If you are an 11th or 12

th grader who has not yet

passed AIMS Reading, Writing or Math, or you have

passed and want to improve your score, the exams will

be given in October on the following dates:

• Writing, Tuesday October 27, 2009

• Reading, Wednesday October 28, 2009

• Mathematics, Thursday October 29, 200

Remember, passing all three AIMS tests is required for

graduation. If you have not received additional informa-

tion about testing by October 1st, please contact your

Virtual Guidance Counselor.

If you have passed the test, but would like to improve

your score, please notify your Virtual Guidance Coun-

selor no later than September 15th. Otherwise, you will

not be included in the AIMS correspondence. If you do

not know how to reach your Virtual Guidance Counselor,

please call 480 755-8222 x2965.

AzCIS stands for Arizona Career

Information Systems. AzCIS is a website that can be

visited at http://www.azcis.intocareers.org/. In order to

log-in and utilize AzCIS you will use the following user-

name and password:

Username: virtualhs

Password: 4azcis02

Arizona Career Information System is a resource created

by the Arizona Department of Education. It includes re-

sources and assessments relating to occupations and

employment, as well as education and training. Students

can also click on “Education Career Action Plan” and reg-

ister for a unique account in which their assessment and

profile information is saved and stored. It may be fun for

parents/guardians to sit down with their students and ex-

plore AzCIS and discover all it has to offer. STUDENTS:

Don’t miss the Employer Locator on the homepage right

side menu if you are looking for a JOB!!

What is Azcis?

Passing AIMS test in Reading, Writing & Math are required for an Arizona High School Diploma.

• Links Library - 2

• Important Dates - 2

• Pinnacle Staff Spotlight - 2

• Tips of the Month - 2

• Parent Corner - 3

• Teen Parenting Tips - 3

• Top Ten SAT & ACT Test-Taking - 4

• College Board Code - 4

• College Bound Action Plans - 5

• December Graduation - 6

• National Suicide Prevention Week - 6 & 7

• Contact Information - 7

September 2009

1 2

AIMS Announcement: MARK Your calendar for the below testing dates

(P lease ensure you are avai lab le i f you need to test )

In this issue...

| Scholarships w/ October Deadlines | Scholarship Bulletin | Financial Aid Bulletin | Websites for College Bound |

| SAT/ACT Bulletin | College Fairs Bulletin |

Tracking Sheets

Did you know for each course there is a tracking sheet to guide you through the course in 6 or 12 weeks? These tracking sheets allow you to see how far along you need to be each week to meet your goals of finishing the class early (6 weeks) or on time (12 weeks). Use this great feature to stay on pace with each of your classes! Here’s where they are located:

•Click on your course in Angel

•Click on your “Lessons” tab

•Click on the “Tracking Sheets” folder link

Staff Spotlight

• Julie graduated with a

Masters Degree in Educa-

tion Guidance Counseling

in 1997 from Northern

State University in Aber-

deen, SD.

• She is married to Randy

and has 3 grown children

Travis(28), Adam(24),

Chelsey(20) and one

grown step-daughter,

Kristine(30). She has 7

grandchildren; Kalisha (13), Hannah (8), Ethan (8),

Aden (5), Anthony (4),Kalin (4) and Skylar (1).

• Julie moved to Arizona 6 years ago and has been

working as an educational guidance counselor 4 out of

the 6 years.

• Julie has worked at Pinnacle Online High School for 1

year.

• She does not like to cook but loves to eat and watch

cooking shows. Favorites: Paula Dean, Rachel Ray

and Sam the Cooking Guy.

• Hobbies: Movies of all types (except horror), reading

mysteries and spending time with friends and family.

• Her favorite part of the job is helping students to be

successful so that they can graduate!

Julie Godel - Junior Lead, Virtual Guidance Counselor

Links Library L i n k s t o h e l p f u l d o cumen t s

P A G E 2 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

Julie GodelJulie GodelJulie GodelJulie Godel

• Week of September 6th, Na-

tional Suicide Prevention Week

• September 9th, SAT Regis-

tration Deadline for October 10

th test.

• September 15th, if you

have passed the AIMS exam but would like to re-test for a higher score,

notify your Virtual Guidance Counselor by this date.

• September 18th, ACT Registration Deadline for Octo-

ber 24th test.

• September 24th, College Week Live: Test Prep Webi-

nar (www.collegeweeklive.com).

