FINALS WEEK! June 8 and 9

Thank you
It was truly and honor and a privilege to teach such an interesting group of students. I've learned so much during our time together this year , and I hope you feel that your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills are better than they were a year ago.  

As you move forward into senior year and beyond, my advice -- for what it's worth -- is to continue to be fully engaged, keep up with current events, read while SOAPSing, participate in civic life, and travel and have as many adventures and experiences as you can. Also, visit me next year or drop me a line and keep me posted about what's going on in your life.

Here's what this entry will cover: 1. the agenda and final assignment info, 2. summer reading, and 3. a message from the College and Career Center.

MONDAY A-Day/TUESDAY B-Day: Last class session, live on Zoom. Go through the final checklist for college essay drafts: push for details, remove cliches, fix any diction/syntax issues. Introduce free choice summer reading, college and career center updates. Time for me to say "thank you" to all the students, and congratulate you on a wild, but wonderful year!

Due: Students will upload one of the following to Turnitin.com before noon on either Monday, June 8 (for Periods 1 and 2) or Tuesday, June 9, (for Period 6), the last class of the year:

1. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to one Common Application prompt. 
2. Good drafted (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responses to two of the four required UC prompts.

3. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to one Coalition prompt

4. A good draft (unique details, close to word count restrictions, proofread) responding to a specific prompt not listed above for a university, art school, or vocational tech school. Please include the prompt and a URL at the top of the submission. 
5. One polished, well written job title research paper.

SUMMER READING
Click here for the summer reading information; this year, it's free choice*!

*There's always a catch, isn't there? There are guidelines: 150 pages, at grade level, dialectical journal.


FROM THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER
There are a few links of exceptional importance before we break for summer... the first is the YouTube Junior JumpStart presentations that the counselors put together to provide detailed guidance and a timeline of what the junior class could be/should be thinking about and working on this summer to prepare for the likelihood of college applications in the fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlkSPcKUU8

Class of 2021 Counseling Presentation, Spring 2020 - YouTube Palos Verdes High School, Palos Verdes Estates, California. www.youtube.com

Besides the video presentation, there is the second link to the corresponding powerpoint that follows the video, but has exceptionally good hyperlinks to additional information and resources: https://4.files.edl.io/a76c/05/28/20/164024-f7d4959c-f5c0-407b-86c4-888d182d259b.pdf

I've also included a link to another opportunity for our students/parents to sit in on and participate in panel discussions next week with colleges ranging from West Point, to the Culinary Institute of America! Topics iclude: Engineering Your College Essay: A STEM Perspective on College Essays / Admission to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point 

https://www.marist.edu/hrcc

Hudson River College Cruise - Marist College Marist College is a highly selective comprehensive liberal arts institution noted for its leadership in the use of technology in and out of the classroom. www.marist.edu

Considering the fact that we will not have "business as usual" college visits next year, together with the fact that the vast majority of colleges have gone test optional, there's just a lot of pro-active and individual research our juniors have to begin doing... there's also a lot they need to know about how to approach their applications in the fall.

Which brings me to the last link which is to info/registration for a Common App Crash Course that the CCC will offer on June 16th.  It's a 4hr intensive on June 16th that I would have loved to have done differently, but under the circumstances I believe it will provide some much needed direction, insight and information.  This is the first time the CCC will ask for a donation because of impending budget restraints, but it is a donation and all juniors are welcome.  For juniors, whether at PV or a different high school, please just send  an email to me at lewisja@pvpusd.net with an email address so I can send the Zoom link:

https://pvboosterclub.com/product/class-of-2021-common-app-crash-course/