BACK TO
SCHOOL!
Saginaw High School
Saginaw, TX
January 2013
Volume 4, Issue 1
SHS AVID Class Newsletter
AVID Seniors Headed to College
AVID Seniors Into the Money
Most AVID seniors have been accepted into at
least one university, with many students
having
been
accepted
into
multiple
universities (a few shown below). Students
are currently awaiting financial aid packages
from the universities in order to make their
final college decisions. Congratulations are in
order to these students on their outstanding
accomplishments.
AVID seniors have received $604,000 in
scholarship assistance to date based upon
academic merit and scholastic achievement.
There
are
many
scholarship
awards
outstanding and the number is expected to
continue to grow. In addition, students have
filled out hundreds of scholarship applications
through independent scholarship organizations
and will begin finding out results in April and
May.
SHS AVID Class Newsletter Page 2
AVID Students to Play Division 1
Athletics
Recently, two AVID students signed letters of
intent to participate in athletics at the collegiate
level. Haley Moreno will attend Oklahoma City
University on women’s wrestling and merit
scholarships. Wylie Reinhardt will be attending
the University of North Texas where he has
accepted a full athletic scholarship to play
football. Congratulations to both of these scholarathletes for their accomplishments both in the
classroom and on the field.
Dell Scholarship Semi-Finalists
Six AVID seniors are among the group of semifinalists for the Dell Scholarship. Students
must have been enrolled in college
preparatory coursework, show individual
determination, and be enrolled in a four-year
university. Winners are announced on April
10 and will receive $20,000 plus technology
and academic assistance throughout their
college career.
The semi-finalists are
Jasmine Drosdick, Demorah Rose, Shatara
Warner, Destinee Delafuente, Yanira Gomez,
and Yessenia Lopez. Congratulations and good
luck to these students.
AVID Celebration 2012
The 2012 school year ended with a party as
AVID students celebrated their hard work and
accomplishments at a casino themed awards
show and party. Students wore their best and
danced the night away. Special thanks to all
those who helped make this night a success.
AVID Student Attends Presidential
Inauguration
Current AVID senior Justice Henderson had
the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C.
to attend the inauguration of President
Barrack Obama and participate in activities
leading up to the inauguration. Justice said,
“This was a once in a lifetime experience and
I had such a great
time.” Additionally, she
was awarded college
credits for attending.
Congratulations
to
Justice
on
the
opportunity to attend
such a historic occasion.
8
SHS AVID Class Newsletter Page 3
Juniors Preparing for High
School and Beyond
Juniors Busy with Test Preparation
+
Since junior year is an important one full of
decisions, it may be the most stressful. Tough
choices that AVID has been preparing us for are
finally here. From choosing which college to go
to, how it will be paid for, what you need to do
in school to help get accepted into college and
taking the SAT and ACT. These life altering
events are taking place now. AVID has been
focusing this junior year mainly on college
choice, choosing a major and test prep. Test
prep, which includes SAT and ACT reviews are a
new and more focused thing this year that
prepares us for the big test in April and May.
With these news reviews we still continue the
having c-note and binder checks as well as
tutorials. Though this year is tough, we still
get some fun time with team building exercises
and games uniting us together. Though many
people may believe AVID requires unnecessary
work, it all benefits us now during school and
will continue to during college.
ACT Test – www.actstudent.org
SAT Test – www.collegeboard.com
AVID Freshmen Update
As AVID freshmen now have a semester of high
school AVID under their belt, massive
improvements are being made in their grades in
AVID and beyond. The first six weeks many
students found C-notes and binders to be
difficult and time consuming. However, now
most students have “hit their stride” and
realize that with their work in academic classes
and continuing efforts at organization that they
are achieving high levels of success in AVID.
Did you know?
The average AVID student is taking 2.75 PAP/AP classes and had a first semester
GPA of 90.
Juniors will be taking the SAT and ACT tests
very soon. The district has purchased all AVID
students a copy of the AVID test preparation
program to help student achieve higher scores.
This program will be an integral part of our
junior curriculum.
Students will be
responsible to complete practice exams as
well as reviews over the questions they missed
during class and on their own time. On April
13 all AVID juniors will be taking the ACT and
on May 4, all AVID juniors will be taking the
SAT. Studying is a vital part of success for both
the SAT and ACT so the amount of effort put in
between now and our testing days will help
determine how successful we are on these very
important tests.
AVID Test Preparation
Site
www.avidtestprep.org
Class goals:
ACT composite – 21
SAT cumulative – 1500
AVID Seniors Rushing Around
First semester of senior year has been
intense. With one semester behind us, not
one of us was prepared for what senior year
was bringing. Applying to colleges, hunting
for scholarships and preparing for our big day
June 9, 2013! We have become a close knit
“AVID family” while getting ready for the
future. Getting acceptance letters has been a
very exciting time. The first half of our
senior year has been both challenging and
bittersweet as we face the end of our high
school career. As we move forward we will be
paying housing deposits and getting prepared
to enter the real world as college freshmen!
- Justice Henderson
SHS AVID Class Newsletter Page 4
AVID Sophomores Know the
Value of AVID!
AVID Sophomores Talkin’ it Up
So, I know what you are thinking and I was just
like you, “who wants to be in AVID? That class is
a waste of time.” Actually, it’s pretty fun! I
started AVID this year as a sophomore and it has
helped me a lot. AVID helped me organize my
work and my life as well as build skills to help
me be successful in college. Some of the fun
things we have done include a trip to Tarleton
University and fun Friday’s where we do team
building exercises and play games.
