Connections Summer Newsletter
Summer 2024
Thank you for another incredible year of exploration and congratulations to our newest graduates. We are thankful to have the opportunity to work with our TCA students by visiting classes 30+ times over their four years with us, in addition to S’more topic-specific lessons, full-class guest speakers on Choosing a College and Financial Aid, 7 Career Chats, 50+ College Visits, 3 Mini College Fairs with 40+ colleges represented, one-on-one advising sessions, Bingo game days and even a Connections field trip to the Southern Colorado Construction Career Days! If you want to be certain you won’t miss any of our MORE THAN 100 exploration events each year, use this iCal link to import into your calendar:
Note: this is not a hyperlink that will open the calendar; it must be imported into your calendar.
Not sure how?
Have an amazing summer and we’ll see you in the fall!
Save the Date
TCA
Upcoming Events in Connections
September 3, 6:00-8:00: Junior/Senior/Financial Aid Family Night
6:00-6:40 Junior Connections Family Night
6:45-7:10 Financial Aid (open to all grades)
7:15-8:00 Senior Connections Family Night
September 4, 6:00-7:00: Freshmen & Sophomore Connections Family Night
September 12: Construction Days Field Trip hosted by Connections. Deadline to register Sept. 5.
September 13: Deadline to Pay AP Exam(s) and Optional PSAT/NMSQT Exam in Infinite Campus.
September 23: Mini-College Fair
September 30: Mini-College Fair
October 10: PSAT/NMSQT Exam. Deadline to register by paying the optional fee in Infinite Campus is September 13.
In the Community and Beyond this Summer
June 11th - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm at Library 21c (Colorado Springs): 2024 ROAR Summer College Search Series: Regional admissions counselors from a variety of institutions across the nation meet at libraries to provide college search programming for students. Events include a Q&A panel and a college fair. This program runs from Sunday, June 9th through Thursday, June 13th. Students are encouraged to preregister via Strivescan, but walk-ins are always welcome. More days and locations here.
June 18, 10:00-1:00: Apprenticeship Career Fair at Citizens Service Center at 1675 Garden of the Gods Rd. Register here.
August 14, 7:00-9:00: CTCL College Fair, Denver Doubletree Hotel. 40+ schools. Free, register online in advance.
In the Community next Fall
September 12 - Southern Colorado Construction Career Days
September 23 - Christian College Fair
September 23 - Southern Colorado College Fair
September 29 - NACAC College Fair
Virtual
Coalition for College is hosting the following webinars:May 30, 6:00-6:45: Insider’s Guide to Visiting College Campuses
June 12, 6:00-6:45: Discovering Majors and Careers
June 18, 6:00-6:45: Supporting Your Student Through Their College Search
July 9, 12:00-12:45: The College Essay
July 23, 12:00-12:45: All About Testing
August 14, 6:00-6:45: Behind the Scenes of the Admissions Committee
The Boettcher Foundation is hosting webinars on “Everything You Need to Know About Scholarships.” During these webinars, we will discuss how students can “ACE” their college and scholarship applications, including tips on how to help your applications stand out. You can register to attend one of the webinars by clicking on the date you wish to attend (please note that you only need to attend one, as the same information will be presented during each webinar)
Grade Level and Back to School Checklists
CLASS 2025: Preparing for Senior Year Advisor - Joanna Peters
As you approach your senior year, cherish every moment possible. The fights with your friends; forgiveness, and understanding are life lessons. The feeling of passing an exam without studying; is not the best strategy, but sometimes it happens. Most importantly, cherish those hugs from your family and friends. Don't ever think that you will have time to do everything you want for your senior year because it goes by lightning fast. Be you and have a blast this upcoming year. Don't stress out about academics too much but keep your grades up.
Forge your own path and follow your true passion, whether that includes higher education or not. No matter where you end up, you will find your niche, and you will surpass the expectations that have been placed upon you. I look forward to the next, and final year working together and helping as you plan for your future.
Here are a few Do’s and Don’ts as you look forward to your senior year. Planning now makes the new school year start smoother.
The fall semester of your senior year is your last chance to put your best foot forward on college applications. The start of the year is quite busy so preparing over the summer makes the beginning of the year go a lot smoother. Use the summer before your last year of high school to get ahead on your college applications. Ways to accomplish that include drafting college admissions essays, updating your resume, asking about recommendation letters, planning to retake the SAT or the ACT, researching scholarship options, and touring more campuses. Here is a link to help you stay on top of the process.
