Parent toolkit 2014 pdf

Yeshiva University of Los Angeles Boys High School

New Parent 9th Grade Toolkit 2014-2015 Nagel Family Boys Campus 9760 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 Office: 310.203.3180 www.yulaboys.org 1

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Table of Contents Message from the Head of School!..........................................................................3 Mission Statement!...................................................................................................4 Expected School Wide Learning Results!.................................................................5 Administration Directory!..........................................................................................6 9th Grade Faculty Directory !....................................................................................7 Whom to Contact!.....................................................................................................8 Communication with Teachers!.................................................................................9 9th Grade Courses!..................................................................................................10 STEM and Robotics at YULA !..................................................................................11 9th Grade Sample Schedules!..................................................................................12 Freshman Retreat!....................................................................................................14 Summer Schedule for YULA Mailings!......................................................................14 Athletics!...................................................................................................................15 Extra Curricular Activities!.........................................................................................16 Community Service Opportunities !..........................................................................17 Skills for Your High School Student!.........................................................................18 Time Tips!.................................................................................................................19 College Counseling Program Timeline!....................................................................21 YULA Boys High School Graduation Requirements!................................................22

2

Message from the Head of School May 16, 2014 Welcome to YULA Boys High School! We are thrilled to begin this new chapter in partnership with you! As your son prepare to begin this important journey into high school, you may be feeling a whole host of emotions, ranging from excitement and anticipation, to anxiety and uncertainty. You may be wondering to yourself about how the high school experience works, or about how to best support your son to help them succeed.

We, as an administration and staff, recognize the many challenges students face when starting ninth grade, and we are here to support and help in any way we can. The singular goal that unifies our entire staff is a deep-seated commitment to bringing out the best in each and every child. This “New Parent 9th Grade Toolkit” is designed with this commitment in mind, serving as a helpful guide for what to expect as your child begins high school. Use the toolkit for assistance regarding who to contact in each department, learn about academic requirements and tips for addressing common challenges associated with starting high school, as well as information on extra-curricular opportunities and athletics. In addition, we are providing a realistic sense of the time commitments required in our various programs, so that you can make an informed decision on participating in a manner that allows for academic success.

This toolkit was born out of valuable feedback and discussions with parents like you, and it is our sincere hope that this serves as the opening of what will be an ongoing conversation and partnership between you, the parents, and YULA. On this note, I am reminded of the Mechilta D’Rabbi Yishmael on Parshat Yitro which states ‫כל‬ ‫ התחלות קשות‬typically translated as “All beginnings are difficult.” School, of course, is no exception. But the Kotzker Rebbe interpreted the word ‫ קשות‬homiletically to mean “strong,” with the message that all beginnings can also serve as a source of strength. We look to our relationship with you as parents as a primary source of that strength, and we are confident that, working together, we will help your son start the year in strong fashion and continue “from strength to strength” (Tehillim 84:8), this year, throughout the four years of high school, and beyond, as passionate Jewish leaders.

Best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy, and inspiring summer vacation. We look forward to welcoming you soon!

Sincerely, Rabbi Dov Emerson Head of School

3

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Mission Statement Yeshiva University of Los Angeles High School (YULA) is an Orthodox Jewish school dedicated to cultivating unwavering commitment to Halacha, Torah Hashkafa, outstanding academic achievement, and exemplary moral conduct.

YULA will endeavor to fulfill this mission by: • Inculcating within each student the responsibility of each Jew toward G-d, Torah and all people • Inspiring its students to be spiritually bonded with the Land and State of Israel • Combining Judaic studies with the ideals of the American democratic heritage of freedom, justice, and human dignity • Instilling self-respect and respect for others as a fundamental standard • Fostering intellectual curiosity • Promoting excellent habits of mind including self-discipline, independence, and leadership to prepare them for a rapidly changing world • Encouraging students to participate in service at the school and within the larger community

