It's about time...

Being new to the blogging world has proved more challenging than I thought. It's been a very busy year for AVID students and teachers. Here are a few updates:

Poly AVID Students participated in the Riverside County Regional Medical Center's Festival of Trees in November. Students decorated a tree that was displayed in the "Elves Forest" area of the Festival. The event raised money for the County Medical Center.

Poly AVID Students volunteered at the 5th Annual Junior League of Riverside Kids in the Kitchen health fair on March 13th. Their support helped to make the event a remarkable success.

Seniors are seeing their hard work pay off with college admissions rolling in. They have been accepted to many colleges, including: Mills College, Pacific Union College, Woodbury University, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, CSU Fullerton, CSU Northridge, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Dominguez Hills, Prairie View A&M University, Webster University, UC Merced, San Jose State, CSU Chico and many more.

It's time to apply for AVID for next year. Any student in 8th grade or currently attending Poly who would like to apply for the program should contact Ms. Cunningham in room 608 or send an e-mail to ccunningham@rusd.k12.ca.us

More updates will be coming soon, I hope!

PSAT Testing

Poly High School will offer the PSAT test on Saturday, October 17th. This year, all 10th grade students can take the test for FREE. All 10th grade AVID students are required to take the test unless their AVID teacher is notified in advance of a conflict by a parent/guardian. If a student has a religious conflict on that day, an alternate test date is available.

This test is also important for juniors as it is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholars Program. Additionally, it is an important practice experience to help juniors prepare for the SAT or ACT which they must take this spring for college admission. It will also get students on college mailing lists which means that they will start receiving brochures and other information from a variety of colleges across the U.S. Though the test is not free for all juniors, there are fee waivers available for students who are on free/reduced price lunch.

All Sophomores and Juniors SHOULD TAKE THIS TEST!!

What's your dream?

Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in the negative. Classes are hard, teachers are cranky, practices run late, and everything seems overwhelming. When that happens, what's helpful is to remember why you are working hard, putting up with cranky teachers, going to practice, and doing things that many other students don't do. The reason is your dream! What is your dream for your life? What is your dream just for high school or college? What is your dream for the next week, month, or year? How will you make it happen? Most likely, through all of the hard work that seems so overwhelming. I hope that you will stop and think about your dreams or goals the next time you feel stuck. It might make the work seems a little easier if you remember why you are doing it!

College Application Time!

Today officially marks the beginning of "college application season"! Seniors will be completing applications for the California State University (CSU) system and the University of California (UC) system within the next few weeks. The deadline to apply to any of the colleges in these systems is November 30th, but the plan is to have all UC/CSU applications completed by November 19th at the latest. We will be completing the applications in class over the next few weeks, so students will have all of the help they need to ensure their applications are submitted correctly.

AVID Anniversary Celebration

We've got a celebration in the works for November 20th, 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of AVID at Poly High School. Right now, we are planning to have all of the AVID students gather during periods 3 and 4 to hear from guest speakers and enjoy a few presentations from students. All students and guests will be treated to lunch at the end of the event. Stay tuned for more information!

Poly AVID Alum in the newspaper!

Angel Araiza, Poly AVID class of 2008, was featured in an article in the Press Enterprise on Thursday, September 10th. Good luck in your sophomore year at Princeton, Angel!

http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_E_wangel10.4679feb.html

SAT Registration

The deadline for on-time registration for the October 10th SAT has been extended to September 23rd due to complications with sending fee waivers. ALL SENIORS must take an SAT or ACT test this fall, preferably both! Fee waivers are available for one of each test, so students should take advantage of the opportunity. Tests taken by seniors after the December test date will likely not be counted by any California State Universities (CSU) or University of California (UC) schools.