How to Create a College List with tracking spreadsheet: Keep making progress. Make sure you’re excited about all the schools on your list, not just the reaches. Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be is a great read. Here is a great campus visit checklist.
It is common and even expected that parents be part of visits to their children’s prospective colleges. After all, someone needs to book the trip, be a chaperone for overnight visits, and more. But how involved should parents be in activities once everyone arrives on campus? Here is a short list of what parents should and should not do during college visits.
Summer is a good time to start working on completing the Common Application. This is one application that can be used to apply to over 900 colleges. The personal statement/essay is a part of the application. We will be working on this at the start of the year. Read these tips if you want to get a head start on the process.
As you are working on your resume and applications, here is a helpful list of action verbs.
Getting ahead for the fall: While we will walk through the application process IN DETAIL next fall, we know some of you wanted to work ahead over the summer. Click here if you would like to complete some of these steps.
How to Write a College Essay: Wondering how to get started on your college essays this summer? Read this step-by-step guide, which walks you through the process.
IF you are applying to a college/university in Colorado, consider applying to Colorado schools for free during Colorado FREE Application Days in October. More details will be announced in September 2024.
CLASS OF 2026 - Advisor Joanna Peters
This year has been a blast watching you connect the dots for career exploration. As I mentioned in class, here is the list of resources we have explored throughout these past three years. Once you catch up on sleep, spend a little time checking out your results (Naviance>Self-Discovery), and updating your resume (Naviance>About Me). You can even enter your Community Service hours and write your reflection papers. Happy exploring! See you in the fall!
CLASS OF 2027 - Advisor Katina Dahl
Class of 2028 - Advisor Katina Dahl
Welcome to 9th grade! Come and visit us in the Connections Center this fall. Take a break in our living room! Ask a question! We call our center the Connections Center because our department is where you explore opportunities and make plans for AFTER TCA. We call it TCA2Life! We are located in Room 1104 (near the snack machine); our door is always open.
Community Service
Help Us Help You
Our team supports every family. We strive to always be aware of opportunities as we advise our families. We want to partner with you and your teen. We have created a form to complete that WILL STAY CONFIDENTIAL in Connections.
EXPLORATION
Naviance
Here is a Naviance Quick Guide on how to set up a parent/guardian account and use Naviance tools. Registration codes were sent to new users on May 20. If you did not receive the email or need help setting up your account, send an email to tcavisits@asd20.org after August 12.
Naviance College, Career and Life Readiness Curriculum: Families, many of you have asked questions about what your children are learning as it relates to college, career, and life readiness. Within the Naviance tool, there are short lessons that align with our lessons in the classroom. Working through these short lessons together might be helpful to launch family conversations about finances, scholarships, or career exploration. Click here for how to complete a lesson.
Student Readiness Reports have been run and sent to guardians. Click here for an overview of how to view your 9th-11th student(s)’ reports.
Other Resources
Check out the links below for specific interests:
TEENS WORK OUT FOR FREE
Testing
AP Testing: Testers have until June 20 to sign into My AP and send one free score report to the college, university, or scholarship organization of your choice. Once you sign in, you’ll be prompted to make your selection. Scores will also be available to all students on the student AP scores website starting on Monday, July 8.
Testing over the Summer
Both the SAT and the ACT are available over the summer.
Next ACT Test Date 7/13/2024 with registration by 6/7/2024 ACT Registration ACT Test Prep
Next SAT Test Date 8/24/2024with registration by 8/9/2024 SAT Registration SAT Test Prep
Save The Date: PSAT/NMSQT Exam - this October for Sophomores & Juniors
The 2024-25 PSAT/NMSQT exam will be digital. Currently, you can complete full-length practice tests.. Per College Board: PSAT/NMSQT practice tests will be available in Bluebook (the digital platform) you can Download the Bluebook App and Practice.
Free test prep: If you’re planning to test in late summer into the fall, take advantage of these resources:
Official SAT Practice Tests (College Board)
Khan Academy (SAT Free Official SAT Practice Tests | College Board)
ACT Academy with Practice Tests
How to Improve Your ACT Score by 2 Points in 20 Minutes
More test prep resources are on the Connections webpage.
Connections Center (Career & College)
Jodi Hoffman, Office Manager - College & Career Visits, Community Service
Katina Dahl, Advisor - Freshmen, Sophomore, AP, PSAT/NMSQT
Email: tcavisits@asd20.org
Website: tcatitans.org
Location: 975 Stout Road, Colorado Springs, CO
Phone: 719-484-0091 1104