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Middle/Upper School News
Ski and Snowboard Club Registration
Come join the Providence Academy Ski and Snowboard Club on the hills this winter!  The club is open to Middle and Upper School students.  Students are advised to return completed forms promptly, as the club quickly reaches its limit of 70 students.  Registration forms can be found on Madame Woodbury's web page.  See you on the slopes!

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Lower School News
Lower School Choir Cancelled
Lower School Choir rehearsal is cancelled for Tuesday, November 24^th.

Lower School Christmas Concert Dates
Kindergarten/1^st Grade
Happy Birthday Jesus.  Wednesday, December 2^nd at 2:15 p.m. in the Great Room.

2^nd/3^rd Grade
Tuesday, December 1^st at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Room.

4^th/5^th Grade
The Drowsy Shepherd.  Thursday, December 3^rd at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Room.
 

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Athletics Update
Providence Announces Excel Award Winners!
Jack Murphy and Monica Kopp have been selected as PA’s 2009 Excel Award winners.  Standing for excellence in community, education and leadership, this unique recognition program through the Minnesota State High School League is given exclusively to Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school activities, who show leadership qualities, and who are model citizens.  Congratulations, Jack and Monica! 

Seniors Named Triple A Award Winners!
Kathryn Kennedy and Ned Kingman have been named PA’s Triple A award winners.  The Athletics, Arts, and Academics award of the MSHSL recognizes and honors those high school seniors who have excelled in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the fine arts.  Congratulations to Kathryn and Ned!

Swimming All Conference
Providence participates in a co-op with Osseo High School in girls swimming.  The Girls Swim team recently finished their season and all conference honors were extended to team members including one of our own.  Congratulations go to 7^th grader Mary Whiting on her all conference recognition!  With the fall season now complete, Providence had 31 athletes named all conference or honorable mention and took home 2 conference team titles.

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
Special Announcement
Ms. Margaret Otten, most recently the Senior Associate Dean of Admissions at Carleton College, will serve as Mrs. Hogan’s maternity leave substitute for the month of January into early February.  Ms. Otten will join Mrs. Hogan for another day in early December to meet students, faculty, and staff, to help prepare for the transition.  Please help welcome Ms. Otten to Providence Academy.            

Seniors
College Financial Aid Night Reminder
December 3 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall; refreshments served.

Seniors (and parents), don’t miss the opportunity for an in-depth workshop on applying for financial aid, regardless of your family’s income situation.  Given the tough economic times, aid is available, whether need-based or merit-based (i.e. scholarships).  This workshop will be given by one of the best college financial aid presenters in the country, and refreshments will be served.  Please note that the vast majority of colleges and universities require students to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) while some require the CSS PROFILE (through College Board).  Both are accessible online; www.fafsa.ed.gov (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/index.jsp (CSS PROFILE).

Transcript Request Reminder
Seniors must complete the Transcript Request Form (the ‘blue’ form distributed to seniors in early September) two weeks before the posted admission 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).  If you have questions about application processes or components, please schedule a meeting with Mrs. Hogan before/after school, during lunch or study periods or flex time.  As in past years, all seniors should have all their college application transcript requests submitted to the Upper School Office by the start of Christmas break!

College Visits
A few more college visitors will come to PA throughout the next few weeks, including possible visits from returning alumni.  If you are applying to a school, plan to stop by when their representative is at Providence Academy or in the Twin Cities area.  Check Family Connection, listen for the reminder announcements, and/or check out the posters outside the College Counselor’s Office.  

Juniors
The first follow up session to College Night for Juniors on using the Naviance/Family Connection web program took place in mid-November, and individual junior college counseling meetings with Mrs. Hogan began shortly thereafter.  Mrs. Hogan will meet with each junior before Christmas break, with all subsequent meetings open to parent attendance.

2009 PSAT Results
Mrs. Hogan will distribute the results of PSAT exam to juniors in mid-December: results should be used to determine areas of academic strength and the areas in which each student may want to improve. Also, for any juniors that took the PRA (Princeton Review Assessment), results will be given back to these students during lunch on December 3.

ACT/SAT Prep Courses
Registrations are due for the annual Providence Academy ACT Exam Prep Course (which will take place the three Saturdays before the February 6, 2010 ACT Exam) November 30th.  Registration forms are available in the Upper School Office.  Also, juniors were invited to attend an optional after school presentation on Method Test Prep-SAT, an online test preparation program offered to Providence students through Naviance/Family Connection.  Any juniors unable to attend the presentation should contact Mrs. Hogan for more information.  A letter detailing the above information was distributed to juniors in October with a follow up letter in November. 

Register Now for the ACT and SAT
It is recommended that all juniors take the ACT and SAT by January/February of junior year (SAT on January 23 and ACT on February 6 are ideal dates since you will have first semester exams finished!) in order to have the opportunity to receives scores in time to re-test by May or June, if needed.  Mrs. Hogan recommends that all juniors take both the SAT and ACT at least once, and re-test if needed or desired to improve scores.  Register online for the ACT: www.actstudent.org (Providence is an available test center for the February 6 and June 12, 2010 ACT: we are a very popular test center, so register early!). Register online for the SAT: www.collegeboard.com (Wayzata High School and other nearby locations serve as test centers for the SAT).  Regarding SAT Subject Tests, students should consult with Mrs. Hogan individually regarding the necessity of these exams, given students’ individual college aspirations.

Sophomores
Mrs. Hogan will distribute the results of PSAT exam to sophomores in mid-December: 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. 

Freshmen
All freshmen who took the PLAN exam in October should receive their score reports in early December from Mrs. Semsch.  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. 

College Visitors
Please note that all college visits may 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.  In the coming weeks, juniors and seniors may visit with representatives from the following colleges here at Providence (or in the area):

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