OPHS PFC Newsletter November

pfc newsletter O A K

P A R K

H I G H

S C H O O L

November 2012

www.oakparkusd.org/ophs

In Memoriam

Jim Benton 1978 - 2012 Forever in our hearts.

The Principal’s Message Our College-Going Culture

comes down to getting that second year of foreign language during high school. It’s still a university entrance requirement that will have to be taken at community college prior to transfer. Or, that third year of college prep math that again will ultimately have to be taken in community college, sometimes at the expense of a college elective. Sometimes, it’s just that they never visited the College and Career Center, which is open every day and is staffed with the most knowledgeable and helpful Mrs. Jean GilbertHawkins. Here they can ask questions, search for scholarships, meet college admissions officers and reps, or, as many of our students do, just hang out and look at the pennants and posters. Here they can also see where previous graduates are currently going to college. Our counseling office is staffed with four counselors who fully understand what it takes to create an academic program that will prepare students to be college-ready. They attend college workshops given by the universities and stay abreast of the application landscape that includes in-state and out-of-state, public and private institutions.

OPHS is on the leading edge when it comes to technical resources to help students become collegeready. Naviance is a web-based program that all OPHS students and parents must become familiar with before their junior year. This is the leading college search program. It is the clearinghouse for applications, letters of recommendation, and transcripts, all of which are transmitted electronically to the colleges. Parent workshops are held several times throughout the year and parents of all grade levels are encouraged to attend. Also several financial aid workshops are held in the evenings for parents, and the couple of hours invested in attending can pay real dividends as families navigate the range of state, federal, and university grants, scholarships, and loans.

Families can also attend college fairs and schedule college visits, and learn about out-of-state schools conducting events in this area. Some families schedule their weekend and holiday trips to college towns on their Naviance list of potential schools. Our PFC continues to support this college-going culture by sponsoring personal statement writing workshops, SAT and ACT Boot-camps and joining with other local schools to coordinate the College Knowledge Night.

Continued on page 7

As I write this, our teachers and counselors are busy writing letters of recommendation for our seniors’ college applications, students are checking out the websites of the colleges and universities they’re interested in attending next fall, and parents are looking at their budgets to figure out just how much a college degree costs these days. College application season is in full swing and senior deadlines are rapidly approaching. However, despite the urgency of the senior process, the preparations for attending college begin long before the senior year and involve much more than the tangible forms, personal statements, and transcripts that are ultimately submitted. Each student must learn about how to explore and investigate their career and college options, and the earlier the better. Sending the message of high expectations needs to be clear and community-wide.

Building and maintaining a college-going culture is a process that requires that we all convey the expectations that all students can prepare for the opportunity to attend and be successful in college.

At Oak Park High School, the vast majority of our courses are either College Prep (CP) or Honors/Advanced Placement (AP). All of these courses are designed to not only meet OPHS graduation requirements, but also to satisfy the university undergraduate admission eligibility requirements. This means that our core academic and elective programs are designed to prepare students to be able to apply to 4-year universities. The most familiar term that is used to describe this in California is “articulation” which means how high school students “satisfy the a-g requirements”. These are the courses students must take to be able to apply to University of California and California State Universities. Although most of our students do matriculate to a 4-year school, there are a significant number of students who meet the requirements to enter university, but choose to attend a community college with the intention of transferring to a 4-year school in their junior year.

While this is a very desirable option in many cases, I know that every year there are some OPHS students who with a little more knowledge, effort, and encouragement could begin their post secondary education at a university. There are students who just miss meeting the a-g by one or two courses. Often, it 2

Campus Calendar, News & Notes Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov.

