Viper Vitals For Juniors

• Junior checklist for the holiday break

• Junior Info Session for Course Selections & Conference Prep // January 18 & 19

• Junior Parent/Guardian Night Webinar // January 17, 5:30 PM

• Junior Counselor Conferences & Course Selections for Senior Year // January 24 - February 16
  
• Junior deadline to lock-in senior year course selections // February 16
  

• College Admissions Testing and School Day SAT // March 6
  

• ACC Dual Credit - Planning for Summer & Fall 2024

• College Visits
• National Virtual College Fairs
• College Jump Start // Summer 2024
• ASVAB Career Exploration Program registration // March 20
  
• Subcampus Deadlines: Cosmetology & Culinary Arts
  

The break is the perfect time for family discussions and planning for what juniors will be doing after high school. What could you be doing? Here are three simple tasks to consider tackling over the break:

1. Reflect and consider future career pathways (revisit "What's Your Endgame?" in the Class of 2025 Google Classroom for resources)
2. Draft a college list or options for post-secondary training ... take it a step further and plan to use a college visit day!
3. Plan and register for college admissions testing (see more details below)

Counselors will begin meeting with 11th grade students in January to begin the course selection process for the 2024-25 school year. Junior/Counselor Conferences will take place January 24 - February 16 to discuss post-secondary planning and finalize course selections for senior year.

During this presentation, counselors will review graduation requirements, four-year plans, and the 12th grade course selection process. We will also begin preparing for upcoming Junior Counselor Conferences, discuss post-secondary planning opportunities, and overview the college planning process.

Parents/guardians are invited to join the Counselors for a webinar to preview the information that will be presented to juniors during the school day:

Junior Parent/Guardian Night Webinar // January 17, 5:30 PM

Register Here (password - Vipers)

Counselor/Student conferences for Juniors will take place January 24 - February 16. All needed information/links for the meetings can be accessed by the students through their VHS co 2025 Google classroom.

Be sure to note:

• Students will receive the links to schedule their Junior Counselor Conference and select 12th grade courses.
• Junior Counselor 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 should share course selection information with parents and submit choices prior to meeting with their counselor.
• Students will be able to update/change their Course Selections during their Junior Counselor Conference.

• Finalizing your requests during this initial submission provides the highest likelihood of being placed in the classes you want.

• February 16th at 4:00 PM is the deadline for juniors to lock-in initial course selections.

• Course selections are a year-long commitment. There will not be changes to elective courses past the final change request deadline in May. NO SEMESTER CHANGE REQUESTS.

SCHOOL DAY SAT ADMINISTRATION

On Wednesday March 6, 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.

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 14 days

ACT - register at www.actstudent.org - $5 off coupon code below, good through Jan 22

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 22 (Summer classes) or by April 19 (Fall classes) to plan for 2024-25 courses.

New students should aim to have completed the ACC Enrollment Steps, including an individual meeting with Mrs. Spradling by the priority deadline of March 22 (Summer classes) or by April 19 (Fall classes).

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 with 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 virtual sessions or have posted videos - check out the colleges' admission websites or The College Tour.

The National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) hosts annual virtual college fairs. We encourage families to take advantage of this opportunity to explore post-secondary options:

National Virtual College Fairs (be sure to click on the "virtual" tab):

Sunday, February 18, 1:00-6:00 PM

Sunday, March 24, 1:00-6:00 PM

Sunday, April 21, 1:00-6:00 PM

Eager to start tackling your college applications? Plan to sign up for a summer College Jump Start session. College Jump Start is a free workshop for rising seniors. Each session meets four consecutive days. The session leader provides students the resources, guidance, and time to prepare college applications, in addition to valuable feedback!

Click here for more information. Registration will open mid-spring semester.

On Wednesday, March 20, 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 the 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

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 March 1, 2024.

Click here to submit an enrollment request for the Cosmetology Program. The enrollment request and due date for the information packet for Cosmetology is February 1, 2024. Do not delay, as several of the packet items require 1-2 weeks processing time.