Thursday, October 18

I am working on the college essays today; Ms. Harmon will continue with the presentations.

Monday and Tueday, October 15 and 16

We are continuing with the presentations.

Nice Work!

On Friday, you will write your short reflection and grade your partner.

Friday, October 12 presentations continue

Great start yesterday.
Keep up the excellent work!

I did not recieve outlines from the following:
 Nicole, Brittany, Mikeya, Jonathan, Eysa

Please find below some information Ms. Kasdin would like you to review before heading to the college fair next Wednesday.

college fair tips

College fairs are an all-inclusive way to find out about colleges of interest to you because a variety of college representatives are gathered together in one place. Use these tips to make the most out of your college fair experience.
Go prepared. Before you attend a college fair, make a list of colleges that interest you the most. Then visit the websites of the colleges on your list to try to find as much general information as possible. This will allow you to ask more in-depth questions when you talk to representatives at the fair.
Make a list of questions. Make a list of your most important questions beforehand, so you don't forget what you want to ask. Focus on questions that pertain to your interests. Ask about majors that you are interested in pursuing. What kind of classes will you have to take for those majors? What are recent graduates of those majors doing now? How safe is the campus and its surrounding neighborhoods? What is the campus environment like on the weekends? What kinds of campus job opportunities are available? Just remember to ask questions that you couldn't find answers to from researching the websites.
Make student information labels. Most colleges will have inquiry cards that they will want you to fill out, which will place you on their mailing lists. You can save a lot of time at the fair by bringing along self-stick labels to place on the cards. Include your contact information, e-mail address, birthday, high school graduation date, GPA, and areas of interest. Many college fairs feature a barcode/scanner process that makes collecting this information easier. Be sure to pre-register online and print out your barcode if this process will be available at any college fairs you will be attending.
Take notes. Bring a pen and a notebook or a smartphone/tablet. You will need these to take notes with when talking to college representatives. Don't expect to remember everything they say without recording the info.
Check out the floor plan. When you arrive at the college fair, go over the floor plan so you will know where the college reps you want to speak with are located. Mapping out your route will give you time to talk with the college representatives from your top colleges first. If there's still time left after that, browse around other tables that catch your eye.
Pass out your resume. Handing out your high school resume at college fairs will show college representatives that you are a go-getter. College reps like to see students who have made the effort to compile a resume. Your resume will allow the representatives to see what kind of a student you are and allow them to take it back to their colleagues in college admissions for review.
Get business cards. Ask the college representatives for their business cards. You may want to get in contact with them again if you have further questions.
Attend information sessions. Many college fairs offer information seminars on topics such as financial aid, the search process, applications, etc. These sessions will give you the opportunity to ask questions about the college planning and admission process.
Follow up. Once the college fair is over, you should read over the college pamphlets that you received and the notes that you took. For the colleges that you are really interested in, follow up by taking virtual tours of the campuses and scheduling college visits.

College Fair Topics and Questions

Are you wondering how to start a conversation with a college rep? Here are some tips for conversing and getting answers to important questions. It's a good idea to write out a list of things that are important to you before you go. Don't feel like you have strange priorities or weird questions if something off-beat is interesting to you. College reps hear the same questions all the time, so they'll be glad to hear something new. If you wonder about gay life on campus, the potential for racial tension, or if you're worried about spiders in the dorms, go ahead and ask about it.

• Start off with "Hello, how are you?" or "Hi, my name is..." for a relaxed beginning to your conversation.
  
• Try not to ask a vague question like "Tell me about your college," since the rep will have no idea where to start. That can be frustrating for the college rep and the student, because the conversation will have no direction.
  
• Be specific with questions by saying things like "Tell me about class spirit" or "Can you give me examples of some campus traditions," instead. Those types of questions will give you a sense of the atmosphere and give the rep something specific to talk about.
  
• Ask for a list of majors that you can take with you and look over later.
  
• Ask about the enrollment deadline and the recommendations for taking the SAT. Some colleges will need scores earlier.
  
• Ask if subject scores (like SAT II Math or History) are required or recommended.
  
• Feel free to ask if the rep can waive your application fee, but know that this usually works best at private colleges.
  
• Ask if there are any scholarship secrets. There are many little-known tricks that differ from college to college, but the conversation doesn't always get around to this in a rushed environment like a college fair.
  
