Novemer 16, 2009
Updates
Today is the application deadline for St. Ignatius. Please notify me if you have submitted an application so that I can update my roster.
This marks the last full week of the first trimester. If the girls were absent from classes in recent weeks, they should check in with teachers to ensure that all work has been submitted. This is also the last weekend the girls can be assigned weekend homework in any class. This should allow them to work earnestly on applications with no other pressures for the month of December. Hopefully, they can have the majority of their work done prior to Winter Break so that they can relax and enjoy themselves.
As a reminder, on December 8th, Burke’s will be hosting a financial assistance workshop from 6:00-7:30 PM in the Media Room. This workshop is intended for families applying for financial assistance for the first time.
By now, everyone should have SSAT results. If for some reason you have not received scores in the mail, please contact me via e-mail and I will forward you the score report. I was very pleased with the results. The girls worked hard on the day of the test as well as throughout the weeks and months leading up to the test. Their effort paid off. As I said last week, this was a harder test and if girls scored in the same range as they did on the lower level test then they actually improved. It is important to have realistic expectations about the scores as well as a clear understanding that they are just one part of the application process.
If a student takes the SSAT again, be sure that Burke’s is included as a score recipient. Our code is 4294. After you receive new results, we can determine together which set of scores to submit to high schools. It appears as if the testing centers in San Francisco are full. If your daughter is taking the test again in Marin, please let me know the test site so that I can help arrange some carpools.
If you are done with the testing process and you know which schools you are applying to, you are responsible for authorizing SSAT to send the score report to each school. To do so, please follow the directions for score reporting after you have logged in to your account on SSAT’s web site.
If you have not already checked in with me, it is time to send me a tentative list of independent schools to which you intend to apply. The girls’ math and English teachers are completing recommendation forms and soon the photocopying of these forms will begin. I need the list of independent schools since that common recommendation form is one that will be copied for a number of the schools. This is only intended to be a tentative list. I will need a firm list by January 1st. Please send me your tentative list by Friday.
Upcoming deadlines are posted below. Please be aware that the SHCP application deadline is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It might be wise to finish and submit that one early, especially if you are traveling. Other upcoming due dates:
ü November 27: Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory application due
ü December 1: Part I: Parent/Guardian Common Application Form for the Independent Schools due
ü December 11: Lowell application due
ü January 14: Independent School applications and financial aid forms due
As a reminder, the Lowell application must be hand delivered to the SFUSD office along with proof of residency. I strongly suggest that you complete the application and deliver it to the SFUSD office well before the December 11 deadline in order to avoid long lines.
I know that many of you need to talk through choices and options. Please feel free to e-mail or call at any time. I will get back to you as soon as possible. My goal at the present is to make sure you have a range of realistic options as we head into the “home stretch”.
Thanks,
Lisa