1 No School - Staff Development Day 3 Boys/Girls Lacrosse Car Wash 8 am - 12 pm 7 PFC General Meeting, 7 pm, Lib. CR 8-10 Blackbox Production, various times, Pav. 8 Military Information Day, 12 pm, C-6 12 No School - Vererans Day 13-16 ASB Food Drive (toiletries) 13 OPPAA Meeting, 7 pm, Lib. CR 14 Board of Education Meeting, 6 pm, G-9 14 Naviance Workshop, 6:30 pm, C-6 16 Comedy Sportz, 7:00 pm, Pav. 17-18 PFC ACT Bootcamp, 9 am - 1 pm, G-9 19 Winter Sports Final Clearance, 2:30pm, Student Store Nov. 19 Winter Sports Parent Meeing, 7pm, Gym Nov. 22-23 No School - Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov. 28Dec 1 Life Skills Retreat, off site Nov. 30 OPPAA Boutique, 3 - 8 pm, Pav.

School pictures taken at registration are available for pick up in the student store Thank you to all the students & parents who supported our Book Fair at Barnes & Noble.

Proceeds from the instore & on-line sales will benefit our school.

Nutr. = Nutrition, Pav. = Pavilion Lib. CR = Library Conference Room

See complete listings for athletic events and more on the OPHS Master Calendar!

— Karen Sephton OPHS, PFC Barnes & Noble Book Fair Co-Chair

It’s easy as 1-2-3!

1. Click here or go to…www.oakparkusd.org/ophs.

Oak Park High School PFC Newsletter published monthly September - June by the OPHS Parent Faculty Club (PFC) for families of Oak Park High School students.

2. Hover your mouse on “Calendars” in the yellow menu bar and select Master Calendar from the drop down menu or select the athletic team schedule you wish to view.

3. If you selected Master Calendar, click on any event listed for more information!

Oak Park High School • Oak Park Unified School District Principal: Kevin Buchanan 899 N. Kanan Road, Oak Park, CA 91377 OPHS Main Line: 735-3300 Attendance/Temp. Off Campus Pass Line: 735-3311 (please call before 9 a.m.)

PFC President: Gillian Miller ophspfc@gmail.com Newsletter Editor: Suzie Bock bockgraphx@sbcglobal.net 818-970-5251 eNews Editor: Uma Narayanan umasaa@yahoo.com 818-707-3124 www.oakparkusd.org/ophs • www.oakparkusd.org

3

Superintendent’s Message Island Adventures – an Example of an ‘Authentic’ Learning Experience Again, this year, students were able to get a view of the Santa Cruz Island Fox and in doing so, learn about and have direct experience with natural selection, which is easier to understand when it comes to islands but applies to all life on Earth. This species of fox lives only on Santa Cruz Island. During the last ice age, the distance to the island was shorter due to the drop in sea level and that was when some animals made it out to the island – most likely by accident through a process called ‘rafting.’ This involves animals being carried out to sea on floating debris that washes down rivers in heavy rainstorms and then some of these animals making it to the island. Maybe even just one pregnant animal on a raft makes it, establishing a new population on the island if conditions allow. This fox is genetically related but different than a species of fox that lives on the California mainland.

After thousands of years of isolation on the island, the animal became different, smaller, differently colored, etc. I am attaching a photo I took of one we saw.

Charles Darwin had his ‘ah-ha’ moment about natural selection when he visited the Galapagos Islands and made similar observations. Today, our Channel Islands are often referred to as the ‘American Galapagos.’

There are four ‘endemic’ species of mammals on Santa Cruz Island meaning that they live only there.

It is difficult for children, and in fact for most of us, to conceptualize the diversity of life on Earth. Having an authentic experience with it can provide the ‘ah-ha’ moment that is necessary to come to understand the concept and invite further study and investigation.

In October I journeyed with 5th graders from each of our elementary schools to Santa Cruz Island. We have integrated these annual trips into the instructional program thanks to Debby West, our science specialist and Friends of Oak Park Schools, who support her position. I go along as an extra hand with many years of experience leading and participating in these trips to the islands. I am also a member of the Sanctuary Education Team for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, a division of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

This program is an example of what we refer to as an ‘authentic’ learning experience. Providing more of these to our students has been and remains a major District-wide goal. Authentic learning is an approach to teaching and learning in which students work on realistic problems, participate in activities that solve real-life problems, or create products that have real-life purposes.

