A Message from Your School Counselor: Mr. Kennedy

2015 Fall Overview

Iroquois Senior Class
Fall 2015 Overview

A message from your school counselor: Mr. Kennedy.

1) PLAN, PLAN, and PLAN again – avoid crisis, take a few deep breaths, read the announcements, pay attention to your email, check the Counselors Corner web page (this is how I communicate with you), review and apply for the scholarships listed on the site, and make sure you use your PLANNER. Keep everything you have organized! I will be available M-Th by appointment or you can just stop-in (bring a hall pass with your teacher’s signature on it). I will post my guidance schedule on the outside of my door. If you would like to see me, email me at or just slide a note under my door and I will come find you. You can find the Counselors Corner at the following URL: https://iroquois.k12.sd.us

2) Try to keep the stress and drama to a minimum. Save yourself the hassle. Instead, try to calm yourself with some deep breathing.

3) Career Cruising/SDMyLife website: You will take all tests on this website again, minus the Ability Profiler, this school year. Remember this is also a good ACT preparation site as well. There is a tab called “Method Test Prep” that you can click on and it will bring you to a site where you may begin training on a five month ACT-prep course free of charge at any time. Typically, participants improve their cumulative score by 3-5 points. And, if you are looking for employment, they have an Employment tab and you can select the work you want or the location or both. Usually there are a hundred opportunities or more.

4) Portfolios: There are folders for all of you to use and keep in the guidance office. I would like you to put resumes in there, copies of applications, local awards, and any other documents that you consider to be of importance to your academics. I will include copies of your ACT/SAT/PLAN/PSAT/ASVAB, CLEP, COMPASS scores and other college credit transcripts. Use this folder as a sort-of locker for your information after you have come to a stopping point with SDMyLife and your senior capstone experience.

5) Post-secondary admission application process: Know what major you want to prepare for and THEN locate the institution with that major, paper and online applications (scheduled campus visits sometimes allow the school to waive fees), transcripts must be obtained, testing info to include: ACT/SAT reports, need class schedule, know when to apply to avoid late fees (i.e. LATI nursing program needs apps by December). Also, make sure you attend the financial aid nights held this year. You will lose out on some grant/scholarship/work study money if you apply for financial aid after your selected college or tech school ends their priority date. Know when the school you’re interested in would like you to apply and get it done on time.

6) Awards & Scholarships: pay attention to the Counselor’s Corner website. There are many scholarship opportunities listed when you click on the Student Site link and then on the Scholarships link on the High School site. Also, be sure to make use of the Awards/Scholarships Log and the Community Service Log which can be found on the Counselor’s Corner’s Student Site. These will make life much easier when applying for scholarships. Some of the best places to find scholarships for seniors: www.fastweb.com, www.scholarship.com, and SDMyLife’s Financial Aid link. And, take a look at what products you use on a day-to-day basis. Go to their websites and see if they are offering any scholarships by emailing them and/or calling them. There are oftentimes scholarships for special skills and the like but you have to look for them. I will email you the ones I receive. One you will want to keep in mind if you are at all interested in attending a technical school is the Build Dakota scholarship you can find on SDMyLife. It offers a full ride to 300 students per year in the State of South Dakota.

7) Federal Financial Aid Application (FAFSA): You cannot apply for FAFSA until January of 2013, as you will need yours and your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) income tax returns. This is basically your signature/password whenever you complete the FAFSA (every year of post-secondary education). I plan on calling Great Lakes Lenders to schedule a meeting sometime in October and another in February. In the meantime, to know more, check out the Financial Aid webpage on the Counselor’s Corner.

8) Athletes: we are now members of the NAIA Clearinghouse to help our athletes make the transition from high school athletics to collegiate athletics a little smoother. Their website is: www.playnaia.org. Another good site to check out is www.eligibilitycenter.org. It is the NCAA Clearinghouse and offers similar services.

9) Admissions Acceptance Letters: Some schools will require you to write an essay. Store all essays on a jumpdrive. Keep a copy of every acceptance letter you get in your physical portfolio, as some scholarships request you include information from them.

10) Letters of Recommendation: These are usually used for awards or scholarships, so remember to keep copies of them on hand (jumpdrive if possible). Usually you will want to give the person writing you a letter of recommendation about one week before asking them about it again. Make sure to give the person a stamped envelope with the address to mail it to written on the letter - if they will directly mail it in for you. Also be sure to give the person writing your letter of recommendation a copy of your resume and any other documents about you that will help them to write it as best as they can. The person will need to know who they are writing to (be specific) and when it needs to be in by.

If you would like me to write you one, you will need to let me know you want to meet with me. I will conduct a brief interview and will put one together using the resources I have. While working on your Capstone project, PLEASE do not wait until the last minute to ask me for a letter of recommendation. I am the District Test Coordinator here as well and my time is usually dedicated to that from mid-March through the end of April. If you would like a good letter of recommendation from me, show it in class, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and more. I do not guarantee letters of recommendations to students. Ask early.

11) ACT/SAT/Accuplacer: Not every student needs to take. If planning on attending a four-year school, stop by and talk to me before registering. Know when the next ACT/SAT test is and prepare for it – see Counselor’s Corner link to Testing (SDMyLife, Learning Express Library, etc.). There are fee waivers for you to test for free if your parents meet certain income guidelines. You can find out about test dates in my office.

