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Middle/Upper School News
Invitation to 8^th Grade Parents
The Upper School Director and Deans invite all parents of 8^th graders to an Introduction to the Upper School on January 21^st at 7:00 p.m.  Spend an evening with us to learn about the exciting opportunities your 8^th grader will have in Providence Academy’s Upper School.  We will look into our academic program, as well as college counseling, athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular offerings.  This evening is for parents only; 8^th grade students will have an opportunity to explore the benefits of a Providence Upper School Education just one week later. 

Ski & Snowboard Club Reminder
The next Ski and Snowboard Club outing will be to Afton Alps on January 9th. 

Upper School Semester 1 Exam Schedule
Semester 1 exams will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, January 13th-15th as follows below.  Those students who wish to remain on campus afterwards are asked to make arrangements with Mr. Sorkin in advance.

Wednesday, January 13th
Exam 1:  8:45-10:15 a.m.  (English)
Exam 2: 10:30 a.m.-Noon (Math)

Thursday, January 14th
Exam 1: 8:45-10:15 a.m. (Religion)
Exam 2: 10:30 a.m.-Noon (World Language) 

Friday, January 15th
Exam 1: 8:45-10:15 a.m. (History)
Exam 2: 10:30-Noon (Science)

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Lower School News
Invitation to Join Lower School Choir
Mrs. Wilson would like to open up to any fourth or fifth grader, the opportunity to join the extra-curricular choir.  Choir meets on Tuesday afternoons, from 3:16 to 4:00 p.m.  Choir will begin rehearsals on Tuesday, January 19th.  There is no fee related to joining this extra-curricular choir, only a sincere commitment to being a part of something special and unique.  The choir is responsible in leading Lower School liturgies each Monday and Wednesday.  The choir will also work on expanding their choral literature repertoire while learning about vocal technique and vocal health.  If your child is interested in joining choir this last half of the year, 2010, please contact Mrs. Wilson at your earliest convenience at (763) 259-2529 or teresa.wilson@providenceacademy.org.

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Athletics Update
Target Center Games Cancelled
Previous E-Bulletins and the January Lions’ Pride included announcements regarding Girls’ Basketball at Target Center on February 13^th.  The Target Center just notified PA that the game has been bumped by MSHSL state dance line competitions.

How to Receive Sports Communication
The best way to receive information at home about upcoming events and driving direction is to utilize the Providence Academy website.  Simply go to http://www.providenceacademy.org and click on the rSchoolToday Calendar link.  Information can also be obtained by calling the Sports Hotline at (763) 258-2580.  The Hotline is updated daily and contains all of the day’s information and happenings.

Schedules and Directions to Away Events
Both schedules and directions to away events can be found on the Providence Academy website at http://www.providenceacademy.org  From the home page, simply click on the rSchoolToday Calendar link.  Then select a sport from the View Schedules list on the right side of the page.

Weather-Related Cancellations
In the event athletic schedules change, the Sports Hotline is updated by 2:00 daily.  Please call the Hotline at (763) 258-2580 for the latest information.  The rSchoolToday Calendar will also be updated as soon as information is available.

Webcast America
www.webcast50.com is the place to go this fall for varsity athletics.  For ease of access, there is a link on PA’s home page to the Webcast America site.  Note all games and events on the site remain available to view for a calendar year.  Check out all the action you may have missed on Webcast America. 

Results
Looking for results for Providence Athletics teams?  Visit the Providence Academy website and click on the rSchoolToday Calendar link.  From there, select the blue tab labeled “Scores/Standings.”

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College Counselor's Corner
Welcome, Ms. Otten!
We are pleased to welcome Ms. Meg Otten as Mrs. Hogan’s maternity leave substitute during the month of January and first week and a half of February.  Ms. Otten may be reached by calling the Upper School Office at (763) 258-5500 or by email at margaret.otten@providenceacademy.org and she will be meeting particularly with juniors and seniors while Mrs. Hogan is on leave.

