First Community Credit Union Scholarship

FCCU is awarding seven $4,000 scholarships and two $2,000 scholarships, which is $1,000 per year.

There are nine scholarships available for the following schools in which FCCU has branch locations. The value of each scholarship is $1,000 per year for up to four years.

• Bismarck State College
• Concordia College
• Minnesota State University Moorhead
• Mayville State University
• North Dakota State University
• North Dakota State College of Science
• University of Jamestown
• University of Mary
• Valley City State University

1. Student must be a graduating High School Senior
2. Must be planning to attend a U.S. college or trade school full time
3. Applicant and/or parent/guardian must be a member in good standing of FCCU for at least the past year
4. All applicants must meet minimum standards
5. Employees, board/committee members, and affiliates and their immediate families of FCCU are not eligible for this program

Application Deadline is March 21, 2014 and can be found online at www.myfccu.com or at any FCCU branch location. 

Associated General Contractors of North Dakota Scholarship

The Associated General Contractors of North Dakota are offering a $1,500 scholarship to senior students attending North Dakota State University this fall and plan to major in Construction Engineering/ Construction Management.

Senior students planning to attend North Dakota State College of Science and Bismarck State College this fall and plan to major in construction related majors are eligible for consideration for $500 scholarships.

For more information go to www.agcnd.org OR contact the school counselor.

MALTA LODGE 131 AF&AM Scholarship

The Malta Lodge 131 AF&AM Scholarship is provided on the basis of merit and in recognition of academic achievement without regard to financial need, status, or circumstances.

Applicants must be North Dakota residents who are citizens of the United States of America who have been admitted to a post-secondary institution of higher education.

Applications should be typed or completed using a computer data processing program.

Application deadline is February 28th, 2014.

See the application form for more details. Application can be found at http://www.maltalodge131.com/scholarship.

Perseverance...

I have found that this is one of the skills lacking in many young people these days. Many kids and teens just don't have the patience to follow through on something that challenges them. I assume this could be partially a result of the instant gratification oriented society in which we live. Kids and teens don't often need to wait to get what they want. If they hear a song on the bus they can download it on their smart phones before the song even finishes playing. If they want to watch a movie, they can stream it from somewhere in a matter of minutes. I think it is important to think about how our young people are starting to expect everything to come quickly and easily and to consider how this is affecting their ability and willingness to persevere in matters that require their patience and effort to achieve success.

Some things that I do with students to encourage perseverance include the following:

• Activities such as word searches and/or crossword puzzles 
• Games that they may fail at to begin with but can learn to be successful after several tries (checkers, chess, solitaire, etc.)
• Sodoku and other number puzzles (starting with easier ones and working up to the more difficult ones)
• Mind booglers (which also foster critical thinking and problem solving skills)

These are all things you can do at home as well. Free downloads of word searches, crossword puzzles, sodoku and mind booglers can be found online. The key is to encourage effort. Don't let your child give up if they don't get it the first time or if it is taking longer for them to succeed than they would like. And, when they do succeed, praise them not for winning but for the effort they put forth that helped them succeed.

CHS Foundation Scholarship

High school and two-year college students are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship from
the CHS Foundation, the major giving entity of CHS Inc. (NASDAQ: CHSCP), the nation's
leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company.

The CHS Foundation will award 50 $1,000 high school scholarships to students planning to
study an agricultural field at a two or four-year college and 25 $1,000 two-year college scholarships to first-year agricultural students attending a two-year college.

The application deadline for scholarships is March 15, 2014. An independent, external committee will select scholarship recipients based on essays, transcripts and reference letters.

For further information on eligibility requirements and how to access an application, please email Jessie Headrick, or call (651) 355-4918.

Have you talked to your teen about healthy relationships?

It's important for this conversation to happen earlier rather than later. Kids and teens today seem to be dating earlier and earlier, and as a parent you have a lot of influence on the relationships they choose to pursue (even if they would never admit it). Thing is, the conversation about healthy vs. unhealthy/abusive relationships will be much more difficult if you wait until you have a notion that your child may be in one. So, don't wait...have the conversation today! 

Too Common

• Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.

• One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.

• One in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

• One quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.

• Approximately 70% of college students say they have been sexually coerced. 

What Do I Need to Know?

You can look for some early warning signs of abuse that can help you identify if your child is in an abusive relationship before it’s too late. Some of these signs include:

• Your child’s partner is extremely jealous or possessive.
• You notice unexplained marks or bruises.
• Your child’s partner emails or texts excessively.
• You notice that your son or daughter is depressed or anxious.
• Your son or daughter stops participating in extracurricular activities or other interests.
• Your child stops spending time with other friends and family.
• Your child’s partner abuses other people or animals.
• Your child begins to dress differently.

For more information on teen dating violence/abuse, you can visit the following websites:

http://www.loveisrespect.org


http://www.teendvmonth.org


http://www.breakthecycle.org


http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teen_dating_violence.html

Scholarship Open to Juniors & Seniors

The Certified Heartland Chevy Dealers in the North Dakota and Minnesota area have just launched a program called the “Chevy Scholarship Program” that is offering close to $10,000 in scholarships for local Juniors or Seniors looking to pursue higher education. 

All submissions will be accepted through Facebook at www.facebook.com/certifiedheartlandchevydealers and are due by March 10^th.

Visit the above link for more information.

Automotive Dealers are Looking to Pay for Your Education!

