Senior news

Monterey High School

Newsletter #1 August 2010

Seniors, the Monterey Class of 2011 is about to begin an amazing school year. Senior
year is challenging, stressful, full of responsibilities and pressure and, if you do it right, a
year of fun and memories in the making. Making sure that senior year is your best high
school year means staying on top of all of the tasks you need to accomplish to graduate.
You need to take the steps to make a great transition to where you want to be this time
next year, September 2011, whether that is a college or university, a technical training
program, a good job, or the military. To borrow a phrase from our good friends at Texas
Tech, “You can get there from here.” You can absolutely get where you want to be from
Monterey High School.
As you know by now, Monterey is changing and trying to find new ways to serve you
better. We will be working with you this year through “Houses.” You are assigned a
“House,” along with juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, by the first letter of your last
name. You will work with a counselor and principal according to House. The following
list is assignments by counselor and principal:
Mrs. Gail Holdridge/ Mrs. Tertia Atwood: A—D
Mrs. Judy Johnson/ Mr. Vince Garcia E—I
Mrs. Gwen Belk/ Mr. Miles Walston J—N
Mr. Tom Thomson/ Mrs. Jennifer Walden O—S
Mrs. Charlotte Sessom & Mrs. Debbie Pigg/ T—Z
Mr. David Johnson
Our Monterey Principal is Mr. Joe Williams.
This is the first of monthly Senior Newsletters this year. Newsletters will be emailed to
your teachers to post in their classrooms. Extra copies will always be available for you in
a file in the old Counselors’ Office. Pick up your own copy and share it with your
parents. Also check the Monterey website at www.lubbockisd.org/mhs. Click on
“Counselors.” All of the newsletters will be posted there. Be sure to check out this
website for other opportunities. You can even sign up and be notified by email when
new information is posted.
The easiest way to make sure you stay informed is to get your email address to your
counselor’s mailing list. E-mail your counselor and request that your name or your
parents’ names be added to their e-list. Whenever there is a new senior newsletter, you
will receive a copy by e-mail.
A—D gholdridge@lubbockisd.org
E—I jujohnson@lubbockisd.org
J—N gbelk@lubbockisd.org

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M—S tthomson@lubbockisd.org
T—Z dpigg@lubbockisd.org
Newsletters will contain all information about scholarships that come to Monterey.
Many of you are interested in scholarships, and reading the newsletters is the way to find
out what is available through our offices. Other important information will be there, such
as tests required, important dates and deadlines, special college weekends, upcoming
school events, things to watch for and things to watch out for.
Pay close attention to the announcements each day at the beginning of 2nd/6th periods.
Please encourage your classmates to listen or at least let you listen. Each day there is
something on the morning announcements that could be life changing for someone.
Don’t miss out or cause someone else to miss something of importance.
Please do not think that senior year is the year to take it easy. Senior year is a fun year
and will still be a fun year if you work hard in your classes, stay involved in school, and
plan for life after graduation. Remember, what you do now will determine where you
will be September 2011. Where will you be, and will it be your first choice or will you
be in default mode? Make this the year that you live up to your very best potential. You
will be glad you did.

Now for some important senior information:

I. “Junior/Senior Handbook”—available online this year. This book is full of
everything you and your parents need to know, including SAT/ACT/THEA test dates,
all senior activity dates (graduation is Friday, May 27 at 6:00 p.m.), career and
military information, and scholarship information. Essential information is all there
and will be highly useful in college planning, looking up test dates, and sorting out
financial aid terms. We will soon have the handbook on the Monterey website at
www.lubbockisd.org/mhs and also the handbook will be posted on the Lubbock ISD
site.
II. Important Tests
A. THEA (Texas Higher Education Assessment) is required of all students before
they start classes in PUBLIC colleges and universities in the state of Texas, including
college classes offered in high school as dual credit (our South Plains College dual
credit classes). Cost of the test is $30. Online registration is encouraged and available
at http://www.thea.nesinc.com/. Important exceptions: students do NOT have to take
this test if they meet one of the following exemptions---an ACT composite score of
23 (19 minimum score on Eng./Math portions), or SAT composite score of 1070 (500
min. score on Critical Reading/Math portions; do not add Writing), or TAKS scores
of at least a 2200 on ELA with a 3 on writing, and 2200 on Math.
*Very important: ALL students must take the THEA or Accuplacer before starting
Texas public college classes. The only exceptions are the exemptions listed in the
above paragraph. If you were exempt or already took THEA or Accuplacer, you
do not have to re-test.