• September 27th, NACAC’s Greater Phoenix National

College Fair at the Phoenix Civic Plaza, Noon-4 p.m. See College Fair Bulletin in Links Library for more in-formation.

• September 29th, Tucson College Night at the Tucson

Convention Center, 6:30-9 p.m. See College Fair Bul-letin in Links Library for more information.

• October 1st, if you are an 11

th or 12

th grader who has

not passed all the AIMS exams (Reading, Writing and Math), you should have received AIMS information by this date. Notify your Virtual Guidance Counselor if you have questions or did not receive the information.

*Get the details

from you VGC

Your Child’s Pinnacle Team

See the diagram below in order to understand how many people are a part of your student’s Pinnacle team. Each of these people, and their departments, are interested and invested in your child’s success.

Get to know your child’s Virtual Guidance Counselor. This is the person who is going to assist and guide your student through this school year. Making contact with them, being available for them when nec-essary, reviewing a copy of your child’s Graduation Plan with them, and working together to help support

your student is very important.

The Online Instructors are also wonderful resources. Instructors are available by phone or email Monday-Friday and would be happy to help your child with their questions or concerns about the course and its content.

Please, help and encourage your child to connect with the important people that are part of their Pinnacle team. And of course, feel free to do the same so that they can work directly with you in helping your student.

Thank you for being an involved and active part of your child’s aca-demic success. We appreciate you and we NEED YOU!

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2 P A G E 3

Teen parenting tips (Taken from the Arizona Department of Health Services, Women, Infants & Children division)

Top 10 ways to grow happy kids:

• Let them decide how much to eat.

• Present healthy food as “treats.”

• Offer water instead of juice.

• Include a fruit and/or vegetable at each meal.

• Serve fat free milk to children over two.

• Use mealtime to strengthen family ties.

• Lead by example-“walk the talk”

• Create activities-for you and them-every day.

• Provide attention instead of food or the bottle.

• Encourage and praise their efforts

Top 10 ways to help babies blossom:

• Hold them while feeding.

• Breastfeed or use iron-fortified formula for one year.

• Wait 6 months before feeding solid foods.

• Space new foods 3 days apart to check for allergies.

• Introduce the cup after 5 months of age.

• Take care of yourself to take better care of them.

• Read them to sleep.

• Don’t put pureed food in a bottle-they might choke.

• Stay current with shots-check with your doctor.

• Cuddle with them-make lasting memories together.

Child & Family Resources, Inc.

Check out this website, Child & Family Resources, Inc.

The “Programs” tab on the left hand menu has upcoming

events and resources available all over the state of Ari-

zona.

http://www.cfraz.org/index.html

NOTE: The information from these lists is taken directly

from the Arizona Department of Health Services and do

not necessarily reflect the opinion of Pinnacle Education,

Inc.

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

Top 10 sat & act test-taking Brought to you by the American School Counselor Association

1. Be Equipped On the night before the test you should gather everything you'll need: the admission ticket, a valid form of photo identification, several #2 pencils, a calculator with fresh batteries (for the SAT only), a watch, and a high-energy snack. 2. Don't Cram You've worked hard. The best thing to do the evening before the test is to get a good night's sleep. You've covered the con-tent and you've perfected the skills. Now it's time to get in test mode -- calm, rested, confident, and ready. 3. Dress in Layers The climate in test centers can vary from sauna-like to frigid. Be prepared for both extremes and everything in-between. You need to be comfortable to do your best. 4. Arrive Early You may want to scope out your test location before test day to ensure that you know where you're going. Getting to the test should be the least of your concerns. 5. Don't Spend too Much Time on One Question Each question is worth the same number of points. If a question is confusing or too time-consuming, don't lose your cool. Instead, move on to greener pastures. You can come back to hard questions if you have time at the end of a section.

6. Don't Look for Un-scored Questions/Sections The experimental section on the SAT is well-camouflaged. Some-times the ACT contains experi-mental questions that are scat-tered throughout the sections. Do your best on every question--that way, you're covered. 7. Keep Track of Where You Are in a Section on the SAT, obvious answer choices early in a set may be correct. Obvious choices near

the end of a set are often booby traps. 8. Guess Aggressively If you don't know an answer, don't leave the question blank or guess randomly. Eliminate the choices you know are wrong, then make an educated guess from the re-maining options. Remember, if you can eliminate even one answer choice then it pays to guess on the SAT. On the ACT, students aren't penalized for guessing. Only the correct answers count toward their score, so it is better to guess than leave a blank. 9. Be Careful Filling in the Answer Grid Make sure you're filling in answers next to the right num-bers. 10. Relax Your attitude and outlook are crucial to your test-day per-formance. Be confident.

