Welcome back Class of 2020!
Welcome back class of 2020! Valencia High has produced eleven International Baccalaureate Diploma classes to date with561 of 604senior candidates passing all requirements and earning the prestigious IB Diploma (76 IB Diplomas in the Class of 2017). This is a 93% completion rate. Wow! These students now attend top national universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Penn, Brown, MIT, Cal Tech, Pomona College, Berkeley, and UCLA. What do you need to focus on to have opportunities like this after graduation?
Fall semester priorities
Successful academy sophomoresneed to focus on three objectives as they begin the fall semester. These objectives are: 1) getting settled in an appropriately challenging class schedule, 2) earning exceptional grades, and 3) continuing to buildyourresume of service and leadership activities. Make sure you have selected courses at an appropriate level of difficulty, avoid over-extending yourself with a too-difficult schedule. An appropriate schedule is one that will allow you to earn very good gradeswhile also keeping a balance with your other life commitments. You only have a couple of days at the start of each semester to make schedule adjustments. Mr. Stanley is available throughout the school year to meet and plan out the student’s academic plan.
National Merit/PSAT Exam
I would like to encourage all of my pre-IB sophomores to take the PSAT test on Saturday morning, October 14th, as a practice test. Any underclassman may take this test, but the 2017 PSAT is used specifically for JUNIORS to qualify them for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. High School juniors who score in the top ½ percent nationally on the October PSAT are named National Merit Scholars and are actively recruited by universities and are eligible for cash scholarships. See . My recommendation is to take the test this year for practice and then your student will be best prepared for the real test in eleventh grade. Sign up for the October 14th PSAT in the VHS Finance Office before the Friday September 15th deadline. $30 cash, check (VHS) or credit card.
Club Rush
Club rush is held on September 25th and 26th. This two-day lunch time event gives our Valencia clubs and service groups the opportunity to recruit new members. This is a chance for freshmanto evaluate the club and service activities offered on our campus. As you begin to build your service and leadership resume consider doing something distinctive and noteworthy. Smart students keep a journal of these activities so they will be able to recall significant people and events when it is time to write college and scholarship essays. The Academy Office is able to help families individually tailor their student’s extra-curricular activities in order to build a significant personal resume for competitive university admissions.
One of the most important things parents can do to prepare their students for success in high school is to schedule regular appointments with a guidance counselor. With the help and guidance of your counselor, parents and students can decide on post-graduation goals and then create a step-by-step plan to achieve them. Remember your three priorities 1) getting settled with your classes and schedule, 2) earning exceptional grades, and 3) building a strong resume of service and leadership activities.
Mr.Stanley,
VHS International Baccalaureate Counselor (714) 996-4970 x.10024