When learning activities are authentic, students see the significance of what they are learning because the tasks mirror real-life experiences - activities that personally relate to students and their world. Students explore, discover, discuss, and construct concepts that involve their world.

They learn to think critically, analyze information, communicate ideas, reach logical conclusions, collaborate with others, and create multiple solutions. The true goal of authentic learning is to help students find relevance in their learning and to apply what they have learned in the world.

Dr. Tony Knight Superintendent

4

5

PFC Update President’s Message Dear Parents and Friends of OPHS,

Thanks go to the families who joined us for College Knowledge Night, we hope that you and your student received useful information and tips for the college planning process. A huge Thank you to Jean Hawkins who spearheaded this amazing event.

Thank you to Stacey Lindenau and Bryan Martin for keeping all our emergency supplies fresh and updated.

Our Adult Enrichment for the Winter Session is now open and we have some amazing classes. Please see the web site to register.

Our next PFC General Meeting will be on Wednesday, November 7th at 7 :00 pm in room G-9. The meeting will highlight our OPHS counselors, what their roll is and how they help our kids. And, of course we will have a report from Principal Buchanan.

On behalf of the PFC, we would like to wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

November is a month for giving thanks for all we have and with this in mind I would like to thank several parents who have given much of their time to PFC projects!

A huge thank you to Barbara Shubin-Galaif and Leslie Medina for all of their hard work on the Student Directory and PFC Membership. This was a tremendous task and we so appreciate your countless hours and attention to detail.

The online directory is ready and for those of you who are PFC members, you should have received your login information. The printed directory will follow in a few weeks.

Thank you to Lydia Saravis for organizing and collecting No Frills donations. This is also a huge undertaking and her time is greatly appreciated. As mentioned earlier you can still donate to the PFC No Frills, the forms are on line and your donation is tax deductible.

I would like to thank Shelly Resnick for organizing all the spring evetns: Catalyst SAT and ACT boot camp and the MOCK ACT, MOCK SAT and the Senior Writing Seminar. We had a record number of students signing up for these events.

— Best wishes, Gillian Miller, PFC President

6

Golden State Seal Merit Diploma The following 171 Seniors have demonstrated Mastery of the High School curriculum by scoring 370 or above on six STAR tests including U.S. History, ELA, Math, and Science. This Honor will be recognized by a special Golden State Merit Seal affixed to these students' High School Diploma Adams, Madeline Adivi, Benjamin Agapiou, Haley Andersen, Emma Archer, Alexandra Bagamian, Nicholas Berner, Claire Bernstein, Brian Berweiler, Cole Bidgoli, Sam Billig, Nicholas Brand, Abigail Breed, Geoffrey Brooks, Kennedy Brown, Maia Brown, Savanna Bucknovitz, Sarah Camhi, Justin Carlson, Christopher Carman, Richard Carmichael, Katharine Chang, Albert Chen, Brian Chen, Valerie Cheng, Annie Chin, Hannah Ching, Lelaina Chiu, Jerren Christian, Madeline Chuba, Kirsten Chung, Kay Claxton, Christopher Cohen, Zachary Conners, Kelly Convery, Kai Coufal, Libby Davila, Blake Decker, Celine Delgado, Dani Desai, Hemaxi Doheney, Keldan Duarte, Julia Duerfeldt, Austin

Klein, Jacob Kopecky, Eve Krauss, Chloe Langford, Rebecca Levine, Althea Lewin, Michelle Linick, Noah Logan, Emily Lopez, Vanessa Lu, Allen Ma, Kelsey Maddali, Sai Maholchic, Jennifer Malavalli, Harsha Markham, Ian Marshak, Jake Martino, Taylor Matsumoto, Erin McAlpin, Tracy McKeegan, Kathleen Merat, Meesha Miller, Michael Mirfendereski, Nahal Monina, Rachel Moon, Austin Movich, Catherine Myers, Alexander Myers, Emily Nakamura, Shawn Nguyen, Kelsey Nigam, Nirupam Nisnevich, Jacob Ong, Vivian Pagliarulo, Harrison Panchapakesan, Avyay Parr, Taryn Parrone, Scott Pinhas, Vered Principe, Nicholas Radson, Alexa Rashba, Noah Ream, Cameron Reifman, Jonathan

