Parents mark your calendars for the joint CHS/DLS Financial Aid Night Tuesday, December 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Garaventa Center. A Financial Aid Officer from the University of San Francisco will give an overview of the different types of financial aid. He will also walk parents and students through the federal (FAFSA) and state financial aid forms (Cal Grant). This is an important meeting for all senior parents, regardless of whether or not you think you qualify for financial aid. Please note, financial aid deadlines and forms vary by college. To access information about deadline and forms required, go to the individual college’s financial aid or scholarship web pages.

In preparation for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the student and one parent should each apply now for a FAFSA pin number at www.pin.ed.gov. The FAFSA will be available January 1, 2012 with drop-down help menus at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is the only meeting that covers this information.

Profiles in Courage Essay Contest
Deadline: 1/7/2012
For all high school students
www.jfkcontest.org/

Princeton Prize in Race Relations
Deadline: 1/31/2012
For all high school students
www.princeton.edu/princetonprize

Young Men’s Institute Annual Essay Contest
Deadline: 1/15/2012
For all high school students
Entry forms and contest guidelines available in the College and Career Center.

Seniors are expected to ask teachers or counselors for letters of recommendation well in advance of the deadlines. Please note: November 15 was the deadline for packets to be given to teachers and advisors/counselors for all applications due in December, January or February. Templates for teacher and advisor/counselor requests for recommendations are posted on student’s home Naviance page/document library. Seniors needing assistance with letters of recommendation should come to the College & Career Center. College Counselors and teachers must be notified of any last minute additions of colleges or changes by December 12. Please remember, school will be closed from December 16 to January 8 for the Christmas holidays and no School Reports or transcripts can be sent during the holidays.

Seniors are responsible for sending their official ACT and/or SAT scores directly to colleges. To send scores, seniors log on to www.act.org or to www.collegeboard.com. Please be aware that it can take 4 to 6 weeks for scores to arrive. A credit card is needed to pay for such transactions. To complete the application process, test scores must arrive by the application deadline.

Fall sports finished their season with many teams competing in the NCS championships. Look for the complete fall wrap-up in the January Newsletter.

Basketball and Soccer pre-season has started with several teams participating in a variety of tournaments. Varsity Basketball will be traveling to Oaks Christian High School in Southern CA in December for the Holiday Hardwood Basketball Tournament. Junior Varsity Basketball will be competing at the West Coast Jamboree. Varsity Soccer will be participating in the Tri-Valley Soccer Tournament with Junior Varsity and Freshman Soccer competing at the Cal-High tournament.

Special thanks to the Fall coaching staff for all their hard work with our athletes: Cross Country: Katie Maciel, Hayley Strandberg and Kiley Jones. Water Polo: Joanne Bennett, Robert Howard and Christine Astillero. Golf: Rick Eisenhour and Skip Volpe. Volleyball: Jerry Mix, Harrison Graham, Chris Paik and Alicia Powers.
Varsity tennis coaches, Mary Maciel and assistant Vicki Linck along with Junior Varsity coach Patti Byers will be stepping down from coaching next year. These coaches have been a real asset to the athletic program and have been a pleasure to have on staff. We thank them for the many hours they have spent encouraging and mentoring our athletes over many successful tennis seasons at CHS.

1. We try to be diligent about your daughter’s safety so we ask that you drive text-free, phone-free while on the campus. Please be aware that there are many people driving and walking on campus while you are driving through.
2. Even if you drop your daughter off before 7:30 a.m., please use the drop off lane. There have been near collisions and fender benders.
3. We would like you to join us in reminding our young ladies that the Christmas season is about the birth of the Christ Child. Presents need not be as extravagant as gold, frankincense and myrrh. Homemade cookies, homemade bracelets, crafts, and inexpensive ornaments are thoughtful gifts.
4. As you know, traffic is VERY heavy on Fridays. In order to help us with traffic control, we ask for your help in the following areas:

• Please never double park even for that one little minute while that speedy teenager gets in or out of your car.
• If you are in a parking space in the front of the academic building, be mindful of the traffic that is coming through the front gate. If cars have backed up on Treat Blvd please stay in your parking spot and let through traffic keep flowing through. If you are in the flow of traffic, suspend that thoughtful politeness and don’t let cars out of the spaces in front of the academic building.

May peace and love of the Christ Child be with you and yours during this season and throughout the New Year.