MacArthur High School - Levittown Public Schools

MacArthur High School
L e v i t t o w n P u b l i c S c h o o l s
Guidance Newsletter
Guidelines
October, 2011
MacArthur Seniors Honored by National Merit Scholarship
Financial Aid Night
The Guidance Departments of
General Douglas MacArthur High School
and Division Avenue High School
present the annual
Financial Aid Evening
When: Tuesday, November 29th promptly at 7:00 p.m.
Where: MacArthur High School Auditorium
For: Seniors and Juniors and their parents
Mrs. Kathleen Valentino, MacArthur’s
Principal has announced that
MacArthur seniors Jordan Fisher and
Lauren Saunders have been named
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
in the 2012 National Merit
Scholarship Program, and two students
have been designated Commended
Students. Jordan and Lauren
earned this distinction by scoring
in the top 16,000 nationally out of
nearly 1,200,000 students who took
the PSAT in October, 2010. The
Commended Students, Matthew
Cooper and Daniel Cook are
among only 34,000 seniors nationwide
who scored just below the selection
index required for Semifinalist
status.
MacArthur’s National Merit
Scholarship Semifinalists will continue
in the competition to be among
the approximately 14,500Finalists in
the running for some 8,200 Merit
Scholarships worth 33.9 million dollars
to be awarded next spring. Merit
Scholarships will be underwritten by
approximately 500 business organizations
and higher education institutions
as well as by NMSC’s own
funds. To qualify as a Finalist, a
Semifinalist must complete an extensive
application, including an
essay and a recommendation, must
have an outstanding academic record,
must be endorsed by the Principal,
and must submit his or her
latest SAT scores.
Our commended students,
while not continuing in the
competition for scholarships,
have demonstrated that they
are, in the words of an official
of the Merit Scholarship Program,
“a valuable intellectual
resource crucial to our nation’s
well being.”The entire
MacArthur community offers
congratulations to the students,
their families, and their
teachers for winning these .
outstanding honors
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online worksheet
will be distributed at the meeting
Naviance
The MacArthur HS Guidance
Department has selected Naviance’s
Family Connection to
assist us and our students in
managing the college application
process. Naviance’s Family
Connection is a comprehensive
website that students and parents
can use as a tool in planning
for college. Registration
codes were mailed home to all
seniors last spring.
We are pleased to make this
new resource available to our
juniors and seniors, as a complement
to the series of college
-related activities and information
sessions we offer to students
and parents through the
freshman, sophomore, junior,
and senior years. Students are
encouraged to register with
the program and should speak
to their counselors if they have
any questions. Additional training
will take place in the spring
for current juniors
Guidance Direct
MacArthur’s students now
have access to Guidance
Direct, a powerful web
based site for career and
college planning. Go to
www.guidancedirect.com and
click on the student log in
button. You will have to
provide our school id,
2362776 and our password,
G20S4552.
Features include:
Interest Profiler
Occupation Search
Resume Writer
College Search-
Scholarship Search
Career Portfolio

Guidelines
Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation Leadership Seminar
Page 2
ATTENTION TENTH
GRADERS!
The Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation
(HOBY) motivates and
develops future leaders. Each
year weekend programs are held
which bring together the best of
two worlds: high school
sophomores who have demonstrated
leadership qualities meet
with today’s leaders who have
distinguished themselves in business,
education, government, the
arts and sciences, and the
professions.
HOBY is affiliated with
the Kiwanis Club. This year
the dates and locations have
not yet been determined.
There is no cost to the student;
Kiwanis contributes to
HOBY to cover expenses.
The student’s only responsibility
is transportation to the
host campus.
If you are a motivated
tenth grader who is interested
in taking leadership roles both in
and out of school, come to the
Guidance Office for a nomination
form. Seek out and speak with
last year’s HOBY representative
Mia Katz to learn about the
great experiences she had at the
HOBY conference last spring!
Applications are due to the
Guidance Office by November 28
due to the limited number of
representatives.
S t u d e n t A t h l e t e s
All students who are planning
to participate on an
athletic team in college
must register with the
NCAA Initial -Eligibility
Clearinghouse. Visit their
website at
http://eligibilitycenter.org/
to register. You must inform
the Guidance Office that you
have registered so that your
transcripts will be forwarded
to the Clearinghouse. You
should also arrange to have
SAT scores sent directly
to the Clearinghouse
from the College Board. Use
code 9999 when requesting
that scores be sent.
College Mini Fairs Highly Successful
“What should I do when I graduate from high school?” Even though our students are encouraged by their Guidance Counselors to
use our career and college search software and are afforded a complete program review each year, many are still unsure of their goals when it
comes time to apply for college. Most of our students do go to the fall national college fairs
and take advantage of the many opportunities made available to them by their counselors.
For those who are still trying to finalize their choices, we have developed the College Mini-
Fairs.
MacArthur belongs to a consortium of 12 local high schools which sponsor the College Mini-
Fairs. Students are invited to attend the College Mini-Fair with their classes so that a varied
sample of courses and grade levels can be represented. Those students who have a free
period or lunch are also invited to attend. The college representatives have commented very favorably on the number and variety of students
that they have had an opportunity to meet. Over twenty five colleges are represented at each college fair which gives our students the opportunity
to speak with representatives from across the country. The Guidance Counselors are also on hand to encourage students to explore
a variety of college options. We are very appreciative of Mr. Allan Smith, the MacArthur Guidance Counselor who coordinates the College Mini-
Fairs, Mrs. K. Valentino, Principal, and the custodial staff for their efforts in making each College Mini-Fair a smashing success.

