Viper Vitals For Juniors

• Upcoming Dates to Remember

• Course Selection Timeline for the 2023-2024 School Year
  

• Junior/Counselor Conferences // Course Selections for Senior Year
  

• Junior Parent/Guardian Informational Webinar // Jan 31, 5:30pm
  

• Juniors - College & Career Readiness Passport
  

• College Admissions Testing - School Day SAT
  

• ACC Dual Credit - Planning for Summer & Fall 2023

• College Visits
  
• College & Career Center Workshop Series
  
• College Jump Start
• ASVAB Career Exploration Program registration
  
• Tackling the Cost of College
• College Fair Opportunities
• Subcampus Deadlines: Culinary Arts & Cosmetology

Jan 30 & 31 // Counselor Connection Classroom Presentations

Jan 31, 5:30pm // Junior Parent/Guardian Night Webinar // Webinar Recording

Feb 7 - Mar 3 // Junior/Counselor Conferences (parents invited to join via Zoom)

Feb 19, Mar 19, Apr 23 // NACAC Virtual College Fairs

Mar 1 // SAT School Day at VHS

Mar 6, 4pm // Deadline to Lock In Initial Course Requests

Mar 7 // ASVAB Career Exploration Program

Mar 22, 6pm // Tackling the Cost of College

Apr 26 // U.S. History STAAR EOC

Summer 2023 // College Jump Start

The time is here to choose our courses for next school year. Below is the timeline of activities to support families during this process. Though there will be opportunities to adjust course requests in the future, it is important that students be thoughtful and intentional in the course decisions they are making right now. Why?

• Choosing accurately during the initial choice window provides the highest likelihood of being placed in the classes you want.
• Staffing decisions for next school year are already underway. Teachers are hired based on the courses students have said they will be taking.
• Scheduling decisions are already in process. Our master schedule team works to build a schedule with the fewest scheduling conflicts based on the course selections that students submit RIGHT NOW!
• Course selections are a year-long commitment. There will not be changes to elective courses past the final change request deadline of July 23, 2023 (NO CHANGES TO ELECTIVE COURSES AT SEMESTER).

Click here for the full Course Selection Timeline for additional dates and descriptions of events.

Counselor Connection presentations will take place during physics classes January 30 & 31. Students not enrolled in physics will receive a pass with instructions for where to report for your presentation on those days.

Things to Note:

• Students will receive the links to schedule their conference and select 12th grade courses during counselor connection classroom presentations January 30 & 31.
• Junior Conferences will be held in person between student and counselor in the VHS Counseling Office.
• Parents/guardians wishing to participate may do so via Zoom; please discuss whether you will be participating virtually with your student prior to the meeting. If parents will be participating, students will need to select "ADD GUESTS" when booking their appointment and enter the parent's email address.
• A Zoom link will be generated for each meeting - this is for parent/guardian use only. (Students will need to select "ADD GUESTS" when booking their appointment in order for the Zoom link to be emailed to the parent.) Again, students will meet in the counseling office.
• Students will be able to update/change their Course Selections during their Junior Conference. Initial selections are due by March 6 at 4pm.

• While there will opportunities to update course requests, finalizing your requests as early as possible provides the highest likelihood of being placed in the classes you want.

• Course selections are a year-long commitment. There will not be changes to elective courses past the final change request deadline of July 23, 2023 (NO CHANGES TO ELECTIVE COURSES AT SEMESTER).

All 11th grade parents/guardians are invited to attend an informational webinar on Tuesday January 31 at 5:30pm. We will cover information regarding:

• Post-Secondary Planning Opportunities

• College Application Overview

• Testing: College Admissions & College Readiness

• Reviewing Graduation Plans & Requirements // Senior Year Course Selection

• Preparing for Junior Conferences

Click here to register for the webinar.

Password: vipers

Want to know what you or your junior should be doing to prepare for post-secondary options? Simple! Throughout the year, juniors should be working on the College & Career Readiness Passport Task List. This list outlines not only what juniors should be doing, but helps to remind you of what opportunities we offer regularly at Vandegrift, such as college visits and career chats!

Tasks will be added throughout the year as opportunities come available. What's more, is as an added incentive our PTSA is accumulating prizes for students! We'll conduct a drawing at the end of each grading period to reward students who have completed certain tasks - how cool is that?!?

