N E W S L E T T E R
Senior Newsletter December-2015 VOLUME I, 3 rd
Edition
Is Social Media Affecting Your Grades?
This study was conducted by student-researchers at The
Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the
University of New Hampshire (UNH) to determine whether there is a correlation between heavy usage of social media and grades. The study also was undertaken to determine how much time students actively use social media and if there has been an increase or decrease in usage over time.
Whittemore School of Business and Economics student researchers recently completed a study to determine if there was a relationship between online social media usage and grades of college students. The survey was administered by members of a market research class led by Adjunct Professor Chuck Martin. A total of
1,127students from all colleges at the university
(College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, College of
Liberal Arts, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture,
College of Health and Human Services, Thompson
School of Applied Sciences, and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics) were surveyed.
The research shows that there is no correlation between the amount of time students spend using social media and their grades. Grades followed similar distributions for all colleges, with the majority of students earning A's and B's. The study showed that more students use Facebook and YouTube than any other social media platform. Blogs, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn had significantly lower amounts of student users. Students from the business school had the highest percentage of users of blogs, Twitter, and
LinkedIn while liberal arts students were the highest percentage of MySpace users.
Source: http://www.unh.edu/news/docs/UNHsocialmedia.pdf
We do the same things every year: down copious amounts of eggnog; kill a tree and IN THIS ISSUE...
Is Social Media Affecting Your Grades………………
Senior Packs for Graduation! Rings, Pictures & More!.....
History of Christmas…………….
Reading Connected to Higher Grades…………….
Sales & Deals From Your Neighborhood Stores…..
Senior Dues…………………..
History of Christmas

cover it in lights; send fruitcake, cards and cookies to our loved ones; kiss under a leafy branch; hang colorful socks over the fireplace and sing off-key demands for figgy pudding at the top of our lungs. Yes, these are our
Christmas traditions. Much of what we today consider holiday perennials have been around for about two centuries. The Christmas tree — the king of all traditions — is the most obvious, the centerpiece of many a home. While tree worship was common in pagan Europe, the modern Christmas tree originated with German
Lutherans in the 17th century and spread to
Pennsylvania in the 1820s after they began to immigrate to the United States. When
Germany's Prince Albert came to England in
1840 to marry Queen Victoria, he brought the
Christmas tree with him. The royal family decorated it with small gifts, toys, candles, candies and fancy cakes, giving rise to the modern ornament. Eight years later, a photograph of the royal tree appeared in a
London newspaper, and ownership of the green item became the height of holiday fashion in
Europe and America.
ARE YOU READY TO GRADUATE?
The Wheatley High School Guidance Counselors and staff are currently reviewing senior academic histories. They are checking the graduation status for their seniors. Seniors and/or their parents are encouraged to schedule an appointment with the guidance counselor to review their senior status. To schedule an appointment, students can come
Senior Packs for Graduation! Rings, Pictures &
More!
Senior Pack - $283.25
Essential Pack - $239.25
Fun Pack - $159
For more information, visit the front office for the Balfour packet.
Reading Connected to Higher Grades
The amount of free reading done outside of school has consistently been found to relate to growth in vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency, and general information
(Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding 1988; Greaney
1980; Guthrie and Greaney 1991; Taylor, Frye, and Maruyama 1990). Students who read independently become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have greater content knowledge than those who do not (Krashen 1993; Cunningham and
Stanovich 1991; Stanovich and Cunningham
1993). Although the correlations are steady, determining the appropriate causal interpretation of the relationships is problematic. This section reviews research on the status of independent reading, how it

develops across age levels, and how it is encouraged.
Scholars from a variety of disciplines have attempted to specify the effects that reading has on cognitive functioning, but it is difficult to document specific behavioral outcomes associated with reading. Spurious correlations may arise because literacy levels correlate with many other desirable behaviors. It is well known that exposure to print is a good predictor of spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and general world knowledge. Even when the variance attributable to general ability and phonological decoding are controlled, measures of exposure to print correlate significantly with spelling, vocabulary, verbal fluency, and general information. Research shows that the amount of time spent reading varies by age level.
Source: http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/cont ent/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol3/SLMR_Independe ntReading_V3.pdf
SENIOR DUES
Senior dues will be set by October 1, 2015 and the senior meeting will be scheduled soon.
Check with Ms. Allen on the scheduled date.
The agenda will cover your suggestions.
EMAIL: pallen1@houstonisd.org
KIK:triceybear2009
Sales and Deals From Your Neighborhood
Stores!
Walmart!

