EG uidance February 26

							E-Guidance …………………………from the Supervisor of Guidance
Tina M. Renga……………………………………………………….………..February 26, 2009



2009-2010 Program of Studies - Scheduling
Yesterday, all students received their own copy of the 2009-2010 Program of Studies and Scheduling Control Sheets. Please
begin to have conversations with your child about courses for next year and pay close attention to the prerequisites listed under
each course. All Scheduling Control Sheets must be turned in to your child’s Advisory teacher by March 9th. Scheduling will
begin on March 10th and MHS students will individually meet with their guidance counselor over the course of three weeks
through their physical education classes to select courses for next year. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach
out to the guidance department.


Naviance Family Connection for Grade 10 Students                          
Students in grades 10 will receive their Naviance Codes this Friday, February 27th through their English classes.
Counselors will be visiting classes to provide an overview of this amazing software. Family Connection is
Montgomery High School’s preferred management tool for all of your child’s college, career and future planning.
In addition, your child can manage all of his/her college application tasks through Naviance in the senior year of
high school. We highly encourage your family to use this wonderful tool!

Students in grade 10 will complete a personality inventory called Do What Your Are! Do What You Are differs from
other programs in several important ways. Perhaps most notable is that other programs are based on the belief that
the best career decisions result from matching students’ values, skills, and interests with specific jobs. But in reality,
all three of these are quite fluid in young people and often change significantly as they grow older. This program is
based on Personality Type – the innate way people naturally see the world and make decisions -- a set of basic
drives and motivations that remain constant throughout a person’s life. Learning about their Personality Types
provides students with accurate and invaluable insights about themselves and their career-related needs. This enables
them to make the most informed and satisfying college and career decisions. Personality Type is the foundation of
this program because people are happiest and most successful in jobs that allow them to use their greatest natural
gifts. Personality Type is the best way of determining what those gifts are, and in which occupations individuals find
the greatest opportunity for expression.


United Scholarship and PTSA Applications Available
        Preparation is underway for the annual Montgomery High School Senior Awards Night, which is scheduled to be held
on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Montgomery Performing Arts Center. Montgomery High School is fortunate to
have the support of several local individuals as well as businesses and organizations who will be offering scholarship
opportunities to the graduating class of 2009. Every senior who completes a Montgomery United Scholarship Application
Packet will be eligible for the various scholarships listed in the packet. This year, the PTSA is using a separate single-page
application for the PTSA Scholarship.

        Applications for the MHS United Scholarship and the PTSA Scholarship must be typed. Both applications are
available on-line. Please visit the MHS Guidance Website for directions and corresponding forms. The application(s) must be
turned in to Mrs. Gebhart in the Guidance office by the deadline, March 16, 2009.
AP Registration
The 2008-2009 AP registration forms have been distributed through Advisory classrooms. Students who are interested in
taking an AP test should register now. The open registration period is from February 9th – March 13th. The cost is $89.00 per
examination. Late Registration: March 16th – March 20th. There is a $25.00 late fee applied to the registration cost. Please
make checks payable to MHS Guidance. We cannot accept cash. If you need another registration form and information
packet, please come to the guidance department and see Mrs. Talarick.


College Information and Mid-Year Reports to Colleges and Universities
Midyear Grade Reports have been mailed to colleges/universities as requested by your sons/daughters! We hope to hear many
positive things in the upcoming months about acceptances to schools where your sons/daughters believe they can grow and
learn. Please keep the counselors updated as our data base, Naviance, is a valuable resource for our upcoming classes. If your
son/daughter is placed on a waitlist - we encourage them to follow the instructions provided in the college's letter. It usually
requires a letter, sent from the student, reiterating their interest to attend that school. Please attend to deadlines!

Colleges and universities have many more applicants than “spots” and are not forgiving to those who miss deadlines or do not
complete applications! In the interest of future MHS students, please remind your sons/daughters to withdraw incomplete
applications. And, if you were accepted to an Early Decision/Early Action school, please contact the other colleges and
universities to which you have applied and withdraw your application. Your efforts will continue to allow Montgomery School
District to maintain the respect and integrity attained over the years! Please remember to update your counselor on acceptance,
denial and waitlist decisions.


High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA): March 3, 4 and 5
The HSPA will be administered according to state procedures during the morning hours on March 3, 4 and 5. The test includes
Mathematics (March 3rd), Language Arts Literacy I (March 4th) and Language Arts Literacy II (March 5th). The test is a
graduation requirement. Please remind your child to get a good night’s sleep on the evenings prior to testing and to eat a well-
balanced breakfast. There will be a delayed opening on the three days mentioned for grades 9, 10 and 12 in order to administer
the HSPA to grade 11 students and to Grade 12 students who must retake the assessment. All students in grades 9, 10 and 12
who are not involved in testing will begin their school day at 9:38 AM and should be at their bus stop 2-hours later than
normal. Students who are being tested should arrive at their normal time. All students who are testing are reminded to bring a
calculator. The best calculator for a student to use is the calculator which the student’s uses every day.


Upcoming Events
The George Washington University invites parents, guardians and students to an informational reception. The Central NJ
reception will take place at The Peddie School on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 p.m. Members of the GW staff will be traveling
throughout the country to talk to students about the academic offerings and student life options available at GW. Admissions
representatives, faculty, current students, and alumni will be available to share their GW experiences and answer questions. A
list of events is available at http://gwired.gwu.edu/adm/reception. Students may register using the GW Admissions Activity
Center. If you have any questions, please contact: gwadm@gwu.edu. In addition, you may contact the admissions officer
responsible for our area:

Dr. Kathryn M. Napper
Executive Dean for Undergraduate Admissions
Office of Admissions
The George Washington University
2121 I Street, NW, Suite 201
Washington, DC 20052
Colleges That Change Lives will be hosting student/parent information sessions in NYC this coming May. They
will be at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania on Monday, May 18 at 7PM. For additional information please go to
their web-site: www.CTCL.org.

MHS Career Day
We are still accepting forms from parents and/or community members who would like to serve as presenters for the
May 1, 2009 Career Day Event at MHS. Please contact dmcmahon@mtsd.k12.nj.us (Diane McMahon, MHS
School Counselor) for more information. Contact information may be submitted until March 15th.

Carla Hampton & the Career Day Event Committee



Miss any one of the Guidance E-Blasts? Please visit the guidance website for all archived versions! Please continue
to check the “Opportunities” and “Scholarship” links often. Thanks for Reading!