4

Expected School Wide Learning Results YULA Boys High School will graduate students who are: 1. TORAH OBSERVANT JEWS who demonstrate a commitment to a Torah lifestyle 2. SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS who: • Lead lives committed to Jewish law, Jewish ethics and Jewish morals • Plan and implement projects that improve the spiritual and physical quality of life in both the school community and the larger civic community 3. 21ST CENTURY LEARNERS who: • Can synthesize interdisciplinary knowledge from Torah and secular studies curricula • Are digitally literate • Are prepared for post high school education 4. DEVELOPING HABITS OF MIND including: • Clear communication • Creation and innovation • Collaboration 5. SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY LEADERS who: • Volunteer for leadership roles in the classroom, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and in the community at-large • Participate in activities that teach and foster leadership skills • Initiate student activities based on student interest and need

5

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Administration Directory Rabbi Dov Emerson

Head of School

demerson@yula.org

Rabbi Joseph Schreiber

Principal of Judaic Studies

jschreiber@yula.org

Dr. Paul Soifer

Principal of General Studies

psoifer@yula.org

Rabbi Arye Sufrin

Assistant Principal

asufrin@yula.org

Mr. Joey Small

Director of Institutional Advancement

jsmall@yula.org

Rabbi Shimon Abramczik

Israel Guidance & Director of Student Activities

sabramczik@yula.org

Mr. Shawn Clary

Director of Technology

sclary@yula.org

Mr. Nick Parsons

Director of Education Technology

nparsons@yula.org

Mrs. Judy Posner

Business Manager

jposner@yula.org

Mrs. Anna Glatt

Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing

aglatt@yula.org

Mrs. Chavi Gorman

Administrative Assistant

cgorman@yula.org

Mr. Damien Rodriguez

Director of Athletics

athletics@yula.org

Mrs. Jamie Sitzer

Director of College Counseling

jsitzer@yula.org

Mrs. Ziva Zeharya

Academic Registrar

zzeharya@yula.org

6

9th Grade Faculty Directory Ms. Pam Felcher

English (Chair)

pfelcher@yula.org

Ms. Melissa Everett

English

meverett@yula.org

Dr. Paul Soifer

History (Chair)

psoifer@yula.org

Ms. Suzanne Hertzberg

History

shertzberg@yula.org

Mr. Gregory Zlotin

History

gzlotin@yula.org

Ms. Ziva Plattner

Hebrew (Chair)

zplattner@yula.org

Rabbi Michael Abraham

Hebrew

mabraham@yula.org

Rabbi Eliyahu Stewart

Hebrew

estewart@yula.org

Mrs. Vickie Bellomo

Science (Chair)

vbellomo@yula.org

Dr. Debra Rosser

Science

drosser@yula.org

Ms. Miriam Green

Math (Chair)

mgreen@yula.org

Ms. Elise Cooper

Math

ecooper@yula.org

Ms. Bayramova

Math

lbayramova@yula.org

Mr. Alec Gomez

Math

agomez@yula.org

Rabbi Joseph Schrieber

Mishna & Gemara

jschreiber@yula.org

Rabbi Arye Sufrin

Mishna & Gemara

asufrin@yula.org

Rabbi Aaron Gartner

Chumash

agartner@yula.org

Rabbi Avner Shapiro

Chumash

ashapiro@yula.org

Rabbi Dror Baalhaness

Navi

dbaalhaness@yula.org

Rabbi Dov Rosenbluth

Navi

drosenbluth@yula.org 7

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Whom to Contact Academic Advisement