Dunlay, James Duong, Alyssa Earp, Calvin Ebert, Michael Elior, Aharonit Fauver, Theodore Feuer, Dana Fisher, Caitlin Forrest, Spencer Gam, Alexander Gee, Amanda Gerstenberger, Jack Goldstein, Benjamin Gordon, Kevin Gordon, Rachel Gordon, Rebecca Gove, Delaney Green, Paige Greenberg, Leah Greer, MacKenzie Grunberg, Brandon Gu, Lilian Hale, Jamie Halthore, Meghana Hans, Madhav Harnett, Samuel Havive, Reuven Herdegen, Nicolette Hsiong, Rachel Hsu, Eric Hughes, Nicholas Irwin, Hayden Isaacson, Daniel James, Jazlyn Johnson, Hayden Jones, Eric Jordan, Burdette Jun, Joshua Kaidin, Melissa Karkay Selea, Naor Kaushik, Vaibhav Kellenberger, Kyle Kim, Alexander

7

Reilly, Zachary Ribons, Ross Rickard, Madeline Roth, Cheyne Sadwick, Kayla Sauer, Austin Schechter, Lazarus Schroeder, Aaron Scott, Alyssa Sears, Kyle Sexton, David Shao, Norbert Shapiro, Dylan Shinde, Ashwin Slajchert, James Sloan, Erinn Smith, Justin Snyder, Jordan Stanton, Jake Strauch, Monica Straughan, Mary Sutarwala, Arwa Tamiyasu, Erik Tang, Chun Yao Tang, Stephanie Taylor, Andrew Taylor, Jeremy Teebor, Aaron Thedinga, Matthew Toczauer, Christopher Tso, Chandler Vetti, Joseph Wang, Ellice Weitzman, Jordan Welin, Troy Wu, Tiffany Yan, Laura Yeow, Edward Young, Jonathan Zamfir, Lauren Zandian, Richard Zhao, Amy

OPHS THANKS

JoAnn Tattersall, Kelly McGugan & The Tattersall Team of Active Real Estate

JoAnn Tattersall & Kelly McGugan sponsor Oak Park High School’s “All Call,” our computerized phone system A vital link to our OPHS families!

JoAnn Tattersall

Kelly McGugan

Broker/Owner, GRI, SFR Cell: 818.370.7688 www.tattersallteam.com

Tattersall Team Cell: 818.207.7408 www.tattersallteam.com

The Principal’s Message

Continued from page 2

Oak Park High School has all the elements necessary to continue to build our college going culture.

We have a governing board that supports college counseling, we have a strong academic college prep program, we have hard–working students and inspiring teachers, we have community support par excellence.

And while we must continue to provide programs that serve all of our students’ college and career options, we must also continue to strive to set the expectation early on that all of our students can prepare to attend and be successful in college.

— Sincerely, Kevin Buchanan, Principal 8

No Frills Donations Appreciated Thank you to the following families for their generous donations to our 2012 No Frills Campaign. Without their contributions, the PFC could not continue to support Oak Park High School teachers and students.

