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serena.kerr
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Hello! I am so glad to be serving you all. My name is Serena Beth Kerr. May this year be a great year of learning, memories, and special moments for each and every one of you at CHS! 🙂
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Daily Announcements

 

Don't forget to listen to the morning announcements daily at CHS. New student opportunities are always arriving at the school. Who knows? The next one may be just the thing you have been looking for! ...If you missed the announcements in your College and Career Readiness (CCR) class, you can also read the print version at the CHS website (https://clarksvillehigh.cmcss.net/ ) by scrolling down and clicking on the purple ‘Daily Announcements’ (http://staff.cmcss.net/CHS/dailyannouncements.pdf ) link.

 

Finding Money for College

 

Scholarships are wide and varied. Scholarships exist on the local, regional, state, and national level. Scholarships are available through sources such as local businesses, restaurants, community organizations, individual colleges, universities, and technical schools. Individuals offer scholarships to students based on a variety of reasons. Since scholarships are offered for a variety of reasons by a variety of people, deadlines vary greatly.

 

The CHS school website has a scholarship newsletter that is updated throughout the year as we receive scholarship opportunities and screen these opportunities for only those that are legitimate scholarships. General scholarships will be posted throughout the year while local businesses and organizations tend to post their scholarships in the spring.

 

The link to the CHS scholarship newsletter is:

 

https://clarksvillehighseniors.weebly.com/scholarships.html

 

The newsletter will be updated frequently.

 

Once you have reviewed and applied for all eligible scholarships, I suggest that parents and students check the newsletter at least once per week for updates.

 

It is also crucial to go to the scholarship page on each institution's (colleges, universities, technical schools, etc.) website that a student is interested in attending or has applied to attend to review the institutional scholarships for eligibility and deadlines. Most institutional scholarship applications that will provide funding for a student’s freshmen year of college open in the fall of the student’s senior year of high school and have strict deadlines for submission.

 

We also have several scholarship books in school counseling that students can research for scholarships. Some students come before school and sit in our student area in school counseling to do scholarship research through these materials. Some students choose to stay after school for this purpose. Some ask permission from their teachers to come when they have finished their work in class. I tell the students to begin by reading through the index of the scholarship book. By doing this, students tend to find scholarships they never would have known they were eligible for applying for, without the daunting task of looking through a 500 page book, page by page.

 

Our library also has several scholarship books you can check out. Ms. Sandy Ing or Ms. Donna Pittman can assist you in checking out these books at your convenience. The librarians have also created a college and scholarship display in the hallway between the library and the copy room, with many related books, making it easy for you to come by and check out all they have to offer you! The library also has websites linked to their website for additional scholarship opportunities.

 

The Montgomery County Public Library also has a large reference section of scholarship books for individuals to use. These items cannot be removed from the county library, but are great resources to reference. Use your phone to take pictures of the scholarships you find to apply for when at the library!

 

I also have a number of websites concerning scholarships, financial aid, and other useful sites linked here to my personal CMCSS webpage for parents and students to use. All you need to do is click the link and you will be taken to the site.

 

Happy scholarship hunting! ...Remember: It is never too early to start researching scholarships whether you are in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.  🙂

 

Tennessee Promise

 

Do you remember hearing about the Tennessee Promise Program during our classroom CCR visits? Do you still have questions?

 

The Tennessee Promise program is a last dollar scholarship program that can cover tuition costs at Tennessee technology centers (such as Tennessee College for Applied Technology (TCAT) centers across the state), as well as a variety of other two year post-secondary programs at both community colleges and select four year institutions throughout the state of Tennessee (see https://www.tn.gov/tnpromise.html for more details) for Tennessee high school graduates. Tennessee Promise has a strict deadline for the initial application. Application availability opened on August 1st and will close on November 1st. Apply today! The early the better!

 

FAFSA

 

The FAFSA (free and federal student aid) application period opens October 1st for students who will be entering post-secondary institutions Fall of 2021, after graduating from their senior year of high school. Each post-secondary institution requires that a FAFSA be completed as part of a student’s eligibility for the school, regardless of whether you use federal and state financial aide or not. A student will need information from their legal guardians' taxes as well as other personal information such as social security numbers to complete the FAFSA. Be prepared and apply early to receive any eligible federal and state funds and to begin planning for YOUR future...