Dr. Paul Soifer

psoifer@yula.org

Ms. Vickie Bellomo

vbellomo@yula.org

Mrs. Anna Glatt

aglatt@yula.org

Mr. Joey Small

jsmall@yula.org

Athletics

Mr. Damien Rodriguez

athletics@yula.org

Attendance and Lateness

Mrs. Chavi Gorman

cgorman@yula.org

College Guidance

Jamie Sitzer

jsitzer@yula.org

Chessed

Rabbi Arye Sufrin

asufrin@yula.org

Development

Joey Small

jsmall@yula.org

Discipline

Rabbi Joseph Schreiber

jschreiber@yula.org

Extra Curricular Activities

Rabbi Arye Sufrin

asufrin@yula.org

Rabbi Shimon Abramczik

sabramczik@yula.org

9th and 10th: Rabbi Arye Sufrin

asufrin@yula.org

11th and 12th: Rabbi Shimon Abramczik

sabramczik@yula.org

Israel Guidance

Rabbi Shimon Abramczik

sabramczik@yula.org

Special Needs, Accommodations/ Modifications

Beth Schoen

bschoen@yula.org

Mia Markoff

mmarkoff@yula.org

Office Staff

Chavi Gorman

cgorman@yula.org

Public Relations

Anna Glatt

aglatt@yula.org

Joey Small

jsmall@yula.org

9th Grade Parent Council

Anna Glatt

aglatt@yula.org

PSAT, AP, SAT and ACT Exams

Jamie Sitzer

jsitzer@yula.org

Admissions

Grade Advisors

8

Whom to Contact Schedule and Class Placement, General Studies

Dr. Paul Soifer

psoifer@yula.org

Schedule and Class Placement, Judaic Studies

Rabbi Joseph Schreiber

jschreiber@yula.org

Summer Science Programs/Internships

Dr. Debra Rosser

drosser@yula.org

Transcripts

Ziva Zeharya

zzeharya@yula.org

Tuition Payments

Judy Posner

jposner@yula.org

Tuition Scholarship Information

Judy Posner

jposner@yula.org

Communication with Teachers If you have questions about the courses your son is taking or concerns about his academic performance, contact the teacher through YULA email. For the email addresses of all the ninth grade teachers, the chairs of each department, and YULA administrators, see page 6 of the Toolbox.

Before you make contact, we strongly recommend that you check your son’s Haiku page for that class. You can access Haiku from the top of the YULA website or go to http://yula.haikulearning.com/. There you will find the syllabus for the course, recent assignments, test information, and the grades for the class. The information available through Haiku will help you ask the right questions.

You will receive a full tutorial on how to access and utilize your son’s Haiku page at the Parent Technology Orientation in the fall for parents of incoming students.

If your communication with your son’s teacher is not satisfactory for any reason, please contact the following administrators with your concerns: •

• •

For General Studies classes, email the chair of the department (email address for the chairs are available on page 7) or Ms. Vickie Bellomo, Academic Advisor for the 9th and 10th grades. Ms. Bellomo is available to discuss proper class placement or any other course concerns.

For Judaic Studies classes, contact Rabbi Ayre Sufrin, Assistant Principal.

If you feel an issue is still unresolved, please contact Rabbi Joseph Schreiber, Principal of Judaic Studies, or Dr. Paul Soifer, Principal of General Studies.

9

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

9th Grade Courses Students must be enrolled in a minimum of four (4) Torah classes and five (5) General Studies classes per semester/year.

Honors placement is determined by examination or department approval.

**The revised Course Offering Guide and Student-Parent Handbook are available on the YULA website under the Academics tab.

Torah Studies

General Studies

Biblical Literature 9 Biblical Survey 9 Honors

English 9 **Summer reading assignment: The Red Badge of Courage and Four Stories (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback) Stephen Crane (ISBN-13: 9780451531803)

Prophets 9 Prophets 9 Honors Talmud 9 Talmud 9 Honors Talmud Survey 9 Honors

Algebra 1 Geometry Geometry Honors

Rabbinic Literature 9 Halacha Yomit

Hebrew 9 Hebrew 9 Honors Biology Biology Honors Global History & Geography I Physical Education Introduction to Technology (1 semester) Introduction to Health (1 semester) Elective: Scientific Engineering (Science Department approval)

10

Genesis: Inspired Beginnings Change the World Genesis: the innovation lab is where students create new-era big ideas that will impact the world. Genesis students are immersed in the cutting edge of emerging technologies. Their mission is to learn to create breakthroughs using robotics, science, engineering and math.

