COUNSELOR’S NEWSLETTER… OCTOBER 2017

Maxine Hauck, Cherie Mack and Trista Fisher

DHS Website:

OCTOBER DATES TO REMEMBER:

October 1 - FAFSA becomes available online.

October 4 - Manufacturing Day at DSU Biesiot Activity Center

October 11 - PSAT test in DHS auditorium

October 21 - WorkKeys at DSU to qualify for ND CTE State Scholarship

October 25 - ND State Testing-Science for all juniors

October 27 - End of the First Quarter

October 28 - ACT Test at DSU

Tutoring - Students struggling in any subject should visit with their teacher as soon as the problem starts. Contacting teachers is the best first step in overcoming difficulties in a subject. Teachers can help and refer students to the academic learning center during class time for additional help. Students are always welcome in the academic learning center.

The ALC opens at 7:30 and remains open until 4:15 each day. Many students take advantage of the help available in the

ALC for any subject. Encourage your student to utilize the website, as it is the free online tutoring service. The other website, has monthly membership fees.

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is available online October 1, 2017. Parents, guardians and students may use their federal income tax returns from 2016 before January 1, 2018. Income will interface on FAFSA after 2017 taxes are completed. Make sure you use the website fafsa.ed.gov on our Counselors Corner to ensure that you do not pay a fee for your online application for FAFSA. You will also need to apply for your FSA (Federal Student Aid Pin) number that will be your online signature. That link is also available on our Counselors Corner.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017, Manufacturing Day – will take place at the Biesiot Activity Center. This event will promote local manufacturing careers and jobs, and provide information to our educators, students and the public about manufacturing in our area, as well as help bridge the connections between school and careers. Students will find out which manufacturers are in the Dickinson area, what products they make and who buys them and the types of jobs and benefits that are available in this region.

NCAA Eligibility Center checks academic eligibility for students who want to play sports at a Division I or Division II college/university. Make sure you have completed your online NCAA application and have your official transcript sent from the front office at the time you complete your application and at the end of the school year.

DICKINSON DOLLAR FOR SCHOLARS is doing a cash raffle this year. Tickets are $5 a ticket. The drawing will

be in November and DFS is giving away a total of $1000. Please see Mrs. Mack for tickets. Selling Dickinson Dollars

for Scholars raffle tickets counts towards a volunteer opportunity with Dollars for Scholars. All proceeds from raffle

tickets sales goes towards sponsoring scholarships to graduating seniors at Dickinson High School and Trinity High School. Interested students are encouraged to join Dickinson Dollars for Scholars. The meetings are the third Tuesday of each month, at 4 PM, at the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce, 314 3rd Avenue West, Dickinson (across from Berg Elementary in the log building). If you are interested in joining Dickinson Dollars for Scholars and are not able to attend a meeting, please see a DHS Counselor, your contact information (cell # and current email) will be emailed to Kari Sayler at:

SENIOR NOTE: Take the ACT this fall if you were not happy with the ACT score you have. You still have several

chances to retake the test for a better score. Go to for remaining test dates. The more current you are

on the ACT subjects of Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading and Language, the better your score will be. In addition, many college scholarships have application deadlines as early as November. The ACT usually takes 6-8 weeks to be

scored and forward those scores to the colleges you choose. Your highest score will be the one that counts for

college admission and scholarship purposes. Pick up a paper practice with any counselor and/or practice online with

Testive on the RUReady.ND.gov or Test Prep review on our Counselors Corner on our DHS website. Flashcards are also available for check out in the DHS library.

WORKKEYS ASSESSMENTS - (Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents) will be offered on the

Campus of Dickinson State University in the DSU Testing Center. The upcoming test dates will be on the Saturdays of October 21, and November 18, 2017. The test fee for the three assessments will be $40.00, or $15.00 per test. The DSU Testing Center has limited seating so sign up early to ensure a spot. Please see a counselor to schedule the assessment,

or call Flora Cho at 483-2964. DSU would prefer students schedule one month prior to their test date.

ALL STUDENTS - NORTH DAKOTA STATE SCHOLARSHIP - The state legislature put in place a $6,000.00 scholarship for North Dakota senior students. This scholarship is available to students who attend an approved North Dakota college or university. Students may use the ND Scholarship at $1500.00 per year or $750.00 per semester over

six years. Students also have the option of being out of school for a semester or year without losing their scholarship as long as their college GPA does not drop below 2.75. Students may also use the ND Scholarship for graduate school if there is anything remaining of the $6,000.00 in your student’s fund. It is so important to know and understand the requirements of this scholarship to make sure your child will be eligible for this scholarship when he/she graduates. Students who are interested in receiving this scholarship should work closely with a counselor to make sure they are on track with the scholarship requirements each year. Students may defer the scholarship if attending a college outside of North Dakota.

ND STATE SCIENCE TESTING FOR JUNIORS -- Junior parents and students recently received a letter regarding the amount of testing juniors have during their junior year of high school. One of these mandatory tests is the state science test scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, October 25 in the DHS auditorium. The ND State Test is administered in two parts; the science test is in the fall and the math, reading and language arts tests in the spring of 2018. This mandatory state test allows us to see how well your student is doing in the core curriculum. All juniors will report to the auditorium at the start of first block at 8:10. It is important for students to get plenty of rest, have breakfast and come prepared to do their best. Students will be testing only during first block. Students who have first block off will forfeit that off period on the day of testing. Junior students who are employed and scheduled to work at any time during testing will need to make arrangements with employers to have time off to test. Anyone missing any portion of the ND State Assessment Test will have to make it up on his or her own time. We appreciate your cooperation.

JUNIORS/SOPHOMORES - The PSAT (Pre-SAT)- is an optional upper academic test that measures reading, writing, language, and math skills for sophomores-juniors. The PSAT test will be administered the entire morning of Wednesday, October 11 in the DHS auditorium. This test gives sophomores practice for when they take it their junior year and is an opportunity to see how they compete academically with other students from across the nation. Juniors who take the test and have scores in the high upper percentages may also compete for National Merit Scholarships if they become semifinalists for the scholarship program. Other scholarships also become an option for juniors with a high score. Counselors will help students with the test interpretation when results come in sometime in January. Sign up is with Mrs. Schroeder in the front office. The deadline to sign up is October 2 and the fee is $16.00.

PSAT-FREE PRACTICE OPTIONS - When you sign up for the PSAT you will receive a recently retired PSAT practice booklet to complete. This practice will help you to understand the format of the test as it is a retired test. You may take the test and check your answers to find out your strength areas and areas where you need to have further practice. Other options for practice are on our website Counselors Corner include Test Prep Review and Testive on our RUReady program. You may also practice free online at