Class of 2017
GLC NEWSLETTER-Issue #3
October 30, 2015
Students and Parents of the Class of 2017,
Periodically, we will send out an email titled GLC NEWSLETTER. We will include news and notes about DBHS, planning for after high school and much more. We will also post these issues on the Diamond Bar High School website under GUIDANCE and The Class of 2017 pages. The GLC NEWSLETTER will be in addition to the GLC Quarterly which is sent out 3-4 times each school year.
THIS IS THE CLASS OF 2017 GLC NEWSLETTER #3
REMIND TEXT MESSAGE SYSTEM: If students or parents are not receiving periodic text message reminders, please sign up with our system. Go to our Class of 2017 Web page (Text Message Remind System) for directions on how to register for this helpful REMIND Text Message system.
12-Week Grading Period-Friday, November 6, 2015
Wow…time is flying by. Our 12-week grading period is next Friday, November 6. Your student’s 12-week progress grades will be able to be viewed on Parent Portal around Wednesday, November 11th. Keep in mind these are progress grades. You may want to discuss with your student the time remaining in semester 1. Our semester ends December 18, 2015. With Thanksgiving break, this leaves about 27 school days remaining after the 12-week period ends for your student to take steps to make progress in a course or courses.
SAT and ACT
December 5 SAT: Registration Deadline is Thursday, November 5, 2015
December 12 ACT: Registration Deadline is Friday, November 6, 2015
Remember, the January 23, 2016 administration of the SAT is the last one using the current version of the SAT. Starting with the March 5, 2016 SAT administration, only the NEW SAT version will be available.
UPCOMING EVENTS/COLLEGE VISITS TO DBHS
Our students should be checking the DBHS website daily for news, announcements etc. We strongly encourage our juniors to check the website and go to the Career Center Page. Start at Academics and then go to the Career Center page. Listed on this page will be the dates, times, locations of our college visits to our campus. College visits provide our students with an opportunity to visit with a campus representative and ask important questions about the school.
CHECK OUT THE DBHS WEBSITE/GUIDANCE-GLC/CLASS OF 2017 FOR EXTRACURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERSTING ARTICLES FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS www.dbhs.org
COLLEGE LIST
Our juniors should be busy enjoying the process of looking for post-secondary schools they may be interested in applying to next fall as seniors. Our goal is for our students to find “great fits” in a college. It doesn’t have to be a prestigious named university to be “the place” for your son or daughter to continue their studies. Now is the time to generate that list of prospective schools. Use the College Search process included in the Junior Parent/Student Handbook provided at our summer meeting and also on the Class of 2017 page on the DBHS website.
CAHSEE-CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM
At this time, the California High School Exit Exam has been suspended per California Senate Bill 172, and therefore will NOT be a graduation requirement. While your children will certainly be saddened to hear that they will not be taking this test, you can let them know there will still be the usual state testing in the spring.
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS-TIPS FOR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
This is a regular newsletter that offers great tips and advice for parents and educators. You will find both the September and October 2015 issues on our school website www.dbhs.org Guidance/GLC/Class of 2017. A must read for parents of teenagers! The November issue will be coming out soon!
SENIOR BULLETIN
Every year the senior class has access to very informative Senior Bulletins. The Senior Bulletin is loaded with information about the college admissions process, community college etc. We are posting these Senior Bulletins to our Class of 2017 page on the school website. We believe you may find the information helpful this year as well.
INFORMATIVE WEBSITE
ACT Test Preparation website. A very useful and informative website assisting our students in their preparation for taking the ACT. http://www.mometrix.com/academy/act-test/
Kevin R. Patterson & Jack Galeener
Grade Level Coordinators
Class of 2017
Diamond Bar High School
INFORMATION FROM PREVIOUS CLASS OF 2017 GLC NEWSLETTERS…
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS INFORMATION
WUE-Western Undergraduate Exchange Program allows students who are residents of WICHE states to request a reduced tuition rate of 150% of resident tuition at participating two- and four-year college programs outside of their home state. This is a great program if your student is looking at attending an out-of-state university. It may result in a tuition cost savings for your student. Check out the website and you can also find information on our school website, www.dbhs.org go to GUIDANCE/GLC/CLASS OF 2017.
