Grade Cards & Asking for Help

Today, 2nd six weeks grade cards are being passed out in your 1st period class. This can be an exciting and nerve-racking time! If you are looking at your grade card and saying, "Good job! You are awesome!" Ask yourself: How did I improve over last mark? What did I do differently? Did anything change? It is important to learn from mistakes, but also reflect on little triumphs so we know what works best for us. Congratulations!

If you see areas of improvement in your grades, we have some options at Lex to get extra help. The sooner the better!

• First, and most importantly, talk to your teachers!! They should be your #1 resource when you have questions/concerns about a class. They know where the class is headed and are more than willing to help you! You just need to ask!
• Every Tuesday and Thursday during lunches, we have students in Student Services available to answer questions about homework or upcoming tests. If you have a question, stop down during your lunch to ask and get help. Now is the time to advocate for yourself! Know when you need help and be willing to accept the help. If you don't feel comfortable just walking in, stop by and see me first. We will work something out.
• Another time help might be available is during your study hall. If you have a study hall, come see me and I will look to find another student in the same study hall who would like to help you. 

Again, we do not know you want/need help unless you tell someone - a teacher, counselor, principal, etc. We are all here to help you. Actually, we love helping! Make sure to take advantage of the resources you have all around you :)

If you were the student who was loving your grade card, let me know if you would be willing to help another student. We are always looking for students to tutor during their study hall or after school. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, stop by and let me know! As we have been told, the best way to learn and retain information is to teach it ourselves!! You can make a difference!

Digital Footprint & College Admissions

As a school community there has been a significant amount of time and emphasis encouraging students to be smart about your digital footprint - the information that you are posting and sharing through various social media outlets.  As a component of that we have often mentioned that the internet and social media can impact your college admissions or scholarship offerings.  Below are a few articles that speak to this:

Do colleges look at prospective students’ social media?


Colleges shift to using ‘big data’ – including social media– in admissions decisions


How Social Media can Ruin Your Application


College admissions: Social Media Tune Up


Colleges are spying on applicants by quietly tracking them across the internet  
  (Please note that this article is not specific to social media, but rather how colleges are looking at your level of interest in their school based upon internet related data.)

No matter what grade you are in, this is the perfect time to pause and critically look at your digital footprint and consider what it is saying about you and the impression you are giving to future college admissions officers, scholarship committee members, and potential employers.  Please make smart choices about what you post online!

Demonstrating Interest

It is interesting to stop and think about all of the different factors that play into a college admission decision. When colleges are evaluating all of their applications, one of the aspects that may help set one student apart from another is the level of interest the students have demonstrated. The reason that demonstrating interest is important to a college is that they have a limited number of spots that they can offer for admission. They are trying to find a way to maximize the number of students who they accept that will actually attend their college in the future and they still want to find a way to get the most competitive, involved group of students that they can find.

So what are some of the ways that you can demonstrate your interest in a college?

Meeting with the college admissions reps - when they come to Lex is a great first step. I'll be honest, for this year, admissions officers visiting Lexington have pretty much come to an end with just a few visits remaining, but for the younger students, this is something you should keep in mind for next fall. The reason this is such a significant way to demonstrate your interest is because a lot of kids don’t take advantage of this opportunity so when you do take the time to come and meet with them, you will stand out.

Attend their community nights – many colleges will offer presentations at area hotels or community centers that students and parents can attend. Most of the time you will receive notification about these events directly from the colleges. These events tend to be more common in the fall and spring months so you can always check the college's website for opportunities to meet with them.

Visit their campus! Visiting their school is probably the best way to demonstrate your interest in their college. Because the college visit is such a strong indicator of your interest you want to make sure that the admissions office knows that you are visiting.  The ways to do this are to register for the visit in advance, attend the college information system on campus and participate in the college tour.

I know it isn't always feasible to visit every single school that you are interested in applying to so find other ways to familiarize yourself if you can't make it to their campus. Visit their website. Follow the college on social media.  Read the admissions blogs. Don’t be a pest, but if you have questions, seek the answers by contacting admissions representatives. (And, for the record, you should make those contacts rather than having one of your parents call on your behalf!)

Some schools will offer alumni interviews in the area and if the school you are considering is among them, it would be wise to take advantage of this opportunity as it, again, demonstrates the sincerity of your interest in their college.

Here is an article you might want to read regarding demonstrating interest and campus visits.
What is Demonstrated Interest and Why is it Important