The Genesis curriculum brings in relationships with top ranking institutions and businesses such as UCLA, USC, and Cedars Sinai. This curriculum challenges students to reach a level of excellence, providing them a conceptual and performance standard that they will apply to all future studies and professional undertakings.

•

Scientific and Biomedical Engineering Courses An elective open to 9th graders that involves hands-on, group projects in robotics and electronics that culminates in the Young Engineers Conference where each team presents the devices it built. Successful students can go on to take Biomedical Engineering as sophomores.

•

STEM I and STEM II Interested in a science career? Students in STEM I hear from scientists working in a variety of fields, are introduced to science research, and formulate their own research projects. In STEM II, students bring their projects into the lab under mentors from universities and medical centers.

•

Robotics YULA’s Robotics Team is anxious to get freshman involved. The Team has done well in competing against other schools in Southern California, and hosted a meet for over twenty schools earlier this year. The Team works out of our new Robotics Lab at the Boys School.

•

Competitions Beyond Robotics YULA creates opportunities for students to challenge themselves by participating in a variety of competitions ranging from essay contests and math challenges to the Intel Science Talent Search and the Google Science Fair.

•

STEM Outside the Classroom Visits to Google, Medtronic, a biomedical device manufacturer, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory give students a glimpse of STEM in action. We support students who want to expand their science knowledge through summer programs at universities like UCLA, USC, and the Technion in Israel.

This program has been generously funded by Sheri and Arnold Schlesinger.

11

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

9th Grade Sample Schedules The length of each class will stay the same, but actual classes and layout is subject to change and individually based. These schedules are based on a 2013-2014 schedule.

AGT Sample Schedule

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

12

Non-AGT Sample Schedule

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Free Period

Lunch

Free Period

13

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Freshman Retreat September 2-3, 2014 The Freshman Retreat at Alpine Meadows will afford all students the opportunity to get to know one another and will help build the foundation for strong and lasting friendships.

The retreat will include a variety of shiurim, programs, and activities that inspire, stimulate and forge a strong sense of achdut and unity among the Class of 2018.

The Freshman Retreat is an invaluable experience for all incoming 9th graders and YULA Staff; it is imperative that every student attends. The cost per student is $40.00.

All checks should be made payable to YULA and handed in during Freshman Orientation on Monday, August 25, 2014. You will receive additional information regarding the retreat in the coming months. If you are unable to participate on the retreat, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rabbi Sufrin via e-mail at asufrin@yula.org.

For your convenience, please see below for a suggested packing list.

Freshmen Retreat Packing List Must Bring: Tefillin/Siddur Sheets/Light Blanket/Sleeping bag Pillow Case Shampoo/Soap Toothpaste/Toothbrush Towels Shorts Sneakers Sunscreen Suggested: Extra Snacks [All meals will be provided] Not Suggested: Anything valuable (iPad, Digital Camera, PSP‌etc)!

Summer Schedule for YULA Mailings Orientation for freshmen is scheduled for August 25-27, 2014 and the first day of classes is August 28, 2014. Student schedules will be distributed the week of orientation. You will be receiving the Student Handbook and Revised Orientation Schedule in mid-August.

14

Athletics A popular extracurricular activity at YULA is the YULA Panther Athletics Program. We field teams in baseball, basketball, crosscountry, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Basketball is the only team that has a junior varsity, as well as a freshman/sophomore (F/S) squad. There are competitive tryouts in each sport before the season begins.

YULA is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section. Our athletic program adheres to its Code of Ethics and rules, and the school is able to establish our own academic eligibility rules. Please review the Parent-Student Handbook for further details on academic eligibility.

Sports play an important role at YULA. But parents and students alike need to appreciate the time commitment involved in light of our schedule and dual curriculum. The chart below breaks down each sport by the number of players on the team, the length of the season, the estimated practice time, and the number of games, matches, or meets.