• You will want to know the admission requirements, of course, but you may also want to ask whether admissions officers make decisions on numbers, or if they really do consider activities. Some college go by scores and grades and follow a formula. Other colleges really give greater weight to activities, experience, and interests.
  
• Ask if a student leader can contact you to give you a student's perspective. Provide an email address for this.
  
• Go ahead and ask about the food. Sometimes there are many choices and other times there aren't. Remember, you'll have to live with it for four years.
  
• Find out the safety history of the campus and the surrounding town. Sometimes the campus rests in an area where high crime takes place just outside the area considered the campus. A representative may not mention this. This is also something you should research on your own, before you get too attached to the dream. Be safe!
  
• Ask how many of the students drop out, transfer away, or how many stay and graduate. College reps may cringe at this one, because student retention is a touchy issue at many colleges. A low retention rate may be a warning sign, though.
  
• Ask: "What's the biggest complaint from current students?"
  
• Is tutoring available?
  
• If class size is important, ask about it. Keep in mind, however, that class sizes are less important when good individual tutoring is available.
  
• Find out if tutoring is free.
  
• Ask for a direct phone number for an admission counselor and a financial aid counselor, to avoid getting caught up in an automated phone quagmire at some point. Smaller colleges will be happy to provide this, but larger colleges may not. It's always worth a try.
  
• Find out if the administration listens to student concerns. This is one of the things you might want to ask a student leader.
  
• Ask if you'll have to pay for parking or if you'll have to walk a million miles from parking lot to classes.
  
• Ask how the food plan works.
  
• If you are very conservative or very liberal in your thinking, ask about the political/social climate. This is one of the things that could cause a feeling of discomfort or alienation down the road. It's not a silly question.

Thursday, October 11 project presentations day 1

At the beginning of class, the outlines are due.
Then~~~~~ we start presentations.

Tuesday, Oct 9 History of Journalism project continues

Period 6 Journalism will be testing in 251 today. That will  bring all classes up on the same schedule.
     So...to reinterate: ALL OUTLINES ARE DUE THIS THURSDAY! Each group or individual will turn one in at the beginning of class.  Presentations will begin on Thursday. This is random; so everyone is expected to be ready to go. This is a good thing, as it means you will have nothing demanding on your plate, until we move on to the next project. 
Remember: with the exception of prezis, everything should be on your thumb drive. If you are working with a partner- and this individual is not there, for any reason whatsoever- you will need to present. Make sure both of you have all the information / thumb drive / passwords needed. Those not ready when called upon forfeit 10 points off the top and must make it up after school.
Frustrated with your partner? Is he or she not contributing equally? You will be grading each other in the 50% category. You non-biased assessment is important. No kvetching to me! 

If you are unsure about the details and expectations of this project, please check back to last Wednesday's blog.
              Grading: 1) outline 2) presentation, which is divided into oral presentation skills and content 3) your partner evalution or if you worked individually, a short self-reflection.

Thursday, October 4 history of journalism day 3

This is research day.  Periods 6 and 8 will turn in their outline's on Wednesday; period 3 will turn in theirs on Thursday, as they were testing Tuesday.

Selections are on yesterday's blog.
Detailed instructions- and the time line- is on Tuesday's.

Questions? Obstacles?    contact me!

Friday, October 5 day 4 history of journalism project

At this point in time, everyone should be winding up his or her research. Check back to Tuesday's blog to review the original assignment.
Updates: as period 3 was pulled out for testing, their outlines are due next Thursday.
                period 8 is being pulled out for testing today; so their outlines are due next Thursday as well.
               At this point in time, period 6 still has their outlines due next Wednesday.
Presentations will begin in random order on the day all class outlines are due.


Note from Mrs. Harmon:
I am missing a few resumes and cover letters, but DON'T PANIC!! I know I received most of them, but between collecting hard copies and emails a few seem to have been misplaced--I apologize! I need new copies from the following people:

Period 3:
Landon: resume
Ryder: both
George :both
Nicole: both
Quinton: both
Hannah: cover letter

Period 6:
Kendall: both
Shamira: resume
Joe: both
Javaris: both

Period 8:
Linai: both

Once again, I apologize--please print out the new copies before the end of class! Thanks!