Teen Suicide: Into the Light

College Admissions Wisdom

I wanted to provide students and parents with a blog from Rick Clark, the Director of Admissions at Georgia Tech.  Rick's insights into the college admissions game are well written and honest.  He is well respected by school counselors from across the nation for being able to communicate the complexities of college admissions and making them relatable.  You would be more than glad later on that you subscribe to this blog:

Focus on the Journey, not the Destination

First Crop of Scholarships for 2019-20

Mr. Corbett has put together a 16 page list of scholarship opportunities.  Check them out:

Scholarship Opportunities for August/September

Special Opportunities to Learn at UGA

Two-day speciality programs in animation, acting, and more!   Born from our popular Summer Academy at UGA, Spark: Weekend Academy is an exciting new program designed to help your teen or pre-teen explore their passions, learn something new, and have fun along the way.   Offered at the Georgia Center on UGA’s campus in Athens, these two-day programs give students the opportunity to work directly with experts in exciting fields related to medicine, writing, robotics, and more.     Registration for Fall 2019 Spark is now open! Space is limited, so reserve your child’s spot today. These popular programs are still available for students 12-16:

• Animation • Acting • Creative Writing

• Culinary Skills • Game Design • Mini Medical School

REGISTER NOW

For all youth programs, both online and classroom, visit: UGAYouthPrograms.com     Please share this bulletin with your colleagues.

Attention Students Taking an AP Class

Here is a letter from Mr. Armstrong about AP test registration.  If you taking an Advanced Placement class this year, please read this letter as it contains important information.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vAhYVBjPBmylIaaJRNZ_wSbgnpWBff3t/view?usp=sharing

What Is going to Happen After High School? College Fair Can Help!

College Fairs are a great place for students and parents to learn  about and shop for future college options.  Often times, one hundred or more colleges gather for a two hour period to answer questions about their schools.  The set up is a "drop-in" format that requires no appointments.  Students have the opportunity to get a lot of free information and to get on a college's contact list to receive future emails.  This is a great way to show a college that you are interested in them too!

On September 5th, two college fairs will be held that SCHS students can be a part of.

During the school day, juniors and seniors will be given the opportunity to attend the Walton County PROBE Fair over at Meridian Park in Loganville.  Transportation will be provided as this event will be treated like a field trip.  Permission forms will go out through Redskin Advisement later on.

If you are off campus a lot, here is the permission form: Walton County PROBE Fair Permission Form  Sign it and bring it in to your adviser.

Later that evening at the Classic Center in downtown Athens, parents and students will have a chance to participate in shopping for future opportunities.  The Athens Area PROBE Fair will take place from 6 pm to 8 pm, and parking is free at the Classic Center. 

Recommendation Letters... There is a RIGHT Way to Ask!

Here is a great guide that will prepare students to ask people for recommendation letters.  You would think that getting a rec. letter is as simple as walking right in to your favorite teacher or coach and verbally asking him or her to write a letter.  There is a lot more to it than that!  The first link below is a step-by-step lesson from the College Essay Guy, a true expert in helping students write their best college essays.

How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation

Here is a great form that you can complete and give to the person you are seeking a letter from.  It will help them write a great letter!  It is long, but the investment you make in completing this will by super helpful to the teacher, who will probably spend one to two hours crafting a letter. 

Student Information for College Recommendation

Some reasons you might need a recommendation letter:
- College admissions requirement
- Scholarship application process
- Job application process
- admissions into a special program, like Governor's Honors, competitive summer programs at colleges, etc.

Do You Want to Be a Veterinarian?

University of Georgia’s Vet School for a Day (VSFD) 2019 is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, 2019. This program is open to high school juniors and seniors from Georgia and South Carolina to educate students about some of the many career opportunities within the field of veterinary medicine. They will hear from veterinarians from UGA’s vet school, a guest speaker, and receive a tour of our teaching hospital.

The application for VSFD 2019 will be available on our website (https://vet.uga.edu/academic-affairs/vet-school-for-a-day) from Monday, August 5 until Monday, September 2. All application materials must be received by the September 2 deadline. Please share this information with any qualified students who may be interested in veterinary medicine.

