Letter from Betty for October 2015

Hello,

Many parents have started a special year—the year their child graduates from high school. As this accomplishment is looked forward to with excitement, it is also a time to think beyond graduation day into the future. For many students, the future includes college. In our feature article for October, "Your Child's Senior Year - Tips for Parents," we offer some timely advice about this pivotal year.

For our October Puzzler, “Fill-in-the-blank College Colors” we have a fun and colorful college name recognition challenge for you.

Finally, please remember that whatever your educational needs are, Foundation for Learning, is ready to assist you with caring, one-on-one, individualized tutoring, SAT/ACT test prep, and educational evaluations. Please don't hesitate to give us a call at 973-425-1774 for a free consultation.


Best regards,

Betty

Betty Bodenweiser
Director
Foundation for Learning

SAT or ACT? Free Diagnostic dates for October 2015

Free Diagnostic test offered at FFL

Currently many high school juniors take both the SAT and ACT to determine which test is better for them. We feel it is beneficial for the students to focus on only one test. In order to accomplish this, we administer a complimentary SAT/ACT diagnostic test to help students determine which test is better suited to their abilities.

Upcoming test dates are:
October 10, 2015
November 14, 2015

*Our diagnostic test incorporates the new SAT which will be administered beginning in March 2016. Please call Donna for more details.

Please call (973) 425-1774 or email betty@foundationforlearning.com as space is limited

October 2015 Test Schedule

Mark your calendars! Here are the latest test dates.

NOTE about ISEE - Independent School Entrance Exam: For test locations and to learn more go to erblearn.org.

Your Child's Senior Year - Tips for Parents

For parents of high school seniors, this can be an exciting time. Your child has completed eleven years of school. You’ve watched her grow, develop, make friends, deal with the typical trials, tribulations, and angst that goes along with the elementary, middle, and high school years. She is now in her final year and a busy year it’s going to be. She’s looking ahead to college, a time to leave the nest, become independent, and discover life on her own. While it’s important not to hover during the college application process, it’s important that you offer your support and help. You need to let her know that you trust her and have confidence in her abilities, while at the same time be there to guide her and help to organize the maze that comes with college applications and admissions. It’s going to take team work to get through that maze!



So what can you do? What support can you offer? Here are some tips:

Start by buying a binder, insert subject dividers and begin recording all of the college information that comes your way. In one section, your child should keep personal information such as passwords, assigned website IDs and log-in information for the various colleges she is applying to. She should also keep a list of the colleges she is applying to along with application deadlines, including early-admission deadlines and any requirements needed for specific schools such as required high school classes, subject tests, etc. Another section should include a printed spreadsheet that you and your daughter create to keep track of where she is in the application process for each school, the application due date, and dates of scheduled visits. Much of this can also be done on the Common App website. A final section should include copies of college essays, resumes, bios, photos, and so forth.

Also, set up a new email address to be used expressly for college applications and contacts. Keep the name and address professional. Both parents and student should have access to this email account and password.

Hopefully, by the beginning of senior year, you’ve already started looking into different schools, browsed school websites, maybe even made some campus visits. If not, get on it now! Call college admissions offices to find out about tours, possible interview dates, class auditing, directions, and recommendations for accommodations during the visit. During and after the tour, you and your child should share impressions of the school. Discuss and write down the pros and cons of that particular school and file them in the College Binder. Family dinners are a great, relaxed time to have these open discussions.



Your child should start working on and submitting applications at the beginning of the school year and she should take advantage of early-admission decisions. You can help her by proofreading essays and applications, but know that these should be her own work. Do not take over and write or rewrite for her.

Other parents will start offering advice and direction to the point that you feel inundated. They mean well, but at a time when anxiety is already a bit higher than normal, it’s best to filter them out. There might be a good suggestion from someone who has already been through the process with their own child, but trust your own instincts. You know your child better than anyone else and you will be the better judge of which school will be a good fit.

