On Monday, September 26th, Marais des Cygnes Valley JH/HS gathered in the gym for a pep rally to celebrate the first component of the Kansas Board of Regents "Apply Kansas" initiative - Senior Application Day.
Per the Kansas Board of Regents, "Apply Kansas, is our annual statewide campaign in which high schools conduct events to help seniors apply to postsecondary institutions or finalize their postsecondary career plans, with the support of their peers, school staff, local community supporters, and post-secondary volunteers. The Apply Kansas campaign asks high schools to host a college application event each year. These events give students time and support during their school day to complete applications for universities, community colleges, technical colleges, or other training programs. Students interested in the military or going directly into the workforce complete their military applications or job applications during these events as well.
This year's senior class has a wide array of postsecondary plans with 9 students completing or attending technical college, 5 students attending community college, 9 students attending university, and 1 student enrolling in the military. With those postsecondary plans, seniors are choosing many different institutions to apply to: Washburn Tech, Flint Hills Tech, the Missouri Welding Institute, Independence Community College, Neosho County Community College, Colby Community College, Allen County Community College, Emporia State University, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University and the Army. Those seniors are interested in such fields as welding, auto mechanics, carpentry, HVAC systems, culinary arts, cosmetology, veterinary, aeronautics, biology, pharmacology, nursing, criminal justice, and sociology among others.
As part of KBOR's Apply Kansas initiative, Marais des Cygnes Valley JH/HS is looking to again be named an "All Star" high school for its efforts in supporting students in their postsecondary plans. "The All Star High School program seeks to recognize and encourage a set of best practice, postsecondary activities to be scheduled throughout a single school year. All Star High Schools chose to host the following three events in the same academic year: Apply Kansas application event, FAFSA completion event, and a postsecondary decision day. These series of events, continued in consecutive years, helps create a college going environment for the whole school community. Students in these schools receive assistance in completing applications for admission, seeking financial assistance, and then seeing that all postsecondary paths are valued and celebrated.
Congratulations to our senior students as they begin the process of proceeding down the path of postsecondary success! We cannot wait to see what the future holds!