CARS (sponsored by the Automobile Dealers Association of ND) & PLOW (sponsored by the ND Implement Dealers Association) are both available for students who graduate from an appropriate technical program, and who become employed by an automobile dealer who participates with one of these programs.

The information below applies to both the CARS & the PLOW programs:

• Student meets with a participating dealer to discuss potential job opportunities.
• Dealer discusses with the student the type of education that would be most appropriate for the position being sought by the student.
• Student enrolls in school and begins an appropriate course of study. The student is responsible for acquiring adequate funding.
• Upon graduation the student can apply for employment with participating dealerships. if the student is hired by a participating dealership, the student may be entitled to participate in the CARS or PLOW student loan repayment programs. At the end of the first full year of full-time employment, the dealership will make a $1,500 payment to the financial institution holding the student'l loan. As long as the student continues to work for the dealership, this process will continue for nine additional years. However at the end of years 6-10, the student loan payment will increase to $2500 per year. This adds up to $20,000 in payment! 

For brochures, a list of participating dealerships or additional information please contact Melinda Martin at 701-566-2688 or melinda@adand.com, or visit the following websites:

www.ndida.com/plow
www.adand.com/cars

Do You Know About RUReadyND.com?

Every middle and high school student in the state of North Dakota has free access to RUReadyND.com which is a web-based career and educational planning program. Its tools help students enhance their self-awareness, build meaningful education and career plans, and prepare and pay for their postsecondary education. 

I do utilize RUReadyND in the classroom from time to time, but students can visit their profiles anytime outside of class to continue their career planning process on their own. Today, I used RUReady with the juniors for ACT test prep and on Monday I used it with 9th grade for some basic career exploration. There are many great resources on this site that can definitely help make the career & college planning process a little less overwhelming.

The link provided below is to a pdf document that provides more details about the resources available on this site. Check it out to learn more about this wonderful resource available to your student 24/7/365!

http://www.nd.gov/cte/crn/FAQs/docs/QRG_What_is_RUReadyND.pdf

Parents can help their student(s) organize and make sense of the college and career planning process by creating their own account. You will find a step by step instruction guide on how to set up a parent account by clicking on the link below or by going to the RUReadyND homepage at www.RUReadyND.com and clicking on the "Parent of a Student" link at the bottom of the page.

http://www.nd.gov/cte/crn/FAQs/docs/QRG_Parents.pdf

Learning to Prioritize, Organize and Manage Time Effectively

We all need continual practice if we are to prioritize appropriately. I know I am always looking for new and better ways to stay organized, manage my time, and prioritize in such a way that helps me feel more productive and less stressed. It may seem like the day to day happenings of a kid or teenager pales in comparison to what you, as an adult and parent, have to handle, but their daily lives can also feel to them to be very unmanagable.

The thing is, if we don't help our children learn how to handle the smaller stressors and issues that they face now in a constructive and effective manner, they will struggle even more to handle the larger ones that they will face as they enter adulthood.

The following link is to an article that provides ideas and tips on how to teach your child/teen to be more organized, better manage their time and how to set priorities...The good news?? You most likely will take something away that will help you out as well :)

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Dont_Procrastinate_Teach_Your/

Halliday School of Welding Technology

A student at the Halliday School of Welding Technology will:

• Work at their own pace with video training and hands on practice and learning 
• Majority of time is spent in the shop with hands on learning
• Certifications can be done at the Halliday School of Welding Technology with AWS Certifications in all types of welding
• For more information go to http://www.hallidayweldingschool.com or contact Duane Hart at Duane.Hart@sendit.nodak.edu or (701) 260-2350

Hamilton Award

The Hamilton Award Winner:

• Is a junior in high school
• Is college-bound
• Has a strong record of community service
• Is a self-starter
• Has financial need
• Shows a strong commitment to their academic studies
• Is committed to participating in the Hamilton Leaders Academy

Winners are enrolled in the Hamilton Leaders Academy and receive:

• A $500 cash scholarship
• Leadership training in Seattle (2015) and Central America (2016)
• College application assistance
• Scholarship and financial aid search assistance
• Internship and mentorship opportunities

Applications are due: March 5th 

For more information about this program go to www.hamiltonfriends.org

Dakota Central Telecommunications (DCT) Scholarship and Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Scholarship

DCT Scholarship

• Offering 10, $500 scholarships
• Must be a graduating senior whose parent(s) or guardian(s) use telephone, television, or Internet service from Dakota Central
• Student must plan to attend a college, university, vocational, or technical post secondary school
• Scholarship application is due: March 1st, 2014
• Scholarship application can be found at www.daktel.com/scholarships OR see counselor bulletin board

FRS Scholarship

• Offering 30, $2,500 scholarships to rural high school seniors across the U.S. 
• In addition, the FRS Staurulakis Family Scholarship is also offering 4, $5,000 scholarships
• There is not a separate application process for the two different FRS scholarships
• Scholarship application is due: March 1st, 2014
• Scholarship application can be found at www.frs.org (find the link on the homepage for "College Scholarships") OR see counselor bulletin board

Gate City Bank Community Scholarship Program

Gate City Bank Community Scholarhsip Program will award forty-nine $1,200 scholarships this year. Applicants must be a ND or western MN high school seniors planning to attend college (at least 2 year program) in the fall following high school graduation.
Application deadline is April 1st, 2014.

Application can be found at: http://www.gatecitybank.com/home/about/our_communities 
OR see counselor bulletin board.