This is an important time in your child’s life. It’s an initiation into adulthood and the real world. It’s also an important moment for you as a parent. Your place right now, is to become your child’s “safe place to land”. You need to be the calm, upbeat, supportive adult who keeps things safe as she faces the evaluation, judgment, and possible rejection of college admissions offices.



As the acceptance letters arrive, file them in the College Binder, then sit down with your child and make a pros and cons list. In the end though, the final decision should be up to your college-bound child. Forcing her to attend a school she doesn’t want to attend is likely to result in failure. Being a guide during the application process, will help her learn basic habits that will help her to be successful in the adult world and it is also a positive way to assist your child. By guiding rather than leading, you are allowing your college-bound child to feel trusted and supported.

At this point, trust that you’ve done a good job raising your child, allowing her to be responsible, independent, and to make smart, well thought out decisions. Once again though, put yourself in the position of being the “soft place to land” during times of stress and anxiety, good times and bad. You want her to know that you are a safe and willing resource for her during her college years and throughout her adult life. You are setting a tone and path for your future relationship, and that’s really important.



Some additional thoughts for you as the parent, preparing to launch your child:

Realize that this process isn’t about you. Parents are so attached and connected to their children, that they at times confuse the dividing line. This is your child’s path and being cognizant of that can allow you the space to remain calm and supportive when she is most unsure. During those most stressful moments, remind yourself that this isn’t about you. You’ll be more able to help if you just keep that in mind.

There will undoubtedly be anxiety as you’re thinking about sending your child off into the world. Though your worries are real, adding them to the already stressful pot isn’t going to help. Fears about rejection, finances, aging and other real world problems should be discussed with a trusted friend or family member. Realize too, that you’re probably feeling some grief about your child leaving, grief over an upcoming loss and a big change that is coming in your life. So recognize it for what it is, feel it, journal about it, be real about it and then move on. Pushing it away doesn’t help you and certainly won’t help your child.

Work with a team! You are not alone in the maze of college applications and admissions. Your child’s high school guidance counselor and staff at Foundation for Learning  are there to help.



Final thoughts:

You and your child are going to encounter a big year! Be there for your daughter as a guide, a resource and let her know through your own words and actions that you trust her to take the lead and make good decisions. Enjoy the adventure of preparing your child for this next phase of her life (and yours!) and enjoy the special events and activities that take place during her senior year of schooling. Even though it may be tinged with a bit of sadness, this is an exciting time for both of you. Enjoy and celebrate the moments!

The October 2015 Puzzler: Fill-in-the-blank College Colors

Question: 16 college pennants have been partially masked in the photo. Based on only colors and the first two letters of each word, can you fill in the blanks and name the 16 colleges or universities?
 

Starting at the blue pennant on the left that says "YA" and moving counter-clockwise around the photo, here are the blanks you are trying to fill in:
1.   Y A _ _
2.   H A _ _ _ _ _
3.   P U _ _ _ _
4.   N O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
5.   C O _ _ _ _ _
6.   O R _ _ _ _
7.   G E _ _ _ _ _    T E _ _
8.   P R _ _ _ _ _ _ _
9.   N O _ _ _    D A _ _
10. S T _ _ _ _ _ _
11. M I _ _ _ _ _ _
12. W A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
13. N E _ _ _ _ _ _
14. D A _ _ _ _ _ _ _
15. S T _ _ _ _ _ _
16. C O _ _ _ _ _ _


Answers in the next issue. 

Answer to September Puzzler: Who Came First?

Question: What is the correct birth order of the 6 high-achieving women in the images below?

Instructions: You may click or tap on the image to see a larger version and get a closer look. Use the jumbled chart with all the answers you need, and sort it all out. The correct birth years are in order but the rest is mixed up, so this is really a triple challenge:

1. Start with the easy part: Pick a name for each face in the photos.
2. Bonus Points: Straighten our which accomplishment goes with which woman.
3. Finally, who came first? Identify each woman with her birth year.
  

 

Answer:

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