Attached is a draft copy of our senior activity calendar. Mark your calendars for all of the exciting things on the horizon!

Completing FAFSA or an opt-out form is a graduation requirement for all seniors. We are fortunate to have a partnership with LEARN to assist students and families that would like help completing this important step.

LEARN will be hosting one more FAFSA day at Monterey. There are still a few appointment slots available on February 27th. Both the student and at least one parent or legal guardian MUST be present for the appointment. Please double check your availability before scheduling. You may schedule an appointment HERE. Call Rhonda, your LEARN Talent Search advisor, with any questions regarding your appointment at (806) 763-4265.

Both parent and student MUST have their FSA-ID created 3-4 days before your appointment. If you still need to create a FSA-AD, follow THIS LINK to do that before your appointment. If you already have an FSA ID from helping an older student or from your own college financial aid, please make sure you are still able to log in. Take care of this step now.

Things to bring to your FAFSA appointment include:

• Both student and parent FSA-IDs
• The parents' 2023 IRS 1040 & W-2s
• The student's 2023 IRS 1040 & W2s if they worked and/or filed taxes in 2023.
• Any social security/disability, child support, TANF, workers comp, or SNAP benefits.

If you plan to complete the FAFSA on your own, we encourage you to start now! You can find everything that you need on the FAFSA website.

Students that have ordered caps & gowns will be able to pick them up on Thursday, March 13th from 2:00 - 5:30 in the foyer of the auditorium. We cannot wait to see you looking sharp in your graduation swag!

When you get your cap and gown, try it on to make sure that it fits. Also, hang it up, steam it, or put it in the dryer to get the wrinkles out of it. DO NOT IRON your gown.

IF YOU HAVE NOT ORDERED YET, YOU WILL WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THAT ASAP! Parents often ask if they can use the cap and gown of an older sibling. If your sibling graduated prior to 2022, their cap and gown WILL NOT match our newly designed regalia. If you are in doubt, please check with your alpha counselor.

We don't want any student to not participate in the graduation ceremony because of financial obstacles. If you need to make arrangements to borrow a cap & gown, please visit with your alpha counselor ASAP.

Any questions regarding cap & gown orders can be directed to:

Herff-Jones

2904 50th St. Lubbock, Texas 79413

Phone: (806) 744-7737

E-mail: info@westtexasgrad.com

Website: www.westtexasgrad.com

If you call and get the answering service, leave a message. They will get back to you.

For the purpose of determining honor/high honor graduates, salutatorian, and valedictorian, the district will calculate final GPA and class rank at the end of the 3rd 9 weeks grading period. Grades will continue to be calculated throughout the end of the semester and will be reflected on the final transcript, but class ranking and GPA will be locked after the end of the 3rd 9 weeks.

Honor hoods will available to purchase for students that qualify as Honor Graduates (3.5 and above) or High Honor Graduates (4.0 and above) beginning April 7th. A list will be posted outside of alpha houses. Honor hoods cost $20 (cash or check only) and can be purchased from Mrs. Lewis.

We will have a mandatory senior meeting beginning at 8:15 in the auditorium on Tuesday, March 4th. This is a testing day for all 9-11th grade students. Every senior is required to attend. Lots of important graduation related information will be discussed in this meeting. We will have tables set up for students to take care of several graduation related jobs before or after the meeting. This will be an important meeting for all seniors to attend.

Many scholarships are currently posted in our Senior Google Classroom, several with quickly approaching deadlines. It is a good practice for students to check regularly to see what has posted and what they are eligible to apply for. Make sure that all required parts of an application are submitted- pay attention to the details and don't let deadlines sneak up on you!

We also encourage students to create profiles on scholarship search websites. Students will get emails sent to them with information about multiple scholarships that they can apply for. You can find a list of good places to start here.

Lubbock ISD also posts additional scholarship opportunities on the district website.

Students should also be diligent in researching university scholarships that are available through individual schools. Many have deadlines and additional requirements that must be met in order to be eligible.

Every penny counts when it comes to paying for college! Take the initiative to apply!

