PSAT TEST

The PSAT/NMSQT is a great way to preview and practice for the SAT. It will test the same skills and knowledge as the SAT — in a way that makes sense for your grade level.

When you get your test results, connect your College Board and Khan Academy®accounts to get free personalized SAT study recommendations.

The test is October 14th, 2015. We start promptly at 8:00 a.m. We will test in lab 99, be early! The fee is $15.00 and due when signing up. Please make checks available to Illinois Valley Central High School. We have limited spots so the deadline to sign up is September 25th, 2015. Please call Mrs. Myers or Ms. Lee with additional questions (309) 274-5481. Please see below the changes that have been made to the 2015 PSAT/NMSQT.

College Information

Be sure to check the guidance calendar (click here) for the latest info on visiting colleges to IVC. First up, Western is here September 8th. Look for more information in guidance!

Attention all freshmen and sophomores students in health and behind the wheel, this Thursday, September 3rd, you will taking your NWEA MAP tests during extended homeroom in the library. Please bring your chromebook and an alert mind! 

Parents, here is a link to the NWEA's toolkit that provides insight to their different assessments. Please call the guidance department if you have any questions. 

https://legacysupport.nwea.org/node/4661

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha

"The things you say, the things you think, the things you do—even the things you don’t do—all produce energy that impacts you and the people around you. If you work on creating more positive energy, you’ll see improvements in your life and you’ll touch more lives than you thought possible."

Spread some positive energy today by telling a loved one how awesome they are! Happy Wednesday everyone! 

Parent College Breakfast

Combatting Test Anxiety

(We wanted to repost this article again to address the topic of test anxiety)

"I know the material but when the test arrives, I draw a blank."  We hear that quite frequently in the Guidance Department. Test anxiety can most easily be described as the excessive worrying about performing well on a test. Test anxiety can be very tough to overcome. With a little bit of work, though, it can be reduced.

• Preparing for the test is the best way to counter test anxiety.  The #1 reason for test anxiety is that the student is not confident that he or she truly knows the material. Confidence comes from preparation.
• Reducing negative thoughts is so important when taking a test and preparing for that test. Think positive.  Nothing will be gained from dwelling on "horrible things will turn out."
• Exercising actually helps with test stress. Go for a run or work out before a big test.
• Getting a good night's sleep plays a huge role in reducing text anxiety. Being well-rested will make it so much easier to focus on the test and not the anxiety getting in the way of doing well.
• Taking your time on a test will help reduce anxiety.  Do no rush through it; do not worry about when other people are finishing.  Pace yourself well.  If a question is taking too long, move on and come back to it.
• Chewing gum during the exam helps you focus more on the test and less on the thoughts that make you anxious.
• Starting with the easier questions first will help you build confidence to attack the more difficult parts of the test later.

Great News About AP Testing

----Press release from the College Board AP Program----

The Advanced Placement Program® is happy to share with you the tremendous news that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner last week signed into law HB 3428, legislation requiring all Illinois public colleges and universities to award credit to students who submit scores of 3 and higher on AP® Exams. This applies to entering freshmen at Illinois public institutions of higher education beginning in the fall of 2016.
This new policy will ensure that Illinois students receive the college credits they can earn as a result of their hard work in AP. At a time when AP participation and performance has increased significantly in the state, this law provides more students with a greater opportunity to graduate from college on time.
Our community — including educators, students, and families — played a critical role throughout the legislative process. We appreciate those of you who contacted elected officials expressing support for this important initiative. Your voices clearly were heard, as reflected in the overwhelming bipartisan support the bill received.
We are also grateful for the leadership of the bipartisan group of public officials who worked for this result, including Governor Rauner and the bill's authors: Representatives Carol Sente (Vernon Hills) and Mike Fortner (West Chicago) and Senator Pat McGuire (Crest Hill).
Graduates of the class of 2016 who attend Illinois public institutions of higher education will be the first students to benefit from this new law. We appreciate your unique role, as AP educators, in ensuring that students and parents in your community are aware of this exciting news.

Sincerely,
Advanced Placement Program

ATTENTION FRESHMEN!!!

