City Colleges of Chicago open house

Open Your Path To A Successful Career

City Colleges of Chicago can put you on a path to a successful career with an education that works—without all of the debt. Learn more at our Fall Open House on Wednesday, April 13 at our seven college locations.

​We will hold two sessions to fit your schedule: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.​ and 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Visit the college that serves your College to Careers interest. Not sure which College to Careers program to select, use City Colleges’ Program Finder to learn more about career possibilities and the skills needed to succeed.

Interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree? Starting your higher education journey at City Colleges of Chicago can save you up to $40,000. City Colleges partners with four-year colleges and universities to maximize your transfer credit.

To RSVP, click here for the 10 a.m. morning session or click here for the 6 p.m. evening session.​     .​

If you have any questions, please contact 773-COLLEGE.

Falyn Harper | College Recruiter

South West Area – Kennedy College Territory

773.997.4570 (cell) | fharper2@ccc.edu

College fairs

With fall comes back to school, and already time to plan for the next school year, especially if your student has college on the horizon.

Christian College Fairs will be arriving soon:

Oct. 5, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Timothy Christian School 1061 S Prospect, Elmhurst, IL 60126
Oct. 6, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Chicago Christian High School 12001 S Oak Park Avenue, Palos Heights, IL 60463
Oct. 7, 2015 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Rockford Christian High School 1401 N. Bell School Road, Rockford, IL 61107
Oct. 7, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Westminister Christian School 2700 W Highland Avenue, Elgin, IL 60124
Oct. 8, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Aurora Christian School 2255 Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506
Oct. 9, 2015 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Moody Bible Institute-Alumni Student Center 820 N LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60610
Oct. 13, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Cornerstone Christian Academy 22017 E 1200 N Road Bloomington, IL 61705
Oct. 14, 2015 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Christian Heritage Academy 315 Waukegan Road, Northfield, IL 60093

Also, there are a number of college fairs throughout the fall and the Chicago area. Find the link to Illinois College Fairs here.

And, the National Association for College Admission Counseling has an even bigger list of events.

If this is not of interest to you yet, enjoy the year.

Treasure the moments. Our oldest just left for his first year of college and of course those years went way to fast. We’ll keep planning for the future while enjoying each day we have them to the fullest!

College fairs

Fall is the big season for college fairs, but if you are looking for something to get a head start for a couple years out, or are looking for more face to face interaction before a final decision, here are a couple college fairs coming soon:

Illinios Regional College Fair

Monday, March 23

North Central College

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

IACAC College Fair

Monday, April 13

Lyons Township H.S.

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

IACAC College Fair

Thursday, April 16

Hinsdale Central  H.S.

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Transcript software

With high school comes the somewhat daunting task of preparing a transcript. Personally I have enjoyed Homeschool Tracker. I have used it for about 5 years now and while it had a bit of a learning curve, I really enjoy all the different uses of the program for keeping track of all my kids’ academic progress. This used to be a free trial download that I enjoyed so much I bought the full version. Now, as so many programs do, it requires a membership.

I recently heard about another more affordable option through HSLDA.

High School Transcript Service

Fast Transcripts gives homeschool parents the ability to create professional high school transcripts with error-free GPA calculation. Cost is only $16 per year per student ($12 for HSLDA members). For families like mine, it would be better to purchase the program for $110 ($96 for HSLDA members) and own it for life.

Do you have a favorite transcript template or program?

Homeschool classes through IIT in Wheaton

Here is a fantastic looking opportunity, and very affordable! Hat-tip to the Naperville Home Educators Yahoo group for sharing.

Hello Home School parents~

I would like to invite your child to participate in the Illinois Institute of Technology science offering, Let’s Be Water Wise! Home schooled students will meet together for 8 weeks (Thursdays), beginning February 21st, at the IIT- Rice Campus in Wheaton. See http://www.iit.edu/rice/about/directions.shtml for directions and location. The class will run from 8:00 AM until 10:30.

