Counselors' Corner

The James Bowie High School counseling staff welcomes the Class of 2011 and all returning students to the new school year!

We have many activities planned for the 2007-08 school year. Our goal is to help students plan and prepare for their future as well as make their high school years as successful and memorable as possible.

Our "Alpha" breakdown by student last name for Counselors and Assistant Principals is:

Assistant Principal	Counselor
A - DE Stephanie McGraw 414-7334 smcgraw@austinisd.org	A - COM Kristi Michener 414-7324 kmichene@austinisd.org
Vicki Bauerle 414-7308 vbauerle@austinisd.org	CON - GON Kacey Meyer 414-7322 kmeyer@austinisd.org
DI - H Vincente Trevino 414-7306 vtrevino@austinisd.org	GOO – LA Tina Jewell 414-7321 tjewell@austinisd.org
I - M Jorge Rodriguez 414-7309 jrodrig2@austinisd.org	LE – O Kathy Miller/Sandra Graham 414-7319 kmiller2@austinisd.org/sgraham@austinisd.org
N - SO Lisa Pasholk 414-7335 lpasholk@austinisd.org	P - SL Sondra Halweg 414-7320 shalweg@austinisd.org
SP - Z Larry Britton 414-7307 lbritton@austinisd.org	SM – Z Jill Kelley/Pat Bell 414-7325 jkelley@austinisd.org/pbell@austinisd.org

Counselor's Secretary	College Advisor
Kathy Ashburn 414-7318 kashburn@austinisd.org	Shannon Duffy 841-4107 sduffy@austinisd.org

information for ALL students

Counselor Updates for Spring 2008

This link includes information on various subjects for all Bowie students including incoming 9th graders! Click on the following link, or access it by going to the counselor's page at the Bowie website http://www.jbhs.org/counselor_website/CounselorsCornerJanuary2008.pdf.

Testing Calendar

Date	Test	Grade
March 3, 2008	TAKS re-test for Social Studies	Seniors
March 5, 2008	TAKS re-test for English/Language Arts ASSET Test*** TAKS English/Language Arts & Reading	Seniors Seniors 9th-11th Graders
March 6, 2008	TAKS re-test for Math	Seniors
March 7, 2008	TAKS re-test for Science	Seniors
April 29 - May 2, 2008	TAKS Math, Science & Social Studies	9th-11th Graders
May 5 - May 16, 2008	AP Testing	Students in AP courses desiring to take AP test

***Asset Test Information--Seniors will be able to take their ASSET test at Bowie on Wednesday, March 5th. This is a test for all students who intend to attend a Texas Public University or College. It does not affect admissions, but it is required and costs money if they take it anywhere else. Exempt students are those who have already taken the THEA, Compass (ACC's computerized version of this test), or are exempt based on SAT or ACT or Exit-Level TAKS Scores: TAKS: 2200 on ELA and a 3 on the Essay + 2200 on Math; SAT: 1070 when SAT Verbal and Math are added together with at least a 500 on each; ACT: 23 Composite with a 19 on Math and a 19 on Reading; Students who need to test will only have to take the part of the exam for which they are not exempt. Testing will begin at 9:00 that morning. Students will be counted absent if they do not attend and need the test.

Free Online TAKS Test Help - www.trackuttelecampus.org

Are teachers in your school using TRACK? This award-winning website offers you free diagnostics and hundreds of interactive tutorials in the TEKS subject areas tested on the 11th grade exit-level TAKS tests. Last year more than 85,000 Texas students and their teachers used TRACK to help prepare for the TAKS tests. In TRACK you will find diagnostics to measure understanding of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) objectives and a library of learning tutorials to help students master those objectives. In addition to those diagnostics, TRACK also offers Math, Social Science, and Science TAKS release tests (with express copyright permission from the Texas Education Agency). TRACK is brought to you by the Institute for Public School Initiatives and the UT TeleCampus with generous grant funding from the Houston Endowment. Use TRACK to help improve your students college readiness.

If you would like to receive TRACK brochures, cards and posters to help you promote the program to your students, just email track@utsystem. edu with the following information:

Your name
Your school
The number of students you are supporting (10th, 11th or 12th grade)
Your mailing address

We value your feedback. Feel free to email us with your suggestions or testimonials about using TRACK in your classroom. If you have any questions or need support in using TRACK please call: 1-800-839-7637.