Every month, we’ll be posting new movie reviews from students. If you would like to submit a movie review for the Pinnacle Post, please email your review to newsletter@pin-ed.com with your name & grade.*

If you are an aspiring author, poet, journalists, or just like to write - submit your personal arti-cle, poem, short story, etc. to newsletter@pin-ed.com. We want to see your work published in the Pinnacle Post!*

Student Movie Critics ATTN: ALL Student Writers!

*Note: All submissions must be school appropriate and no more then 500 words. If you have a question about the content of your

submission, please ask your VGC before submission. Unfortunately, we will not be able to publish every student’s movie review

and/or personal written article each month. Keep submitting your reviews and/or personal written articles, we will do our best to rotate

submissions from different students.

Pinnacle Online High School - College Board Code: 030666 You will need this code for some testing registrations (i.e. PSAT/SAT, ACT) as well as certain scholarship applications.

P A G E 5

Seniors

Pulling Your Applications Together

• Narrow your list of colleges to between 5 and 10 and review it with your counselor. Get an application and financial aid info from each. Visit as many as possible.

• Make a master calendar and note:

• Test dates, fees, and deadlines

• College application due dates

• Required financial aid applications and their deadlines

• Recommendations, transcripts, and other necessary materials

• Your high school's deadlines for application requests, such as your transcript

• Ask for recommendations. Give each person your resume, a stamped, addressed envelope, and any required forms.

• Write application essays and ask teachers, parents, and friends to read first drafts.

Applying Early Action or Early Decision?

• November 1: For early admis-sions, colleges may require test scores and applications in early November. Send your SAT® scores at collegeboard.com.

• Ask if your college offers an early estimate of financial aid eligibility

Get Financial Aid Info

• Attend financial aid info events in your area.

• Talk to your counselor about CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® and learn about it with Completing the PROFILE.

• Use Scholarship Search at collegeboard.com, review scholarship books, and ask your counselor about local and state funding sources.

Juniors

Take the PSAT/NMSQT

• At school, sign up early to take the PSAT/NMSQT® in October. Get PSAT/NMSQT tips and a free practice test.

Start Your College Search

• Start with you: Make lists of your abilities, preferences, and personal qualities. List things you may want to study and do in college.

• Jumpstart your college planning by reading about ma-jors and careers.

• Use College Search to find colleges with the right characteristics.

Start Thinking about Financial Aid

• Talk to your counselor about your college plans and attend college night and financial aid night at your school. Use financial aid calculators to estimate your aid eligibility and college costs.

Sophomores

Plan for the Year Ahead

• Meet with your counselor to discuss your college plans. Review your schedule with him or her to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes that will help you prepare for college. Colleges prefer four

years of English, history, math, science, and a foreign language.

• Start a calendar with important dates and deadlines.

• Get more involved with your ex-tracurricular activities.

• Use College Search to find out the required courses and tests of colleges that you might be inter-ested in attending.

• Go to college fairs in your area. Consider Taking the PSAT/NMSQT®

• Sign up for the PSAT/NMSQT, which is given in October. Ask your counselor which date is of-fered at your school. Get free online PSAT/NMSQT practice.

• If you're taking the PSAT/NMSQT check 'yes' for Student Search Ser-vice® to hear about colleges and scholarships.

Freshman

Plan for the Year Ahead

• Meet with your counselor to discuss your college plans. Review your schedule with him or her to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes that will help you prepare for college. Colleges prefer four years of English, history, math, science, and a foreign language.

• Use College Search to find out the required courses and tests of colleges that you might be interested in attending.

• Start a calendar with important dates and deadlines.

• Get more involved with your extracurricular activities.

• Go to college fairs in your area.

(Taken from http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/starting-points/index.html)

College bound action plans

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

P A G E 6

Pinnacle Education is proud

to announce that Decem-

ber graduation is back!

Graduation will be held

December 16, 2009 at

7p.m. at the Mesa Con-

vention Center. The

Mesa Convention Center is

located at 201 N Center St.

Mesa, AZ 85201. All courses must be

completed before December 2, 2009 in order to partici-

pate in the ceremony. Graduation applications must be

submitted before November 15, 2009. Students must

also successfully meet the standards for all three AIMS

exams by December 2, 2009. For those students who

are graduating early, please see the Scholarship Bulletin

link (in the Links Library) for information on how to apply

for the Early Graduation Scholarship Grant. If you feel

that you are eligible to participate in our December

graduation please contact your Virtual Guidance

Counselor for additional information.

