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Unity Day
Hello from the BRHS Counseling Office!
I hope that everyone is settling into the new school year and getting back into a routine. I have been meeting with students in their English classes throughout the month of September to talk about college preparation, transcripts, graduation plans, and dual credit opportunities. September is also the month for Senior meetings here at BRHS. It is such an amazing experience to get to talk to students about their future dreams and aspirations. Juniors- your meetings are up next!
On Wednesday, October 4th, juniors and seniors will be visiting Texas A&M Commerce. Please stop by the counseling office for a permission form. They are due back Monday, October 2nd.
As a reminder, seniors are now required to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) a Texas Application for Student Financial Aid (TASFA), or sign the opt out form with Mrs. Ingersoll.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has a delayed opening this year to December 2023. The actual date has not yet been announced. Students and parents can go ahead and create their FSA IDs at studentaid.gov. To get a preliminary look at potential aid and what your FAFSA calculations might look like, please visit https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/ . Students who plan to attend college for the 2024-2025 school year will need their parents' 2022 income tax information in order to complete the process.
Students who signed up to take the PSAT need to be on the lookout for an email from Mrs Ingersoll about an upcoming pre-registration meeting. The PSAT test will be October 24.
BRHS will host the SAT School Day for seniors on October 26. Watch your student email account for details.
For seniors: over the next few months, I encourage you to do six main things, ahead of your actual college applications:
Get your letters of recommendation ready: If you haven’t yet asked for a letter of recommendation from your teacher(s), make sure you do so! Here’s some advice on how to choose your recommenders and what information to provide them.
(Re)take the SAT/ACT, if needed: If you haven’t taken the SAT/ACT yet, do so. If you’re unhappy with your previous scores, retake it.
Finalize your college list: Remember to include a combination of safety, target, and reach schools in your list. Also identify your top choice, and decide whether you’d like to apply early decision/action for it. Here’s some advice on all of that.
Fill out your FAFSA® form: The FAFSA® form is the federal government financial aid form. To receive need-based grants or scholarships (from the government or your college!), you’ll need to fill it out. The government is making some changes to the FAFSA® this year, so the application will open in December 2023. Lots of aid is first-come, first-served, so apply as soon as the form opens!
Prepare your essays: Many colleges will ask for one main essay; some more prestigious colleges will also have additional essays or short-answer questions. Here’s some information on how to write your main college essay / personal statement.
Apply for scholarships: Most scholarships are geared towards high school seniors, and the ones with earlier deadlines (Sept-Dec) tend to receive fewer applicants, which means you have a higher chance of winning! To find and apply for scholarships, I recommend you sign up for Going Merry.
Juniors: I encourage you to do four main things:
College research: Learn about different colleges and which ones might be a good fit. Potentially begin going on campus visits. (Or, given Coronavirus, check out videos and virtual campus tours.)
Study for standardized tests: If you’re considering a college that requires the SAT or ACT, it’s normally wise to take the test in the Spring. This way, if you’re unhappy with your score, you have time to retake it at the beginning of senior year.
Learn about financial aid: Once senior year rolls around, you’ll be too busy doing college applications to research the financial aid process. So focus on understanding that (and taking note of deadlines!) now. To start, here’s a good primer on how college financial aid works, and here’s an explanation of the most important financial aid acronym: EFC (Expected Family Contribution).
Apply for scholarships. High school juniors are eligible for plenty of scholarships, and it’s never too early to begin earning money towards your college tuition! Plus, it’s pretty easy to turn common scholarship essays into college essays, when the time comes. To find and apply for scholarships, I recommend you sign up for Going Merry.
I know that may seem like a lot to keep track of though, so you might also find this Junior Year Calendar/Checklist to be helpful. Print it out, and check things off as you complete them!
We are looking forward to welcoming area veterans and community members at our upcoming Veteran's Day program. We will celebrate Veteran's Day with a school wide assembly on November 9, 2023. During this assembly, we recognize the family members of Blue Ridge ISD students, faculty, and staff that have served our country in the Armed Forces. In order to recognize your family member on the slide presentation, please fill out the following form. Please include a photograph of the person, preferably in uniform or fatigues. Information sheets and photos must be returned no later than Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The link to the form is found here.