ACT Benchmark Scores: English = 18; Math = 22; Reading = 21; Science = 24. If you score at or above these Benchmark Scores then there is a very good chance, with effort, that you will earn a college level grade of C or better. The ACT website link: www.actstudent.org.

ACT Scores Indicating a need for a re-test: English = under 18 or Math = under 20. If you decide not to take the test again after studying, it is fairly irresponsible of you because you will, upon entering college, be required to take remedial classes. These classes are not free ($900+ depending), books are not free (sometimes well over $100 per class), your time is valuable (you will have to attend 48 hours of class, study about 96 hours, and pass the class), and you must pass the remedial class before you can take college classes where the credits will count towards graduation. Prepare yourself thoroughly with MTP and a Huron Community Campus class; re-test and you may be able to avoid the future time, money, and hassle.

The Accuplacer assessment now also exists and we have credits here, meaning you will not have to drive to a school to take it. Students who plan to attend a technical school need to start studying for this assessment early. Study guides are available online at the Counselors Corner. Junior or Senior students who score above an 86 is sentence skills AND 76 in elementary algebra may be eligible to take Dual Credit classes that can be applied to their degree after high school.

12) Post High Planning Day: Takes place in Huron on September 29th at 1 PM. The school bus will take you there. Check the website for more details as the time draws nearer. There will be representatives from South Dakota Universities and Tech Schools there as well as people from all of the branches of the military. I will post a listing of which representatives from out-of-state will also be there to the Counselor’s Corner page on the Career and Postsecondary link.

13) Resources you can check out: Take some time to look through the various school catalogs located outside of my office. There is plenty of information on the area’s tech schools, colleges and universities, job corps, and military services.

14) Post High Visitations: These are encouraged and will help you get a better feel for the schools you are interested in. We will try to schedule all of these on Fridays. Make arrangements one week in advance. Get the parental consent form and have it signed, if you aren’t 18. Also, ask the office about absences if you must miss a day of school. You will then need Mr. Soma to approve.

When a representative from one of these institutions will be on campus here in Iroquois, an email will go out to all students and the notice will be posted to the school Announcements page and the Counselors Corner . You will be allowed to visit with two reps. (Pass around the sign up sheet.)

15) Shadowing: Ask Ms. Miller or me about this if you’re interested in learning more about a prospective job or career. I will contact the DoL&R with you to facilitate it. We will try to schedule these on Fridays. Make arrangements one week in advance or more. You will need a parental consent form, if you aren’t 18. Ask about absences if you must miss a day of school to job shadow. Ms. Miller typically has some shadowing opportunities beginning in the spring as a part of your senior project.

16) ASVAB Retest: The ASVABS will be given to seniors who would like to retest in September. Let me know before the end of the second week of school. The military usually wants to see a score of 31 (explain percentiles) or better overall before they allow you to enlist, but they may sign a waiver if you’re close. The higher the score, the better the benefits they offer. Minimal entry scores vary among the different branches. There is no fee.

17) Regents Scholars and the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship: Regents Scholar requirements must be met before applying for the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship. Criteria for Regents Scholar: 3.0 GPA, no grade lower than a C in required courses, 4 units of English, 4 units of algebra or higher mathematics, 4 units of science including 3 units of laboratory science, 3 units of social studies, 2 units of a modern or classical language, 1 unit of fine arts, and ½ unit of computer science. If you qualify based on these criteria and also scored a 24 overall on your ACT, then be sure to apply for the scholarship. Qualified and awarded individuals will receive up to $6,500 over 4 years if they maintain scholarship eligibility requirements at the university/college of their choice or they may receive over $1,000 a year at the tech school of their choice.

18) Camps: The tech institutes have a variety of camps in health, agriculture, business & Information Technology, manufacturing, construction, computer hacking, etc. Information about new camp opportunities will be posted on the bulletin board and homeroom teachers will be made aware of them as well. You can find out more about camps by visiting the Counselor’s Corner website, click on Student Site, and then click on Camps. Students must apply by the designated deadlines and are responsible for transportation to the camp. (Interest?? MTI semi-load of career opportunities brought to Iroquois for the following: Electrical Construction & Maintenance, Heating and Cooling Technology, Power Line Maintenance & Construction, Propane & Natural Gas Technology, Wind Turbine Technology)

19) Remember: Stop by my office to see me about any academic, personal, social or career concerns you have.

Iroquois Junior Class
Fall 2015 Overview

A message from your school counselor: Mr. Kennedy.

2) South Dakota Universities, Tech Schools and Military Options: All of the post high school options are listed on the Counselor’s Corner website. Go to the Student Site and click on the SD Post Secondary Schools link to learn more.

3) Career Cruising/SDMyLife Website: You will take all tests on this website again, minus the Ability Profiler, this school year. Remember this is also a good ACT preparation site as well as a place to find out more about what Dual Credit classes are offered. These can be taken at the cost of $40 per credit hour, if you qualify (GPA of 3.5 and upper third of your class). You buy your own books and earn college credit at a very reasonable rate while in high school.