The group will be comprised of six to ten students, aged 11-15, and interested parents. I will facilitate. I have taught biology, chemistry, physical science, environmental science and methods in science education for 36 years, working with students aged 6 through adult. After examining the attached syllabus, if you would like your child to participate, respond to this email with your child’s name and age. Next, please send a check for $25 payable to the IIT School of Applied Technology, to my attention at the address below. This will reserve a spot for your child and will cover the lab fee for the class. There may be field trip entrance fees and transportation costs as well, but there will be no other course fee. If you have other questions, let me know.

Looking forward to this new IIT collaboration,Susan
Susan Camasta, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
School of Applied Technology &

Department of Mathematics & Science Education
Illinois Institute of Technology
Rice Campus201 East Loop Road Wheaton, IL 60189
(630) 408-8054

This pilot program, supported by the IIT School of Applied Technology, will run for 8 weeks, meeting once/week at the IIT Rice Campus in Wheaton.  Each session will be approximately 2.5 hours. Field experiences will meet off campus, and at least two are planned.  Six to ten students will be enrolled; the intended audience is young people, aged 12-16. Parents are welcome participants.

Please contact her for more details and a preliminary syllabus.

Dual enrollment available at Trinity

Received via email:

I would like to let you know about a new program from Trinity International University (TIU).  Starting in January 2013, we will be offering a Dual Enrollment Program for Advanced High School Students.  This program allows academically qualified students who are currently in high school to take college level courses at TIU.  Upon successful completion the students will earn college credit for the course(s) taken.

Further details are on our website www.tiu.edu/dualenrollment as well as a sample of classes that are available.  Other classes which might be available include:

Bio 111      General Biology

BI 101        Understanding the Old Testament

BI 111        Understanding the New Testament

ENG 111   Critical Thinking and Writing

GEO 100   World Geography

HI 122        U.S. History II

HI 202        World Civilization II

POL 111    Introduction to Political Science

SP 122      Elementary Spanish*

* Subject to placement.

After reviewing the web site, if you have any further questions, you are welcome to call me at 847 317 7168.  I will be out of the office between Dec 15 and Jan 9.  The associate dean Karen Wrobbel, (847 317 7178) is also available for questions.  Please remember that TIU offices are closed December 24 to Jan 1.

I would appreciate you spreading the word about our new program and hopefully we will see your son or daughter at Trinity in the future.

Sincerely,

Dori Karlesky.

Associate Professor and Chair,

Chemistry Dept

Trinity International University

National Christian College Fairs

High schoolers need to begin making plans for the years beyond graduation and the National Christian College Fairs want to help in that process.  Their mission:

NACCAP exists to provide professional development, support and encouragement for Christian College, Graduate School and Seminary admissions personnel and High School guidance counselors across North America.

With that in mind they organize fairs across the country to bring college reps to you. October is the prime time for this and these are links to more detailed info on ones coming to the Chicago area:

Naperville: http://myblueprintstory.com/christian-college-fairs/naperville-il
Rockford http://myblueprintstory.com/christian-college-fairs/rockford-il

Elgin: http://myblueprintstory.com/christian-college-fairs/elgin-il

Palos Heights:http://myblueprintstory.com/christian-college-fairs/chicago-s-suburbs-il

Northfield: http://myblueprintstory.com/christian-college-fairs/chicago-n-suburbs-il

Each link shows detailed information for the specific event including what schools will host booths, times, locations, directions, and answers to other FAQ.

ICHE summary

Homeschool conventions have an amazing way of exhausting and exciting me at the same time.

Wanted to share some of the great resources and speakers I enjoyed this past weekend.

Not to overwhelm, we’ll tackle excerpts from two of them today.

First, the College Board rep gave a little lunch time talk on CLEP tests.

She offered lots of helpful info on CLEP exams that made them seem a little more within reach.

CLEP:

– offers huge savings over paying for college, even community college, tuition

– Recommended the book College without Compromise and the CLEP official test book that comes out each year and is available for Amazon.

