The Keystone School KeyNews Vol.3 | October. 2018 | All Things Keystone

Head of School Message Inside This Issue

Our newsletter is going to focus on College Readiness tips, however my article is going to focus on some great independent study habits that were shared with PG. 2 Reviewing Your Plan-11th Grade, me by a Keystone parent during a recent conversation. Student Spotlight Habit 1: “Stay focused - don't go side-ways.” As I listened to this advice, I agreed that in a flexible independent learning program, students need to learn the benefit of completing the course work in order, right from the start. I have seen many students start a course and just focus on completing one type of PG. 3 Reviewing Your Plan-12th Grade, assignment. Essentially, these students are trying to detour their way around the speed-bumps. While this may be faster at first because they skip over the longer more time-consuming assignments, it will not be Student Spotlight **SPECIAL-BE A BETA faster in the long run. TESTER FOR THE NEW KEYSTONE Habit 2: “Go slow to go fast (do it right the first time).” Helping students understand the importance of PARENT MOBILE APP!** taking their time early in the courses to really understand the basics will help them to be able to progress through the course more quickly over time. If students start off by going quickly to just get the work done without focusing on completely understanding the concepts, it will require more time in the end to go PG. 4 Teacher Focus; –Beverly Fink, Math back and learn what they should have learned in the beginning. Instructor, Webinars Prior to joining Keystone, many of your students learned about study habits, which could include: Taking notes while “in-class” ∙ Reviewing notes daily ∙ Limiting distractions in their study zone ∙ Creating flash cards to review new information ∙ Having someone else quiz them on the material ∙ Creating a study PG. 5 Understanding the College sheet or out-line ∙ Creating a graphic organizer or diagram. If students learn the importance of these Application Essay strategies now, they will be better prepared as they move forward onto their college careers. Help your students see the value in studying so that it becomes second nature to them.

Reviewing your plan Junior/Senior Checklist for College Bound Students Student Spotlight

This checklist is meant to help college-bound students Hello! My name is Corinne and I am 16 understand what to do during your Junior and Senior years old. I am currently a Senior in high years. school and plan to graduate very soon. Keystone, for me, has been the best choice JUNIORS / 11th GRADE towards my future. It allows me to stay home with my younger sister when my September mother works. In the next few months, I  Get in touch with Student Services to ensure you will start college applications. I will be doing a military ROTC are on track to graduation by calling 1-800-255- program where I can attend a college and join the military as 4937 or emailing [email protected]. an officer. I have been training to become a licensed pilot in  Monitor the Webinar section of the Guidance powered aircraft. A program called Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Services Resource Center to sign-up for relevant allows me to do these things as a 16-year-old. I am currently a webinars. Cadet Chief Master Sergeant soon promoting to Cadet Second Lieutenant. I attend color guard events for CAP as the bearer October of the national colors as well as attend camps and National  Take the PSAT. The PSAT is only offered every Cadet Special Activities (NCSAs). In my spare time, I draw. I October. Registration cannot be done online. The can draw realism portraits and cartoon character designs. I PSAT is only available to sophomore and juniors. probably have 6 full sketchbooks and one in progress. You will sign up for this in June so check the instructions in the Guidance Services Course on how

to register.

 The PSAT is also referred to as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test (NMSQT).

November-January th  Begin researching colleges that interest you. JUNIORS / 11 GRADE Cont’d  If you are enrolled in any AP courses, register for the AP Exam. Information is available in the April-June Guidance Services Resource Center.  Start your college visits. Contact each college two weeks in advance to register for a tour.  If needed, start researching scholarships. Helpful February-March websites include www.fastweb.com or  Register for the ACT or SAT, which ever test you www.scholarships.com. elect to take. You will need a score on either the  Begin Compiling an “Activities Resume” of all ACT or SAT to apply to four-year universities in your extra-curricular accomplishments the .  Take the ACT or the SAT. o ACT Dates and Registration:  Ask teachers for letters of recommendation for http://www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html college applications. You typically need at least o SAT Dates and Registration: two letters. It is better to ask teachers in courses http://sat.collegeboard.org/register/sat-us- you are at least half-way finished with, so they dates can attest to your academic abilities. Consult the  Begin studying for the SAT or ACT! The Guidance Services Course in your Blackboard recommendation is to begin preparing two-to-three Homeroom for more information. months before the test date.

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SENIORS / 12th GRADE September-October  Sign-up and join a “College Application Process” webinar, or watch a recording.  Check to make sure you have finished enough credits to apply to college. You need to have 15 credits completed and be enrolled in your final courses to graduate by the time you submit your college applications.  Finalize the list of colleges you plan to apply to! Make a list of all the colleges you plan to apply to along with the admission deadlines and required application components. Start getting everything together!  Register for an October, November or (if there is time) December SAT or ACT. This is your last chance to take the tests to accommodate most college admission deadlines!  Request letters of recommendations. You can find out if you need letters be checking the college’s admissions page or calling the admission department at the college directly. SENIORS / 12th GRADE Cont’d We suggest you request letters of recommendations at least a month before your November-December college deadline.  Submit all your college applications that  Visit the “College Guidance” Section of the have Nov-Feb deadlines. Guidance Services Resource Center to learn  Submit your college applications with a more about the College Application Process. January 1st deadline.  Collect information to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid opens on January October 1st) and CSS PROFILE (nonfederal  Apply for scholarships using financial aid) if you haven’t already done so. www.fastweb.com .

