YOUR
COLLEGE CONNECTION JANUARY 2018
Kentuckians have chance to win iPad Pro in February Kentucky residents have another chance to win a new iPad from KHEAA in a sweepstakes being held through Facebook in February. The contest runs from 12 a.m. on Feb. 1 through 12 a.m. on March 1.
IN THIS ISSUE 2 - KDA poster, essay contest 2 - USDE seeking input on rural schools, education agencies 3 - Take verification seriously 3 - Tax tips for students 4 - SME seeking entries for manufacturing contest 4 - Shakespeare competition open 5 - 2019 Teacher of the Year nominations open 5 - Private, home school students can use ILPs 6 - KET Young Writers contest
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To enter, a Kentuckian must visit the KHEAA Facebook page, click on the “Giveaway� tab on the left side of the KHEAA Facebook page and answer one question about college. On a mobile device, the giveaway post is pinned to the top of the KHEAA Facebook page. KHEAA will not share or sell any personal information to a third party. Only Kentucky residents are eligible. Employees of KHEAA or its sister agency, the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation, and their immediate family members are not eligible. Prior winners are also not eligible. The drawing will be held in early March, and the winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond by email within three calendar days to receive the iPad Pro. If no response is received within three days, another winner will be drawn and notified by email.
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KDA sponsoring 2018 poster, essay contest Kentucky students can submit original essays, digital images and works of art as part of the 2018 Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s annual poster and essay contest. The contest highlights the importance of agriculture to Kentucky’s way of life and future. The theme for 2018 is Kentucky Agriculture: From Farm Gate to Dinner Plate. Statewide poster and essay winners from kindergarten through 12th grade will be chosen, and an overall digital winner will be selected. Cash prizes will be presented to the winners at an awards ceremony. Winning entries may be displayed in the Commissioner’s Office in Frankfort, at the 2018 Kentucky State Fair and on the KDA website. Entries must be postmarked by Monday, April 2, and mailed to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, c/o Elizabeth Gordon, 111 Corporate Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601. A completed entry form must be taped or glued to the back of each entry. If all information on the entry form is not completed, the submission will be disqualified. Winners will be notified by May 4. For more information, including complete contest rules and entry forms, visit www.kyagr.com or contact Elizabeth Gordon at (502) 782-4125 or elizabeth.gordon@ky.gov.
USDE seeking input about rural schools, education agencies The U.S. Department of Education is seeking comments from the public on how the department can improve its actions that affect rural schools and local education agencies. The comments will be used for a report the department will issue about how it will increase the participation and consideration of rural schools and local education agencies in developing federal policies and regulations. The deadline for submitting comments is Feb. 20. Comments can be submitted through www.regulations.gov (preferred) or by mail or email. Mailed comments should be sent to Michael Chamberlain, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 5E260, Washington, DC 20202. Emailed comments should be sent to rural@ed.gov. For more information, contact Michael Chamberlain at the address above; by phone at (202) 453-7527; or by email at Michael.chamberlain@ed.gov.
Students should take FAFSA verification process seriously The federal government requires many students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to verify the information on the FAFSA. The students are chosen by the U.S. Department of Education. Used to apply for most federal and many state student aid programs, the FAFSA asks detailed questions about the income and resources of students. Parents are required to provide their information as well if their children are dependent students. Students are considered dependent if they are undergraduate students under 24 years old, not married, have no dependents of their own, are not veterans or were not orphans or wards of the court until age 19. The college or, in some cases, an agency working with the college will contact students to let them know if their data is being verified. Students and parents need to take that process seriously. Students chosen for verification cannot receive their financial aid until they have completed the process. As soon as they are contacted, they should provide any information that is required. Putting it off will only lead to frustration if the process isn’t finished when classes are ready to start. If students have decided not to attend a college that asked them for verification, they should let the college know so it will stop requesting information.
Tax tips for students Income tax season is here, and students may want to consider these tips to help the process go more smoothly. Although students may not have earned enough to be required to file, they may be able to get a refund if their employer withheld taxes from their pay. Before students file, they should discuss the situation with their parents. If parents can claim a student as a dependent, the parents could save hundreds or thousands of dollars on their taxes. Students and parents may be able to take advantage of these programs on their federal taxes: • American Opportunity Credit, available for the first four years of college. • Lifetime Learning Credit, available if a taxpayer or a dependent is taking college courses to acquire or improve job skills. • Tuition and fees deduction, which lets taxpayers deduct qualified education expenses paid during the year for themselves or a dependent. The expenses must be for college. • Student loan interest deduction, which lets people deduct up to $2,500 per year on federal taxes for interest paid on federal student loans. For more detailed information about federal programs, go to www.irs.gov to download the free Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education. Kentucky also offers a tuition tax credit for undergraduate students who attend state colleges. Tax rules may change from year to year, so make sure you have the most up-to-date information before filing.
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4 SME seeks entries for Digital Manufacturing Challenge
ESU Kentucky Shakespeare Competition call for entries
SME, a professional organization for manufacturing engineers, is accepting registrants for its 2018 Digital Manufacturing Challenge.
