Q&A: 11th Grade Post-Secondary Details

What is the impact of the COVID-19 closure on my college preparation?

While some things are still too hard to predict, one thing you should know for certain is that we are still here to help!  Obviously, we will not be able to continue junior seminar and individual meetings in-person.  All individual post-secondary meetings and deliverables will be virtual starting April 27th.  Please be prepared to read and respond to action items outlines in emails sent from Ms. Villani concerning important college/career tasks and information sessions.

What should I be planning for regarding taking or retaking the ACT?

You should still plan to register for the ACT tests that are still scheduled to be given on June 13th or July 18th; you would need to register for either test by May 8th.  In the event that either or both of these exams are cancelled, you will be able to apply your ticket to a future test date for no additional cost.   If you need a fee waiver, please contact Ms. Villani and she will send you a fee waiver code. 

The ACT will be offered again in the fall, in September and October.  Whether colleges will accept scores from exams taken after October will depend on each individual school’s policy.

What type of Junior Seminar activities are available between now and the end of the year?

Glad you asked, because we have a lot going on!  We will have Junior Seminar Zoom Video Sessions on Wednesday, May 6th at 3:00pm and Friday, May 8th at 3:00pm that all 11th graders will be invited to participate in, designed to cover:

• Begin developing their Individual Post-Secondary Plan. This is the master document that will house all of your final plans for after high school.  The creation of one of these documents will be mandatory for all high school graduates, and we highly encourage all students to start this process now.
• Finalize your college list in Naviance and discover other Naviance tools you can use this spring and summer
• Create a Common Application Account, will serve as your primary means of applying to colleges. Some colleges have individual application portals.

You will get a Zoom link in your school email account on Monday, May 4th to access these sessions!  You only need to attend one session!

How can I prepare to apply for financial aid? 

We will assist families in applying for the FAFSA starting on October 1, 2020.  For now, please just locate the following documents and keep them in a specific folder or other safe place:

• Student’s Social Security number (If you do not have SS number, jump down to #2).
• Parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student. (If you have a Social Security number, but your parents do not, you can still file the FAFSA.)
• Student’s driver’s license number if you have one.
• Student’s Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen.
• Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for student and for parents if the student is dependent: IRS 1040, 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, or a foreign tax return.
• Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student.
• All household cash/asset information, savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student.

What does the rest of the school year look like, now that we are not coming back to school in the building?

What we know is that, due to state guidance, we won’t have any more days of school in person this year, which also means some of our events such as dances, field trips, the leadership retreat, college visits, career day, and more are now cancelled.  We are planning some online events, like leadership seminars and end of year celebrations, that you’ll get more information about soon.  We look forward to getting back next year and doing as much of those as we can to make it a great year.  Our OutREACH academic program (known fondly by students that text me as “the packets”) will continue with two more rounds, on the following schedule.

On May 23, students will get two final Summer Packets in their English class and their math class to complete and bring back with them in August, to keep preparing for school after what would have been, by then, almost five months off.  For starters, it has been amazing to see the commitment from students and families already to OutREACH, and we are greatly encouraging even more commitment to attending office hours and turning in high quality work in the month of May. 

What about the stuff I have in my locker?

We are not going to remove any belongings from lockers until registration in August; you’ll be able to go to your old locker and get everything out of it at that time, just like you left it.  However, if you need your items sooner, you can call the high school (901-333-2750) between 9:00am-3:00pm Monday-Friday and schedule a pickup, or text Mr. Vuylsteke (901-303-9590) any time between when normal humans are awake and normal humans are asleep.

Will we have finals at the end of the quarter? 

While some teachers might make your last graded assignment cumulative of everything since the start of OutREACH, no, we will not be sending home final exams to complete or expecting any sort of online exam.

How will the OutREACH work factor into my grades at the end of the year?

From the start, the goal of the OutREACH program was to make sure that we are doing everything we can to finish the academic year strong, keeping students ready for next year, and we think it is helping with that goal.  All completed OutREACH work will be graded, for either completion or accuracy, and will have some degree of a positive impact on students’ grades at the end of the year.  You will see OutREACH listed as a separate grade on your end of year report card, in the place of where Quarter 4 would have been.  Depending on the quality of work teachers receive, that impact could be huge or it could be minimal.  Receiving these grades requires students to turn in the work, either on the day it is due or a different day you have arranged with us.  Also, important to note— for students in danger of failing a class for the year, turning in strong OutREACH work can potentially cause you to pass that class for the semester or the year.

Can I still pick my classes for next year?

Yes, and it is extremely important that you do so!  The Fall 2020 Course Selection Form will be included in the next round of OutREACH Packets, distributed on May 9.  This will be a more challenging process, as we will not be able to answer questions about the classes in person, but I will hold office hours via Zoom during the week of May 11 to answer all of your questions about classes for next year (and anything else I can answer for you).

Any other questions, text Ms. Villani at 901-303-9590.  Thanks for your flexibility as we work to figure all of this out together.