Aggarwal Ahdoot Alexander Anderson Annino Aoki Appelrouth Arsht Asher Aviram Bagamian Balen Ballas Bear Bender Berman Berner Bhatia Bochan Boganim Bongiovi Briton-Jones Bronstein R.Brown S.Brown Buckley Bulusu Burger Burke Byrne Camhi Cappos Carrillo Castillo Catone M.Chang Chasin Cheney Chiu Chow Chrisakis Clark Claxton Cleary D.Cohen J.Cohen

Eagle s

S.Cohen Conklin Cook Corbitt Croy Cruz Dave DeGrinis Delgado Detamore DiPaolo Doheney Dorian Drews Dunn Ebuen Eichstadt Eisenberg Elayne Feemster Felder Fields Fletcher Fong Frame Freedberg Frey Friedman Futterman Gage Galaif Gebhard Gee Geldin Gerber Ghaffari Godsick Goldstein Gordon Gorelik Gorenstein Gortner Green Greenwald Greer Continued on page 8

WILDFIRES CONDITIONS: Hot Temperatures, Low Humidity, Dry Fuel, Santa Ana Winds WILDFIRE: Deciding to Evacuate Early or Stay and Defend Are you physically fit to fight spot fires for up to 10 hours or more? w Are you and your family able to cope with intense heat, smoke, noise, and stress of a brushfire while defending your home? w Can you protect your home while caring for your family members? w Do you have the necessary equipment to effectively fight a fire? w Does your home have at least 100 feet of cleared defensible space? w Is your home constructed to resist fire?

If you answered “No” to any of these questions, plan to Evacuate Early when instructed by professional first responders.

The above was taken from the Ventura County Fire Department’s “Ready, Set, Go!” Wildfire Action Plan http://fire.countyofventura.org.

Stay Alert-Stay Informed of Weather Conditions-Have an Evacuation Plan For questions and to register email Di Starzak: DiStarzak@sbcglobal.net 9

OPUSD President’s Message Dear Parents and Community Members, The school year is well under way although the weather has been more summer than fall. We have dealt with a norovirus at Medea Creek Middle School and I cannot compliment the school and district staff enough. They worked with Ventura County Public Health and the County Medical Officer and handled it beautifully. Medea Creek Middle School was also named a California Distinguished Schools “School To Watch” again this year.

At our October Board meeting we approved the annual teacher assignment report and heard a report on student assessments. We discussed test results by grade level and subject area. Oak Park students outperformed the rest of Ventura County. We had the highest district, high school, middle school, and elementary school scores. The Oak Park USD mean API score was 928 for the 2011-2012 school year.

We also reviewed the California Healthy Kids Survey results. This assessment reviews key indicators of risk and well-being. It is administered every other year to students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11. To have more valid results we need more participation by our elementary students. Written parental consent is required

for 5th grade students to participate. In grades 7, 9, and 11 where parents who want their students excluded need to make a request our participation rate was much higher and therefore the results much more useful.

We also discussed and approved change orders and a notice of completion on more of the summer repair and modernization projects.

Board goals were reviewed and updated and we approved and now have for the first time a Board Governance Handbook to guide us in addition to District Policies.

Policies amended concerned student health and social services, use of school facilities, recruitment and selection (of employees), civil and legal rights (of employees), professional standards, employees with infectious diseases, and Bylaws of the Board, closed session purposes and agendas. We also adopted policies on employee notifications and temporary/substitute personnel.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and until next month my best to all of you.

— Jan Iceland OPUSD Board President Eagle s

No Frills Donations (continued) Gunn Haines Harris Hassanieh Hasserjian Heald Hedlund Helfand Herbert Holmes Horwitz Howard Hsiong Jamison Jasso Jha Johnson

Julius Kalinke Katz Kawamoto Kealer Keefer Khaw Kopecky Kristensen Kubik Laifman Lam Lamb Lawson Lee Levanon Levin

Liu Maholchic Mandell Markarian Marshall Martinelli McCleery Medina Meng Mertzel Meyer Miller Miremadi Mogavero Moghimi Mohabeer Mouzaya 10

Myers Myerson Neville Nguyen O’Connor Okimoto-Wheatley Ong Ornstein Paul Peters M.Phillips R.Phillips Piurkowsky Powers Ramirez Resnick Continued on page 9

Advanced Peer Counseling News Hello Oak Park!

This October came to an end with Awareness Week 2012. Advanced Peer Counseling organized a week to promote the awareness of issues that students may face on a daily basis as well as offer resources to students seeking support.