There is no cost to apply to or attend the program. For more information about Vet School for a Day, please inform your students to contact vetcamp@uga.edu.

Message from Mr. Armstrong to Seniors About the CapStone Project:

More information will be following, but I wanted to send out some information about the 2019-2020 Senior Capstone Project.

The goal of the project is to make sure all seniors are prepared for life after high school.  Earlier this year, I spoke to the seniors during a senior class meeting and gave them five options:

4-year college

2-year college

technical or trade school

military

workforce

The CapStone project this year will be centered around deciding what students want to do post high school and making sure they are prepared for it.  The first step will occur this semster is simply to meet with Mr. Corbett our college and career advisor.  Once students meet with Mr. Corbett, we will ask them to choose one of the 5 options above and begin to work on their capstone based on their choice.

How do you schedule an appointment with Mr. Corbett?

Stop by in office in the guidance suite or email him at trent.corbett@socialcircleschools.org.

Save the Dates!!

An apology:
At Open House this year, the Guidance Office gave out flyers announcing Parent/ Student Information Nights to happen this month.  Unfortunately, there were several scheduling conflicts and we moved it to September.  A small number of those with the wrong dates got in the hands of parents.  SCHS Guidance Department, more specifically, Michael Kulp, recognizes the value of you time and apologizes for this mistake.

Going forward, here are the dates that we will have our Information Nights in the SCHS Cafeteria:

September 12th at 6 pm: Juniors & Seniors and Parents

September 19th at 6 pm: Freshmen & Sophomores and Parents

We will cover all sorts of information like HOPE Scholarship, graduation requirements, ways for students to earn honors, college planning and so much more!

Georgia State School Superintendent's Student Advisory Committee

Open to any student wanting to serve on the State Superintendent's Student Advisory.  This is a big deal!

APPLICANT CONTACT: students@doe.k12.ga.us

August 7, 2019 – State School Superintendent Richard Woods is seeking middle and high school students to serve on his 2019-20 Student Advisory Council. These students will meet with Superintendent Woods to discuss the impact of state policies in the classroom, along with other issues related to education, and will serve as the Superintendent’s ambassadors to their respective schools. Members will also engage in community service projects to benefit Georgia students and schools.

Applicants must be enrolled in a Georgia public middle or high school for the 2019-20 school year.

Middle school students will meet October 21, January 15, and March 24 with a joint community service day on May 5. High school students will meet October 22, January 16, and March 25 with a joint community service day on May 5.

“My Student Advisory Council is a key part of my decision-making as I lead Georgia’s K-12 public education system,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We make better policy choices when we’re connected with those we serve. I deeply value these students’ input and involvement.”

Application Instructions:

• Click here to download the application.  
• Send applications by August 31, 2019 at 5 p.m. to students@doe.k12.ga.us. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Selected students will be contacted via email. All students can visit gadoe.org/studentadvisory on September 16 to see whether they have been selected.

Colleges Love to Come to Visit the Circle!

Each year, college admissions professionals approach us in the Guidance Office to make appointments to come in and meet with SCHS students.  We want students to have this unique opportunity to get to know more about "post-high school" options.  These meeting will be scheduled during Advisement (9:30-10:00 Mondays thru Thursdays) to minimize the loss of time out of class. 

Whenever we have a college set up an date to come to SCHS, we will advertise the event and include an on-line form to complete for a student to receive a pass for the visit.  If a student wants to attend a meeting with the college, he or she will fill out the very simple form and that student's name will be on the list of invitees.  It is that easy! 

The first college that will visit the Circle will be Kennesaw State.  Be watching for the announcement to come across your email!

Attention Junior or Senior!! Work-Based Learning Window to Open Again

Juniors and seniors who have gotten a job this summer, but did not complete the WBL Application last spring during registration are going to have one more shot at getting into this program for this school year.  The link below tells you all the details!!  No Applications accepted after August 5th.

Work Based Learning Application Information

(Link to application is in this attachment)