Parent News 12/1/2022

Students are encouraged to participate in 12 School Days 'til Christmas Break Fun:

Dec.1-Spirit of the season -Wear Red & Green or Christmas shirt

Dec.2-Santa and his Reindeer- Wear something Santa or reindeer (Santa hat or reindeer antlers, etc.)

Dec.6-Christmas Vacation- Sunglasses, Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses or a Christmas Vacation shirt

Dec.7-Elf -Dress as an Elf or the Elf movie

Dec.8-Deck the Halls- Wear Holiday garland, jewelry, lights, etc.

Dec.9-Grinch- Wear Green or Grinch shirt

Dec.12-Sparkly & Bright- Dress up nice

Dec.13-Gift Day-Dress like a gift

Dec.14- Christmas PJ's

Dec.15-Ugly Sweater 

Dec.16-Peppermint -Wear red and white

Finals are half days, December 15 (English & Science) and December 16 (Math & Social Studies) Time between the finals will be provided for snacks.

Locker Decorating Contest: Students can participate in a locker decorating beginning on Dec. 5.  The lockers will be judged on Dec. 14. Students must provide their own materials to decorate their locker. Anything attached to the lockers must be removable without damaging the locker or the paint. 

Giving to others: COS is adopting a family with 4 children. The ages are 6yrs, 5yrs, 3yrs & 1yr. Bring in nonperishable items for the family before December 15.

Toys for Tots: Dec. 10 Toys for Tots packing day at Chester Legion for anyone to help. Students can earn community service hours.  8am until noonish. Pizza will be provided for lunch. RSVP to Lisa.

NASP Archery: We are looking for additional help with the archery team. A class to learn about NASP Archery is being held in Mascoutah on Dec. 3. If you are interested, contact Robert Rahlfs through his email: robert.rahlfs@gravelcreekhomeinspections.com

FFA is selling Stonie’s Sausage Sticks. They are $1 each and come in a variety of flavors. Talk to Lisa Luebkemann or an FFA member to purchase them.

Basketball: The next Basketball game of the season will be Thursday, December 8 at First Baptist Academy.

22^nd Annual Trivia Night: Join us for this year’s “Decades” Trivia Night & Silent Auction on January 20 at 7:00 p.m. in our gym. Adults $15 ea., 5^th-8^th grade students $6 ea., and 9^th-12^th grade $10 ea. with a limit of eight people to a table. Reserve your table by calling 618-853-7300. Table proceeds from the evening will support Prom and Post-Prom at COS. The silent auction will benefit the next Mission Trip.

Tuition and transit payments are due by the 15th of each month.

Contacting Students During the School Day: Please refrain from calling/texting/emailing your student(s) during the school day. If there is an emergency and you need to reach your student, please call the office. When students receive messages during the day, they often receive notifications on their devices that interrupt their learning.

Yearbooks: You can reserve a copy of the 2022-2023 yearbook by paying for the $25 yearbook in the office. The yearbook is typically delivered to school in July.

Snack Bar: Small bills are encouraged for purchasing items in the snack bar. Students can purchase a snack bar card in the office for $20. This is for students who do not want to remember to bring cash every day for snack bar purchases. The card will be kept in the cashbox and we will mark off the value spent each day.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): is a new federal benefit that helps pay for internet service and devices. You can find out if you qualify and apply at getmyinternet.org

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program: If you live in Jackson, Monroe, Perry or Randolph County, and are low income, you can apply to receive assistance in paying your energy bill. You do not have to be disconnected or behind on payments to apply. Make an appointment by calling 618-443-5231.

Alternatives to College: 
Construction & Skill Training Apprenticeships: Do you want a job that can't be outsourced to another country?  Learn about the opportunities offered by craft unions, apprenticeship training programs and the current pay and benefits of the different unions. Visit www.siba-agc.org or call 618-624-9055

Professional church work vocations within the LCMS: Visit this website to learn more about professional careers in the LCMS. https://www.lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve

College Planning Resource: Thrivent Student Resources ( https://www.thriventstudentresources.com/ ) has tools to help you navigate planning, preparing and paying for college. 
SWIC: Seniors who are planning to attend SWIC are encouraged to register with SWIC and visit this page to help with their college planning. https://www.swic.edu/students/services/enrollment-services/admissions/the-senior-plan/
Scholarship Opportunities:
Scholar's App: Scholar's App is a scholarship search site https://scholarsapp.com/
CollegeSTEPS:  https://collegesteps.wf.com Wells Fargo site that has helps to aid families in college planning and paying for school.