Practices are usually held after school or on Sunday and run about two (2) hours long. Competitions are after school as well and involve travel time to and from the venues. Although every effort is made to limit the conflict between sports and academics, athletes do miss General Studies class time. All athletes are responsible for getting notes, assignments, and making up exams they might miss.

Sport

Players

Season

Time

Cross Country

10-15

Mid Aug-Nov

Flag Football

10-­‐15

Mid Aug-­‐Nov

Soccer

15-20

Mid Oct-Mid Feb

Varsity Basketball

10-15

Oct-Early Mar

JV Basketball

10-15

Mid Oct-Mid Feb

F/S Basketball

10-15

Mid Oct-Mid Feb

Tennis

10-15

Mid Feb-May

Golf

5-10

Mid Feb-May

Volleyball

10-15

Mid Feb-May

Baseball

15-20

Mid Feb-May

Prac 8 hrs/week 6-8 meets Prac 8 hrs/week 12-­‐14 games Prac 8 hrs/week 15-20 games Prac 10 hrs/week 20-30 games Prac 6 hrs/week 15-20 games Prac 6 hrs/week 15-20 games Prac 6 hrs/week 8-12 matches Prac 6 hrs/week 6-8 matches Prac 6 hrs/week 12-18 games Prac 8 hrs/week 15-20 games

15

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Extra Curricular Activities Extra Curricular Activities Available to 9th Graders and Respective Time Commitments •

• •

•

• • •

• • • •

YULAMUN – As a delegate to the YULA Model United Nations competition, students represent a country in a number of mock United Nations sessions.

Students attend weekly training sessions for two months and conduct research on their own.

Drama – Tryouts in the spring, rehearsals are 2-3 times a week for 1.5 hours each. As the play approaches, practices are every night and often much longer.

The total commitment lasts between three to four months.

Israel Advocacy Club – Student group whose main goal is to advocate on behalf of Israel by providing them with the advocacy tools they need to influence members of the US Congress. Meets once every two weeks for 2 hours and sporadically for events.

Future Business Leaders of America - FBLA, a nationally acclaimed program with over 250,000 members, supports and nurtures students' interests in business. In joining FBLA, a student commits to 20-30 minute weekly meetings and to smaller committee meetings in which he would work on events for the club, the school, and the community at large.

Newspaper – Student-produced newspaper. Positions are available doing layout and writing (2 articles per semester).

Likutei Ohr – A weekly biblical newsletter, this pamphlet is composed namely of student articles. Once a month, students are expected to contribute a Dvar Torah relating to an upcoming Parsha.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)- Members learn about careers in the medical field, attend field trips, learn about and conduct their own research, and listen to lecturers and professionals discuss their respective field of study. The club meets once a week after school for 1 hour.

Robotics - Students design, build and program a robot to compete in an event with other schools. The approach is totally hands-on, and meetings are twice a week, 2-3 hours per meeting.

Bio Club – Bio Club aims to inform students about the biological environment of the world. Activities include experiments, presentations, and beach cleanups.

Meeting times are around 1-2 times a month for 1 hour.

YULA Media Club – work with the Marketing team on content for the website and marketing materials including video and photography.

Mock Trial – Mock Trial is run by students and coached by real attorneys.

Students audition and are then cast as lawyers or witnesses. Four hours a week for 10 weeks: 1.5 hour practice 2 times a week for 10 weeks, 2 trials at the end of the semester.

16

Community Service Opportunities Chessed Opportunities Available to 9th Graders and Respective Time Commitment Chessed Fair: In the fall, 9th grade students will have the opportunity to hear from organizations and choose in which chessed group they would like to participate.

Rabbi Sufrin is responsible for running the chessed fair.

Organizations include: • YACHAD - Yachad is an organization that deals with the inclusion of those with and without special needs. Weekly events bring together high school students and teenagers and adults with special needs. Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per event, with 1-2 events each week.

• Etta Israel – Shabbatons and events every few weeks.

