Thursday Round Up

21 August

Photo by Aedrian Salazar on UnsplashPhoto by Leslie Cross on Unsplash

How it works: The Thursday Round Up

While you could  read the Round Up all the way through from top to bottom, it's not necessary to do so. Here are the sections of the Round Up and what each has in it. Come winter, a Summer Opportunities section will also be included. Have an event that is low/no cost that would be great for high school students? Let me know!
News from the Homefront: 

Welcome back!
Are you looking for me? My office is in the library.  Find me in the room behind Mr. Lazaro's desk and the library printer. Or you can email me.

Interested in studying a language abroad?
The US Department of State sponsors The National Strategic Language Institute for Youth, a summer abroad program for high school students in languages like Russia, Arabic, Chinese, and Persian. Each summer students are given the opportunity to continue to study or begin studying a language in places like Morocco, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia or Turkey. The application process is selective and it begins in the fall. We have sent numerous students on this program and my own daughter did this when she was a rising senior, coming away with an entire year of growth in her Chinese. If you think you are interested in this program, please contact me and I will connect you with folks who have done it. September is the time to get the application going. There are also school year options and virtual options. Best part? It costs 0 dollars! My favorite price!

Club applications are open!
Got a great club idea? Are you the leader of an established club? Be sure to check the requirements before you fill our your application. Club applications are open and taking submissions! Be sure to get them in by 29 August.

Do you want to change your schedule?
You're not alone! We're dealing with some pretty complex schedule jenga right now so please do everyone a favor and put in a request to see your counselor. We are not letting folks head to counseling without having an appointment. Fill this out and your counselor will get back to you. As long as you start the process (submit a request to your counselor) before 26 August, you should be just fine.

Common App Crash Course​
Each year I offer Friday morning Early Bird (8:00-8:50) workshops on how to put your college application together. There are multiple sessions and we start at the beginning and move through the whole thing. These will start TOMORROW Friday morning, 22 August in the library and the sessions are as follows:
  • 22 August – Decision types, Demographics and Numbers: GPA, SAT, ACT
  • 29 August – Activities/Honors Section of Common App
  • 5 September – Writing the College Essay
  • 12 September – Supplemental Essays
Can't make it early? Not a problem! Sessions will also run during WP NEXT Thursday (28 August). "Early Bird" will have more time though so if you're trying to decide between times, I'll nudge you to Friday mornings.

A Note to Seniors:​
I know many of you are eager to see me to work on college essays and applications. I am here to help with that! Do yourself and me a favor and email me or visit me to set a specific time to meet. While it is true that most of the year, drop ins are fine, last year it became frustrating for folks to wait for others with appointments to finish first. Many of you have 1st period or last period release and those are popular times. I can see about 3-4 people per period. But I will give you a specific time (first 25 min, last 25 min, etc). I'll create a SmartPass for you so you know when to come. It gives both you and me anxiety if you're sitting there waiting. We have PLENTY of time before anything is due (even those 15 October dates!), and indeed some schools have not even finalized their essays yet. I promise we will have your work in tip top shape by the time it's due.

Help Ms. Apicella's Classroom!
Ms. Apicella has a project on Donor's Choose for this year's AP English Language and Composition classes. Support her project! Or buy something on her Wishlist for 9th and 11th!

Do you want to be a student representative to the State Board of Education?
Virginia's Board of Education is looking for representatives who can provide a student's eye view of education in the Commonwealth. The Board works closely with VDOE to provide student perspectives and plays a vital role in the creation of policy concepts with Virginia Board of Education. Applications are due by September 15. The Board is comprised of one student from every Superintendent’s Region in the Commonwealth. Students are chosen based on demonstrated academic achievement and passion for educational policy issues. You must be a senior to apply.

National History Day:
Love history? Want to take on a cool project this year? National History Day is a historical inquiry centered around a theme. This year's theme is Revolution, Reaction, Reform. There are a variety of ways to show your ideas on this. Create an exhibit, documentary, website, paper, or performance. Last year's winners in the state competition for exhibit came from WAHS! They not only won the regional and state competitions, but they took home some scholarship money for a special award they won. If this sort of thing appeals to you, come see me!

Independent Study
Are you interested in doing an Independent Study? We get started a little later than other courses, so if you want to explore something you're curious about, learn a new skill, or refine ones you already have, let's get you going! Information is available on this website.

