Financial Aid Links and Info

Before I post some lengthy information about the Financial Aid process, I wanted to give out some information on some upcoming events regarding Financial Aid. Everything I mention will be a great help to students and parents alike as the process can be tricky and confusing the first time through. Filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a necessary step in the college application process - no matter how high or low your family's income is!! This is very important to remember. You may be eligible for federal aid that will help lower the cost of college.

There are some great informational sessions coming up in the new year that will help you to start and complete the FAFSA process!

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January 5, 2013, 10:00am @ St. John's University SI Campus
FAFSA Filing 101 Session
St. John's University staff will assist students and families with navigating the financial aid application process. They will provide an overview on how to:

• Complete the FAFSA
• Avoid common pitfalls and mistakes
• Expedite the process
• Ask questions of financial aid experts

Please follow this link: http://goto.stjohns.edu/FAFSA101 to register for the information session.

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CollegeWeekLive presents: PAYING FOR COLLEGE
Thursday, January 10 between 2:00pm and 10:00pm

Join CollegeWeekLive for Paying for College Day, a free online event to help you decide the best way to pay for college. Login anytime from 2:00 to 10:00 PM EST, Thursday, January 10, 2013 to live chat with admissions officers and financial aid experts from Department of Education to learn how to:

• Uncover the best scholarship opportunities online
• Understand the difference between private and public scholarships
• Access financial aid programs

Bonus! Visit three colleges during the event and you'll be automatically entered to win $2,500 in HP's Time is Money Scholarship! 

 Follow this link (http://www.collegeweeklive.com/en_CA/guest/app-registration) to sign up for CollegeWeekLive and be a part of this event. 

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On Saturday January 12, 10:00am @ McKee HS, we will be holding a FAFSA Informational Session for parents and students. There will be snacks and refreshments offered. We are very thankful to have a representative from the New York Urban League coming to McKee to speak to our school community about the Financial Aid process. We will be giving an overview on how to complete the FAFSA, types of aid available, and we will be answering any other questions you might have. An invitation with RSVP will be sent out during the first week of school.

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College Goal NY Saturday, February 2, 10:00 @ Wagner College
College Goal NY events are held throughout New York State to help students and families complete the FAFSA online. Financial aid professionals from local colleges are available at these events to answer your questions and help you complete your FAFSA application. (I'll be there, too!)
College Goal NY is run by Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), New York's student financial aid agency. Visit HESC.ny.gov to learn about student financial aid types – including grants, scholarships, awards, work study, savings programs, and student loans.
After signing up for the Staten Island event at this link (http://collegegoalny.org/student-registration.html?&id=17), you can take a look at the FAFSA checklist to be aware of what you will need to bring with you to complete the FAFSA - explore everything listed under the "Get Started" tab on the website for more information.

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FAFSA4caster will help you understand your options for paying for college.Provide some basic information and they'll estimate your eligibility for federal student aid. Your estimate will be shown in the College Cost Worksheet where you can also provide estimated amounts of other student aid and savings that can go towards your college education.

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US Dept of Ed College Affordability and Transparency Center gives  information about tuition and net prices at postsecondary institutions. The site highlights institutions with high and low tuition and fees as well as high and low net prices (the price of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid). It also shows institutions where tuition and fees and net prices are increasing at the highest rates. The website includes a Net Price Calculator, College Navigator, List of Proprietary Schools, and State Spending Charts. 

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Start Here, Get There is an informative site for students with links to more Financial Aid workshops and information sessions around NYC. Click "Find an Event" and continue to "Region 6" to see all events in the NYC area.  

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That's all for now.

Have a safe and happy new year! See you in 2013!!

-Ms. Miller
 

College fair

Keep an eye out for information on the upcoming college fair at McKee in mid-October this year!

I am making outreach to several colleges that have been recommended by your teachers. Do you have any colleges in the NY or NJ area that you'd like to find out more about? Let me know what colleges you are interested in and I will do my best to get them to come to our college fair or set up a college information visit at McKee. Leave a comment here, email me, call me (maybe), stop in my office - just let me know!! Parents, this applies to you, too. You'll also be invited to the fall college fair at McKee so keep an eye on your snail mail and email from us on the date and more information.

-Ms. Miller

End of summer

WHOA!

Summer is almost over! It's been a busy one for me so I apologize for the COMPLETE lack of posts on here over the past 2 months. But school is starting back up so soon and I'm really excited for the 2012-13 school year at McKee. We're going to have some new activities going on during and after school, you're going to be seeing me in your classroom more often doing class lessons, and everything is going be awesome and exciting.