Students, teachers and high schools are invited to participate in the Kentucky Branch of the EnglishSpeaking Union’s National Shakespeare Competition.
The challenge is to create innovative automotive after-market parts, chemicals, equipment and accessory designs that use digital design, additive and subtractive technologies.
Students will read, analyze, perform and recite Shakespearean monologues and sonnets at the school, community and national levels. Local and state competition will be held in February and March.
Teams must create visual prototypes and recommend and justify process and material selections. High school and college students are eligible to submit designs and will be judged separately by a panel of industry experts based on: • Functionality and durability. • Cost-benefit/value analysis. • Use of direct digital manufacturing material and processes. • Design integration and innovation. • Marketing. • Social and environmental impact. The winning team will receive a travel stipend, complimentary student memberships and passes to the SME conference April 23–26 in Fort Worth, Texas. Submissions are due Feb. 26. For more details and entry forms, visit www.sme.org/digitalmanufacturing-challenge/.
The national competition will be held in April in New York City. The first prize in the national contest is a scholarship and airfare to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Young Actor’s Summer School in London, England. The second-place winner will receive a scholarship and airfare to attend the American Shakespeare Center Theatre Camp in Staunton, Va. The third-place winner receives $500. To enter, complete the 2018 School Participation Form by Feb. 23. Schools must notify the Kentucky branch about school winners by Feb. 26. The state finals will begin at noon on March 4 at Wyatt Hall at Bellarmine University, 2001 Newburg Road, Louisville. Visit www.esuus.org/esu/programs/shakespeare_ competition/ for more details about the competition.
Nominations open for 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year awards. The awards are sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline Inc. Nominations may be submitted electronically at kentuckytoy.com and are due by Feb. 15. Any fulltime public school teacher in the state with at least three years of experience is eligible. Teachers may be nominated by students, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community who has an interest in honoring an outstanding educator. All nominees must submit a formal application by March 1. Judging will take place in March by a panel of education professionals from around the state. As many as 24 Valvoline Teacher Achievement Award winners will be announced in the spring. After site visits with nine semifinalists in April and personal interviews with the top three candidates, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be announced in Frankfort. At that time, all 24 teachers will be honored with cash awards and other mementos. Teacher Achievement Award winners will receive a cash gift of $500; two of the three finalists will receive a cash gift of $3,000; and the Teacher of the Year will receive a cash prize of $10,000, along with an ambassadorship opportunity. The Kentucky Teacher of the Year will then represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Private, home school students can use free ILPs Kentucky students who attend private schools or who are home schooled have free access to Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) from KHEAA. KHEAA works with Xello (formerly called Career Cruising), which provides the ILP the state uses in all public schools, to give private and home school students in grades 6–12 the same planning tool. ILPs let students explore careers, set up education plans, create résumés and establish personal goals to become college and career ready. A private or home school student who wants to set up an ILP should log in on kheaa.com. Private schools that want to set up accounts for their students should contact their regional outreach counselor. Contact information can be found behind the Counselors tab at kheaa.com by selecting KHEAA Outreach Services, then Outreach Counselors.
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6 KET Young Writers contest seeks entries Students in grades K–8 are invited to submit stories and poems for the 2018 KET Young Writers Contest. The contest, which runs through March 30, encourages students to submit their original stories, poems and illustrations. The categories are: • Grades K–3, Young Writers Illustrated Story Contest. Stories from kindergartners and firstgraders should be between 50 and 200 words. Second- and third-graders should write stories between 100 and 300 words. • Grades 4 and 5, Young Writers Short Story Contest. Stories should have 400 to 800 words. • Grades 6–8, Young Writers Poetry Contest. Poems should have between 25 and 250 words.
Scholarship Spotlight Kentucky High School Athletic Association: Whitaker Bank/ KHSAA Sweet 16 Scholarship Eligibility: Must be a graduating high school senior; have participated in at least one KHSAA sport or sport activity; demonstrate high academic achievement, leadership potential and community service; and submit an online application, letter of recommendation and photo. Award: $1,500, nonrenewable Number: Four Deadline: Feb. 24 Contact: Counselor or www.khsaa.org
Entries must be received by March 30. To enter, students must submit original, singleauthor work. Only one entry per child is permitted. Illustrated story entries must include at least five original illustrations. Illustrated stories and short stories may be nonfiction, fiction, prose or poetry. Complete rules and contest entry forms are available at KET.org/writerscontest. KET will select winners at each grade level and award prizes. Winners will be notified no later than May 30. First-, second- and third-place entries in each grade level will be published online on the KET website.
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What is your new year’s school resolution? 54% Applying for Scholarships 32% Take the ACT 14% Try to get straight A’s
December Poll Results Senior Planner February/March Submit midyear grades if the colleges you’ve applied to require them. Send in any deposits that are required. If you’ve been accepted by more than one college but haven’t heard from your first choice, contact that school about a decision before you make any nonrefundable deposits to other schools. If you’ve decided on which school to attend, notify that college of your decision. Let any other colleges that have accepted you know about your decision.
ACT National Test Dates Test Date
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