Counselors are generally happy to write letters of recommendation for students. Best etiquette includes asking a recommender if they would be willing to write on your behalf, allowing a minimum of two weeks to write the letter, providing detailed information about the purpose of the letter, providing information about where to send the letter upon completion, and providing either a resume or your Plainsman Packet to use as a starting point.

Your Plainsman Packet can be completed online. Completing the packet thoroughly and giving your recommender adequate notice will help ensure that a quality letter is written.

REMEMBER TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE THAT WRITE LETTERS ON YOUR BEHALF!

We are so excited to celebrate our Plainsmen who are going on to continue their education or serve their country after graduation! If your senior has been accepted to any school or has completed enlistment paperwork, please share that information with your alpha counselor so that we can add them to our wall of pride and include them in our senior signing ceremony in May. The deadline to submit a college acceptance for the wall is MAY 8th!

We will have a commitment event to celebrate the next steps of these students on May 19th. More information will be coming about that!

With graduation right around the corner, it is not uncommon for students to start running out of gas. Senioritis can be a problem! Please remind your student that we are not across the finish line yet. Attendance, behavior, grades, and standardized test scores are all important. If you have any questions or concerns about graduation requirements, please don't hesitate to contact your alpha counselor.

At graduation, we will recognize students who are choosing to enlist in the military and students that have been offered scholarships to college. We are proud of our students and their accomplishments and want to celebrate them!

In order to be included in the recognition, please complete and return the appropriate documentation no later than May 8th, 2025.

Students enlisting should complete military commitment forms (found on the MHS website and attached below).

Seniors will need to submit the scholarship offer form (found on the MHS website and attached below)

along with the verification of the offer. The verification can be anything from the organization or college, and can come in the way of letter, e-mail, computer printout, etc.

Seniors may need transcripts for a variety of things- college admissions, scholarship applications, military enlistment, auto insurance discounts, etc.

Students or parents may either request a transcript from the registrar in the main office or may request a transcript online.

Your first transcript request is free. After that, a fee of $1 must be paid in the front office in order to process the request.

Many students earn college credits in high school through Dual Credit, OnRamps, or Advanced Placement. It is the responsibility of the student to send record of that completion to their university. Qualifying AP scores can be submitted through your College Board account. You can access links to send other scores on the MHS Counselor Website.

We are so fortunate to have college admissions counselors and recruiters visit our campus to work with students! You can always check our website to see what visits are scheduled and sign up for a time to meet with an admissions rep.

The spring semester is packed full of test dates that you need to know about. The testing page on the MHS website is a good starting point.

Here are some handy links as you plan for the Spring:

AP Exam Dates

SAT Dates

ACT Dates

TSI Information and Registration

STAAR / EOC Dates and Information

TTU Rec Center

Saturday, May 24th

10:00pm – 2:00am

Swimming, Photo Booth, DJ, Games, Prizes and more...

More information to come!

Do not let finances keep you from attending.

Please talk to your alpha counselor if you need help with funds to attend.

• When is graduation? Saturday, May 24th at 6 pm
• Where is graduation? United Supermarkets Arena
• How many tickets do we get to graduation? There are no tickets. Invite as many people as you would like.
• Do I need a clear bag at graduation? YES
• What about my out of town friends and family that cannot attend? The ceremony will be live streamed by LISD-TV.
• Can students decorate the top of the cap? No. Decorated caps will not be allowed at graduation.
• Where can I find the pictures taken at graduation? They will be posted on the LISD website after the ceremony (linked below).

Alpha A-C: Hannah Jones

Alpha D & Lead: Kristen Lewis

Alpha E-I: Jennifer Strong

Alpha J-M: Donna Short

Alpha N-R: Adrienne Greaser

Alpha S-Z: Crystal Scott

Special Services: Katelyn Graham

Email: kristen.lewis@lubbockisd.org
Website: https://www.lubbockisd.org/o/mhs/page/counseling-college-and-career-readiness
Location: 3211 47th Street, Lubbock, TX, USA
Phone: (806)219-1900