• Chai Lifeline – Two programs: Big Brother program, one hour per week; Volunteering at events, 2-3 hours per month.

• Tomchei Shabbos – Student volunteers help package and deliver boxes of food for families every week; 1 hour per week.

• Cedars Sinai – Volunteer opportunities as clinical or clerical interns at CedarsSinai. 2 hour shifts, once a week.

• Friendship Circle – Matches students with children with special needs for social programming; 1 hour per week (includes opportunity for weekly basketball games with the participants).

• Koreh LA – Students can volunteer to work as a reading partner with LAUSD K-5th grade students to work on their reading skills; 1 hour per week.

17

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

Skills for Your High School Student •

Time Management: YULA is a dual curriculum school; each student can take 10-15 classes per semester. Learning how to work in advance of assignment, project, and test deadlines is a necessary skill to develop. Students need to prioritize their workload and create a time management plan to insure that work is not left until the last minute. Each student may have a different system. Some choose to keep weekly planners (hard copy) that have the hours of the week printed out. iProcrastinate is a useful tool that helps organize all of a students’ academic responsibilities. Others use iCalendar on their laptops; often they can sync this schedule with other personal devices. Although the system can differ by student, a parent should be able to check-in and see that an overview of “study hours” and a plan to complete assignments is kept. Having an awareness of the time needed to complete different coursework is essential to academic success. (Suggestion: Check out Calendarsthatwork.com a website that allows you to individualize weekly or daily time schedules).

•

Organization: Materials management is an important part of staying organized at YULA. Please help your son buy all of his textbooks and reading books at the start of the fall semester. Too often students wait for an assigned book to be delivered while missing important class discussion. Check that the books you order match the ISBN# given by the teacher. When the wrong version of a book is purchased, the student cannot follow along with classroom discussion because page numbers and translations do not match.

Students should have systems for keeping notes and class papers. In technology class your son will learn how to set up files in his laptop to separate class notes; however, he will also need folders for papers given out in class and assignments that are handed back. Helping your son keep track of all these materials, at least at the start of the school year, will be very instrumental in helping him stay organized.

•

Assigned Readings: Reading from texts is a necessary part of high school curriculum. Students need to know how to extract important information from reading selections. The steps to having your son understand and remember what he read include setting aside study time and a quiet space to read. Highlighting topic, main idea, and supporting details while reading is recommended to facilitate reading comprehension. Finally, prepare index cards to memorize key terms and definitions (these can be created online as well with quizlet.com).

Index cards promote repetition and ultimately memorization of new concepts.

•

Study Time: Study time should be “pure” and free of all distractions. Students need to be able to devote themselves to studying without social media, phone calls, texting, and other distractors. We have discovered that when students turn on their computers to study or sit down to review notes or text, they are often 18

distracted by Facebook, e-mails, texts, and phone calls from friends. Quite often they are not aware how much time is wasted and count this time as “study time”.

Parents can help make their sons mindful that it is best for focus and time management, to refrain from looking at social media and other distractors during work time.

•

•

School Resources: YULA has an educational support team to support students with academic issues.

If your son has academic struggles, please contact Mrs. Beth Schoen bschoen@yula.org or Mrs. Mia Markoff mmarkoff@yula.org, Educational Support Team Coordinators.

Time Tips 1. Count all your time as time to be used and make every attempt to get satisfaction out of every moment.

2. Find something to enjoy in whatever you do.

3. Try to be an optimist and seek out the good in your life.

4. Find ways to build on your successes.

5. Stop regretting your failures and start learning from your mistakes.

6. Remind yourself, "There is always enough time for the important things." If it is important, you should be able to make time to do it.

7. Continually look at ways of freeing up your time.

8. Examine your old habits and search for ways to change or eliminate them.

9. Try to use waiting time-review notes or do practice problems.

10. Keep paper or a calendar with you to jot down the things you have to do or notes to yourself.

11. Examine and revise your lifetime goals on a monthly basis and be sure to

include progress towards those goals on a daily basis.

