This may be the last time you ever hear from me in this format! At this point, the majority of you have handed in everything you need to for graduation. I'm missing service hours, senior photos, and senior walk permissions from some of you, but we have been doing our best to hound you if you need them!

I wanted to send this newsletter mainly to highlight a financial aid opportunity, The PA State Grant Program. Read below to learn more!

The end of high school is near! If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to reach out. Remember, I'm here for every one of you no matter what. Please know that I am here for anything you need.

-Mr. Watters

We were recently notified that the PA State Grant Program will be up and running soon. This provides additional financial aid to eligible PA residents, and is based off of FAFSA results.

You can access more information about the PA State Grant Program at the link below. Before it opens, there are a few key pieces that you can take care of. Here is the direction we received:

• Ensure you have completed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) at StudentAid.gov. The FAFSA is the first step in applying for the PA State Grant Program.
• If you've completed the FAFSA, you can set up your PHEAA Account Access to prepare for the PA State Grant Form.
• You can to monitor your inboxes and make sure @pheaa.org email addresses do not go to spam.

To set up account access:

• Go to pheaa.org
• Open the Sign In menu
• Choose “Borrowers & Students”
• Select “Continue to AES Account Access”
• Create an account and provide any necessary information

The annual Senior Walk will take place the morning of June 4th. This is where our seniors will don their cap and gown, and visit Mayfield and Scott elementary campuses to walk through their halls one last time. In order to transport students to Mayfield, a permission form is required. Please click the button below to access that and return it to the counseling office by June 3rd!

All students are required to complete at least 20 hours of community service. You can access the tracking sheet below, and can hand completed hours in to Mrs. Weaver at any time. We know that many of you have already completed your hours, but we still need documentation of that on our end. If you are curious where you stand, you can email Mrs. Weaver or Mr. Watters to find your number!

Keep an eye out on Google Classroom. There may be some new service opportunities coming up soon and they will be shared there.

All service hours were due by May 2nd!

**If you still need to submit service hours, please do as soon as possible!**

As of April 25th:

• 63% of our senior class has applied to college.
• They've completed 354 college applications for 108 different schools.
• So far 68% of those students have reported at least one college acceptance (but we know there's more!)
• 3 students has already signed on with the military; 1 other have indicated plans to do so.
• 15% of the senior class has indicated they will enter into the workforce upon graduation.
• 126 Letters of Recommendation have been written.

From all the numbers above, we have some "wins" to celebrate! This is simply just any indication that your next step is closer to being a reality. For those looking to go to college, this means a college acceptance. For those looking to go into the military, this means signing with your branch. For those looking to enter the workforce, this means getting a job.

So far, we can celebrate the win for:

Penelope Archer

Sami Archer

Riley Arzie

Evan Berlinski

Ryan Bianchi

Jayla Bilinsky

Daniel Black

Marley Bodnar

Faith Brown

Emilee Bruno

Gianna Bullick

Aidan Canavan

Charlotte Carrube

Delana Chesar

Nicholas Chmiola

Myles Decker

Blaise Dennis

Conrad Depew

Libby Fofi

Juliana Grier

Ava Grossi

Hope Hanichak

Jack Hemak

Brooke Hill

Frank Hunsinger

Julian Kane

Gracyn Keen

Jesse Kovaleski

Natalie Lowry

Jordan Malar

Wilson Marquez

Lucianna Natale

Bergina Neves

Jeremy Nichols

Brayden Osborn

Jayden Poklemba

Kaitlyn Priest

Michael Rivera

Gia Serge

Noah Shaffer

Abigail Shygelski

Aaron Smith

Gabrielle Turner

Luke Vinansky

Kendra Williams

Gavin Zellers

We know there are more of you!! If you have a win to celebrate, please send it our way so we can celebrate it with you! Please send us the following:

• college acceptance letters (please also indicate acceptances in SCOIR)
• scholarships you have received
• signed military contracts
• signed work or apprenticeship contracts
• anything else you see as relevant

You can stop by and we will make a copy of your proof or feel free to send a picture or screenshot to me at zwatters@lakelandsd.org. The next newsletter will start featuring some of out student Wins!

There is generally no more asked question than "how can I get a scholarship." If I had the answer to that, I promise I would share it, but unfortunately it isn't that simple. We continue to receive more local scholarships, but deadlines are very quickly approaching! You can also check out the Scholarships page of the LHS Postsecondary Counseling Website. It has some scholarship sites that may provide you with some opportunities!

Please note that scholarships are listed by submission deadline date, and any scholarship that is new to this newsletter will be marked as **NEW**.

• David Duchnik Memorial Scholarship - These $2,500 scholarships are available two two Lakeland students - one attending a 4-year school and one attending a 2-year school. See the link for more information. Application Deadline: May 16th, 2025
• Corabelle Chappell Memorial Fund Scholarship - This scholarship is open for students in Lackawanna County who will be attending Keystone College in the fall. Application Deadline: May 29th, 2025
• Harford Agricultural Society Scholarship - This scholarship is available specifically for students who have been involved in the Harford Fair. Click the link for more information. Application Deadline: August 31st, 2025

As most of you will be beyond the college application stage, I won't go too into detail about this moving forward. Rather, you will find links to the LHS Postsecondary Counseling Website as well as the presentation that was given in your classes earlier in the year. There you will find the following information and more: Career Exploration Information, College Application Guide, Decision Types, Types of Applications, Information about SCOIR, How to Request Letters of Recommendation, How to Send Transcripts to Schools, College Essays, Scholarships, Testing, Information (SAT/ACT), and Financial Aid Information. You can also scroll to the bottom to find previous newsletters with more information!

You're getting there! Every day is one step closer to graduation, and it'll be here before you know it. If you're stressed about a decision, or just life in general, come see me. I'm always here for you!

Keep pushing - we will get to the finish line together!

Best,

Mr. Watters

Classes of 2026, 2028, & 2030

Click Here to Make an Appointment

Mr. Watters - zwatters@lakelandsd.org

Classes of 2025, 2027 & 2029

Click Here to Make an Appointment

Location: 1355 Lakeland Drive, Jermyn, PA, United States

Email: lhscounseling@lakelandsd.org | Phone: 570-254-9485

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