Guidance Newsletter
Page 3
Evening Appointments
Each year MacArthur’s Guidance
Counselors have set aside
certain evenings to be available
by appointment to meet with
our parents and their students
who could not attend
the annual conference during
the school day. As per last
year's program, in 2011-2012
six nights will be scheduled in
advance so that parents may
call for an appointment to
meet with their student’s
counselor. We must stress
that evening meetings are limited
in number and by appointment
only.
Counselors schedule a conference
with each student and
parent to provide a one on
one service in order to review
where the student has
been, where he or she is going,
and which current issues
(if any) need to be addressed.
During the conference, the
counselor provides a comprehensive
overview of the four
year plan, including the student’s
status regarding graduation,
and furnishes updated
information on post-secondary
planning. Many of the resources
available to students
are summarized and incorporated
into the discussion of the
student’s status
The evenings scheduled for
2011-2012 are as follows: October
13, November 3, December
8, February 16,
March 15, and April 26.
Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay
June 23, 2009, 12:22 pm
By MARTHA C. MERRILL
Prospective students will
often ask me if a good essay
will really get them accepted.
The truth is that
while no essay will make an
unqualified student acceptable,
a good essay can help a
qualified applicant stand out
from the competition. A
good essay just might be
what turns a “maybe” into a
“yes.”
While there is no magic formula
for the perfect admission
essay, there are a few
things prospective college
students should know. Here
are my Top Ten tips:
Write about yourself. A
great history paper on the
Civil War might be very well
written, but it doesn’t tell
me anything about the
writer. Regardless of the
topic, make sure you shine
through your essay.
Use your own voice. I can
tell the difference between
the voice of a 40-year-old
and a high school senior.
Focus on one aspect of
yourself. If you try to cover
too many topics in your essay,
you’ll end up with a resume
of activities and attributes
that doesn’t tell me as
much about you as an indepth
look at one project or
passion.
Be genuine. Don’t try to
impress me, because I’ve
heard it all. Just tell me what
is important to you.
Consider a mundane
topic. Sometimes it’s the
simple things in life that
make the best essays. Some
of my favorites have included
essays that reflect on
the daily subway ride to
school, or what the family
goldfish observed from the
fishbowl perched on the
family kitchen table. It doesn’t
have to be a life-changing
event to be interesting and
informative.
Don’t rely on “how to”
books. Use them to get your
creative juices flowing, but
don’t adhere too rigidly to
their formulas, and definitely
don’t use their example topics.
While there are always
exceptions, the “what my
room says about me” essay is
way overdone.
Share your opinions, but
avoid anything too risky
or controversial. Your essay
will be read by a diverse
group of individuals from a
wide range of backgrounds,
so try to appeal to the broadest
audience possible.
Tell a good story. Show me
why you are compassionate;
don’t tell me you are. Show
me that you have overcome
great difficulty; don’t start
your essay with “I have overcome
great difficulties.”
Don’t repeat what is
already in your application.
If you go to a
performing arts school
and all of your extracurricular
activities and
awards relate to dance,
don’t write about how
much you love dancing.
Tell me something I
couldn’t know just from
reading the other parts
of your application.
Finally, don’t forget
about the supplements.
The supplement
questions are very important
– you should
plan to spend as much
time on them as you do
on your essay. A wellwritten
essay won’t help
if your supplement answers
are sloppy and
uninformative.

General Douglas MacArthur High School
Kathleen Valentino, Principal
Karen Cole, Department Chair and Guidelines Editor
Levittown Public Schools
Phone: 516-520-8450
Fax: 516-520-8459
Scholarships
Applying for scholarships is quick and easy. Follow these steps to apply for available
scholarships:
Listen to the daily announcements for a list of current scholarships.
Visit the Guidance Office and check the scholarship binder to read about current scholarships.
Select the applications you want from the scholarship drawer in the guidance office.
Fill out the applications.
Return the applications to Mr. Conaghan in the Guidance Office making sure you adhere to the
deadlines.
Ever hear of Time Management?
Strategies on using time
Develop blocks of study time
About 50 minutes? How long
does it take for you to become
restless?
Some learners need more
frequent breaks for a variety
of reasons
More difficult material may
also require more frequent
breaks
Schedule weekly reviews
and updates
Prioritize assignments
When studying, get in the habit
of beginning with the most difficult
subject or task
·Develop alternative study
places free from distractions
to maximize concentration
Got “dead time”? Think of
using time walking, riding, etc.
for studying “bits”
·Review studies and readings
just before class
Review lecture material immediately
after class (Forgetting is
greatest within 24 hours without
review)
·Schedule time for critical
course eventsPapers, presentations,
tests, etc.
Effective aids:
“To Do” list
Write down things you have
to do, then decide what to do
at the moment, what to schedule
for later, what to get
someone else to do, and what
to put off for a later time period
Daily/weekly planner
Write down appointments,
classes, and meetings on a
chronological log book or
chart.
If you are more visual, sketch
out your schedule
First thing in the morning,
check what’s ahead for the day
always go to sleep knowing
you’re prepared for tomorrow
Long term planner
Use a monthly chart so that
you can plan ahead.
Long term planners will also
serve as a reminder to constructively
plan time for yourself