Every day of the week brought new activities, and every new activity aimed to encourage students to step outside their comfort zone, be aware, and think about problems that their peers may be facing. The activities include guest speakers such as Cheryl Hunter and Jodi Struck, JSA debate regarding media affect on selfconfidence, G.L.I.D.E. presentation, Ability Awareness activity, classroom presentations by Advanced Peer Counselors, and Slam Poetry Night.

Beginning Peer Counseling (Grades 9-12) is a weekly student-run training program to prepare potential Advanced Peer Counselors. Beginning Peer Counselors learn basics such as conflict mediation involving their peers and other important counseling tools.

BPC meets every Thursday at lunch in the OPHS gym. It is truly a great way to learn as well as meet new people. The last day to sign up for this program is Thursday, November 8th at lunch in the gym.

Please contact club president Kyra Stevens at: kyra-mandy@hotmail.com with any questions.

Recently, tragedy struck our community. News of the death of beloved teacher, Jim Benton, reached Oak Park on Monday, October 22nd. If you know of someone in need of assistance, please do not hesitate to bring that to the attention of teachers, school counselors, or Advanced Peer Counselors.

Peer Counselors are always available to talk!

There are request forms online as well as in the Counseling Office.

We wish you a very happy November! — Sincerely, Kayla Sadwick and Zack Reilly Advanced Peer Counseling Liaisons Eagle s

BPC also includes: - Discussions on certain social topics, current events in the community - Provides a safe environment to open up about personal matters - Bonding and self-exercises: we consider this to be the most essential part of this program because we firmly believe that one cannot help others without helping themselves first

No Frills Donations (continued) Ridinio Rifkind Rinkov Risley Rivera Robertson Rochon Romanov Rosen Rosenberg Rozanski Sahley Salinger Santa Cruz Saravis Saucedo Schapiro Schlatter Schneider Schnurr Schroeder Schwartz Scott

Tips for current Beginning Peer Counselors: - Bring your lunch, don't buy: this conserves essential time on meeting days - Participate in as many activities as possible: this will not only prove your commitment to the program, but also help you to become the best counselor you can be - Reach out to others: take the initiative to help the people around you, because it truly makes a difference

11

Serafica-Stermer Shaevitz Shanahan Shao Shemtov Sholty Silver Silverstone Simons Sklar Smith Snader Snyder Stark Steinhardt Stillo Strauch Tang Taylor Thedinga Thiruvamkulam Tobias Continued on page 11

Eagle Athletics Update As the fall season winds down, here are the standings as of Oct. 29: Varsity JV Frosh League Overall

Football

1-2

4-5

Girls Tennis 2-6

4-12

Girls VB 4-8

8-19

League Overall

1-2

League Overall

1-8 *

4-8

4-12

5-6

5-10

*record not kept because full matches not played Cross Country: Boys Varsity: Boys JV:

Tied for 1st with league finals to go In 1st with league finals to go

Girls Varsity: Girls JV:

In 1st with league finals to go Tied for 1st with league finals to go

Best of luck to our programs remaining with the potential play-off spots at stake (Football and Cross Country). Congratulations to all programs for their great efforts this year. Thanks to all who have come out to support our fall sports teams!!

WINTER SPORTS – Try-outs and practices are beginning and once teams are selected, here are some important dates to be aware of: Final Clearance for Boys/Girls Soccer and Boys/Girls Basketball will be on MONDAY, NOV. 19th BEGINNING AT 2:30 pm AT THE STUENT STORE Times for each sport will be listed on the web site and announced to players by their coach. All information about what is needed for final clearance is on our athletic web site. Athletes must get cleared on this date or risk the possibility of sanctions. (Someone else may clear an athlete if they are unavailable to attend but they should have all the athlete’s items with them for clearance.)

Mandatory Winter Sports Parent Meeting Monday, November 19, 7 p.m., Gym This is a mandatory meeting for parents of any athlete on one of our winter sports teams.