12. Put up reminders in your home or office about your goals.

13. Always keep those long-term goals in mind.

14. Plan your day each morning or the night before and set priorities for yourself.

15. Maintain and develop a list of specific things to be done each day, set your priorities and the get the most important ones done as soon in the day as you can.

Evaluate your progress at the end of the day briefly.

16. Look ahead in your month and try and anticipate what is going to happen so you can better schedule your time.

17. Try rewarding yourself when you get things done as you had planned, especially the important ones.

18. Do first things first.

19. Have confidence in yourself and in your judgment of priorities and stick to them no matter what.

19

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015 20. When you catch yourself procrastinating-ask yourself, "What am I avoiding?"

21. Start with the most difficult parts of projects, then either the worst is done or you may find you don't have to do all the other small tasks.

22. Catch yourself when you are involved in unproductive projects and stop as soon as you can.

23. Find time to concentrate on high priority items or activities.

24. Concentrate on one thing at a time.

25. Put your efforts in areas that provide long-term benefits.

26. Push yourself and be persistent, especially when you know you are doing well.

27. Think on paper when possible-it makes it easier to review and revise.

28. Be sure and set deadlines for yourself whenever possible.

29. Delegate responsibilities whenever possible.

30. Ask for advice when needed.

Adapted from A. Lakein. How to Get Control of Your Time And Your Life ŠAcademic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001

20

College Counseling Program Timeline 9th GRADE • College Counseling program is introduced at orientation.

• College counselor sends out occasional college guidance emails to students and parents.

• In the spring, the counselor discusses summer opportunities, what to expect from the college guidance office in the 10th grade, and the PSAT. 10th GRADE • Counselors review information about the upcoming PSAT with students and parents.

• Tenth and eleventh graders take the PSAT at YULA in October.

• Parent College Counseling Night (January) – PSAT scores are returned and interpretation of scores is reviewed; SAT vs. ACT options are reviewed; information regarding college admissions is discussed, including standardized testing timeline.

• College counselor advises students and parents about college planning and students are encouraged to begin SAT/ACT test prep over the summer.

11th GRADE • Tenth and eleventh graders take the PSAT at YULA in October.

• Parent College Counseling Night (January) – PSAT scores are returned and interpretation of scores is reviewed; SAT vs. ACT and options are reviewed; information regarding college admissions is discussed, including standardized testing timeline.

• Ongoing discussions about college plans and campus visits via group and one on one student meetings.

• Students will take the SAT/ACT. • “College Bootcamp” (June), when 11th graders hear from Admissions representatives and the college counselor to help guide them in the application process and take an essay-writing workshop.

12th GRADE • Senior Parent College Counseling Night (September) – students and parents review all important aspects of the application process.

• College counselor works individually with students on applications, essays and other aspects of the admissions process.

• November 1 – deadline to apply to schools Early Decision or Early Action; such applicants hear back from the colleges in December.

• Financial Aid Night – college financial aid officer speaks to parents.

• Students and parents work on FAFSA for financial aid.

• By April 15, students learn of college acceptances.

• Counselor helps students to evaluate their college admissions options.

• May 1 - National Candidate Reply Date (students inform colleges of their final enrollment decisions) 21

New Parent Tool Kit 2014-2015

YULA Boys High School Graduation Requirements SUBECT

9

10

11

12

ENGLISH 4 Years Required HISTORY 4 Years Required SCIENCE 3 Years Required

Elective

MATH 3 Years Required

Elective

FOREIGN LANGUAGE 2 Years Required

Elective Elective

PHYSICAL EDUCATION 2 Years Required ELECTIVES 4 Years Required

Please track your progress by marking the boxes per grade level as you complete the courses.

• Elective requirements are met by taking courses that exceed minimum requirements. You must earn four credits to meet this requirement.

• You must take one year of Art to meet UC eligibility requirements (a year of Fine Arts, Film or Drama will fulfill the requirement).

22