Welcome to your senior year, the one that you have been
anxiously awaiting for the last eleven years.
Now that you have become a senior, this last year of school will be a
time of encouragement and discouragement; frustration and expectation;
anticipation and disappointment; many lasts and many firsts; and your time for
definitely facing new challenges and decisions. How you
choose to face and deal with each of these situations will be an important
factor in determining the direction and success of your first few years after
high school. This, in turn, can have a
dramatic effect on what options you might have for many years into the future.
One of my goals is to assist each of you to deal with these hurdles by helping you to gain self-confidence, have high expectations, set and attain goals, be proactive, and acquire a feeling of positive self-worth. At the same time, sometimes a “voice of reality” becomes necessary, and I will bear that burden, when necessary. Hopefully, this will become an educational experience which can serve you when the “safe haven” of high school is replaced by the educational, family, career and financial decisions of adulthood. Thinking and acting positively should be your goal.
The B-C
Senior Bulletin is a series of newsletters designed to provide seniors and their parents with the latest college, career and financial aid information. Notices regarding BCHS activities and requirements pertaining to seniors will also be included. I hope you will find the bulletin both interesting and informative. If you have suggestions or ideas for future issues, I will be pleased to hear from you. Please share information in these newsletters with your parents. In the interests of “going green” and saving paper, I will no longer be handing out printed copies to every student. However, the most recent two bulletins are always posted on the BCHS website on the Guidance page. If you would like to get a paper copy, I will have those in my office for a few weeks after each class visit.
Another of
my goals is to assist each of you in achieving your goals for this year,
whether they pertain to college, career or personal decisions. However, I cannot do these things for you. You must play an active role by initiating
and following through when necessary. I
will make every effort to help you make this year a successful step toward
whatever future goals you may choose.
Sincerely,
Dick
Gaulke
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts” - Winston Churchill, British statesman and Prime Minister
COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE, SCHOLARSHIPS AND RECOGNITION
As you receive letters or emails notifying you of college acceptance, scholarships and financial aid awards, please bring or forward them to the Guidance Office so that I can make a copy and post them in the newsletters and announce them at the senior awards and graduation. Letters and emails must be from the college or the scholarship organization. The same is true for any military enlistments – please bring me a copy of your enlistment contract. If you receive some kind of recognition, please do the same.
POSTINGS
Students
are encouraged to check postings on the Guidance bulletin board in the main hallway,
in the cafeteria and media center, and in senior English classroom on a regular
basis for information on college, military and possible employment
opportunities. These will be updated as
new information is received in the Guidance Office.
COMMON APPLICATION
Many of you will be using the Common Application to submit to colleges. If you do so, you must submit a school counselor email so that I can complete the school portion of the application. Also, some require a counselor comment or recommendation. If this is the case, I would prefer to write a letter of recommendation for you. Please complete one of the Letter of Recommendation forms in the office or on the “Forms” link on the website.
When self-reporting your courses and grades on the Common Application, it will not offer an option to entire 1.25 credits for lab classes. I contacted Common Application for assistance and this was their response – “Select N/A from the list, and use the ‘Additional Information’ section under the ‘Writing’ part of their Common App to further elaborate on this”.
FINANCIAL AID
Here is the
information from the US Department of Education for filing the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It will
open October 1. It requires income
information from a year prior (called prior prior), which allows for easier
verification match with IRS income information.
BCHS will be holding a Financial Aide information and filing session in
November, and more information will be sent out on that.
mso-outline-level:1'>IS COLLEGE NOT IN YOUR IMMEDIATE FUTURE? Many
students do not intend to go to college upon graduation from high school. College is not meant for everyone, and some
students have no interest in careers which require an immediate need for
further education. Finances, family
situations and other factors can also play an important role in this
decision. So, what is there for those of
you who do not choose the college route?
Military - All branches of the military are actively recruiting qualified candidates. There are several advantages to pursuing this option. They include training, veteran’s benefits, earning college tuition credits, and time to decide what you wish to do with the rest of your life. Information on recruiters is available in the Guidance Office, on the internet, and elsewhere in this newsletter.
Apprenticeships - Many occupations, usually skilled trades,
provide apprenticeship opportunities.
These include plumbers, electricians, heavy-equipment operators and
others. Some pay as much as $15.00 an
hour to start, and after 4-5 years, licensed workers can be making up to $25.00
per hour and more. Some of them are
announced through the school, or you can contact local unions or the phone book
to seek these opportunities.
Certification/Licensure Programs - These usually require
some schooling, but it takes 6-12 months, and you take classes only in those
areas that pertain to your work, not the broad range required for a college
degree. You may be working in you field
within a year after graduation. Most do
require passing a state licensure test.
These areas include HVAC, cosmetology and barbering, some medical
assistance programs and others. WARNING
- this is a field notorious for scam artists and low quality programs. Make sure that any school you choose is
licensed and accredited, and always check them out through the local Better
Business Bureau.
Entry-level work - Many employers offer the chance to get
on-the-job training, and will hire potential workers right out of high
school. Many have decent starting
salaries, benefits and opportunities for advancement and training. These include most advertisers in the Want
Ads of the local newspapers. They
usually use your past work history, personal and school references, and seek
high school attendance, discipline and coursework information. We occasionally get notices of openings, so
listen to the announcements and watch for postings.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN SEEKING A
JOB
1. PAY - Not just starting salary, but what is
the potential for earnings in the future?
While some jobs pay reasonably well to begin, there are minimal raises
for employment tenure and experience.
2. BENEFITS
- When young, we are all invincible. It
may be worth making a bit less now for a job that provides medical benefits,
retirement security or chances for advancement.
3. ENJOYMENT - I don’t mean spending half of your workday doing nothing. You may be doing this work for the next 10 to 40 years. Can you put up with it for that long? Most of you will find that you are willing to make some financial sacrifices for career enjoyment.
4. OPPORTUNITIES
- Once you have worked your way into a career, are there chances to
advancement? What about internal
transfers within the company? If your
employer goes out of business, can you find employment in this field with other
companies?
5. SECURITY - How long will this field of work be needed, and how many workers will be needed, both now and in the foreseeable future? In the 1990’s, many people thought that the dot.com companies were the wave of the future, but most of them are no longer in existence.
ADDITIONAL CAREER INFORMATION
.25in'>In the past year or so, the Columbus Dispatch has run several articles
on the demand for skilled workers which employers are unable to fulfill. These include the trades, such as welding,
carpentry, electricians, etc., and small businesses which need people with
varied skills, especially technology.
For those thinking about these areas, it may be a good field to enter.mso-outline-level:4'>ARMED SERVICES RECRUITERS There are
many students who, upon graduation, can find advantages to participating in the
military. In addition to those who are
interested in military careers, the Armed Services can provide skills training,
educational and scholarship opportunities.
Listed below are those recruiters responsible for Fairfield County. All offices except the National Guard are
located in Lancaster.
Air Force 740-654-3729
Army (incl. Reserves) 740-653-8033
Army
National Guard 740-415-5870
Marines 740-654-1482
Navy 740-653-9445
BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL
SENIOR YEAR!!!!