As always, if you have questions/concerns regarding athletics, please feel free to e-mail us at apettit@oakparkusd.org or call 818-735-3303.

- Ann Pettit and Dick Billingsley, Co-Athletic Directors

How Sweet Is The Dance Team…?

Dance Team will be raising money by selling See's Candy from 10/24-11/27.

A portion of each candy item sold goes to the team.

We are selling various candy items that are the same prices as in the See's Candy stores so avoid the holiday rush and buy from the dance team!

For more information please contact the coach at: katkins@oakparkusd.org 12

Oak Park High School

oakparkhs

13

Yearbook News & Notes Senior Personal Ads - from family to student Be a part of the OPHS Yearbook Tradition Your opportunity to purchase a Senior Personal Ad with a special, personalized message from you to your graduating senior is NOW!

Personal Ad Pricing Personal Ad Form Next Senior Personal Ad deadline is Monday, December 10th Last Senior Personal Ad deadline is Monday, January 7th No Frills Donations (continued) Tolentino Too Torigian Townsend Treitman Trnavsky Verma Vosguanian Wada Waldman

Wang Welin Whiteley Wiederspahn Wilson Wing Wu Wulf Wyner Zaitlen Zhang

Thank you to the following families for their generous donations to our 2012 No Frills Campaign. Without their contributions, the PFC could not continue to support Oak Park High School teachers and students.

OPUSD is launching a new “No Idling� policy.

If you are on campus and waiting longer than 30 seconds - TURN OFF YOUR ENGINE!

Click Here to use PayPal to make your No Frills Donation!

Click Here for more information 14

15

College News Important Dates & Deadlines for Seniors v November 16th: This is the deadline for students to request a letter of recommendation for any application with a deadline prior to January 15th. Counselors and Teachers must have a minimum of 3 weeks lead time for all recommendations! The Counselor's Checklist must be completed in order to request a recommendation from any teacher or counselor. v January 1st: Federal Financial Aid applications (FAFSA’s) may only be submitted after this date. Paper forms are available in the Counseling Office now. However, the preferred method for submission is via internet through their website at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ v January 9th: 6:30-8:30pm (G9): Financial Aid Workshop to assist students and parents with the FAFSA and other aspects of the Financial Aid process. v Feb. 15, 2013: Some colleges also require the CSS Profile, found online at https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp; complete the CSS PROFILE before your earliest college or program priority filing date. At the very latest, you must submit your PROFILE Application by February 15th. v March 2nd: Deadline to submit the Cal Grant GPA verification form to apply. For more information about Cal grants to the following link on our website: http://www.oakparkusd.org/page/1080 v March: is when most UC and CSU schools begin notifying applicants of acceptance or denial. Berkeley and UCLA are the last to send notices (surprise, surprise)! v Spring Break: Spring Break is the time to make final visits to schools that have made offers of acceptance.

This is also the month students will notify most schools of their decisions. Information about scheduling trips to UC & CSU campuses can be found at the OPHS Counseling "UC & CSU Admissions" web page. v May 1st: Commitment Deadline! Students must formally confirm acceptance or declination of an offer of admission by this date. v May & June: are critical months for seniors because last semester grades do count! Spring semester classes (that were listed on the student’s admission application) that are dropped or not passed with at least a "C" may result in a college rescinding its offer. Most competitive universities expect seniors to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in the senior year.

ORDERING OPHS TRANSCRIPTS

16

Some important notes to remember about transcripts: • The OPHS Counselors must meet with students before they submit their first transcript order. This is to insure transcripts are being ordered correctly, and to make sure they aren't being ordered for schools that do not require them. Once the student’s counselor has reviewed the process with them and signed off on the first order, it is not necessary to get approval for subsequent orders.

• Most UC & CSU's campuses do not require transcripts at the time you apply. However, CSU's have begun situationally asking for them so you should always double-check to make sure!

• Most private/independent colleges and universities will require an official high school transcript (though 6 semesters) as part of their application process.