 

Post-Secondary Education, Campus Tours, & Senior Night

 

Campus Tours

 

Some of you may want to take a college tour soon. For an Austin Peay State University (APSU) campus visit you can go to the website:  https://www.apsu.edu/admissions/visit/schedule-tour.php  and sign up through the site for a tour of the campus. To visit other college campuses just Google the college name, followed by campus tour. That will usually bring up a direct link to sign up for a college tour for that institution. You can also call the institution itself and they can assist.

Many institutions also have virtual tours on their website that can be very helpful if you cannot make it for a tour in the near future or want to have a remote tour due to the conditions we now find ourselves in. Once you have toured a campus, you have a lot of information that you can use to ask questions concerning other campuses you are interested in to be able to compare campuses and make informed decisions on which institution is the right fit for you! You should look into a variety of options and keep these options open until you feel comfortable choosing an institution. The best time to choose is in the spring after you have received financial aide offers from each institution so you can compare what you would owe (or potentially receive in a refund, possibly...) if you choose to attend a particular institution. If you only apply to one institution, you will be locked in to that choice to a greater extent, as you will have missed first time freshmen scholarship opportunities at other institutions at that point in the spring. Keep your options open!!!

 

National College Fairs (NACAC)

 

National College Fairs (NACAC) are also available for students and their families to attend. Go to https://www.nacacfairs.org/ to find a college fair near you or to view other useful information concerning college.

 

Senior Night at CHS

 

CHS hosts a Senior Night each year. This year we plan on hosting senior night a little differently. Information concerning the specifics of Senior Night will be announced on the daily announcements in the very near future.

 

Senior Night is basically a time to review the postsecondary process with all our students, complete with a review of the information on the Senior Webpage (https://clarksvillehighseniors.weebly.com/ ) to help students on their senior journey, along with our help too, of course. Many competitive institutions have early decision admissions deadlines. I always tell the students, the sooner the better on getting their college applications in and starting on scholarships. Some colleges began accepting applications as early as August 1st for students entering college/tech schools in the fall of 2021, so if you intend on applying and have not, apply NOW!!!

 

Students should go ahead and start the online application processes to the top schools they are interested in so they can become aware of the deadlines in the process as each school may have different student deadlines. The application for admission is usually what gets students looked at for academic scholarships, but there are also usually many other scholarships offered by each university. I would also suggest students go ahead and look at the scholarships at each university they are interested in on their respective websites. The information is usually found under the financial aid section of the websites. Most universities require that students are accepted into the university and have a student number before the student can apply for those precious scholarships. Make sure you apply as early as possible for admissions so you have a student number to apply for the universities' scholarships by the deadlines!

 

I love seeing the students moving forward to the postsecondary institution or career of any type of their dreams, and even love it more so when they get in with good scholarship opportunities. Staying on top of deadlines is half the battle! 🙂

 

ASVAB

 

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a great test to take to see what career options could be available to you in any of the armed services branches as well as to look at skills you may have and what careers match those particular skills. CHS offers the ASVAB on several dates in addition to available testing through local recruiters. Come to school counseling to sign up for the ASVAB and further explore career options.

The military is a great and honorable career choice for students. In addition to serving your country, many benefits come with servitude, to include great financial aide for college.

 

Military Service Academies

 

Many of the armed forces have military academies which not only prepare you for entering the military, but also provide some of the best schooling and degree programs in the nation and world, valued at upwards of and at times equal to $400,000. If you are committed to serve your country, want an education undeniably distinguished, desire to graduate college debt free, and are committed to excellence academically, on the field, and in your personal life, explore this opportunity. You will not regret it.

 

Invest in Yourself

 

Lastly, don't forget to cherish each moment in the day, love your fellow student, and strive to be your best self each day. You are amazing. Show the world who you are. Show the world your Wildcat spirit!

 

 

Classroom Books