– No penalty for wrong answers.

– No age restrictions (her kids have taken them as early as 7th grade — earning college credit in middle school!)

– Immediate results. Because it is computer based and you can take it at a variety of times throughout the year, you get an immediate result and know if you pass or not before heading home.

– accepted at 2900 colleges. However, as I was looking at some local ones, the extent they accept them does vary a bit. Some will only accept some of them as elective credits. Others require a higher score than the minimum. So, if you are CLEPping specifically to save on college tuition, do your homework ahead of time with potential colleges.

She gave great tips on actually taking the test including using the practice tests after you have completed high school course work in the subject area. She recommended when practicing to make sure to get two tests in a row with scores in the high 50’s before you attempt the actual test. And, celebrate pass or fail, your kids deserve a reward for all the hard work.

She has a website of her own as well, Credits before College

The official CLEP website has lots of info, or course.

***************************************************

Another speaker, Janice Campbell offered some great insight into grading pieces of writing.

Her website has a number of great resources that you might find helpful, especially in teaching junior and senior high students. She had tips for teaching writing as well as some general teaching tips.

Check out all her info and resources at Everyday Education.

Here are a few of the points that I appreciated from what she had to say:

– In order to evaluate and encourage better writing in your student you need a rubric (which you can find at her site when you give your email), a handbook (to reference specific rules that the student needs to work on), a thesaurus, and a dictionary

– When grading the rough draft you first grade only content. Don’t get bogged down in specific words and mechanics. The rough draft first needs to be adjusted to get the information in an orderly format that completes the assigned writing task. Later revisions will get into the details of style.

– The goal is to teach the student to edit and evaluate themselves (a rubric helps significantly with this because it makes grading so much more concrete).

She shared many more specifics about evaluating writing, but those were the big ones that stuck with me and will have a great impact on how I read and evaluate my kids’ writing.

Did you go to ICHE? Have a favorite workshop?

High School Career Expo

Fermilab is hosting an event geared toward technologically minded students in a couple weeks.

Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics [STEM] Career Expo for High School Students

Where: Fermilab, Wilson Hall
Wednesday, April 11, 2012

5:30–8:30 PM

Come and join math, science, engineering, & technology experts from a wide variety of careers.

  • Meet scientists, engineers, & technicians
  • Ask career questions of the experts
  • Ask experts about educational pathways leading to specific careers
  • Discuss career fields with professional association representatives
  • Attend panel discussions on career areas
  • Access career expo resources

The STEM Career Expo is a cooperative effort of Kane and DuPage county schools, hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

For more information, send e-mail to edreg@fnal.gov.

Student Job Fair

Student Job Fair

This year our Job Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 21st from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. It will be held at Merner Field House on the North Central College Campus.

The KidsMatter Annual Student Job Fair is funded in part by The DuPage Community Foundation and local sponsors. The annual KidsMatter Job Fair is THE one-stop place for young people to find seasonal & summer jobs. The Fair provides job opportunities as well as mock interviews, resume workshops, and internship experiences to prepare students for the workforce. Endorsed by the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, last year’s Fair attracted over 1,500 students.

In this tough economy, the Fair will help high school and college students find part-time or seasonal employment.

Each student who attends the Fair will receive a free Resource Booklet summarizing the opportunities available at each participating business along with their contact information. The booklet also includes a section that provides tips and tactics students can refer to in order to increase their odds of securing a job. It answers questions such as:

“How do I prepare for an interview?”

“Who should I use as a reference?”

“What qualities are employers looking for?”

Other Features:

What Not To Do In An Interview, including individual “mock” interviews with students – facilitated by the Heritage YMCA Internship Opportunities & Information–throughout the evening Career Opportunities: Including Naperville Police Department, Naperville Fire Department, Plumber’s Union, U.S. Army, Hair Professionals School of Cosmetology, and more.

ht: Naperville Home Educators