Important Dates!
Name Eligibility Awards Deadline
Civil Rights Defense Scholarship
AB540 Friendly :)
Freshman-Seniors in High school may apply by responding to an essay
$100- $1,000 Now Dec. 1, 2015
Dormbedding.com #fortonfleek scholarship
Must be 13 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Must be a high school or college student. Must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher as of his/her last official transcript.
$1,000 Now Dec. 1, 2015
Addiction Story Scholarship
The competition is open to currently enrolled students and those students who have been accepted to a school in which they intend to enroll within the next six months. All entrants must be at least
18 years old.
$1,000- $5,000 Now Dec. 11, 2015
Burger King Scholars Award
Must be a resident of the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico.
Must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
Must be a high school senior at time of application and plan to enroll in an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational/technical school no later than the fall of 2010. Must work part time an average of 15 hours per week.
$1,000
Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program
13 years of age or older. Must be currently enrolled in a Post-
Secondary institution. Open to only legal residents
Now
$5,000- $1,000 Now
Dec. 15, 2015
Dec.15, 2015
Custom Made Scholarship
AB540 Friendly :)
Any student enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program in Fall 2015 or Spring 2016 at any accredited American college, university or trade school.
Applicants must submit an essay of 1,000 words minimum.
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
$1,000
Mental Health Education Scholarship
Any student currently enrolled in any accredited college is eligible to enter.
$1,000
Unigo 10K Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education
$10,000
Now Dec. 15, 2015
Now
Now
Dec. 15, 2015
Dec 31, 2015

*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Top Ten List Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education
$1,500
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Now Dec 31, 2015
Gates Millennium Scholars ●
Are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native*,
Asian & Pacific Islander American** or Hispanic
American -Are a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States
●
Have attained a cumulative high school GPA of 3.3 on an unweighted 4.0 scale or have earned a GED
●
Will enroll for the first time at a U.S. located, accredited*** college or university (with the exception of students concurrently pursuing a high school diploma) in the fall of 2016 as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student. First-time college enrollees can also be GED recipients.
●
Have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities
● Meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria
●
Have completed and submitted all three required forms: the student's application (Nominee Personal Information
Form), an evaluation of the student's academic record
(Nominator Form) and an evaluation of the student's community service and leadership activities (Recommender
Form) by the deadline
Support for the cost of education by covering unmet need and selfhelp aid, including graduate school funding for continuing
Scholars in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.
Now Jan 13, 2016
I Have a Dream Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education
$1,500
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Now Jan 31, 2016
TheDream.US Scholarship
AB540 Friendly:)
Either earn an associate’s degree from an accredited community college by the end of the 2015-2016 academic year or have already earned your associate’s degree from an accredited community college; Have earned a college GPA of 3.0 or greater on a 4.0 scale; Not have yet enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program; Intend to enroll full-time in a bachelor’s degree program at one of TheDream.US Partner Colleges in the 2016-
2017 academic year; Be eligible for in-state tuition if seeking to attend a Partner College that is a public institution; Have come to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; Be DACA or TPS eligible and have applied for or received DACA or TPS
Varies Now Feb. 15, 2016

approval; and Demonstrate significant unmet financial need.
*For students who are working on their Associate's Degree and High School seniors
Vegetarian Resource Group Applicants will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegetarian diet/lifestyle.
One award of
$10,000 and two awards of
$5,000
Now
Now Sweet and Simple Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Must submit a 250 word essay on the prompt provided.
$1,500
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Feb. 20, 2016
Feb. 29, 2016
Superpower Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
$2,500
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Must submit a 250 word essay on the prompt provided.
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Now March 31, 2016
All About Education Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
$3,000
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Must submit a 250 word essay on the prompt provided.
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
Park Plaza Dental Scholarship U.S. Citizens, Part time or Full Time. Enrollment in an accredited university or tertiary school in the U.S. GPA 2.75 or higher
$500
The Pensters Scholarship We don’t care about your gender, age, race or nationality. Our only requirement is that you should be a current high school/college/university student. Only in this case, will we check your essay.
$1,000
Fifth Month Scholarship Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application.
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of
Columbia. Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of
2021) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Respond to an essay prompt.
*Undergrad Students Can Apply!
$1,500
Now
Now
Now
Now
April 30, 2016
May 25, 2016
May 31, 2016
May 31, 2016