. You put in your college application and that's the response you got! Even after you spent hours filling out forms and laboring over the perfect essay! What does a deferral mean, and is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Deferral from college acceptance The first thing you should know is that there is a difference between a deferral and being placed on a waitlist. If your application gets deferred, it means that you haven't been accepted yet…but you might be…later. Hmmm…what are you supposed to do with that?! Well, if you applied as an Early Action or Early Decision applicant, your application has basically been converted to a regular application. You'll be reviewed again during the normal admission season with all the other applicants. However, you've also been freed from any obligation to attend their school if accepted, and you can go ahead and apply to other schools as you wish. If you applied during the regular admission cycle and have been deferred, then the school probably wants more information before they make a final admissions decision — such as senior year final grades or additional test scores. The sooner you can get it to them, the more likely you'll get a final answer sooner rather than later.

The waitlist admission decision If you've been placed on a waitlist, it means that the admission folks are done reviewing your file and that you are on their radar, but not their first option. The other applicants that have been accepted received college admission letters of acceptance, but you have to wait and see whether or not they are going to accept you. In academic terms, you're a backup. Waitlists are a safety net for colleges, allowing them to ensure that they have enough students to fill all of their vacancies, but it puts you in a spot where you may need to make some tough decisions. Sending in additional information isn't likely to change the situation, although you should certainly keep your application updated with anything that will enhance your student profile.

Waiting for a college acceptance If you applied for Early Action or Early Decision and received news that you've been waitlisted, then your application will be reviewed again with the regular pool of applicants — just as if you had applied normally. However, if you applied during the regular admission cycle and you're placed on a waitlist, then you're in limbo until a spot comes open and your name is at the top of the list when it does. It's important to know that schools rank you, and all the other applicants from the regular admission cycle, in order of priority. Those at the top of the list will receive college admission letters first if spots do open up. Roughly 34 percent of colleges maintain waitlists and not surprisingly, they tend to be either highly selective colleges, or those with low yield rates (low numbers of accepted applicants that actually choose to enroll). The percentage of people accepted from the waitlist varies at each school depending on the number of spots the school has left to fill. Your waitlist letter should include details about the school's waitlist history. If it doesn't, then ask! Give the admission office a call and find out: — How many students have been on the waitlist in the past — How many were offered admission — Where you are ranked on the list — Details on any major obstacle to your being accepted — What types of housing and financial aid may be available if you get in You may want to ask your guidance counselor for help with gathering this admissions decision information and deciding what to do once you've gotten all the details. Even if you are granted admittance later, you may find that the best deals on aid and housing are gone. Holding your breath and hoping for the best probably won't work to your advantage so make sure you find out everything you can about that school's policies.

Making your own admission decision Whether you've been waitlisted or deferred, it's wise to assume that your chances of getting in are not great. Schools have to notify you of your admittance by August 1, but don't hold out that long to find out. You should do everything you can to get that college admission letter you want. Let the school know that you will definitely enroll if they accept you by writing a letter to the head honcho in the Admission Office. Also make sure you've submitted everything you were supposed to, including your financial aid paperwork. You don't want to give the school any reason to pass you over in case it comes down to drawing straws for that last coveted spot. Last but not least, if you didn't already do it when you originally applied, submit applications to your secondchoice schools. If you're accepted at another school, make plans to go there — send in your enrollment forms and put down your deposit. If you find out later that you've gotten into your first choice, you can change your plans, but don't put yourself in the position of having nowhere to go at all.

Post-High School Readiness: Former Stanford dean shares the 8 skills everyone should have by age 18 Julie Lythcott-Haims, Quora, Apr. 17, 2016

1. An 18-year-old must be able to talk to strangers 2. Faculty, deans, advisers, landlords, store clerks, human resource managers, coworkers, bank tellers, health care providers, bus drivers, mechanics — in the real world. The crutch: We teach kids not to talk to strangers instead of teaching the more nuanced skill of how to discern the few bad strangers from the mostly good ones. Thus, kids end up not knowing how to approach strangers — respectfully and with eye contact — for the help, guidance, and direction they will need out in the world.

2. An 18-year-old must be able to find his way around A campus, the town in which her summer internship is located, or the city where he is working or studying abroad. The crutch: We drive or accompany our children everywhere, even when a bus, their bicycle, or their own feet could get them there; thus, kids don't know the route for getting from here to there, how to cope with transportation options and snafus, when and how to fill the car with gas, or how to make and execute transportation plans.

3. An 18-year-old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and deadlines The crutch: We remind kids when their homework is due and when to do it — sometimes helping them do it, sometimes doing it for them; thus, kids don't know how to prioritize tasks, manage workload, or meet deadlines, without regular reminders. The crutch: We step in when things get hard, finish the task, extend the deadline, and talk to the adults; thus, kids don't know that in the normal course of life, things won't always go their way, and that they'll be okay regardless.

4. An 18-year-old must be able to contribute to the running of a household The crutch: We don't ask them to help much around the house because the over-scheduled childhood leaves little time in the day for anything aside from academic and extracurricular work; thus, kids don't know how to look after their own needs, respect the needs of others, or do their fair share for the good of the whole.

5. An 18-year-old must be able to handle interpersonal problems The crutch: We step in to solve misunderstandings and soothe hurt feelings for them; thus, kids don't know how to cope with and resolve conflicts without our intervention.

6. An 18-year-old must be able to cope with ups and downs Courses and workloads, college-level work, competition, tough teachers, bosses, and others.

7. An 18-year-old must be able to earn and manage money The crutch: They don't hold part-time jobs; they receive money from us for whatever they want or need; thus, kids don't develop a sense of responsibility for completing job tasks, accountability to a boss who doesn't inherently love them, or an appreciation for the cost of things and how to manage money.

8. An 18-year-old must be able to take risks The crutch: We've laid out their entire path for them and have avoided all pitfalls or prevented all stumbles for them; thus, kids don't develop the wise understanding that success comes only after trying and failing and trying again, or the thick skin, or resilience, that comes from coping when things have gone wrong. Remember: our kids must be able to do all of these things without resorting to calling a parent on the phone. If they're calling us to ask how, they do not have the life skill. Originally appeared in "How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success" (Henry Holt & Co., 2015).

Important Dates! Mark Your Calendar! 3/3—Midpoint of 3rd Marking Period 3/3—Mini College Fair during Lunch in Commons 3/11—SAT (see Collegeboard.com) 3/26—National College Fair, New York City (see nacacfairs.org)

4/6—4th Marking Period begins 4/8—ACT (see act.org) 4/26-27—NJ National College Fair, Secaucus (see nacacfairs.org)