• Most Junior Colleges will require an official high school transcript as part of their application process.

• Many scholarship applications will also require an official transcript.

• February will be the month when most private/independent schools require students to send Mid-Year Grade reports (i.e. 7th semester transcripts). Some state schools may also request transcripts at this time if they are seeking supplemental information. For those schools who will require them you should pre-order them and submit your requests at the same time you bring in all of your materials with the "Counselor's Application Checklist".

• Once you commit to attend a school you will be asked to send a final (8 semester) transcript to that school!

Nowadays, the majority of transcripts are sent electronically through Naviance. In order to do so you must give the school an online authorization. This is accomplished by you registering with the Common Application at: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx You will then use the Common App username and password to complete the FERPA (Family Privacy Act Waiver) in Naviance. In other words if you might also be requesting letters of recommendation later you must waive your right to view them, and you must authorize the school to send your transcript to colleges, universities, scholarships, the NCAA etc.

17

Transcript Ordering Procedures: Students need to check the “colleges I’m applying to” page in Naviance to determine what kind of document transmission format your school(s) prefer.

This is a Common App school and will require mid-year transcript. All transcripts will be transmitted electronically to these schools.

This is an electronic school. If they require a transcript or any other supporting documentation it can be transmitted electronically.

This is not an electronic school. If they require a transcript or other supporting documentation it must be mailed via USPS. If your school or destination is not on the Naviance.docufide list then you may either provide a stamped pre-addressed envelope to the Registrar, or we will put the transcript in a sealed envelope for you to pick up and mail yourself. Please review the items at the bottom of the page for this option.

Please check the following web link to view the list of destinations that accept electronic transmission of documents: http://naviance.docufide.com/general/edocs_destinations If your school/destination is on this list make sure you have added it to your list of “active applications” in the “colleges” section of Naviance. Note: you must still pay for electronically submitted transcripts.

If this transcript is for the NCAA please make sure you have added the NCAA to your list of “active applications” in the “colleges” section of Naviance, and provide your clearinghouse registration number below.

If your school or destination is not on the naviance.docufide list then you may either provide a stamped pre-addressed envelope to the Registrar, or we will put the transcript in a sealed envelope for you to pick up and mail yourself. Please review the options below, and indicate which you prefer on the Transcript Request form.

Check the option(s) that apply to your transcript order. ____ I have reviewed the electronic transmission information above and understand that my transcript will be submitted electronically. Please indicate (ED) below next to the schools/NCAA destinations that will be sent electronically. ____ Hold in the Counseling Office for me to pick-up. I understand that I am responsible for picking up and mailing the transcript(s). Please indicate (H) below next to the schools/destinations that you want your transcript “held’ for. ____ Please mail my transcript(s) and any other related documents in the pre-addressed, stamped envelope(s) I have provided to the OPHS Registrar. I understand that I am responsible for putting the correct mailing address and postage on the envelope(s). I will leave the return address blank on the envelopes I provide. Please indicate (PA) below next to the schools/destinations that you have provided preaddressed, stamped envelopes for. ____ Give transcript(s) to my Counselor as part of my college/scholarship/summer program application(s).

I have discussed this option with my Counselor. Please indicate (C) below next to the schools/destinations that you want given to your Counselor.

Continued on next page 18

• Please list all the schools, NCAA and/or other destinations you want transcripts for below.

• Make sure to include the corresponding code (ED, H, PA or C) for each item.

• For the NCAA please provide your Clearinghouse registration number.

1. _______________________________ 2. _______________________________ 3. _______________________________ 4. _______________________________ 5. _______________________________

6._________________________________ 7._________________________________ 8. ________________________________ 9. ________________________________ 10._________________________________

Download/Print the form below, complete it and take it with you to the Student Store to pay for your transcripts.

Seniors, for initial transcript orders this form is part of your required "Counselor's Meeting". Your counselor must review and sign-off on your transcript requests before you take the form to the Student Store to pay.

Print Transcript Request Form in PDF

19