ALL incoming freshmen will attend the Link Crew freshman orientation on Wednesday, August 12th, 2015 from 8-12. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes - you will be movin' and groovin'. Questions? Contact Laura Stewart at lstewart@ivcschools.com or call 309-274-5481.

Senior Honors Night

We will be honoring seniors this Wednesday night at 6:30 in the IVC Auditorium. Any students with a GPA above 3.25 should attend. Over $150,000 in scholarship will also be awarded. Students receiving an award or scholarship with a GPA below 3.25 will be contacted to let them know they need to attend.

Deadline for Scholarship Apps Quickly Approaching

The deadline for all scholarship application is Friday at 3:30. All applications must be in to Mrs. Myers by the student before 3:30. Parents may not turn in applications. No late applications will be accepted.

Federal and State Aid Estimators - From ISAC

The Illinois Students Assistance Commission (ISAC) is pleased to announce the availability of two online aid estimators via ISAC's Student Portal.

These estimators - which currently use formulas for the upcoming 2015-16 academic year - may be used to help students get an idea of the types and amounts of federal and state financial assistance for which they may potentially qualify. Once the decision is made to apply for addmission and attend college, students must then submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to actually apply for most forms of federal, state and institutional assistance - including ISAC's Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant.

Accessing the Aid Estimators

CLEP Testing - Get a head start on college

We recently had a parent workshop on the advantages of CLEP testing.  CLEP tests are credit earning exams offered by the College Board.  They are somewhat similar to AP testing. Each college or university has their own set of rules as to what CLEP credits they accept. 

I have attached the presentation that was shared at the parent meeting. It has been changed a bit to give you the basic framework of the CLEP testing process.  It is definitely worth some investigation. It may save thousands of dollars.

Click here for presentation

2015 Grand Traverse Service Trip

For the past three years, a group of IVC students and faculty have traveled up to Kewadin, MI for a week-long service on the Grand Traverse Reservation. The trip is open to any sophomore, junior, or senior student.  Over the past three years, the people on the reservation have become an extended family.  Any interested student stop by the guidance office for more information.

The particulars of the trip are as follows:

Truitt Scholarship Workshop Rescheduled

The Truitt Scholarship workshop has been rescheduled for Thursday afternoon at 2:40 in the auditorium.  The workshop should last roughly 30 minutes.  All students who were invited to apply for the scholarship should make every effort to attend the workshop.  It is the only opportunity to get the inside tips for filling out the application.

Although it is short notice for the rescheduled workshop, it was important to do it as soon as possible so that the students had ample time to get the application completed.  Waiting until next week would have only given the students two weeks to finish application.

Peoria Area Regional College Fair

Bradley University is hosting the Peoria Area Regional College Fair on Thursday, March 5th from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Renaissance Coliseum. More than 80 college and university representatives will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about their respective schools.  The event is free and open to all high school students. Additional information can be found at:

  www.bradley.edu/sites/collegefair/ . 

U of I Engineering Open House

Coming up in a couple weeks is a great opportunity for those students interested in engineering. The University of Illinois is having their annual Engineering Open House (EOH) on March 13th &14th. It is a great way for students to get exposure to engineering careers, technology, college life, and resources at the University of Illinois.

I have attached a visitor's guide to the event. The guide is very extensive in its explanation of the event and does take a minute or two to download. To view the guide, click here.

SIUE Engineering Camp

What a fantastic opportunity to not only get some exposure to the engineering world but also get a taste of what it is like to be on a college campus.

SIUE Engineering Summer Camp is
designed to introduce high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in science and technology to various areas of engineering, computer science, and construction. Campers design and program a video game, build robots, bridges, rockets, and hydropowered vehicles, and get to see environmental science in action.

Click here for more information.

Local Scholarship Applications Available

Seniors met in the auditorium this morning during HR period and were given a list of all the available local scholarships. Last year, over 40 scholarships were awarded totally over $160,000. Although we do not have exact figures for all of this year's scholarships, it is pretty fair to expect an amount very similar to last year.

To view scholarship list, click here.

All scholarships due March 27 at 3:30. No late applications will be accepted.