Article continued to the right February-May  Admission decision letters will start coming in, as well as financial aid award letters from each school outlining financial aid assistance.  Decide which school you will attend! Also, notify the school you do not plan on attending. Follow directions to make a deposit and save your seat in the school you plan on attending.

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Teacher Focus; –Beverly Fink, Math Instructor

Click here to sign up for one of our Learning Math through Getting Started Webinars!

Did you ever think about how math is involved in sports? You can find math related topics and skills involved in every . Below are just a few ways math is found in Click here to sign up for one of our sports: New Parent Orientation Webinars!

Dimensions: Professional fields have specific dimensions that must be followed. The distance from one base to another is 90 feet, and the distance from the Click here to sign up for our next pitcher’s mound to home plate is exactly 60 feet, 6 inches. Keystone Information Webinar A professional football field is 100 yards long. Both end zones are 10 yards long. This makes it easy to divide the field into 10 yard sections and keep track of downs and Taking SAT ACT or SAT-Prep? gains and losses more easily. Click here for more information including Test Dates! Swimming: An Olympic sized swimming pool is 50 meters long by 25 meters wide by 2 meters deep. Many pools use yards, instead of meters. 1 meter is the same as about 1.09 yards. A court is 94 feet long by 50 feet wide.

The basketball hoop has a height of 10 feet from the floor.

Time: Timing is involved in every sport. Elapsed time and Learning Through Sports Cont’d ordering times from least (fastest) to greatest (slowest) are two types of math skills found in sports. In a football game, Statistics: The batting average in baseball is an the score board will indicate how much time is left in the important statistic for those who play the game. This can quarter. At a swimming or track event, the times of the be found by dividing your total number of hits in a game participants in each even would need to be placed in order or even the entire season divided by the total number of from least to greatest to determine the winners and runners times at bat. A perfect batting average would be 1.0, up of the events. A swimming or running race can be won which means you hit the ball every time you were at bat! or lost by a tenth of a second (.1) or even one hundredth of Geometry: Shapes are everywhere in many sports. A a second (.01)! baseball field is set up in the shape of a diamond. A Probability: Many times, a football game begins with a coin basketball court has circles and half circles, with the toss to see who will kick or receive first. The coin will either entire court taking on the shape of a rectangle. A soccer land on heads or tails. This means there is a 1 out of 2 ball is sphere-shaped with smaller white pentagons and chance that it will land on heads or a 50% chance. black hexagons covering the surface of the ball.

Article continued to the right As you can see, math can be found in all sports in so many ways! Be sure to look for math the next time you’re at a game or participating as an athlete. You may

be surprised at what you find!

Vol.3 | October. 2018 | All Things Keystone 4 https://www. keystonescho olonline.com/ Understanding the College Application Essay

What you need to know-

Some college applications will require an essay. The essay may be open-ended, meaning there is no specific prompt, or there may be The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal a couple of options for what you need to write about. Research the admissions webpage of any college you are interested in to Student Aid) for the 2018-2019 school year learn more about the application components. will open on October 1, 2018. US students

The college essay matters who plan to start college in the Fall 2019 should create an account and begin to enter Your essay reveals something important about you that your grades and test scores can't—your personality. It can give their information. For in depth details admission officers a sense of who you are, as well as showcasing regarding college financial aid and the your writing skills. Try these tips to craft your essay; FAFSA, please consult the Guidance Get started by brainstorming Services Course in your Blackboard

Starting the essay can be the hardest part. Brainstorming about homeroom or email the Keystone Guidance your personality traits and defining your strengths is a good place Department at to begin. [email protected]. Let your first draft flow

After you've gathered your notes, create an outline to organize your essay and decide where you want examples to appear. Now you're ready to write your first draft. Don't worry about making it perfect. Just get your ideas flowing and your thoughts down on Find a creative angle paper. You'll fix mistakes and improve the writing in later drafts. Katherine, a college freshman, had to describe why she would make a good Reed College student for that school's essay. "I am a huge fan of Beat Develop three essay parts Generation writers, and many of the West Coast Beat writers attended Reed," she says. "So I related my love for writing and the Beats to why I would be a • Introduction: One paragraph that introduces your essay. great fit for the school." • Body: Several paragraphs explaining the main idea with examples. Be honest • Conclusion: One paragraph that summarizes and ends the essay. The essay question might ask you about your best quality, an experience that shaped you or the reason you want to attend a certain college. Don't be tempted to write what you think the admission officers want to hear; answer Be specific the question honestly.

Give your essay focus by figuring out how the question relates to Get feedback your personal qualities and then taking a specific angle. Make sure everything you write supports that viewpoint. Show your draft to family, friends or teachers. Ask if it makes sense and sounds like you. Consider their feedback and make changes, but keep your Read about how some students conquered the essay. voice. High school senior Dana warns, "Make sure the essay is in your own voice. If at some point you read over your essay and you hear your mother's

Article continued to the right voice, something is wrong." Article continued to the right Proofread and make corrections

Read your essay over carefully to check for typos and spelling and grammar errors. It's best to ask someone who hasn't seen it yet to take a look as well. They're likely to see mistakes you won't catch.

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