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 Test Dates for 2010-2011: Fall semester offers only Oct. 16. Spring dates are Feb.
26, April 23, June 18, and July 23. Registration deadlines are approximately one
month before each test.
B. SAT’s and ACT’s. Students planning to attend college must take one or both of
the two main college admissions tests. The SAT consists of Critical Reading, Math
and Writing portions, each ranging from 200 to 800; scores are added for a composite
score. The SAT fee is $47 and is mailed with completed registration materials. You
are encouraged to register online at www.collegeboard.com.
SAT test dates are: Oct. 9 (Sept. 10 registration deadline), Nov. 6 (Oct. 8 deadline),
Dec. 4 (Nov. 5 deadline), Jan. 22 (Dec. 23 deadline), March 12 (Feb. 11 deadline),
May 7 (April 8 deadline), and June 4 (May 6 deadline).
The ACT is also widely accepted by colleges and has scores in four areas: Reading,
English, Math and Science Reasoning. 36 is the maximum score on each section.
The four scores make up a composite score, with 36 the highest score. The ACT
costs $33. With the ACT, there is an optional Writing test. If you choose to take this
test, add $15 to the $33 fee ($48 total). Almost all colleges require the writing. The
site to register for ACT is www.actstudent.org. All registration materials can be
found in the old Counselors’ Office.
ACT test dates are: Sept. 11 (Aug. 6 deadline but late registration plus additional
fees are available through Aug. 20), Oct. 23 (Sept. 17 deadline), Dec. 11 (Nov.
5deadline), Feb. 12 (Jan. 7 deadline), April 9 (March 4 deadline), and June 11 (May 6
deadline).
All test dates can be found in the “Junior/Senior Handbook.”
*If you are planning to attend a community college, such as South Plains College, an
SAT or ACT is not required for admission but would be used if planning to try for
academic scholarships.
III. Lubbock ISD Online School. If you need to pick up a class you do not have room
for in your schedule or you are trying to graduate in January 2011, you may apply for
online courses at www.lubbockisd.org . Registration is Aug. 23 through Sept. 12.
Cost is $150 per semester per course with a $25 late registration fee for those who
register Sept. 13-24. The fall session is Oct. 1 through Nov. 15. Many courses are
available, including two semester of P.E., BCIS A&B, English 4 A&B, Government,
Economics, Health, Communication Applications (Speech), and other required
courses plus some electives.
IV. NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse. Student athletes must be registered to
participate in Division I or Division II athletics in college. Student athletes must
complete registration online. Students complete the forms online, submit the
registration fee, then print off a copy and bring it to our school registrar, Mrs. Connye
Hiracheta, in the main office here at Monterey. Mrs. Hiracheta will then submit your
transcript. www.ncaaclearinghouse.com. There is a fee to register paid online.

V. College and Career Night. Plan to attend this great chance to visit with over 100
representatives from colleges, trade and technical schools, and all branches of the

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 military. Students and their parents are invited to attend on Monday, Sept. 27 from
6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Civic Center.
VI. College Admission
A. Attend College and Career Night Sept. 27.
B. When to apply: deadlines vary, so check the college websites. Check your
“Junior/Senior Handbook” for some Internet addresses. A great website to find
college websites is College Board’s at http://www.collegeboard.com/. Their
search engine will give you a link to almost any university for current
information. This fall is the time to start.
C. What to send to a college: a completed admissions application with application
fee, a completed health form, housing application, transcript from Monterey (Mrs.
Connye Hiracheta in our main office has those), and any required
recommendations. Texas public universities use a Common Application that
will save you a lot of time, especially if applying to more than one university.
These applications can be found online at http://www.applytexas.org/.
D. Our old Counselors’ Office has many college catalogs for your use, as well as
other books and videos that could be of use to you. Come by before or after
school or during your free period to have a look. Also the Monterey Library is a
great source for information, with books, videos, and computer information.
VII. Scholarships and other Financial Aid
A. Credit by Exam is a “hidden” scholarship, which should be used by strong
students. Consider trying to “test out” of college credit through SAT, ACT, SAT
subject tests, CLEP tests or AP tests. Check your college catalog to see the exact
credit by exam policy at your college, because policies vary. What Tech might
honor, UT or SMU might not.
B. Use our dual credit courses that award high school and college credit. South
Plains College has been wonderful to work with our students, affording them very
inexpensive college credit. Current Monterey courses are Art History, Biology
AP, English 4, U.S. History AP, Spanish 3 & 4, Pre-Calculus, Intermediate
Algebra, Statistics., Psychology AP, 3-D Graphics & Animation, Video Tech,
and ECAD.
C. Pay attention to the Senior Newsletters. Everything we learn about will be
advertised this way. Learn to watch the newspaper and magazines for notice of
special scholarships. Be alert.
D. Check with your employer, your parents’ employers, your church, and other
organizations to which you belong. Ask if scholarships are available. Sometimes
money is there, but just not announced unless a deserving student comes forth.
There are scholarships based on special interests or talents, future career plans, or
community activities. Many of these will be listed in “Compendium of Texas
Colleges,” which will come be available for you to check out from our house
counselor.
E. Keep your grades as high as you can. Also do your best on the ACT or SAT.
Many scholarships start first with the grades, class ranks (available in early
September), and test scores.
F. Get to know our LEARN counselor. MHS will have a counselor on campus each
week available to help you and your parents with the complicated financial aid