Grey Ghost Pride Night - Stop by Guidance Area

The Guidance Department will be hosting "The Bedroom" at Grey Ghost Pride Night on March 4th. "The Bedroom" is an interactive exhibit designed to increase parental awareness of potential drug and alcohol situations and open that line of communication with teens.  Please stop by and see the display. You will not be disappointed.

In addition to "The Bedroom", the Guidance Dept. will have computers available in the event that 8th grade students or parents want to adjust the class selection for next fall. This is the perfect evening to get all those questions answered and schedules adjusted.

MAP Grant Suspended This Weekend

-- This information was just released from ISAC --

The Illinois Student Assistant Commission (ISAC) is suspending the announcement of the 2015-2016 Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for students whose initial 2015-2016 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after Sunday, February 22, 2015.

What this means... For a student to be included in consideration for a MAP grant, FAFSA must be entered by this Saturday. Even if you cannot complete the FAFSA, you must start the process and get the student's name into the system by tomorrow.

ICC Scholarship Information

Students planning on attending ICC next fall are encouraged to apply for scholarship assistance. The ICC Educational Foundation offers more than 600 scholarships in many different areas.

It is easy for students to seek assistance by competing just ONE online application. That's right...one application for all 600+ scholarships.

Apply at: www.icc.edu/scholarships

Applications must be submitted by April 1st.

Experience ICC Scholarships

This scholarship is designed for students who plan to take summer classes at ICC...

A How-to Guide for Completing the Freshman Registration Form

Planning a schedule for freshman year can be quite an intimidating process. Hopefully this blog post will help students and parents through the process. Registration sheets are due by Friday, February 13th to the student's grade school main office.

The front side of the registration sheet is the demographic portion. It is important that it be filled out completely since the information will be entered into the computer system.

College Loan Workshop

--Attention Seniors and Parents--

IVC Guidance will be offering an extremely informative workshop detailing how the college loan process works.  Kelly Woods from Discover will be conducting the workshop.  As many might remember, Discover sponsored a fantastic workshop in the fall on financial aid.  This is a follow-up to that workshop.  Included in the college loan workshop: types of loans, what works best for your situation, things to look at and be aware of, and when and if you get a loan.

Wednesday, March 25th

6:30 p.m.

IVC Library

ICC Placement Test

Any senior who plans to attend ICC in the fall should register for the upcoming placement exam.  The exam covers mathematics and reading.  Results from the exam will be given to each student by his or her counselor roughly a week after the exam.

Wednesday, March 3rd

8:30 a.m.

Please sign up in the Guidance Office as soon as possible.

ACT Prep Class

ACT TEST - March 3rd

Prep Class - Jan 26 - Feb 25

Registration for prep class ends Jan 23rd.

Cost - $50 (includes ACT Prep book)

Class takes place two or three times per week from 2:45-4:15. 

Every point matters on the ACT.  It can make the difference between a $2,500 scholarship and a $10,000 scholarship.  All students are encourages to take the ACT.

Continue reading for complete ACT Prep class schedule.

Local scholarship dates announced

Each year, over $160,000 is given out in local scholarships. These scholarships range from $250 to $75,000.  Last year, there were 45 different scholarships awarded to graduating seniors.  With the growing cost of college, every penny helps.

Here is a breakdown of the upcoming dates...

2015 FAFSA step-by-step walkthrough

For anyone who missed the FAFSA presentation at IVC last night, you might want to take a look at this 50 minute presentation that was offered by Zinch.com. There is even a Q&A with questions that were submitted during the webinar.

FAFSA Workshop

All parents and students are invited to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid workshop on Wednesday, January 14th at 6:30 pm in the IVC Library. Seniors and their parents are strongly encouraged to attend this workshop as financial aid as well as most scholarship opportunities require the completion of FAFSA.  Janet Ozuna from Midstate College will be present to walk students and parents through the FAFSA process.

Wednesday, January 14th

IVC High School Library

6:30 P.M.

Earning College Credit While at IVC

There are two different ways a student can earn college credits while still in high school.  It is a great way to save some money and get a jump start on a college career.  Dual credit classes and taking a part time schedule at ICC give students the opportunity to earn more than one semester of college credit.  Imagine starting college with one semester already completed.

Here is how it works...