College and Career Fair:
Charlottesville High School will be hosting the VACRAO fair on September 11 from 5 to 7 pm in A and B Commons. This is a great opportunity for students of all grade levels to connect with admission representatives from across the country. I am inviting multiple workforce, trade programs, and military representatives as well to have a variety of postsecondary options present. Please share this flyer with your students, families, and anyone else who may benefit from this information and we hope to see you on September 11!
Behind the wheel information:
Help for all:
WAHS' Mental Health Support Specialist is Alanah Horning (kids tend to call her Ms. Alanah). She can help you with various basic needs you might have. Questions? Reach out to her!
​College Visits:​
  • 9 September – Denison
  • 9 September – Randolph
  • 11 September – University of Richmond
  • 1 October – Longwood
  • 2 October – UVA 
  • 15 October – Elon ​​
Tomorrow is a(n) B day 

​Upcoming Events:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
  • 26 August – Drop/Add date
  • 1 September – Labor Day (no school for students)
  • 4 September – Back to School Night 6:30-8:30
  • 10-11 September – Underclass Picture Day
  • 11 September – Regional College Fair (CHS)
  • 18 September – Post High Planning Night 6:00-7:00
  • 26 September – Teacher Work Day (no school for students)
  • 2-3 October – Senior Picture Day Make Ups
  • 3-10 October – Spirit Week
  • 10 October – End of 1st Quarter
  • 11 October – ​HOCO!
  • 13-14 October – Teacher Work Day and Professional Development Day (no school for students)
  • 16 October – Family Conference Night 4:30-7:00
  • 18 October – Craft Vendor/WAHS Cheer Fundraiser
  • 21 October – PSAT (10th and 11th)
  • 22 October – Family Conference Night 4:30-7:00
  • 2-3 November – Teacher Work Day and Professional Development Day (no school for students)
  • 19 November – School Picture Make Up Day
  • 26-28 November – Thanksgiving Break
  • 7 December – Winter Band Concert
  • ​18 December – End of 1st Semester

Use Your Brain for Fun (&$)!

Humanities & Social Sciences

Get in on Voices of Democracy! Submit your 150-300 word essay by 26 September. Winners will get $500. Open to students in 6-12.

Want to be a Senate Page in the General Assembly? Get your application in by 17 October. We've had folks get in this program before!

California Freethought Day invites students in middle school through high school to submit a piece of writing in response to a prompt. Awards vary. Get your limerick in by 31 August or your speech or video by 10 September

If you are a woman identifying person who wants to start your own business, consider applying for the Be the Change Scholarship. Apply by 15 September.

Just Poetry is taking submissions for their fall issue until 30 September. Submit your work today. Student work will be eligible for up to $500 in scholarship money!

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium invites you to present your original research and work in these fields. The registration will open this fall.

STEM

Join the Presidential AI Challenge! Do you have a plan for how AI could solve a community issue? Then you have a project! 

NASA invites you to their Student Launch Challenge. This is a 9 month challenge for those interested in aerospace engineering!

Interested in a career in engineering? The Virginia Space Grant Consortium offers a number of free (my favorite price!) programs for students interested in STEM. There is programming for students in 6th-12th grades. The high school programs come with a week at NASA's Wallops Island for top performing students. Applications open tomorrow!

Programmers, get your plans in place for the Congressional App Challenge. WAHS has had a winner in the past so we can definitely do it again! Check the contest out!

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium invites you to present your original research and work in these fields. The registration will open this fall.
Picture
Photo by Ari He on Unsplash

Visual and Performing Arts

The Congressional Art Competition invites you to submit your art. This is a prestigious contest for students in grades 7-12.

Are you a filmmaker passionate about free speech? The Youth Free Expression Film Contest is taking submissions until 8 September. This year's topic is Free Speech.

California Freethought Day invites students in middle school through high school to submit a video in response to a prompt. Awards vary. Get your speech or limerick in by 10 September

The Naval and Maritime Photography Contest invites amateur photographers to submit their work for consideration by 30 September. Prizes are up to $500

​Young Arts recognizes talented students in the visual, literary and performing arts. Submit your application by 8 October.
​
The Jack Kent Cook Scholarship awards artists up to $10,000 for college. It's open to people 8-18 so get your fall app in! It's due by 15 November
Self Care:
​Scholarships
Start Here: 
JLV College Counseling​​
Or
Schools with Full Ride Merit Scholarships

The Gates Scholarship is a scholarship for people of color who are Pell Grant eligible. It is a scholarship that makes sure that all of your expenses for higher education are covered (award amount will vary depending on school chosen). Apply by 15 September.
​
Questbridge is a program that connects outstanding students with financial need to colleges. It is a full tuition scholarship program. Apply by 30 September

Coca Cola offers a $20,000 scholarship to students with financial need. Apply by 30 September.

