Graduate Services

Seniors and Senior Parents! Graduate Services gave a presentation this morning about graduation supplies, cap and gown, etc. Here are the highlights from the meeting.....


1. If you missed the meeting, come by the Guidance Office to get a packet to see what products are available. You have to order a cap and gown in order to participate in the graduation ceremony.

 
2. Graduate Services will be back on Tuesday, October 29 to take orders at lunch. You will have to pay your $80 deposit at this time. You can pay by cash, check, money order, or credit card. After you pay your deposit you can make payments on your balance until invitations are delivered in the Spring.

 
3. Make sure your name is spelled correctly on your order form. This will be the name that is listed on your invitations. Please do not use any nicknames or slang terms. Boys should not use "Mr./King/Sir."

 
4. Double check the height and weight information on your order form-we do not want anyone to have a gown that doesn't fit properly.

 
5. If you didn't fill out the information sheet during the meeting, you can return it to the Guidance Office. Graduate Services will use this information to communicate with you about important dates and deadlines. 

Happy Fall!

We hope everyone had a restful Fall Break! We have closed out the first 9 weeks and are ready to finish up this semester on a great note. 

Report cards will be sent home TODAY! Please be on the look out for these.

  
Here is a rundown of upcoming events/deadlines/etc...
 1. MS State is hosting a Maroon and White Night at Whispering Woods Hotel and Convention Center beginning at 7 pm. If you have applied  or are interested in attending MSU make plans to be at this event! RSVP to Christa Hudson at chudson@saffairs.msstate.edu or by phone at (901) 238-4896.

2. Tuesday, October 22 we will be hosting a Financial Aid Night and Mini College Fair from 5:30-7. There will be two financial aid sessions at 5:30 and 6:30. Please email Mrs. Brown at danielle.brown@dcsms.org to reserve your spot in one of the sessions. We have a limited number of slots for the financial aid sessions! Juniors and seniors should make plans to attend!

3. Next Friday, October 25, we are hosting a Jane Ross ACT Workshop. The cost is $60 and you can sign up in the Guidance Office. This is an excellent opportunity for our students. These workshops typically cost upwards of $200.

4. The last day to register for the December ACT is November 8. If you do not know how to sign up, we can help you! All seniors need to take the ACT at least one time during high school.

5.  Juniors will be taking the ASVAB on November 11.

6. Freshmen-want to see how you would perform on the ACT? Take the PLAN on November 14. This is a pre-ACT and will give you an idea of how you will score on the real thing! The cost is $12 and you can pay Mrs. Hutchins in the Guidance Office.

7. Congratulations to the following students for scoring 30 or better on a portion of the ACT in June and September:

Jake Frederick

Alex Hanna

Savannah Joyce

Zach McCain

Amandayn Abney

Justin Alberson

Taylor Baker

Madison Hester

Jordan Reynolds

Kayln Seale

Ellyn Shaffner

Rachel Spiers

Daniol Swann

Andrew Daniel

Dalton Carver
Mary Holland Burnett
Arian Hill
Catherine Peters
Brianna Starnes
Joseph Szabo
Brock Tschume


#RespectTheHill

Common Core Resources

Several of you have inquired about ways to help your student with the adjustment to Common Core. Below you will find a few resources....

Khan Academy
This website allows students to browse videos on various topics and have someone teach the concept to them at their own pace! Several of our teachers use Khan Academy in the classroom. Parents can create a "coach" account to monitor what your child is doing on Khan Academy and provide videos for them to watch. Khan Academy is most useful in math and science, but also has resources for economics and certain history classes.

This article from Teach Thought outlines the top 21 Common Core Apps for High School Math.

College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) has a website that goes along with the majority of our math textbooks. The CPM website has a lot of information from homework help for students to a parent resource guide to extra practice. This website is a MUST if your student is currently enrolled in a math class.

Common Core Parent Workshop Backpack 
This focuses on the elementary changes brought about by Common Core but the article does an excellent job of breaking down the changes in a way that is easy to understand.

Parent and Family Resources for Common Core

The Commission of the Great City Schools has created a "Parent Road Map" for English and Math.

Also, YouTube and TeacherTube have some wonderful videos on various topics-just "google" the topic. Sometimes being able to watch or hear something a second time or in a different way can be beneficial.

We hope these resources help you and your student adjust to the changes from Common Core. Everyone at The Hill is working hard to help your student be successful and we appreciate everything you do at home. Thanks for all you do!

Homecoming, College Visits, Scholarships, and End of the 9 Weeks

Several things to keep in mind over the next few weeks...

A. Homecoming is next week! Students are staying after school this Friday to decorate hallways. Be sure to contact your class officers to see how you can help with hallway decoration and/or float decoration. 

B. On the topic of Homecoming, below are the Dress Up Days for next week.
      Monday-Celebrity v. Hero Day
      Tuesday-Dynamic Duo Day
      Wednesday-Holiday Day
      Thursday- Theme Day
      Friday-Spirit Day

Keep in mind our Homecoming Parade will be Friday, October 11 starting at 2:15 with a Pep Rally to follow. 

C. Seniors, the procedure for requesting a College Visit has changed. Please follow the steps below when requesting a college visit:

 1. Contact the school of your choice to step up your visit. This sounds like common sense but you would be surprised how many people request a visit before they have talked to someone at the school. You can do "drop-in" visits but it is a much better use of your time to schedule the visit ahead of time.

 2. Get a College Visit form from Mr. Payne. Your visit has to be approved by Mr. Payne in order for your absence to be excused. This needs to be done a few weeks before your scheduled visit to allow time for verification and approval.

 3. Have your parents sign the form and return it to Mrs. Bender in the Front Office. You must return the form in order to have your absence counted as a "school activity." The school will contact your parents to verify the visit.

 4. Enjoy your visit day! Be prepared with questions like these from the National Center for College Costs or these from the ACT website.
The schools expect you and your parents to have questions-this is a big decision! Your admissions counselor and tour guide are there to give you as much information as possible to help you make that decision.

 5. Bring back proof of your visit from the college or university-this needs to be turned in to Mrs. Bender. This needs to be signed by a school official. A flyer from the university does not count as proof of an official college visit. The schools are used to having to provide proof of a visit for students so this should not be an issue.....remember without proof of your visit we cannot excuse your absence.

You are allowed one College Visit each nine weeks (giving you a total of 4 for the year). Please make sure to follow these steps to ensure your college day is approved and absence is excused. 

D. Seniors, keep an eye out for scholarship deadlines. Below are a 
   few to keep in mind....
      Horatio Alger Scholarship deadline is October 25.
      Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship deadline is October 31
      Zinch.com/scholarships/weekly has a weekly drawing for a 
       $1000 scholarship-all you have to do is register and answer a        short essay! 

The priority deadline for most university scholarships is Dec 1.

Also, check our previous blog posts for other scholarship opportunities!  

E. Seniors if you need help with your resume, sign up for the counselor's Resume Workshop! Come by the Guidance Office for more information.

F. Last but not least, the end of the first term is drawing near! Next Wednesday we will have term tests for periods 2 and 4, Thursday will be tests in periods 1 and 3. Start studying now so you can be prepared!