December Graduation returns!

National suicide prevention week

Symptoms and Danger Signs Warning Signs of Suicide

• Ideation (thinking, talking or wishing about suicide)

• Substance use or abuse (increased use or change in

substance)

• Purposelessness (no sense of purpose or belonging)

• Anger

• Trapped (feeling like there is no way out)

• Hopelessness (there is nothing to live for, no hope or

optimism)

• Withdrawal (from family, friends, work, school, activi-

ties, hobbies)

• Anxiety (restlessness, irritability, agitation)

• Recklessness (high risk-taking behavior)

Mood disturbance (dramatic changes in mood) Additional Warning Signs of Suicide

• Talking about suicide.

• Looking for ways to die (internet searches for how to

commit suicide, looking for guns, pills, etc.)

• Statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or

worthlessness.

• Preoccupation with death.

• Suddenly happier, calmer.

• Loss of interest in things one cares about.

• Visiting or calling people one cares about.

• Making arrangements; setting one's affairs in order.

Giving things away, such as prized possessions.

A suicidal person urgently needs to see a doctor or mental health professional.

• Dial: 911

• Dial: 1-800-273-TALK

• Check yourself into the emergency room.

• Tell someone who can help you find help immediately.

• Stay away from things that might hurt you.

Most people can be treated with a combination of anti-depressant medication and psychotherapy.

If You Don't Have Insurance The following options might be used:

• Go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

• Look in your local Yellow Pages under Mental Health

and/or Suicide Prevention; then call the mental health organizations/crisis phone lines that are listed. There may be clinics or counseling centers in your area op-erating on a sliding or no-fee scale. Some pharmaceutical companies have "Free Medica-

tion Programs" for those who qualify. Visit the National

Alliance for the Mentally Ill website at www.nami.org

for more information.

The week of September 6th is National Suicide Prevention Week. In this article you will read about the symptoms and

danger signs of suicide, what to do if you or a loved one has suicidal thoughts, and common misconceptions around sui-

cide. All of these resources were obtained from www.save.org.

Suicidal Thoughts:

What to Do

If you have thoughts of suicide, these options are available to you:

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

Office: (480)755-8222 Long Distance: 1-888-567-1844

English Department: Extension 2734

Math Department: Extension 2748

Science/Electives Department: Extension 2729

Social Studies Department: Extension 2720

Student Services (Guidance Counselors): Extension 2965

Pinnacle Online High School

Phone Contacts

Published by Pinnacle Education Inc. © 2009

*Disclaimer: You are receiving this newsletter because you are a registered student or student parent at Pinnacle Online High School.

Follow Us!

P A G E 7

last moment be-

tween wanting to

live and wanting to

die. Most suicidal

people do not want

to die; they want the

pain to stop. The

impulse to end it all,

however overpow-

ering, does not last

forever.

"People who commit suicide are people who were

unwilling to seek help."

Not True. Studies of suicide victims have shown that

more then half had sought medical help within six

month before their deaths and a majority had seen a

medical professional within 1 month of their death.

"Talking about suicide may give someone the idea."

Not True. You don't give a suicidal person morbid ideas

by talking about suicide. The opposite is true -- bringing

up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one

of the most helpful things you can do.

Some Common Misconceptions

The following are common misconceptions about

suicide:

"People who talk about suicide won't really do it."

Not True. Almost everyone who commits or attempts

suicide has given some clue or warning. Do not ignore

suicide threats. Statements like "you'll be sorry when I'm

dead," "I can't see any way out," -- no matter how casu-

ally or jokingly said, may indicate serious suicidal feel-

ings.

"Anyone who tries to kill him/herself must be crazy."

Not True. Most suicidal people are not psychotic or in-

sane. They may be upset, grief-stricken, depressed or

despairing, but extreme distress and emotional pain are

always signs of mental illness and are not signs of psy-

chosis.

"If a person is determined to kill him/herself, nothing

is going to stop him/her."

Not True. Even the most severely depressed person has

mixed feelings about death, and most waver until the very

National suicide prevention week, con’tD:

The 2009-2010 school year is off to a great start!

We want to encourage student’s to be sure and log

all off-line (outside of class) time in the time appli-

cation that pops up when you enter each class.

Remember, online and off-line time is like atten-

dance and is very important!

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2