Winning the Scholarship Game

Follow these tips to increase your chances of earning scholarships:

Don’t pay for scholarship searches. Use free resources such as ScholarshipQuest at EducationQuest.org with over 2,000 Nebraska-based scholarships. Free national sites include Fastaid, Scholarship Monkey, ScholarshipExperts.com, School Soup, and Scholarships.com.

Visit your guidance counselor often for information about local scholarships.

Place scholarship applications in deadline order. Local awards and college-specific applications deserve top priority because you’re more likely to earn them.

Update your activities, honors, community service or paid jobs using the Activities Resume at EducationQuest.org.

Earn the best possible ACT/SAT scores by taking the exam in the spring of your junior year and again in the fall of your senior year.

Use quality references such as a teacher, coach or counselor. Encourage them to write specific examples of your leadership skills. Give them advance notice and a specific deadline.

Tailor your essay to the scholarship.  Ask an English teacher to read your essay and offer advice on making a big impact.  Your essay will need to stand out from other applications.

Pay close attention to grammar, spelling and neatness. Ask at least two people to proofread your entire application.

To Do List from the Counselor’s Desk

December “To Do” List
Complete these tasks during December to stay on the right college planning track.

Seniors:
__ Submit college applications.
__ Estimate your FAFSA results using the College Funding Estimator at EducationQuest.org.
__ Attend the Financial Aid Program in your area.
__ Continue to apply for scholarships.

Juniors
__ Attend the Financial Aid Program in your area.
__ Search for scholarships.
__ Register by December 28 for the January 26 SAT.
__ Register by January 11 for the February 9 ACT.

Preschool News

Our preschool class is quickly growing and we are so thankful for all sixteen of our little friends!  We are continuing our journey through the alphabet.  Each week we focus on a different letter.  Not only do we learn the letter, but the sound(s) it makes, words that begin with that letter and how to write the letter.  Our art projects, music, and other activities are all centered on the letter of the week.  We took some time off from our weekly letters to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving.

We have been very busy in our room with all our various activities and holiday celebrations.  For Halloween we were so lucky to Trick-Or-Treat at the area businesses.  We are so lucky and grateful to be part of such a welcoming community!  The preschoolers enjoyed walking to each of the businesses and nursing home and showing off their costumes!  Our preschool class also recently attended the Veteran’s Day program with the rest of the school.  They enjoyed watching the older students sing and speak and were also very proud that they could say the Pledge of Allegiance along with everyone else!

Picture courtesy of ShielaLStudio

 

Girls’ Basketball Preview

Ready or not, it is time to talk basketball.  Team competition, spurred by the determination and cooperation of individual efforts, and the inspiration of the power of the human spirit is what has made basketball one of the most popular spectator sports in the land. I am excited to again be a part of our area tradition in Lady Hawk’s basketball. The tradition is strong as we remember last year’s fifth consecutive trip to the State tourney in Lincoln.

I have all the confidence in the personnel coming back to fill the green jerseys this year. The work ethic is strong and the ability is there, ready to use their individual strengths to form one solid unit. With three returning starters, a couple of promising transfer students, and a strong and more mature sophomore class, everyone should be looking forward with me to a promising season. The kids always give their all, and ask little for their effort, so please join the girls and boys alike, whenever you can at home and some of the close away games to show that hawk’s pride and spirit in support of your future community leaders.

Write, Wrote, Written!

The 4th Grade class has been working on WRITING!!! What creative minds we have in our classroom. Each student is working on writing in the Narrative form and being as descriptive with their adjectives as possible. Please ask your children about the stories they are writing. I think you will enjoy reading them or hearing about them. This past two weeks we have been working on a story about a wish that went wrong…and how they had to make it right again. Your children will be doing many more stories and writing is a big focus in the 4th grade classroom this year.

Fourth Grade Recorders

Fourth graders are learning to play recorders. Recorders are a basic beginning into a world of instrumental music. Ways parents can help:  Students should be practicing at least 30 minutes a week, they need to have their parents sign their practice records at the end of the week. I’’ve had a lot of questions regarding practice time and I want to pass along some suggestions that may be helpful!

  • 1. Schedule a specific time that is always set aside for practicing! -if a student knows that as soon as they get home after school they are to get their instrument practiced BEFORE the TV/computer/video games come on, then they are much more likely to get it done!
  • 2. Spread the practice time throughout the week. -Did you know your mouth has muscles? Just like your body doesn’’t want to have one massive workout a week, your mouth doesn’’t want to be abused once a week either! Break down you practice into smaller moments throughout the week and see how your sound improves!
  • 3. Encourage your student to play for you! -Your student is SO proud of their accomplishments, encourage them to put on a performance for the family so you can tell them how proud YOU are of them!
  • 4. Use positive feedback! -Yes, I know the recorder isn’’t the most pleasing instrument to listen to; but a sure fire way to get your student to stop playing is for you to make negative comments about their hard work! I promise it will get better and your words of encouragement will only help move along their progress!

Super Business Saturday

On Saturday, Nov. 3, students in Business and Marketing attended the “Super Business Saturday” at Chadron State College. Laurin Bronson, Zoe Schneider, Michaela Metcalf, and Mrs. Efta participated in workshops about starting and marketing a successful business, doing eCommerce business on the Web, marketing business using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, and involving young people in business. Our students mingled with Chadron State College Business students, local business leaders, and people interested in starting new businesses. The event was hosted by CSC’s Nebraska Business Development Center and included leaders from Security First Bank, Chamber of Commerce, and Nebraska Northwest Development Cooperation. It was an inspiring, fun day out in the “real world” of business and marketing!

Santa’s Bake Shop

Santa Bake Shop for Preschool through elementary students. Parents and grandparents are welcome to come and lend a hand.

What:    Let’s get together to make and decorate sugar cookies! It will be a Take Some – Share Some. That is, you take some of the cookies you made home and the others will be delivered to Hay Springs’ elders.

Where:   At the Hay Springs School Cafeteria

When:    Sunday, December 2, 2012

Come for soup between Noon and 1:00 PM.  Sugar cookie “construction” starts at 1:00 PM and we’ll probably be finished by 3:00 PM.

There is no charge for this community fun shop.  Soup and all cookie supplies will be provided.  Please let the School Office know you are coming so that we can have enough soup and supplies on hand!

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