H-E-B Scholarship for UIL Participants - Due February 2, 2024
Nominees must have the following submitted to https://www.sportsinaction.com/scholarship by no later than Feb. 2nd, 2024:
- Minimum 3.3 GPA
- Number of Community Service Hours completed in the last 12 months
- Community Service Verification Letters to document the number of hours submitted
- A Letter of Recommendation
- A Short Essay (500 words or less) on the topic: “What does Community mean to you?”
For more info go to: https://www.sportsinaction.com/scholarship/
The Collin County Young Lawyer’s (CCYL) is pleased to announce that we have two scholarship opportunities for your graduating seniors! Two award winners will receive $1,000.00 each, payable to the colleges of the winners’ choice. These scholarships are thanks to the generosity of many of the law firms in Collin County. Please have your students submit their applications (attached) with entries to my attention via email at samantha.mori@texascapitalbank.com. All applications must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 13, 2023.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always happy to help any way I can.
Algebra II
The graph pictures that are outside Mrs. Mannery’s classroom were completed by her Algebra 2 classes. They began a unit on linear functions or graphing lines, and this activity was to simply serve as a fun way to review what quadrants are on a coordinate plane and how to plot ordered pairs. Mrs. Mannery explained that, if a student can do this, then they can definitely graph lines.This activity allowed the students to choose from different levels of difficulty and different interests.
English III Honors
Mrs. Stewart's English III Honors class found poems over the American Dream and evaluated them. The next step was to conduct a gallery walk using their Chromebooks and Google forms, instead of the traditional gallery walk with posters on the wall. Students choose three of their classmates' projects to read and evaluate.
Welcome back to News from Collin College. Read on to get the latest information about Collin College and the Farmersville Campus.
Q. Did you know the Farmersville Campus will host a family-friendly event for Halloween?
A. The event known as Trunk or Treat will be held on Monday, Oct. 30, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in the Farmersville Campus parking lot. Contact crkelley@collin.edu for more information.
Q. Did you hear?
A. Rachna Sachdeva, a Math professor at the Farmersville Campus, was awarded a medallion from Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin for exceptional efforts and going above and beyond to help students achieve their goals. The medallion includes the college’s seal and its core values.
Q. Did you know?
A. The Honor’s Institute will host a panel discussion called the American National Bank of Texas Leadership and Success Series on Nov. 2 from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at the Wylie Campus Conference Center. The panelists will offer insight from a list of questions centered around leadership and advice for college students. This event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Michael Rose at mrose@collin.edu.
Staff/Faculty Highlight: Dr. Pamela Sawyer
Farmersville Campus Professor of English and Integrated Reading and Writing Dr. Sawyer started working at the McKinney Campus in 2007 as an English adjunct professor. The following year, she joined Collin College as a full-time professor. For 16 years, Dr. Sawyer has taught credit and developmental English at Collin College.
Prior to working at Collin College, Dr. Sawyer served as an adjunct professor at several local colleges. In total she has taught English for 30 years. In her first decade of teaching, she taught English and reading for elementary through junior high school level students.
Dr. Sawyer holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications-Organizational Communications from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Education with a specialization in Reading from Dallas Baptist University, and a doctorate in Rhetoric from Texas Woman's University.
What do you love most about your job?
Dr. Sawyer: The best part about my job is collaborating with peers to create courses for the students. This is equally loved with watching the students grow in their reading and writing skills, critical thinking abilities, and embracing being young adults. It is so rewarding to witness that the course creation "worked" to stimulate the personal growth. At times, students return to introduce me to their partner, share a moment of success, and (occasionally) show off their newborn children.
What would you like parents and students to know about the Farmersville Campus?
Dr. Sawyer: Being a Collin County resident for more than 30 years gives me a passion for the residents and future leaders of our home. Working at the college provides me with an opportunity to give my experience and education back to my community. Collin College's campus in Farmersville offers me another exciting opportunity to give back to my community as we coordinate and collaborate with local leadership to deliver programs and classes that will continue to build future leaders.
To find out more about the Farmersville Campus, visit www.collin.edu/campuses/farmersville.
To learn more about Collin College, visit www.collincollegenews.com or www.collin.edu.
About Us
Email: trent.hamilton@brisd.net
Website: https://www.brisd.net/Page/9
Location: 11020 County Road 504, Blue Ridge, TX, USA
Phone: (972) 752-5554
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blueridgehighschool
Twitter: @brhs_tigers