Tuition Funding Sources: https://www.tuitionfundingsources.com/ A scholarship database.
Cappex: https://www.cappex.com/scholarships/
FastWeb: http://fastweb.com/
Student Scholarships: https://www.studentscholarships.org (This one has lots of advertising & affiliated links, read carefully before signing up for anything.)
Sallie Mae: https://www.salliemae.com/college-planning/ (They provide students loans, but they also have a large section on scholarships.)
Scholarship Experts: https://www.unigo.com/scholarships#fromscholarshipexperts 
Concordia University Nebraska offers a minimum of $20,000 per year in scholarships and grants to graduates of Lutheran High Schools. 
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Is offering free tuition for incoming freshmen and transfer students with a family income of $61,000. For more information http://go.illinois.edu/Commitment 
RaiseMe: Students in grades 9-11 can earn merit scholarships with a value of up to $98,000 to attend one of over 300 different colleges by participating in RaiseMe. Sign up at https://www.raise.me/ If you are interested, talk to Mrs. Laufer.
Parkland College/Birkley's CNH Service Technician Scholarship: Tuition assistance, starter tools, paid internship, and uniform possibly leading to full time employment with Birkley (Case IH & New Holland) in Champaign, IL. Ask Mrs. Laufer for a copy of the scholarship.
Washingon University has an awesome scholarship program if you qualify - Full tuition & room and board. Read more at https://admissions.wustl.edu/cost-aid/affordability/
PB&J Scholarship: Open to seniors, can be applied to either 2-year or 4-year college. Apply at http://pbjscholarship.org.
Concordia St. Paul: Full-time students enrolled in a church work program will receive a minimum of $17,900 in combined institutional financial aid each year. This is a guarantee of tuition of $6000 or less per year. For more information: 
IFBWC: The Illinois Federation of Business Women's Clubs has a scholarship program for female students who are either seniors or currently attending college. See their website for more details. http://www.ifbwc.org/scholarships

College Application Fee Waiver: If you think your family is low income, you can request that the college you are applying to waive the application fee. Mrs. Laufer has the form you will need if you wish to request a fee waiver. You can also download the fee waiver application at ncacfairs.org/ApplicationFeeWaiver

ACT Testing All juniors (and sophomores interested in taking college credit classes as juniors) should take the ACT test. When you register, designate SEMO and Concordia Wisconsin to receive your scores if you want to sign up for college credit classes. For juniors, it will help you become familiar with the test. Most students improve their scores by taking the test more than once. Many free practice materials are available online. The fee waiver only covers the basic cost of the test. It will not cover late fees, reports to more than 4 colleges, or the writing test. You may have 4 fee waivers (divided as you wish between junior and senior years). You must be either a junior or a senior to receive a fee waiver. The fee waiver also gives you free access to Test Prep tools. You can also request a waiver or deferral of the college admission application fee.

ACT Test Dates 

SAT Practice: Use of the Khan Academy SAT Practice raises the average SAT score by 90 points. Khan Academy is free.

Test Help for All Tests: The US Army run website provides an online study program to help students prepare for standardized tests, improve schoolwork and review materials. It is free, but read what they will do with your data before signing up. https://www.march2success.com/  
 
School Calendar

Dec. 8              BB away @ First Baptist Academy, O’Fallon, IL

Dec 10             NASP Tournament Here

Dec. 15-16      ½ Days, Finals
Dec. 16            End of 1^st Semester
Dec. 19            Christmas Break begins
Jan. 3               2^nd Semester starts, Classes resume

Jan 14              NASP Tournament Here

Jan 16              MLK, No School

Jan 20              Trivia Night “Decades”

Feb 11             NASP Tournament Here

Feb 20             Presidents Day, No School

Mar 3              Fish N More Dinner

Mar 4              NASP Tournament Here

Mar 10            Art du Jour

Mar 10            End 3rd Quarter

Apr 6-10          Easter Break

Apr 14             4th Mid-Quarter

Apr 29             Spring Student Showcase

May 17-18       1/2 Days, Finals

May 18            All School Awards Night

May 19            Graduation