Smoking Doesn’t Keep Girls Thin and May Keep Boys Short

From: www.connectwithkids.com

Here’s more ammunition for parents who find their teens smoking – contrary to popular belief, smoking doesn’t help in weight control – and it may turn teen boys into shrimpy grown-ups.
A five-year study out of McGill University in Montreal looked at nearly 1,300 students – and found that smoking and non-smoking girls gain weight at the same rate.
But 42 per cent of boys in the survey who smoked were slimmer and shorter than non-smoking boys, which suggests that smoking may have stunted their growth.
“By the time we started following the girls, they already had reached puberty,” said Dr. Louise Pilote, an epidemiologist with the university’s Health Centre. “Whereas in boys, puberty comes in later so that could be a factor that explains the difference between boys and girls.”


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Financial Aid News

Ms. Britt recently attended a counselor's meeting at Stanly Community College and brought back some helpful information on new financial aid programs. Keep in mind these apply to all students at all colleges, not just SCC.

New Federal Programs, effective July 1, 2006

Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)

The Academic Competitiveness Grant is available for the first time for the 2006-2007 school year for first year students who graduated from high school after January 1, 2006, and for second year students who graduated from high school after January 1, 2005. The Academic Competitiveness Grant award is in addition to the student's Pell Grant award. More information available here: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/AcademicGrants.jsp

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)

The National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, also known as the National SMART Grant is available during the third and fourth years of undergraduate study to full-time students who are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant and who are majoring in physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering or in a foreign language determined critical to national security. The student must also have maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 in coursework required for the major. The National SMART Grant award is in addition to the student's Pell Grant award.
More, click here...

New State Supported programs Effective July 1, 2007

North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship (ELSP)

Students completing a FAFSA automatically make application for this grant. Recipients must be an NC resident, enrolled at least half time as an undergraduate student in an eligible curriculum program meeting satisfactory academic standards. Eligibility extends to students who have an expected family contribution (EFC) of $5,000 or less. Awards range from $100 to $2,300 per academic year.

NCAA Clearinghouse and SAT/ACT Scores

The NCAA Clearinghouse has changed how they accept SAT and ACT test scores. Students must now send their scores DIRECTLY from ACT or the Collegeboard. You do this by entering the code "9999" as one of the "colleges" you report your scores to. If you have already taken these tests and need to report your scores, you will need to contact Collegeboard or ACT and pay an extra free (&9.50 for SAT, $8.00 for ACT) to send your scores.

Here is the quote from http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/

"Attention 2007 high school graduates! The NCAA has adopted new legislation that will require prospects who intend to enroll at NCAA Division I and Division II institutions to supply ACT or SAT scores to the Clearinghouse directly from the testing agencies. Test scores on an official high school transcript will no longer be usable for NCAA purposes. Read more on this under "News and Views" behind the "General Information" heading of this website."

For more info on sending your scores, visit:

SAT's page on sending scores:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores.html

ACT's page on sending scores:
http://www.actstudent.org/scores/send/index.html

The New NSHS Guidance Blog

Welcome to the first post of Mr Laucher's Blog.

Some things of note that I plan to put here are scholarship updates and announcements, SAT and ACT test dates, and links that may be helpful to you in your college and career search.

Thanks for stopping by, bookmark this page and check back or if you are really nifty with the Internet add the RSS feed..............