PSAT/NMSQT Information

Instructions for the PSAT/NMSQT Summary of Answers and Skills can be found at www.collegeboard.com/reports. Click on PSAT/NMSQT SOAS up at the top highlighted in blue and follow the instructions.

SAT/ACT Online Test Registration

The SAT/ACT Test Registration Deadlines & Registration are available Online! To register for the SAT, go to: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html. The ACT registration can be found here: http://www.actstudent.org/regist/currentdates.html

GREAT source for College Information

Please visit http://www.asktacac.com/, which is sponsored by The Texas Association for College Admission Counseling (TACAC). This site has a lot of useful information for Juniors and Seniors alike, including sections on College Searches, College Admissions, Scholarships, Financial Aid and a "Ask a Counselor" section in which you may get feedback from a counselor on any questions you may have.

ACC Registration

Know your ACC registration dates! For a registration calendar, please visit http://www.austincc.edu/support/admissions/academiccalendar.php. Please note that the ACC admissions process involves taking an assessment test before you can register for a class (applies to first-time students only). Allow for plenty of time in advance of your course start date to allow for test results and counseling sessions. Please see your high school counselor for more information.

PROSPECTIVE FRESHMEN INFORMATION SESSIONS

Interested in attending UT? Schedule a campus visit to the UT Austin campus! Check the link to see the different dates and times for the rest of the year: http://utdirect.utexas.edu/bal/visit_ut.WBX.

Juniors and Seniors

College Visits

Texas Tech University, May 6, 2008, 12:35 PM
Auburn University, May 8, 2008, 12:35 PM

Scholarships for seniors:

Detailed information for scholarships can be found on the AISD site: http://www.austinisd.org/academics/scholarship/.

Seniors, please remember to go to the AISD website every few days for updates as new scholarships are added frequently. The following scholarships are a few that can be found on this site:

   1. Al's Formal Wear 2008 Salute to Education Scholarship Contest
      Due:05-05-2008

   2. UIL Academic State Meet Scholarship Opportunities
      Due:05-06-2008

   3. Mathews Elementary School Fund for Excellence Scholarship
      Due:05-09-2008

   4. Mills Elementary School PTA Scholarships
      Due:05-09-2008

   5. Oak Hill Elementary PTA Scholarship
      Due:05-09-2008

   6. Platinum Torch Scholarship
      Due:05-10-2008

   7. YWCA of Greater Austin Young Woman of Achievement Scholarship
      Due:05-12-2008

   8. AIChE Minority Scholarship Awards for Incoming College Freshmen
      Due:05-15-2008

   9. James Beard Foundation Scholarships
      Due:05-15-2008

10. Morning Star Rising College Scholarship - Mercedes Cervantes Memorial
      Due:05-15-2008

Vaccine Notice!

As part of the preparation for college enrollment it is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that incoming college freshman receive the meningitis vaccine. Now is the time to protect and prepare for college. Please call your physician to make an appointment for this vaccine. If you do not have insurance or your insurance does not cover this immunization you may call Shots for Tots at 972-5520 for an appointment.

If you have any questions, contact the Travis County Health & Human Services Dept. at 974-5524.

Parent and student information

Family Connection--its not just for Seniors!

If you are a senior parent and you have not yet accessed family connection, please email Shannon Duffy at sduffy@austinisd.org and she will send you a password to access the site and register as a user. This web site is where we will list upcoming college visits and other additional useful information for the college search and application process. And, it will allow Ms. Duffy to email you through the family connection website.

Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors can start the registration process on their own by going to the family connection link. Enter your student's id # as a new user and this will allow you to start the registration process on your own.

Here are just a few things you can do with Family Connection:

Get updated rank and GPA information
Research colleges
Create a Resume
Search Scholarship information
See a schedule of visits by college representatives to Bowie
View personalized status information about college applications
Request Letters of Recommendation

volunteers

Counselors encourage parents to volunteer to work in the Counselors' office. Volunteer duties include: filing, monitoring tests and assisting students with computer searches and technical assistance on our computer guidance systems in the College/Career Center. Hours are flexible. If you are interested in assisting us, please call 414-7318 to sign up!

calendar

Please visit our Counselors Calendar of Upcoming Events for some very important dates!

PTSA Information

Bowie Information

Helpful Links

Bowie Counseling Center