SCHOOL DAY SAT ADMINISTRATION

On Wednesday March 1, VHS will administer the SAT test to all 11th grade students. This testing session will be FREE and registration is not required. Students should be sure to be at school on this day as there is no make-up opportunity for this free administration. Information about School Day SAT, including the structure of the test and what to bring on test day can be found here. Students need to bring a 4 function calculator for use on the math portion. (Calculators are not provided for the exam.)

WEEKEND ACT & SAT TEST ADMINISTRATIONS

• Various national testing dates with strict registration deadlines
• Registration fees apply; see your counselor if you have financial need as fee waivers are available
• Scores typically within 4 weeks

ACT - register at www.actstudent.org

SAT - register at www.collegeboard.org

Current ACC students planning to continue taking dual credit coursework (returning students) should be scheduling individual meetings with Mrs. Spradling now through March 24 (summer classes) or by April 28 (fall classes) to plan for 2023-24 courses.

Students new to ACC can review details of the program on the VHS ACC Dual Credit website. We strongly encourage parents to view the Dual Credit Overview recording to ensure all parties are fully informed. New students should aim to have completed the ACC Enrollment Steps, including an individual meeting with Mrs. Spradling by the priority deadlines.

NOW is the time to start engaging with college visits! There are three ways students can explore colleges and engage directly with admission representatives:

1. College visits scheduled at Vandegrift. These are college admission representatives assigned to serve VHS and are often the person responsible for reviewing and making a decision on your application for admission - it's important to meet these folks! Plus, they have valuable insight into the college, unique opportunities, the admissions process, and scholarships. Check out the College Visit website for our calendar and registration instructions.
2. Go to visit the college campus! All juniors are allotted 2 excused absences to use for college visits. When you visit, collect documentation from the Visitor's Center or Admissions Office of your visit (they usually have a form they can hand you) and turn this into the VHS Attendance Office. This allows you the unique opportunity to see the campus, engage with current students and admission experts.
3. Take advantage of virtual admission sessions and tours. Most colleges are now offering regular virtual sessions or have posted videos - check out the colleges' admission websites!

We're offering workshops this spring, many specifically targetingt juniors and the college application process. Check out upcoming workshops, as well as slides/recordings from past workshops, on the VHS College & Career Center Workshop Series website. Here's what's coming up in February:

• February 6: GPA, Rank & Transcripts, Oh My! // register here
• February 13: Can I Get In? Understanding Academic FIt & Assured Admissions // register here
• February 27: Conquering the College Application Activities List // registration coming soon!

Ready to start tackling your college applications? Plan to attend College Jump Start, a FREE summertime college application workshop offered to rising seniors. Each session meets 4 times. The session leader provides students the resources, guidance, and time to prepare college applications, in addition to valuable feedback!

Click here for more information and registration links.

On Tuesday, March 7, VHS will host the ASVAB Career Exploration Program for interested 10th-12th graders starting at 8:15 AM. The ASVAB was originally designed to help incoming service men and women determine where they could best serve in the military. It did such a good job that they made this exam available to schools to help students get some ideas about which careers might be suitable for them. While still used as the entrance exam for the military, Vandegrift offers this FREE test for students because it is very effective at identifying careers that match students’ knowledge, talents and interests. Often the results lead students to consider areas they’d never thought of before. The number of careers in this world can be overwhelming – this test simply narrows the field and gives them something to consider. REGISTER HERE

Parents and students are invited to take a deeper dive into understanding the costs of college. We have partnered with an expert from the non-profit organization College Funding Educators of America who will address the rising costs of college, the financial aid process, funding strategies, and much more! Join us at VHS on Wed, March 22nd from 6-7pm for this informative presentation! // Register Here

NACAC Virtual College Fairs // Feb 19, Mar 19, Apr 23

National Association for College Admission Counseling, NACAC, will offer virtual college fairs to help students find the right college for them. These virtual fairs give the opportunity to connect with hundreds of colleges, watch presentations, ask questions, and demonstrate interest ... all without leaving home.

Leander ISD students have the opportunity to enroll in various specialized programs at other district high schools if the program is not available on the home campus. These programs have limited availability, and some are subject to prerequisite course requirements. The Culinary Arts program at Cedar Park HS and the Cosmetology program at Leander HS are currently accepting enrollment requests.

Click here to submit an enrollment request for the Culinary Arts Program. Students must have previously earned credit for Intro to Culinary Arts to be considered for the program. The deadline to submit the enrollment request is February 17, 2023.

Click here to submit an enrollment request for the Cosmetology Program. The enrollment request and due date for the information packet for Cosmetology is March 20, 2023. Do not delay, as several of the packet items require 1-2 weeks processing time.