News from the Counseling Department

Week of April 13, 2015

College Visits

As you start to plan your summer vacation, consider adding a college visit into the mix!

• Schedule your visit ahead of time - don't just show up and expect to be shown around. Most colleges offer daily campus tours as well as full-day campus experience programs (although these full-day events are typically held during the school year). You can usually schedule a tour on the college website (typically under the "new student" or "prospective student" tab). Basic campus tours are free.
• Once you know which colleges you will be visiting, do some basic research on those colleges. This will help you know what questions to ask while you are there.
• Take notes and pictures while you are there - after awhile the colleges start to blend together in your mind if you visit enough campuses. These notes and pictures are helpful to refer back to when it comes time to make those final decisions about where to apply and which college to ultimately attend.
• While a summer college visit is better than no college visit, summer isn't the ideal time to visit college campuses because it is hard to get a true feel for campus when school isn't in session. If there are particular colleges that your student likes after visiting this summer and wants to pursue applying to, you should try to schedule another visit to that campus during the school year prior to your student committing to attend that school (Fall Break is a great time to visit schools as very few places other than Arizona have a Fall Break!).
• If there is no way for you to visit a particular college that your student is interested in, take a virtual campus tour at http://www.campustours.com/ 

SAT/ACT for Juniors

As a reminder, we highly recommend that all juniors who are considering attending a four-year university immediately after graduation take the SAT and/or ACT in the spring of the junior year. There are two more opportunities to test this school year. The SAT will be given on June 6 and the ACT will be given on June 13. The registration deadline for both is May 8. To register, visit http://sat.collegeboard.org for the SAT and www.actstudent.org for the ACT. Please contact your student's counselor if you have any questions!

Summer School

Summer school will be offered this summer through the Amphitheater School District and it will be held at CDO. For specific information regarding registration and courses available, please visit http://www.amphi.com/district/amphitheater-community-schools.aspx or pick up a summer school flyer in the counseling office.

The district will also be offering online summer school again this summer through MDLP. Information about online summer classes is posted on the district website (www.amphi.com). Students will need to have a contract signed by both the student and a parent (the contract can be found online and should be brought to the counselor completed when the student comes in to sign-up), as well as an online advisement form completed by their counselor before they can register for online summer school. Please have your student schedule an appointment with his/her counselor to discuss this further if there is an interest in taking an online summer class.

Summer Opportunities

Just a friendly reminder that there are still many great summer programs available for students of all ages this summer. Counselor, Ms. Pati Mapp has been hard at work organizing a list of these opportunities for you: http://www.amphi.com/schools/cdo-high/counseling/summer-opportunities.aspx.

Scholarship Spotlight:

Vantage West Scholarships: Vantage West Credit Union will award five graduating seniors each a $1,000 college scholarship.For more information, and to apply, please visit

www.vantagewest.org/scholarship 

Deadline = April 25, 2015

Upcoming College Visits:

• University of Arizona visit - Thursday, April 16, 9:00 am (focus on juniors)

Juniors and Junior Parents:

Are you thinking about applying to the Service Academies?  If so, mark your calendars for April 18^th!  There are two different Academy Conferences being offered that morning that will answer many of your questions.

Senator Flake's office is hosting one at

Red Mountain High School

7301 East Brown Road

Mesa, AZ  85207

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

(602) 840-1891

Congresswoman McSally's office is hosting one at

Empire High School Auditorium

10701 East Mary Ann Cleveland Way

Tucson, AZ 85747

For additional information please contact

Nancy Heiser in Congresswoman McSally's office

(520) 881-3588

 
Every day one billion people travel an average of three hours to gather water. In some communities women and children spend up to 60 percent of their day collecting water, putrid though it may be. Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease, and such diseases are the leading cause of death for children under the age of five.  One half of all schools around the world lack access to clean water.  

     Bryn Hudson, Cassie Ho, Charles Amador, and Giancarlo Del Toro along with our Environmental Science and Biology students have chosen to partner with the San Miguel School in Ecuador through H2O for Life.  They have chosen to fundraise for San Miguel so that 11 miles of piping, a water storage unit, and a water treatment plant, plus sanitation and community training, may be provided for the community with high rates of water borne illnesses and no direct water access now.  CDO students intend to provide them with water for 400 homes, a school, a clinic, a daycare, and two churches.  Fundraising will transform lives.  Schools will finally have much deserved restrooms, allowing girls the opportunity to comfortably attend school.  Fewer people will die due to water related diseases. 

     CDO hopes to raise $7,700 for this new water system and hygiene education for San Miguel, Ecuador.  In order to meet this goal CDO will be hosting a 5K on Saturday, April 25th on the track. Entrance fee is $10.00, but there will also be door prizes. CDO is asking you to consider walking, donating money, or purchasing a water droplet.  Water Droplets will be sold for a $1.00 in the cafeteria during both lunches for the next two weeks. Donations over $250 will receive a receipt.  Checks are to be made out to H2O for Life.  Their tax exempt number is 26-0338552; donations are considered tax deductible if nothing is received in return for the donation.  Checks may be dropped off in Mrs. Gauna's classroom, R606.  We appreciate your consideration of CDO's and H2O for Life's endeavors.  Bryn, Cassie, Charles, and Giancarlo hope you will support their efforts and change the lives of an entire community by donating today.

Online donations can be made at  www.h2oforlifeschools.org/index.php/component/k2/item/815-canyon-del-oro-high-school 

Thank you,

Sonya Gauna

Social Studies Department Chair

U.S. History Teacher

IB Social and Cultural Anthropology Teacher

Canyon del Oro High School

www.mrsgaunaswiki.wikispaces.com

(520)696-5646

ATTENTION

Senior Parents 2015

It's Time for Memory Lane!

Make your Graduate's Project Grad "Walk Down Memory Lane" Extra Special

MEMORY LANE PHOTO COLLAGE

Create a collage of your child's life through photos~to ensure all collages can be displayed on the Memory Lane display, you must follow the specific instructions you receive in the Senior Graduation information packet.

MEMORY LANE SLIDE SHOW

A picture is worth a thousand words! Share memories of your graduate and their friends growing up together.

EMAIL your jpeg photos of ONLY CDO Grads to: Slideshow@CDOProjectGraduation.com

PERSONAL LETTER

Get sentimental! Tell your child how proud you are of them, in a personal letter. Our Memory Lane Volunteers will make sure your letter is waiting for your child at their reserved seat at the party. (No greeting cards please!)

Shhh! This should be a surprise for your Graduate! The DEADLINE for all Memory Lane items is Friday, April 24^th

Find the DETAILS at www.CDOProjectGraduation.com on the SENIOR PARENTS tab.

Or email: MemoryLane@CDOProjectGraduation.com