J. Taylor Finley Middle School students are old enough to start thinking ahead to college. That’s the impetus behind College Awareness Week, which will run from October 22-26.
There will be daily spotlights on colleges over the public address system, college pennants created by students during lunch periods and displayed throughout the building, a photo booth where students can pose with items from their favorite university, fun quizzes on different colleges and even a college trivia contest for teachers. Raffles will be drawn for college swag daily.
Finley school counselors Paloma Herrera and Alison Logan are coordinating the initiative along with District Director of Guidance and Testing, K-12 Kitty R. Klein. Principal John Amato and Assistant Principal Kenneth Parham are both pitching in to help make sure the week goes smoothly.
Ms. Klein believes that “it’s never too early for middle school students to begin thinking about college options. This includes assessing current interests and talents, as well as creating short and long term goals; all of which are vital towards effective planning.”
School counselors feel the week will be a valuable tool to drive home the point to students that what they’re doing now in school could very well impact their future, including the college choices available to them and even possible careers.
Ms. Klein encourages students to “dream big” and realize they can turn those dreams into reality with hard work and effective planning. Students with Chromebooks will be encouraged to engage in college online searches during their lunch periods.
The week will also include special spotlights on the alma maters of Finley teachers as well as on the University of Pennsylvania, Hofstra University, Boston University and Nassau Community College, but students are also expected to talk about dozens of their favorite schools and even the colleges attended by their parents and other family members.
Students should find it interesting to hear homeroom teachers speak about their alma maters and their own college experiences. Faculty members will display a poster in their room indicating where they attended college.
Contact Ms. Klein at kklein@hufsd.edu for more information about the special week at Finley.