This
semester we have also given speeches over
colleges and I found out that there are a lot
more options for me than I thought. I have
made tons of friends and memories. I’m so glad
I joined! It has already made a major impact on
my life!
- Kyle Estes
Sophomores are in the groove with Cornell
notes, binder checks, and tutorials. Students
have Cornell notes due each week and their
binders are checked for organization and time
management through calendars and agendas.
Students also have tutorials two times per
week with college students serving as tutors.
Students are also learning an important skill in
public speaking and how it relates to future
employment and education. Students have
presented
demonstration
speeches,
informative speeches over colleges, oral
interpretation, and are currently beginning
persuasive speaking. Students will soon be
interviewed in a real-world scenario which
requires the student to dress up and speak
one-on-one with a business professional in a
mock interview situation. The students have
worked hard and their success is evident in
test scores, grades, and confidence gained.
Fast Fact – Last year’s AVID senior class, comprised of 36 students, saw 34 enter a
4-year university this fall. The remaining two students began with Army basic
training and AIT before beginning their collegiate lives. The students from earned
over $1,200,000 in scholarships and financial aid through a variety of sources.
Freshmen Learn the AVID Basics
The first few weeks of AVID were overwhelming.
Having binder checks and C- notes every week
can seem like a lot of work on top of the classes
you’re taking. After a few weeks you realize
that having to do the work reflects in your
grades and work ethic. The effort you put into
being organized and taking good, helpful Cnotes can motivate you to do the same thing in
all of your other classes (as well as helping you
in the future). In the end, you will come to the
conclusion that the work you are doing in AVID is
not just extra work, but instead is helping you
be successful in your other classes.
-Freshmen Rebekah Adams
AVID Freshmen See Baylor
AVID freshmen visited Baylor in October. The
students enjoyed a presentation from Baylor
admissions personnel before beginning their
campus tour. Many buildings were pointed out
to students, including the library, science
building, business administration building,
dormitories, and dining halls. The students
enjoyed the beauty and relaxed atmosphere of
the campus and many remarked about their
desire to attend. This university is at the top
of the list for many students. Sic ‘em Bears!
SHS AVID Class Newsletter Page 5
AVID Club Community Service
AVID Club has had the opportunity to give back to
the community this year through a few efforts. In
December, students gathered to make Christmas
cards for elderly community members living in a
local nursing home. The cards were delivered and
enjoyed by the residents. Also during December,
the AVID freshmen and juniors teamed up to
provide Christmas gifts for five students from
Gililland Elementary School that would otherwise
not have anything under their Christmas tree. “I
wanted to make sure that the kids would be able
to wake up Christmas morning and have a good
Christmas” says freshman Jamilah Taylor.
Students enjoyed collecting and wrapping presents
during the month of December.
In April, students will host a reception to honor
the janitorial staff at Saginaw High School. Kudos
to these students for giving beyond themselves.
AVID Sophomores Visit Tarleton
State University
AVID students traveled to Stephenville, TX in
November to visit Tarleton State University.
TSU is a mid-size college that is less than 2
hours southwest of Fort Worth. TSU is an
affordable state school with a wide variety of
majors and an array of athletics, fine arts, and
extracurricular programs.
The students
arrived on campus and had lunch in the
student dining hall before a one hour tour of
the campus grounds, which was led by current
TSU and previous SHS AVID student Chandler
St. Clair. Students saw the University Center,
dining hall, dormitories, educational buildings,
and the university fitness center.
The
students enjoyed the trip and learned a lot
about future college life.
Teambuilding Time!
AVID students have enjoyed the warm weather
this winter as we have been able to take team
building activities outside.
The games and
interaction foster the relationships that AVID
strives to accomplish and provide the foundation
for the “family” aspect that veteran AVID
students enjoy.
Fast Fact – Several AVID students had standout seasons and received all- district
honors, including: 1st team: Julian Perez, Wylie Reinhardt, and Richard Mims,
Honorable Mention: Joe Rosas and Austin Gonsoulin. Jared Rivas and Isaiah Vega
were also named to the all-district academic team.
Fast Fact – AVID student Haley Moreno will be competing in Austin in February for
her second consecutive women’s wrestling state championship. Good luck Haley!
SHS AVID Class Newsletter Page 6
Meet the AVID Tutors
My name is Bailey Williams. In December 2012
I graduated from Texas Wesleyan University,
with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I am
currently pursuing a teaching certification
through the iTeachTexas program so that I can
eventually be a Special Education teacher at
the high school level. This is my second year
to work with the AVID program as a tutor, and
I truly enjoy working with the students. This
program is the reason I have decided to pursue
a career in education.
My name is Judy Howell. I attended Mississippi
University for Women where I earned both an
Accounting degree and an Elementary
Education degree. I have recently moved to
Texas and I am in the process of getting my
teaching license transferred from Mississippi to
Texas so that I can continue my education
career. I am currently working as an AVID
tutor and I am enjoying the unique challenges
of working with not only high school students,
but SMART high school students.
My name is Stephen Shields. I have tutored at
Saginaw High and other feeder middle schools
for four years. I am earned by bachelor’s
degree last year and I am currently working on
my master’s degree and serving as a youth
minister at a local church. I like working with
the AVID students to see their growth over
their time in the program. Keep working hard,
kids! I am proud of your efforts each day!
Upcoming Events
May 25
June 1
AVID Awards Show - Underclassmen (grades 9-11)
7:00 pm SHS
AVID Senior Awards Banquet
6:30 pm, Lake Worth Community Center
AVID in Action