Harmony's Youth Leadership Institute (YLI); Leadership training for college-bound teens

Harmony’s Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), formerly known as Anytown, is a unique summer experience for high school students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors). In addition, it is a fantastic opportunity for self-exploration and leadership training for college-bound teens.

Aimed at preparing Kansas City youth to become leaders in their schools and in their communities, the program explores social justice issues and cultural matters that impact our society.

YLI participants, known as delegates, engage in experiential learning and contribute to discussions that are meant to “foster self exploration, to cultivate relationships with peers from diverse backgrounds, and to increase their understanding of community issues.” In addition, delegates come to recognize “their responsibility to create a community based upon inclusion, trust, and mutual respect.”

The application requires students to indicate specific, yet confidential, demographic information (gender, religious affiliation, income level, sexual orientation, and race) in order to craft a diverse group of students and to better understand where each delegate is coming from with regard to rising above adversity.

Dates
Sunday, June 20 through Saturday, June 26

Location
Rockhurst University

Cost
$350 per delegate (includes all materials, lodging, and meals)
full and partial scholarships are available based on financial need

Application Deadline
Tuesday, June 1

Although there is no college credit allocated for participation, this exciting summer opportunity is a learning experience that is sure to educate college-bound teens!

For more information about Harmony's Youth Leadership Institute, please visit their website or call (816) 333 5059.

April ACT score results to be posted beginning Monday

Students who sat for the Saturday, April 10 ACT may begin checking results for the multiple-choice and composite scores beginning Monday, April 26. This requires logging into the ACT
student web account created at the time of registration for the exam.

Not all scores are posted at the same time, so students should not panic if their scores are not available on that first date. Instead, simply continue to check because score results are processed and then posted to the student web accounts weekly. According to ACT, this usually takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays, which should help control student anxiety on other days while waiting for results. All scores will be reported within 8 weeks of the testing date, except for in special circumstances.

If students took the ACT Plus Writing, those scores will be posted online as soon as they are ready, which is typically about 2 weeks following the posting of subject test and composite scores. In these cases, the hard copy score report will not be mailed to the students’ homes until after Writing scores have been determined.

Planning to take the Saturday, June 12 ACT? The registration deadline is approaching; Friday, May 7. Missed deadlines require additional fees. June is also a very popular testing date, so missing the deadline could be detrimental to students’ ability to test based upon space limitations at testing sites.

Park University to host Summer Business Academy for high school students

The Park University School of Business will host the Summer Business Academy, a week-long, in-depth study of business, ethics, free enterprise, teamwork, and personal skills aimed at preparing students for professional business careers.

The June 13th - 18th program is modeled after Park’s semester-long “Introduction to Business” course and will provide students with an overview of business in modern America through a series of classroom sessions, field trips, mentoring, and team building exercises.

Students will explore business systems, discuss social and ethical responsibility, and learn the functions of management, marketing, personnel, production, accounting, finance investments, insurance, and business law.

Participants will also compete in teams to develop a marketing plan for a live business scenario and will present their projects on the last day of the Academy.

Students will be housed each evening in the new Copley Quad Housing Complex on Park’s original and historic Parkville campus, just minutes north of downtown Kansas City.

Qualified students must be in the Class of 2011 or 2012, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and have an interest in business or entrepreneurship. The completed application and $75 non-refundable deposit is due by April 15.

The cost to attend is $795 and includes course materials, housing, meals, transportation, and all Academy activities. There are a limited number of full and partial scholarships available, to be awarded based upon financial need.

Visit the Park University Summer Business Academy website for additional information and specific details about this special academic program for high school students.

ACT is Saturday...Last Minute Advice for Students

The ACT is THIS SATURDAY!

Hopefully you have been preparing with some of the tools provided for you (see previous articles on standardized testing). Here are some additional tips in advance of test day:

Gather your materials now and have them ready …don’t be on a last minute search on your way out the door Saturday morning!
• ACT admission ticket
• picture id (driver’s license is best)
• several sharpened #2 pencils with erasers
• calculator that meets ACT allowances (good to bring 2 devices, just in case)
• a watch with no alarm (room supervisor you will announce start, 5 minutes, and end, but a personal watch will allow you to pace yourself better)
• clothing layers (make sure you can easily and quietly shed a layer if you are too warm or add a layer if the room is too cold)
• Kleenex (it may not be available in the testing room and even if it is, you will lose valuable testing time getting up to get Kleenex)

Make Friday a “stay in” night. Relax, veg, go to bed early. SET YOUR ALARM. Set several alarms if you need to. You cannot be late to the ACT!

Have a really good for you breakfast on Saturday morning. You will not test well on an empty stomach…and loud growls may disturb those testing around you!

Some testing locations have a place for you to purchase food and drink, but don’t rely on it. And there may be lines if vending machines are available to you. So, it is suggested that you bring a drink and a small snack with you to enjoy during your break after the math section. Make sure they are in closed containers and in a closed bag/backpack/purse, as you will not be permitted to have them on your testing desk. You must store them underneath your seat during testing.

Use the restroom before entering your testing room . You do not get a break until after the second test. You are allowed to leave the room during testing, but…you must take your ID with you to re-enter and you lose all of the time you are gone. You do not get to make it up.

A favorite college professor always passed around a basket of hard candy peppermints
before a test and his students swore it helped calm them down and stimulated their brains. It is worth a shot for you, too!
Remember…ACT on the ACT, SIT on the SAT. Simply, answer every question on the ACT; you gain credit for correct answers and are not penalized for incorrect responses, so it is worth it to guess. You will be given a cue of “5 minutes remaining” for each test, so use that time to fill in any missing bubbles.