POST HIGH SCHOOL PLANS:
Interest Inventories/Searches: We encourage all of our students to take steps to find out what areas of study and/or career interests best fit them. Students may access Interest Inventories (Simple tests/questionnaires which help direct students to careers/college majors that may match their strengths etc.) via our school website www.dbhs.org. On the Guidance Page, students should look at the right hand side of the page for several available links. The link titled Careers will guide them to some of these Interest Inventories. In addition, we strongly recommend our students create a free account on the following websites:
These websites have tremendous resources available on helping students look into different career opportunities and college majors.
College/University Searches: During our summer meeting, each Class of 2017 student received the Student/Parent Information Handbook. This is also available on the Class of 2017 webpage. In this handbook, you will find a 2-page College Search Process. Please encourage your student to begin the process of creating a list of colleges/universities which may be a good fit for them after high school. As Grade Level Coordinators, we want our students to eventually move on to a college or university setting which is a great “fit” for them. Students and parents need to put aside only looking at “prestigious name” universities and open up to consideration, universities which will provide the environment that will allow their son or daughter to flourish, to be happy and content as they pursue their career interests. “Happy Students are good students!” The student’s list of potential colleges/universities may be quite large at this point; however, as the year progresses into next summer, your student should begin narrowing the list down. If your student begins this process now, he/she will have plenty of time and opportunities to research the school, ask questions, visit the campuses etc. prior to the senior year beginning. The final list of colleges/universities to which your student will eventually apply should be established by next August/September. Encourage your student to have fun with this process and to tell friends and family of their interests.
SAT/ACT-
If a Class of 2017 student is looking to start their college experience at a 4-year university, he/she will need to take the SAT or ACT. In addition, some universities will require SAT Subject Tests as well. Go to www.collegeboard.org (SAT) and/or www.act.org (ACT) to create a student account and to register for tests. We recommend these tests be taken during junior year. Students may be able to retake the tests the first 2-3 test administrations of their senior year, but don’t wait until senior year to take them for the first time! Another factor to consider is when to take the SAT as a junior. Generally speaking, if a student is currently in Geometry or Algebra II then it may be wise to wait until the last 1-2 SAT test administrations this school year. This will allow these students to have as much Geometry and Algebra II math instruction completed.
SAT Subject Tests: Many private universities will require (2) SAT Subject Tests as part of their admission’s requirements. UCs and CSUs do not require SAT Subject Tests; however, some UC campuses “recommend” students taking (2) SAT Subject Tests. Some universities, if they require SAT Subject Tests, may accept any (2) subjects. Some universities, if they require SAT Subject Tests, may specify specific test subjects for certain majors. For example, a student majoring in a Science or Math related field or Engineering may be wise to take the SAT Subject Test Math Level II and a Science SAT Subject Test. To be sure, a student should research individual university admission requirements. In addition, if possible, students should arrange to take an SAT Subject Test in the spring time which could coincide with their preparation for an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. For example, if a student plans to take an SAT Subject Test in Chemistry and is also enrolled in AP Chemistry here at DBHS this school year, he/she should take the SAT Chemistry Subject test in the spring. Students should go to the Class of 2017 Web page to look under FILES for the document titled: UC Campuses and The SAT Subject Tests. This file will give you information on what UCs recommend the SAT Subject Tests and which ones!
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS:
EXTRACURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP & COLLEGE PREPARATION ETC.: Another great resource for our students. Go to our Class of 2017 Webpage and look for this heading. Students will be able to find extracurricular programs under this heading. These will include College Fairs, Summer Workshops, and Internship Type Programs etc.!
CHECKING THE DBHS WEBSITE OFTEN! The class of 2017 should check our school website www.dbhs.org often for school announcements, opportunities, deadlines etc. Once on the school website, our students should go to the GUIDANCE LINK AND THEN TO THE CLASS OF 2017 WEBPAGE. Students who do not check this information often are missing out on important announcements and opportunities.
LEGAL NAMES USED FOR SAT/ACT, COLLEGE APPLICATIONS- Reminder!! When students register to take the SAT or ACT, they should use their legal name. This legal name should match the name used here at DBHS on their academic transcript. It should also be the same name the student will use during the college/university admission’s process next year as a 12th grader. Using different names (nicknames etc.) may result in the student’s academic records never matching up and resulting in the student missing important requirements for the admission’s process.
Student Email Addresses: We advise our students to be careful when selecting an email address. It may be wise for students to create an email account specifically for the upcoming admission’s process. Using “cute or silly” email addresses for the admission’s process doesn’t give a positive first impression. We suggest very simple, straight-forward email addresses such as First Initial of First Name and last name or some combination of this.