Dr. Pepper has a scholarship sweepstakes worth up to $10,000. 

Golden Doors is a scholarship program for students who are DACA eligible or undocumented. They partner with 21 different schools. There is career counseling, mentorship, and more. Apply by 1 October.

Young Arts recognizes talented students in the visual, literary and performing arts. Submit your application by 8 October.

The Jack Kent Cook Scholarship awards artists up to $10,000 for college. It's open to people 8-18 so get your fall app in! It's due by 15 November

Do Good Things for People

Support All Blessings Flow, a non profit who provides assistive devices and medical equipment to those who cannot afford it, with Pickle Ball!

The American Renewal Foundation has a need for folks to help out with landscaping. 

Hooves and Paws Animal Sanctuary would like folks to volunteer to take care of animals

Gentiva Hospice is looking for volunteers to provide companionship.

Want to begin a community service project? Look no further than the United Way!

"The Best School" and "The Best School for You" should be one and the same. You're not buying a pair of shoes. You're going to school for four years. Just because it's a good brand name, doesn't mean it fits you or that you're comfortable there. 

College Corner

Christopher Newport

I Want to Go to UVA

In the graduating class of 2025, 116 students in a class of 297 applied to the University of Virginia. That is basically 40% of the senior class. And of the 116 who applied 41 students were accepted, or 35% of the folks who applied. But that is only 13% of all seniors. UVA is a selective school. WAHS students want to go there. 

Every year I speak with families about their kids going to UVA. Every year folks think they can figure out a formula where they are in that 13% of the graduating class. I wish there were a formula where admission could be guaranteed, but there isn’t. Every year there are outliers to every rule. That said, there are some commonalities in students who are accepted and these are they:

  • GPA: Most of the students who get into UVA have an unweighted GPA no lower than 3.9 (so one or two Bs max) and a weighted GPA of 4.5+ for their JUNIOR year GPA. Why does junior year matter? Because of number 2
  • Early Decision or Early Action: Almost all (except one person) who were admitted to UVA for the class of 2025 applied one of these two cycles. Of that group, a handful were deferred and of that deferred group, only one got in. 
  • AP/DE Classes: Students admitted to UVA had on average 10+ AP/DE classes they had taken at WAHS in the course of their time here. While this seems like you should load up, it’s not true that these are the only classes kids took at WAHS. About ⅓ took PVCC English (those who tend to be more STEM-y) and ⅔ took AP Lit. Students were as likely to take AP Art History as they were to do PVCC Intro to Teaching. Many took AP Econ but there were also plenty who did the PVCC or regular Personal Finance option. While there is no set rule for the APs that unlock the door, challenging yourself seems to be what’s most important. So which APs should you probably consider having? See numbers 4 & 5
  • Advanced Language Class: The vast majority of students accepted at UVA have taken their language all the way through to AP, so if you are wondering whether or not you need to take AP or you can skip it, if UVA is the be all and end all, don’t skip it unless it’s been giving you fits. This is more true for those applying to Arts & Sciences though. For engineering, there were folks who opted against AP but who had done 4 years of the language. The idea of doing language all 4 years is important if it’s possible to do.
  • AP Math: By and large, students admitted to UVA from WAHS took Calculus. While there were some who did not, Calculus is considered a rigorous course. We had only a small number of students (like, think a hand that has been in a farming accident) who did not take any Calc at all. BUT like language and STEM folks, it should be noted that if it’s obvious a kid is not STEM-y, AP Statistics seems to be ok. 

Do all of these students do a sport? Nope. Are they all in leadership? Nope. Have they all done Independent Study? Nope. 

Admitted students have done everything from studying abroad during a summer to earning their Eagle Scout to participating in Model UN to having a leadership role in Journalism. They have done projects large and small, in school and out. They have played sports competitively and some less competitively. They are environmentalists and engineers and swimmers and library board members. They are writers and coders and social justice activists and EMTs. They are passionate about politics and health and video games and teaching. 

What is the point of all that? It’s largely to underscore that that list above is only one piece of the UVA puzzle. It’s to show that what really unites these students is that they are engaged in work and pursuits that they find meaningful and that they are passionate about. Numbers are important. Passion is priceless.

On the Town

Photo by Jared Sluyter on Unsplash
Events:​​​​