If you skip any questions, be careful to also skip on the answer sheet. Be very careful about this!

FAQ page on ACT website.

GOOD LUCK! Remember that this is one test, one Saturday morning, and you can take it again. The test score is just one component of your college application process and does not define you. Just do your BEST!

Summer Camp for Students Interested in Nursing Career

Research College of Nursing and Rockhurst University have once again partnered to offer a special summer camp experience for Kansas City area students who have an interest in healthcare. The program is available to high school students in the Classes of 2011 and 2012.

For four days, June 6-10, students will work on laboratory experiments and group projects and will discuss important topics such as ethics in healthcare. A “hands-on” experience will be provided in a college science laboratory with instruction by full-time professors. Students will learn about the role of a nurse in modern healthcare and will gain valuable skills to use in their future academic and professional careers.

Opportunities available to participants:

• see nursing as it really is (not as portrayed on TV)
• meet real nurses and ask them about what they do and why they do it
• experience college courses and activities
• make friends with other students who have similar interests
• receive instruction by outstanding faculty in classrooms and labs
• shadow a professional nurse at Research Medical Center
• learn nursing skills (taking blood pressures, checking eyes and ears, giving injections, etc.)
• explore ethical and legal issues in nursing and health care

Instruction will take place on the campuses of both Research College of Nursing and Rockhurst University. Meals will be provided by the Research Medical Center cafeteria and other caterers.

Participants will spend the nights in the Research Student Village, adjacent to Research Medical Center, with camp counselors who are current nursing students.

The cost is $275 per student and does include room, meals, recreational activities, all instructional materials, and even some medical equipment for students to keep.

Interested students should apply online or download a paper application. A letter of recommendation from a high school counselor and an official transcript is required. The deadline to apply is May 6. Acceptance into the summer program is based upon academic performance and successful completion of science and math courses. Once admitted, a health status form and the $275 fee are due by May 20.

Scholarship opportunities are available. Visit The Research Foundation website and click on “Summer Nursing Experience Scholarship” to learn more.

A detailed list of daily nursing camp activities is available here.

For more information about the summer nursing camp, contact Mallory Anthony by phone at either (816) 501 4256 or (800) 842-6776 or via e-mail.

What to Do When Waitlisted...Part Two

Fall in love with your second choice! Students move off of waitlists and are admitted, but far more do not. So, you must be able to love your next preference and be willing to accept it as your new dream school.

May 1 is critical. Although, this year it falls on a Saturday, so your focus really should be on Friday, April 30. This is the National Candidates Reply Deadline. Especially if you have applied to selective institutions, you must have made your decision by that date by submitting enrollment and housing deposits. Missing this deadline will likely forfeit your place in the incoming freshman class.

Waitlists are not looked at until after the May 1 decision deadline. And this is where families may become perplexed about how to proceed. Please keep in mind that it is considered unethical to double deposit (depositing at more than one school).

Submit the deposit at the "second choice" school. If you are not admitted off of the waitlist at your first choice, you have a place in the freshman class at this campus and you are all set for fall. Whatever school you choose, you (student, not parent) should contact the admission representative at that school directly. Be honest. Let him/her know that you are submitting your deposit and expect to enroll for fall. But that you are also awaiting word about the waitlist at your first choice school. If I do not get off the waitlist, I will be a happy, contributing student at X school. But if I do get off the waitlist, I will need to make a decision about my attendance.

Deposits are not refundable. And if eventually admitted at the first choice campus, they, too, will require an enrollment and a housing deposit.

You are not jeopardizing anything by being candid. You already have your admission, your position in the incoming freshman class, your financial aid package, and have paid your deposits. The admission representatives appreciate the honesty.

It does happen that a student gets off the waitlist and decides not to go to that school. They have become so invested in their second choice, told everyone they were attending their second choice, put it in the graduation edition of the school paper, etc. Waitlist decisions do not come out until well into the summer, usually, so it is tough for some students to change everything then.

What to Do When Waitlisted...Part One

Have you been waitlisted at your top choice college or university? Here are suggestions on how to handle the situation…

Contact the admission representative responsible for recruitment of students in Kansas City. This information, if not already known, is usually readily available on the college/university’s admission website. Contact should be made in writing (email is fine, but a “read receipt” is suggested) alerting their office of your interest in pursuing the waitlist. In addition, if the school sent a form that you have to submit to tell them of your interest, do that, too. The email to the admission representative is an extra and is to create a more personal alert, about a student in his/her recruitment territory.

If there is anything significant that has changed for you since submitting your application, the admission representative needs to be updated (new test score, higher GPA after seventh semester, a school award, etc.).

Who wrote letters of recommendation on your behalf already? Ask another teacher to write an additional letter on your behalf. It needs to be specific to your waitlist status, not general in any terms. It must address exactly why you are a strong candidate for that particular campus. It needs to be a teacher who has not already written for you, someone you have for a core subject class this year, someone that teaches a challenging course, and someone who will have new information to offer to the review committee. The letter should be sent directly to the admission representative's attention by postal mail (not email in this case).

You, the student, also need to submit a letter to the committee, making sure to avoid begging for acceptance. Rather, it needs to, just as the new letter of recommendation, be specific and direct about why you are the best candidate to admit if that admission office moves to their waitlist. This is an opportunity to show how well you have researched the campus, why you are a good fit, and what you will contribute to the campus community (both inside and outside of the classroom). It should not, however, simply reiterate what was already submitted in your original application.