HHS Senior Bulletin

We met with all seniors who were present on Tuesday, March 12th during SAT School Day to go over everything that they will need to know for all senior activities, including Commencement. Students were given a handout, linked here, that listed all of the information that they need to know. Here are some important dates to keep in mind:

• Cap and Gown Distribution - April 29th during Enrichment (students only)
  
• AP Exams - Start on May 6th and continue through May 17th (see calendar in the link)
• Senior Final Exams - May 16th - 21st
• Bike Day - May 21st
• Senior Celebration - May 21st after 4th period final
• Senior Recognition Day - May 22nd at 8:30 AM (students arrive at 7:30)
• Mandatory Commencement Rehearsal - May 24th at 9:00 AM
• Commencement - May 24th at 8:00 PM (students arrive at 7:00)

Please also review the expectations for student dress at Commencement. If you have any questions, let us know!

The application for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open. The Indiana State Legislature passed a law requiring all seniors to complete the FAFSA by April 15, 2024. In addition, the FAFSA is required for students to receive any kind of financial aid (including loans) and for many scholarships. It is also mandatory for students who want to use the 21st Century Scholarship next year.

Note that both the student and parent must have an FSA ID in order to complete the FAFSA: you cannot start it until you have them. Creating an FSA ID is a fairly simple process, but it takes a few days for it to be processed. Review the checklist to see what information you'll need to create the FSA ID and to complete the FAFSA itself.

For parents, we will be holding a FAFSA Night at Harrison on Thursday, March 21st. If your student completed his/her part on the 12th (or earlier), then you will be able to fully submit the FAFSA, or you can bring them to the event and complete it together. Representatives from Ivy Tech and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will be available to assist and answer questions.

If you choose not to file the FAFSA, a parent/guardian must sign a waiver form that will be submitted to the Indiana Department of Education. The forms are available in the Counseling Office, or you can reach out to Mrs. Santana or Mr. Gmutza.

We have THREE big scholarships to announce: the Bosse, Irwin, and Meyer scholarships! The number of each scholarship and amount varies from year to year, but on average Harrison will receive 3 Bosse ($4,000), 15 Meyer ($1,000) and 11 Irwin ($1,000) scholarships. This allotment is only for Harrison students, so you have a much better chance of winning!

• Bosse - Awarded to students attending one of the following schools: DePauw University, IU - Bloomington, Purdue University - West Lafayette, University of Evansville, or Wabash College.

• Meyer - Awarded to students attending any college EXCEPT IU (any campus)

• Irwin - Awarded to students attending any college or university.

To apply for the scholarships, you will need to fill out this Google form. You only need to fill out the form once, and then the scholarship committee will consider you for all scholarships for which you are eligible. As part of the application, you will need to upload the following documents:

• College Acceptance Letter
• Resume of Activities, awards and achievements
• Student Aid Index from FAFSA or the Student Financial Aid Estimator

You will also need to write a brief statement about your educational/career goals and how one of these scholarships would help you achieve your goals. Please note that you cannot save your progress on the form and come back to it later, so you will want to gather all of these documents and write your essay ahead of time so you can paste it into the document.

The application deadline is Sunday, March 31st 2024 at 11:59 PM, and no late applications will be accepted. Students who attended the senior program last Tuesday during SAT School Day had time to work on these scholarships, so if yours did not attend, he/she has until the end of Spring Break to submit.

The Class of 2024 Senior Shirt and Bike Day Shirt are now available to order! Students or parents who want to place an order should order with this link. The deadline is Saturday, April 7th at 11:59 PM and late orders will not be accepted, so check it out today!

It is not too late to order graduation products from Jostens! However, there is a new link for orders - make sure to use this one as the old one no longer works. Cap, gown, and tassel ($28.70 + tax) are required to walk in Commencement, but you may choose to order other items at your discretion. Prices will increase as we get closer to May, so place your orders soon!