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 process. Mr. Lee St. Dennis will assist you in finding grants, low interest loans,
and other help, as well as explaining the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal
Student Aid). Listen for announcements. Mr. St. Dennis plans to start his visits
this month. He plans to be available to visit with students each Wednesday
throughout the school year. A Financial Aid Workshop will take place in
February in the Monterey Library in the evening. Parents can also schedule an
appointment to see the LEARN counselor on Fridays at the LEARN main office
located at 2161-50th St.
G. Don’t underestimate the value of combining several smaller scholarships. Many
of the smaller scholarship opportunities will come second semester. Apply for
everything for which you think you have a chance.
H. Realize that if you can make it through your freshman year, there may be many
more scholarships available to you.
I. Apply to college. The largest scholarships are given from the actual
institutions. They have their own scholarship applications and financial aid
offices on their campus. Write to the financial aid office and ask if there are
financial aid/scholarship bulletins for you.
J. Contact the particular department of the college you are attending for information
(i.e. engineering, music, science, ag). Often specific areas have their own
scholarships for students majoring in that field.
K. Keep your good reputation. You will need letters of recommendations, and we
must be truthful. Scholarship committees will want to know about your personal
qualities, as well as academic qualities. Your citizenship and behavior in and out
of school could make a difference. Also, give the person you are asking to write
for you enough time to get the job done well. Let them know as soon as possible.
Provide the person you have asked to recommend you with a stamped envelope
and complete address of where and how you want your letter sent.
L. Parents, plan to file your income tax statements as soon after Dec. 31, 2010 as
possible. Financial aid cannot be processed without parents’ income tax
information from tax records. Try not to wait until April 15 because much of the
grant money could be gone by then. Students can begin filing FAFSA forms on
Jan. 1, 2011, not before that date. It is strongly recommended that FAFSA
be filed online for quicker, more convenient processing. Go to
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Get a PIN now at www.pin.ed.gov to be ready.
M. Check the walls outside the old Counselors’ Office for offers, and check the board
inside our offices for newsletters. New posters are added throughout the year.
N. Consider summer school at a community college after graduation to earn less
expensive credit. It is cheaper, and the classes are smaller.
O. Early graduation tuition scholarships to Texas schools:
• If the student graduates in less than 36 months (9-12), $2,000 (an additional
$1,000 is awarded if the student also graduated with at least 15 hours of
college credit).
• If the student graduates in more than 36 but less than 41 months (ex. January
2011), $500 (an additional $1,000 is awarded if the student also graduated
with at least 30 hours of college credit).

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 • If the student graduated in more than 41 months but less than 46 months (ex.
May 2011) and also has at least 30 hours of college credit, $1,000.
• Students must graduate with a Recommended or Distinguished transcript to
qualify for these benefits.
P. Persistence pays off! Don’t give up.

