Academy Night

A message from John F. Tierney, Member of Congress

September 12, 2014 As you may know, I host an Academy Night every year for those students in the 6th Congressional District who have an interest in being a potential candidate for nomination to a United States Service Academy. The date of this year’s event is Tuesday, September 23, 2014 on the Danvers campus of North Shore Community College. I am confident that this meeting will be both informative and productive to those in attendance. I ask you to encourage any potential nominee to attend this event, and to join us yourself if you are so interested. The application process for the Service Academies can be complicated, so this meeting provides an excellent opportunity for interested students to ask the many questions they may have, learn about the nomination process, and speak with admissions representatives and local graduates. For your convenience, I have enclosed an informational flyer that you are welcome to display at your school or distribute to your students. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Maria Costigan in my Peabody office at 978-531-1669. Sincerely, John F. Tierney Member of Congress LINK TO FLYER

PSAT Offered at BHS on 10/15

Burlington High School will be a national testing center for the administration of the PSAT Exam and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. For the several years 90% or more Burlington High School seniors take the SAT exam. The PSAT is an excellent opportunity to prepare and gain an understanding of the SAT exam. Juniors are also eligible for a National Merit Scholarship depending on the score.

All sophomores will take the PSAT free of charge, however juniors MUST register and pay a fee of $25.00. The Guidance department highly recommends juniors take the exam again this year. Registration materials are being mailed on Monday 9/15/14, and students will also receive information in homeroom. We ask that Juniors register ASAP so they may pick up a PSAT study guide which provides valuable testing information.

The SAT will be re-redesigned beginning in the spring of 2016. This will impact students in the class of 2017 and beyond. Although the PSAT will be very similar to the PSAT in years past, parents and students will still have the ability to compare PSAT scores from this PSAT test to PSAT and SAT test rolling out next spring. Click here for details on the changes. 

Free Practice PSAT or SAT for BHS Students

Burlington High School students can take either a free SAT or PSAT test at BHS on Saturday 9/20 beginning at 9AM. In order to take the free test students MUST register (registration information below). We strongly recommend students in grades 9, 10 and 11 consider taking the practice PSAT. BHS will offer the full PSAT exam on Wednesday October 15, 2014 for all sophomores and registered juniors.

Seniors that want one more chance to take a free practice test OR a senior that has NEVER taken an SAT exam should strongly consider registering for this free opportunity. The SAT exam will be offered at BHS on 10/11, 11/8 and 12/6.

In order to register click here or call 1-800-KAP-TEST. 

Guidance Events for the 2014/2015

The Guidance Department is happy to announce a full schedule of BHS Guidance Events for the 2014/2015 school year (links can be found on the right hand side of this blog). In addition to ALL the BHS Guidance Events, we have the schedule for the Guidance Parent Breakfast Series. Based on parental feedback the Guidance Department has identified a variety of topics to cover throughout the school year for any interested parent.

Please note: Senior College Planning Night will now be held on Thursday, October 9th, at 6:30 in the BHS auditorium. 

Common Application

The Burlington High School Guidance Department highly recommends that seniors create a student account on the Common Application Website ASAP.

What is the Common Application?

The Common Application allows a student to complete ONE application which can be sent to multiple colleges.

How many colleges and/or universities subscribe to the Common Application?

Currently nearly 500 colleges and/or universities are Common App members

Why use it?

Once completed online or in print, copies of the Application for Undergraduate Admission can be sent to any number of participating colleges. The same is true of the School Report, Midyear Report, Final Report and Teacher Evaluation forms. This allows you to spend less time on the busywork of applying for admission, and more time on what's really important: college research, visits, essay writing, and senior year coursework.

Schedules are in the mail

Schedules are in the mail (mailed on 7/8). Please remember that all students must carry six academic courses each semester plus physical education and/or health. The one exception to this is if a junior or senior is enrolled in two or more AP courses.

Also if there is an error or omission in the schedule you need to make arrangements to correct the problem. If your schedule reads “Please Schedule an Appointment with Guidance” then your schedule is invalid and it is imperative that you call to schedule an appointment. There are several options available:

Beginning Monday July 14th and continuing through July 24th, then again August 11^th to August 21st, Mr. Joseph Attubato, Support Services Coordinator, and several Guidance Counselors will be available (by appointment only) Mondays through Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Please call Mrs. Patty Lewis at 781-270-1780 to schedule an appointment.  

Guidance Counselors will be available during the week of August 18^th through August 21st  from 8 A.M. to 12 Noon. During this week, students will be helped on a first come first serve basis.

You are encouraged to correct any problems in your course schedule as early as possible. Doing so will ensure a smooth opening of school for you. If you were not enrolled in your first choice elective course please call the guidance office to be added to a wait-list. Also, please be advised that specific teacher requests cannot be honored.

Bay Path College Fall Offering

Burlington High School in conjunction with Bay Path College is happy to offer a fall 2014 course for Burlington High School seniors and juniors. The course will be Principles of Marketing. This is an excellent opportunity for selected seniors (and juniors) to receive dual credit. Dual credit gives BHS students the opportunity to receive college credit and high school credit. Given that Bay Path has a satellite campus at BHS travel requirements are minimal. Click here for an application and details or stop by the Guidance Office to pick up an application.

Financial Aid 101

The Financial Aid Night for parents was well attended. Many aspects of the financial aid process were covered. Heather Ward, from Discover, covered all aspects of the financial aid process.

Two very important forms were mentioned last night. The FAFSA and the CSS profile. We encourage parents to investigate both applications ASAP. (Please note, however, that, like an income tax form, the FAFSA can never be filed for seniors prior to January 1st of senior year.) One clarification we would like to make is the cost of the CSS profile. The fee for the initial application and one college or program report is $25. Additional reports are $16. Please see the CSS profile student guide for more specifics.

Fafsa.gov now offers a new feature called the FAFSA forecaster. We recommend parents take advantage of this to determine your estimated financial aid eligibility.

For parents that missed the event please click here for the presentation or feel free to stop but the guidance office to pick up a hard copy of the presentation. If you would like to hear the presentation in its entirety, it will be televised on BCAT. Please check the BCAT web-site for specific times.

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KAPLAN Test Prep

Once again KAPLAN will be offering SAT test prep courses this summer and fall to BHS students. Information will be mailed out on June 17th week, but we wanted to post the schedule for students/parents that wanted to get an early jump on test prep. registration. Registration must be completed as soon as possible. Burlington students only pay $249, which is a reduced price. To register please call 1-800-KAP-TEST.

In addition, Kaplan offers Free on-line PSAT, SAT and ACT test prep using the below access codes. Go to kaplanatschool.com/burlington and enter:

SAT On Demand: KAS2014SAT for SAT Prep

ACT On Demand: KAS2014ACT for ACT Prep

PSAT On Demand: KAS2014PSAT for PSAT Prep

The above codes should be entered on the Payment and Confirmation page when you check out online.

College Financial Aid 101

Wednesday, June 18th

6:30 PM

Burlington High School

Auditorium

  

Many families focus on the college search, selection and admission process. We believe that figuring out how to pay for college is also an important part of this process. ‘College Financial Aid 101’ helps families understand the ins and outs of college financial aid.

This seminar will provide information on:

·         How financial aid eligibility is determined

·         How to maximize grants and scholarships

·         How to read your Award Letter

This presentation will also address common financial aid myths and real questions from other families going through this process.

This presentation is designed for parents of freshman, sophomores and juniors, but ALL parents are welcome to attend.