To all McKee students who have been attending summer school at Curtis, congratulations! Today is the final day, and you have a nice 2 weeks off until school starts up again. I hope you never have to take summer school again! But I'm sure you're just glad it's over right now. For those that attended everyday and worked hard to get their credit, good for you! You deserve these 2 weeks of relaxation before you start working hard again.

I hope you're as excited for the new school year as I am, and if you're not, then GET EXCITED! We all have to work together to start off this school year (and every school year, and everything we do!) thinking positively and optimistically. POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE!

• Positive mental attitude (PMA) is the philosophy that having an optimistic disposition in every situation in one's life attracts positive changes and increases achievement. It employs a state of mind that continues to seek, find and execute ways to win, or find a desirable outcome, regardless of the circumstances. It opposes negativity, defeatism and hopelessness. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_mental_attitude)

I just got an idea. At least once a week, I will post a positive affirmation for you to think about and repeat to yourself throughout the day to get your brain on a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE kick! PMA!

Well, here's to the end of summer being better than the rest of the summer. Enjoy yourselves and be safe!

-Ms. Miller

REGENTS

18 DAYS UNTIL FINALS BEGIN (12 FOR SENIORS!)

26 DAYS UNTIL REGENTS BEGIN!! Please see the Regents schedule for June 2012!! Please be on the lookout for Regents prep and tutoring after school!

40 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR (that's actually only 27 SCHOOL DAYS left!)

The end of the year is fast approaching!! That doesn't mean it's any time to slack off, though - keep working hard to bring up whatever grades may have dropped in the second marking period, or just keep working to get your great grades even higher and greater!! (Can you tell I'm excited for summer and am a fan of exclamation points?)

As it gets closer to finals week, I will be posting the schedule for all students and parents to be aware. If you have any questions leading up to them, please get in touch!

-Ms. Miller

Show Me app

Have you heard about this cool new iPad app called Show Me? Our students in the AVID program have been utilizing this very cool app as a classroom tool to teach and learn lessons. Students are able to create and share lessons that they make with each other and with the world on the Show Me website. Check out some of the lessons our AVID students have made here: http://www.showme.com/mckeehighschool

ALSO! Congratulations to some of our seniors, Caleb King, Epifanio Ortiz, Corey Newell-Hopkins, Jonathan Cortes and Patrick Fleming on their exit interview from the Construction Skills Program.  
The Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills provides pre-apprenticeship training that prepares graduating New York City public high school seniors for entry into unionized building and construction trades apprenticeship programs.
The pre-apprenticeship program is designed to prepare New York City public high school students for the rigors of the construction industry.  Through the provision of classroom and hands-on training, students complete the program armed with the skills necessary to be successful in the unionized construction industry.
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates of Construction Skills are referred to union apprenticeship programs through a “direct entry” track.  In other words, Construction Skills graduates earn access to union building and construction trades apprenticeship opportunities without going through the public recruitment process.

This is a great motivator for sophomores and juniors in the Construction shop to keep in mind! Successful students will be referred to the program by Mr. O'Connell, the Construction teacher, and will be able to receive even more support from outside the building through this program. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to work in the construction field right after high school?? If construction is your field, make sure you talk to Mr. O'Connell about this opportunity!

-Ms. Miller

Do you know about Pupil Path??

Parents,
Do you know about Pupil Path? It's a great website program that McKee uses to keep everyone connected - staff, teachers, parents, and students. On Pupil Path, you can check your child's current academic progress, their attendance, and anecdotal logs left by teachers. If you already know about this website and have been utilizing it, that's great! You already know the benefits of using Pupil Path. If you didn't know about this program, I'm here to help you with it.

The website is www.PupilPath.com; you will need a registration code to get into this program. You can call your student's Guidance Counselor (myself at 718.420.2619 or Ms. Ippolito at 718.420.2629) to receive your code. Once you have it, log onto the website and click the link that says, "New User? Signup Here!" From here, you will select "Parent," and give your information. Your own personal e-mail address is required. Please use one that you check often, as you will receive updates or messages from teachers there! On the next page, you will input your child's information. Choose "Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School," their 9-digit student ID number, their birthday and YOUR registration code (Your child can also register; they should go to their Guidance Counselor to get their separate registration code). After this step, you will  be able to create your own unique password and use it to log into the website.

Please utilize Pupil Path as it is something that our school is starting to use more widely and it will be a very important source of information for you and your child, and a very simple and convenient way to monitor your child's progress. Don't hesitate to call with any questions about the website and how to get yourself onto it!

-Ms. Miller