Guidance News
Steinbrenner High School
January 2017
Parents & Students – Welcome to the January Guidance Newsletter. We will be providing updates from the guidance department on a regular basis through our emails and entries on the Guidance, College & Career Edsby Group Page and on the Steinbrenner website under “Resources” “Guidance”.
AP/Dual Enrollment/Curriculum Fair – January 5, 2017 – 6:30 p.m. – The Guidance Department will be presenting the advantages of AP and Dual Enrollment courses. In addition, you will be able to visit with elective course teachers to help decide on your choices for the 2017-2018 school year! Counselors will be available to answer any questions you might have with planning for the next school year. Don’t miss this important opportunity.
University of Alabama – January 8 – 2 p.m. – Future Students and Parent Reception – Tampa Bay Yacht Club- Learn more about the University of Alabama. Register at https://myemtech.ua.edu/event/dynamicwebform/772 You may call 205-348-2914 with any questions about the event.
Future Plans Career Exploration – All 10th grade students will be taking a career assessment through their World History Classes the week of January 17. Students not in World History class on campus will also take the assessment. (These students should see Mrs. Pressley in Guidance for additional details and instructions.) This is a very detailed and comprehensive program to give students guidelines when determining the best career for them to pursue. Results will be available for students to share with parents
A Night with Hillsborough County Technical Colleges – Wednesday, January 18, 2017 – Chamberlain High School – 5:30-7:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to meet with representatives from our colleges, Aparicio-Levy, Brewster, Erwin, Learey, and HCC.
Programming and Success Center Activities will take place January 19 through February 9 for grades 9-11. Counselors will meet with students to finalize the selection process for their classes for next school year. Students will also work in the Success Center to explore careers, colleges, scholarships and learn more about their PSAT scores. Be sure to ask your student to tell you about the items we went over with them. Each student will receive a copy of their course requests for the 2017- 2018 school year when they leave the meeting with their counselor. Parents, ask to see it and review it with your son/daughter.
Financial Aid – The Free Application for Federal Student Aid opened October 1. The official website to apply for scholarships, grants, work study programs, etc. must be completed at www.FAFSA.gov Financial Aid is free and you do not have to pay a fee.
Bright Futures & Other Florida Financial Aid – This application also opened October 1 at All seniors should continue to apply ASAP but no later than January 15 for 1st semester evaluation. The final deadline to apply is May 23, 2017. Students may continue to improve their GPA and increase test scores through June 30. Community service hours must be turned in by graduation. In addition to Bright Futures, this application is necessary for other Florida Financial Aid and Scholarships.
Scholarships – There are scholarships for all gade level students. Apply to as many scholarships as possible. The more “local” a scholarship, the better your odds are of winning. Examples of local scholarships on this month’s bulletin are Project Weather, Hillsborough Education Foundation, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, Festa Italiana, GFWC Tampa Tiger Scholarship and the DeBartolo Family Foundation Scholarship. See Mrs. Pressley with any questions about scholarships.
9th – 11th grade students – Earn scholarship money beginning in 9th grade for over 180 different colleges. Check out the Raise.Me website for scholarships NOW!
Hillsborough Education Foundation Scholarships – Due January 9, 2017 – Grades 9-12. Don’t miss this great opportunity for all students to apply for full tuition and cash scholarships. These are only for Hillsborough County School students so there is a great chance of winning a scholarship!
PSAT Scores were distributed to all students on January 3. Students may also access their scores on their College Board Accounts. The PSAT review is excellent practice for the SAT. Students received their scores and booklets with all answers indicating their correct and incorrect answers. In addition, codes are provided to link scores with Khan Academy, an online practice program tied to College Board based on the students’ individual PSAT results.
Juniors will take a free SAT during the school day – March 1 – Through our partnership with College Board, all juniors will take this free test. Students will automatically be signed up for the test, however, addition instructions will be given to students during programming. All juniors will need to access their College Board account or create an account if they do not already have one. It is important that students have ONLY one account. If students have duplicate accounts, they should contact College Board customer service to have the two accounts merged into one. The toll free number is 1-866-756-7346.
Judy Pressley, College & Career Counselor
Steinbrenner High School
813-792-5131, ext. 246