Seniors
Admission Decisions: Many seniors will receive decisions about early action applications, some acceptances, denials, deferrals, and possibly a waitlist situation. Seniors should feel free to contact Ms. Otten for advice on how to proceed with any 'limbo' decision.  A reminder to seniors that mid-year (semester) grades are automatically sent out to all colleges where they have active applications (i.e., the student has not been denied or withdrawn).

Any senior not able to attend the College Financial Aid Night the first week of December should stop by the college counseling office for the presentation handouts.  Please pay attention to college financial aid (especially scholarship) deadlines.  Most colleges have priority deadlines for filing the FAFSA (www.fafsa.gov) and/or CSS Profile (https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp) in January and February.  Any seniors interested in applying for the TwinWest Foundation Scholarship (and other local scholarships requiring transcripts and/or letters of recommendation) should notify Ms. Otten: applications were distributed at Financial Aid Night and are in the Upper School Office.  Seniors now have access to a scholarship database by accessing their Family Connection account. Again, please pay attention to deadlines!

Transcript Request Reminder (For Scholarships and Admission Applications)  Seniors must complete the Transcript Request Form (the ‘blue’ form distributed to seniors in early September) two weeks before the posted admission/scholarship deadlines.  It is okay to complete the request form while you are still working on your online portion of the application.  Also, remember to send your ACT and/or SAT scores directly from the testing companies (www.actstudent.org or www.collegeboard.com).  As of Christmas break, all seniors have active college applications!  Kudos to the senior class!  If you have questions about application processes or components, contact Ms. Otten or stop by the Upper School Office to schedule a meeting with Ms. Otten before/after school, during lunch, study, or FLEX periods.

Juniors
Junior College Counseling Meetings:  All preliminary college counseling meetings with Mrs. Hogan took place before Christmas break.  During the meeting, we reviewed their junior college counseling survey, interest and personality inventories, as well as explored the college search features in the program and begin building a college list.  Parents are invited and highly encouraged to attend all subsequent meetings in second semester. Please note that the second round of meetings will be conducted by Ms. Meg Otten, in January and part of February.  A letter with scheduled meeting times went home with all juniors before Christmas break: please contact Ms. Hanson if you need to re-schedule your next meeting, especially to accommodate parent attendance.  Also, a reminder to parents to complete the “Parent Insights” Questionnaire before the meeting.  If you have any questions about logging into your parent account in Family Connection to complete the questionnaire online, please contact Ms. Hanson in the Upper School Office.

All juniors should be signed up to take the ACT and/or SAT in early spring.  A reminder to all ACT Prep Class registrants that the first prep class (Science section with Mrs. Sheehan) will take place after semester exams on Saturday, January 16 beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.  Students should not take the Science practice test in advance of the class session.

Sophomores and Freshmen
All sophomores who took the PSAT Exam on October 14th received their score reports with a letter from Mrs. Hogan the first week of December.  The results should be used to determine areas of academic strength and the areas in which each student may want to improve.  Sophomores will take the PSAT again their junior year, when their scores will be entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition.  Mrs. Hogan will also be available to meet individually with sophomores to review their score reports, if needed.

All freshmen who took the PLAN Exam on October 14th received their score reports with a letter from Mrs. Semsch the first week of December.  The PLAN is a pre-ACT exam administered to help familiarize students with college entrance test content and format, to give them a feel for timed testing, as well as to help them identify areas of academic strength and weakness.  Mrs. Semsch is also available to meet individually with freshmen to review their score report, and the ninth grade students will participate in a career exploration activity (on Tuesday, January 5th) using the information from the World of Work Map included in their PLAN results folder.

College Visits
Other than PA alumni returning to Providence to talk about their college experiences, college visits will resume in the spring semester, with the bulk of college visitors making plans to come to our College Fair Day on April 20, 2010 (Save the Date!).  College visits may still be viewed on the college visit calendar in Naviance/Family Connection. Members of the Providence community may access this information by logging in as a guest (password: lions) at: https://connection.naviance.com/providenceacad. 

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