It's such a slippery slope for me when Thanksgiving comes around. After that major (and filling!) holiday come a few frantic weeks of finishing the semester, gearing up for Christmas and filling the month of December with 'busy-ness'. All of a sudden, it's January. Yikes!
January brings all kinds of things to mind for me: finalizing the FAFSA forms for seniors readying themselves for college, laying the groundwork for a second semester with new teaching formats, reminding parents that this nine-week period is one of the hardest in the school year, sending out transcripts for seniors to their chosen college...the list goes on. I'm going to address a few of these as reminders.
*FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. All current high school seniors and any returning college students need to fill out a FAFSA form after January 1st with your 2010 tax information. For most students, this means that your personal tax information and your parent's tax information are needed. When you receive your W-2 forms, you may start finalizing the forms. Some of you may have already started with the FAFSA4caster. The sooner you get your form in, the better your chances to get some of the federal aid out there. Many schools have a due date, so check with them to find out your final deadline for the FAFSA.
What is the importance of the FAFSA? If you want to further your education after high school, you will want all the financial help possible. In order to receive any scholarships, grants or loans, you need to fill out the form. Then, your college/university plugs into this site, as needed, for information. Remember, scholarships and grants do not need to be repaid. To get started, go to the Places to Go on this website and click on Federal Student Aid.
**Now that the second semester is starting, I want to remind seniors that colleges will be wanting their first semester transcripts. Please fill out a transcript request form, complete with address, and give it to me or to the office. We can't send out any transcripts without these forms.
***For some reason, perhaps due to the fact that this is the coldest, darkest nine-week period, or that it's the third in a line-up of four, or that it's after too much sugar-filled holiday action...this period of academics usually takes a dive grade-wise. Sometimes, it's quite hard to bring up one's grades after these winter months. For that reason, I want to encourage parents to do more physical activities with their children, to limit the students' time on electronics (computer, tv or cellphone), and to ensure that everyone gets proper sleep. Later, I will be posting an article about parents helping their ADHD students succeed better in school. Interestingly, the tips given are also excellent for ALL types of students. I would suggest that every parent read the tips and take them to heart.
To be continued...
