Anxiously Awaiting Decisions

This is a key time for college admissions decisions. Most of the schools that have yet to announce their decisions will be releasing them over the next few weeks. This can be a very stressful time for students. Try to take a deep breath and relax – you have done the best job to put yourself in the best situation possible with your applications. If you are stressing out awaiting the news, feel free to stop in and see me so we can talk about it.

College Credit Plus

In addition to the wide range of courses that we have available here at LHS, there are other academic options available to our students.

The College Credit Plus (CC+) program is an opportunity for high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in high school. Students have the option of completing courses on a college campus, online, or at LHS.

College classes at LHS include both classes that are taught by LHS teachers who are eligible to serve as adjunct faculty through NCSC.

Classes being taught at LHS include:  Calculus 1, Intro to Business, Marketing, English Composition 1, American Government and Politics, Biology I, Chemistry I, Chemistry II, General Physics, American Culture & History to 1877, American Culture & History from 1877, and College Drawing I.

There are a lot of details involved in participating in the CC+ program and students must complete and submit the paperwork before April 1st to indicate their intent to participate in the CC+ program in the following school year.  One new aspect about CC+ is the fact that students are now eligible to take classes during the summer in addition to during the school year.

In order to explain all of the details of the program and to provide you with the forms necessary, students and parents must attend our Academic Options mandatory meeting. If you were unable to attend on Thursay, February 18th, we have a recording of the presentation given at Pioneer this year. You will need to watch the video, see your counselor to gather the appropriate paperwork, and return the required materials to your counselor by April 1. Please follow this link to watch the video of the CCP presentation: https://youtu.be/lR6W_Ee6u3w

If you have any interest in learning more about College Credit Plus, please talk to your counselor!

Test Anxiety

Next week, we will have our semester exams. Are you feeling anxious? Test Anxiety can be common for students - especially with exams since they have such a significant influence on your semester grades. The best strategy to prevent test anxiety is being prepared. It is much more likely that you will be anxious and struggle with feeling overwhelmed if you have not adequately studied and prepared for the test. Unfortunately, for some students, you can be well-prepared, but still struggle with anxiety.

There are a wide range of strategies you can use to help deal with anxiety:

- Research has indicated that spending several minutes before a test to write about your feelings will help decrease test anxiety and improve test scores. The University of Chicago researchers “believe worrying competes for computing power in the brain’s ‘working,’ or short-term memory.”

- Practice putting yourself in testing situations when studying. The more you get used to the experience and feelings of testing the less anxious you will feel when in the actual test.

- Just before the test, avoid talking about the test material with your friends. Chances are fixating on the test material and talking about it with your friends right before the test will only make you more anxious.

- Approach the test with a positive attitude. Don’t go into the test expecting the worst to happen. You can remind yourself that you have studied and know the material.

- Avoid distractions so that you can focus on the test and not on what other students are doing. Do not compare yourself with others and how they are doing on the test.

- Take a deep breath, relax, and do the best you can.

I should also mention that smart testing strategies like getting a good night of sleep, eating breakfast, having all of your required materials (pen, pencil, calculator, scratch paper, etc), getting regular exercise, and giving yourself plenty of time to get to your test on time will also benefit you as a whole and in testing situations.

Professional Day

Winter break is right around the corner! Before we go, we have some exciting things happening here at the high school!

JUNIORS and SENIORS remember Thursday, Dec 17 we will be hosting our first annual Professional Day!! We could not be more excited to bring these experienced, successful professionals into our building to have them answer all your questions!


Here is a schedule of the day:

8:35AM-9:25AM (2nd period)

Auditorium

Business Marketing Panel:  Publisher, Editor, Graphic Designer, Sports Writer, Sales, Advertising

Library

Business Finance/IT/Insurance Actuarial Panel:  Certified Public Accountant, Investment Advisor, Banker, IT/Server Support, Actuarial Manager

Gym

Fire Protection/Rescue Panel:  State Fire Marshal, Helicopter Pilot, Fire Chief/Certified Flight Paramedic, Paramedic, Koorsen Fire & Security

9:30AM-10:20AM (3rd period)

Auditorium

Engineering/Architect Panel:  Architect, Civil Engineer, Mechanical/Industrial Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Biomedical Machine Technician

Library

Animal Science Panel: Vet, Large Animal Vet, Vet Technician, Practice Manager

Gym

Criminal Justice Panel:   U.S. Marshal, Bureau of Investigation, State Highway Patrol, Swat, Lexington Local Police

10:25AM-11:15AM (4th period)

Auditorium

Nursing Panel: Ashland College of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, BRN, Pediatric BRN Nurse, Flight Nurse

Library

Health Specialist Panel:  Psychiatrist, Endocrinologist, Pharmacist, Dentist, Hospital Administrator, Dean NCSC Health Science

Gym

Chiropractic/Therapy Panel: Chiropractor, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant, Massage Therapist

12:49-1:39 (6th period) 

We will have an assembly for all Juniors and Seniors in the Auditorium:

Marketing/ Human Resource speaker from Grand Rapids, Michigan

“How to win the job….and keep it”
--Kristen Myers-Chatman

We are honored to have each of these professionals willing to take time to share their stories with you! We hope you are too!


Then, on FRIDAY, we will be on our assembly bell schedule for the annual holiday assembly featuring some of Lexington's finest! Make sure you come see if you can pick out your teachers :)
We hope you enjoy what we have planned and have a wonderful break!

See you in 2016!!

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