VIII. SCHOLARSHIPS, so far

A. ROTC scholarships. Available from the Air Force, Army, and Navy/Marines.
Full, four-year scholarships cover all tuition, costs, books, fees, plus a $150 per
month allowance. Awarded on a competitive basis and include military
commitment.
The Air Force ROTC scholarship cycle for the Class of 2011 is now open.
Interested applicants can go online and apply for the national scholarship that has
an estimated minimum value of $55,000 with the highest award level of full
tuition. The scholarships are merit based with minimum qualifications of 3.0
GPA and either an SAT of 1100 or an ACT of 24. Go to http://www.afrotc.com/
B. Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. Wendy’s is inviting all male and
female high school athletes who excel in academics, athletics and leadership to
apply for this award. If you would like to apply, go to www.wendysheisman.com
and begin the process. To be eligible, you must be a senior with at least a “B” or
3.0 average and participate in at least one school-sponsored sport. The first
41,000 nationwide who complete the application will win Wendy’s Gift Cards in
amounts ranging from $5 to $50. Completed applications are due by October 3,
no later than 5:00 p.m. Central.
C. Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. These awards identify and reward
high school students solely on the basis of volunteer work in their communities.
One high school and one middle school student from each state are named state
honorees and receives $1,000, a silver medallion, and an all- expense paid trip to
Washington, D.C. If you have done important volunteer work and would like to
compete for this award, see your house counselor. Monterey may submit one
nominee for this award.
D. Career Colleges & Schools of Texas. Four $1,000 scholarships will be
awarded to students planning to attend certain technical colleges. If this is
your plan, see your house counselor.
E. Horatio Alger Association Scholarship Program. This organization awards
more than $12 million annually in scholarships and grants ranging from
$2,500 to $20,000. The association seeks to help students who have
demonstrated integrity, perseverance in overcoming adversity, strength of
character, financial need, a good academic record, and a desire to contribute to
society. Students must be graduating in spring or summer 2010, committed to
pursue a bachelor’s degree, and be a U.S. citizen. Students may apply from
August 1 through October 30, at www.horatioalger.com/scholarships.
F. Application/Scholarship Deadlines for Texas A&M and UT Austin. Both
of these competitive Texas universities have early deadlines. Both schools
have scholarship deadlines of December 1, and they are firm on their

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 deadlines. UT has an admissions deadline of December 1 and Texas A&M
has a deadline of January 15. Start working now at www.applytexas.org.
IX. Exit-level TAKS. Seniors needing a portion/portions of the TAKS will be tested
on the following dates:
English/Lang. Arts Tues., Oct. 19
Math Wed., Oct. 20
Science Thurs., Oct. 21
Social StudiesFriday, Oct. 22

X. Important Dates:
A. January Graduation—at Monterey on Thursday, January 6, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
If you are planning to finish first semester and graduate in January, see your
house counselor as soon as possible so we can order your diploma.
B. Advanced Placement tests (AP) at MHS, May 2-13, 2011
C. Senior Exams—Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24, 2011
D. Senior Check-out—Wednesday, May 25; Thursday, May 26—final senior
meeting.
E. Graduation Rehearsal—Friday, May 27 from 4-5:30 p.m.
E. Graduation! 6:00 p.m., Friday, May 27, 2011 United Spirit Arena
F. Summer Graduation—Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011
XI. Wired
There are some wonderful websites that can help students and parents during this
busy, hectic, scary and exciting senior year. Check your Junior/Senior Handbook
for some specific college sites, scholarship search sites, and general information sites.
Here are a few helpful places:
A. College Board has a very helpful site with great connections for students
wanting to explore colleges, college majors and careers. Students may also
register for upcoming SAT’s here, as well as a personalized web-based resource
designed to help students with college information. You can even download an
easy-to-use, free mini-SAT and take a 68-question timed test with real SAT test
questions. You then get a detailed analysis of your performance and a study plan.
Go to http://www.collegeboard.com/.
B. FastWeb is a very good source for scholarship information. FastWeb will ask
you questions and match you up with scholarships that you might want to pursue.
www.fastweb.com.
C. Another good site in the same category as FastWeb is http://collegeanswer.com.
This site has a good college database, scholarship search, and helpful checklists
on how to interview, complete applications, and apply for financial aid.
D. There’s no place like home! Don’t forget to frequently check out the Monterey
website at www.lubbockisd.org/mhs.
E. College for Texans. This state site offers all sorts of essential information:
preparing for college, paying for college (FAFSA, Texas Grant, etc.), career
information, and the military. Go to http://www.collegefortexans.com/.

Class of 2011, get ready for the adventure to begin!