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Reach out with a phone call, text or on their website...

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Feeling like a burden
Being isolated
Increased anxiety
Feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
Increased substance use
Looking for a way to access lethal means
Increased anger or rage
Extreme mood swings
Expressing hopelessness
Sleeping too little or too much
Talking or posting about wanting to die
Making plans for suicide

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Suicide rates went up more than 30% in half of states since 1999.

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5 Steps to help someone at risk of suicide:

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5 Steps to help someone at risk of suicide:

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1. Ask.

2. Keep them safe.

3. Be there.

4. Help them connect.

5. Follow up.

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Help someone that may be thinking of suicide with these 5 steps.

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682-867-7252-DOP

682-867-9516-CTC

hharper@aisd.net

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Welcome to Ms. Harper’s office PEP Help Yourself to a snack!. FIT Community Resources I am Ms. Harper. How can I help? Click on me for contact info. Please Check In Here

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Schools: ACHS, AHS, BHS, LHS,VHS
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Ms. Helton’s Campuses: Arlington High School James Bowie High School Lamar High School Arlington Collegiate High School Venture School Versión en Español

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Schools: MHS, SHHS, SHS
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AISD Home Campus Counselors Contact Info:

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AISD Home Campus Counselors Contact Info:

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Find your home campus counselor and reach out to them here ...

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AISD Guidance & Counseling Dept
AISD Student Outreach Services
Dept of Social & Emotional Learning

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Directions for taking Cornell Notes

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15 minute tool to help reduce stress

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Guided meditation for high school students

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A 10 minute version of a relaxation tool that can help your body and mind slow down...

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Chair Yoga For Slowing Down | 10 Minute Kids Yoga Class with Yoga Ed. | Ages 3-12

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12 test taking tips and why they help ...

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So here are some test taking tips and strategies to help your high schooler become a better test taker, and improve their test scores.

1. Stick with your instinct. If you come to a question that you are unsure of, stick with the answer you immediately want to go with. Your mind has a good reason it wants to stick with that answer. Trust yourself and go with your gut instinct.

2. Don't change answers. You may be tempted to want to change an answer if you are unsure. Don't do it! Most times when you want to change an answer, you change it from a correct answer to an incorrect answer. Review number 3 above, and stick with the first answer.

3. Suck on peppermint. Studies show that peppermint helps recall memory. So sucking on a peppermint candy can help you better remember what you studied.

4. Take your time. Take a deep breath, go slow and take your time. There is no reward for rushing through the test. You do not do better when you rush. Take your time and read every word to every sentence.

5. Focus. It can be SO difficult to stay focused sometimes. Especially when there are so many distractions in the room. Try your best to block everything out and only focus on the test questions.

6. Answer every question. Never leave any question blank. Even if you do not know the answer, go with your best guess. Any answer has a better chance of being right then no answer.

7. Eliminate wrong answers. This really only works with a multiple choice question. But if you do not know the correct answer, eliminate the incorrect answers. By doing this, you have just increased your chances of guessing correctly.

8. Guess B or C. For multiple choice questions, if you do not know the answer, guess B or C. Over 50% of the time, the answer is hidden in the middle.

9. Review all questions. Once you have gone through the test once, go back through it again and review all the answers. You may see something that you missed before.

10. Keep reviewing until the time runs out. Once you have reviewed the test once, review it a second and third time. If there is still time remaining in the class, there is no need to turn your test in early. Take advantage of the time and keep reviewing your answers until time runs out. You never know when you might catch something you missed before.

11. Change an answer IF it was answered by a different question. On a rare occasion, a test question at the end of the test may answer a question towards the beginning of the test. (the question itself may provide an answer to the previous question.) Take a moment to go back, find the question, and correct your answer.

12. Don't forget to write your name! So many times students rush into the test and completely forget to write their names. You will not get credit if there is no name, so make sure to leave a name.

13. If you are struggling with a question, ask the teacher. If you are confused about a question, ask the teacher in a way that shows you are struggling with what the test question is asking. Many times teachers will help guide you in the right direction towards the correct answer.

By learning these test taking tips, your teen can become a better test taker, and learn the skill for future academic success!

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12 Test taking tips for high school students - The Experienced Graduate

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Test taking can be a real struggle for many high school students. Even after studying for hours the night before, many students will have test anxiety during test time. Students become stressed and anxious, and become so worried about doing well on the test, that they can not remember wha

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What are these fears and how can you deal with them?

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Test Anxiety: Crash Course Study Skills #8

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Read section directions before the test.

Answer the questions you know first.

Eliminate incorrect answers.

Be neat.

Use your test booklet.

Avoid stray marks.

Your first response is usually correct.

There is only one correct answer.

Don't skip answers--guess.

Pay attention.

Budget your time.

Easy questions first.

Make sure you understand the question.

Bring a watch or timer.

Know what to expect on the test.
There 52 Reading questions (65 minutes), 44 Writing & Language questions (35 minutes), 58 Math questions (80 minutes) and one Essay (50 minutes).

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The SAT is designed to test a student's aptitude and knowledge in three subject areas: reading, writing, and math. Like the ACT, the SAT is used by colleges to evaluate an applicants eligibility for admission. The better a student scores on the SAT the better the chance of getting accepted to a reputable college or university.

The SAT is composed of 5 sections: Reading, Writing and Language, Math (No Calculator), Math (Calculator), and Essay (optional). Some high schools and colleges require students to complete the Essay portion of the test, others do not. If you're not committed to taking the Essay portion of the test, you'll want to research which school requires applicants to complete the Essay test for admission consideration. Just to be safe, we recommend preparing for and completing the essay portion of the test.

Below we'll explore some proven tips, techniques and strategies for improving your overall performance on the SAT as well as your performance on individual sections of the SAT.

General SAT Test Taking Strategies

The following are general SAT test taking strategies that should be applied through the SAT test. Apply these techniques and strategies on each section in the SAT test and you should see your score improve.

Read section directions before the test.
Study and review the directions for each SAT section before the test. Use your test time for the test not for reading directions.

Answer the questions you know first.
As you go through each section, answer all of the questions you know the answers to first. Mark all the questions you don't immediately know the answer to and return and answer them later.

Eliminate incorrect answers. If you're able to eliminate even one choice for the selection of possible answers then guess. Sometimes it's easier to eliminate answers you know to be incorrect than to identify the correct answer. Eliminating all the incorrect answers often leads to the correct answer.

Be neat.
Don't be sloppy when filling in the answer grid for student-produced response questions.

Use your test booklet.
Since you're allowed to write in the test book, cross out answers you know are wrong and do scratch work.

Avoid stray marks.
Since a machine scores your test, make sure not to put any stray marks on your answer sheet. SAT scoring machines frequently can't differentiate between a correct answer and an accidental stray mark.

Your first response is usually correct.
Your first response to a question is usually correct. Don't change an answer unless you're certain you've made an error.

There is only one correct answer.
Only select one answer for each question -- as there is only one correct answer. Sometimes it may seem there is more than one answer. Select the best answer for each question.

Don't skip answers--guess.
On older versions of the SAT, you were penalized for guessing. But not anymore. If you don't have any idea what the answer is then guess. You're aren't penalized for guessing. However, before guessing, always try and eliminate at least one incorrect answer choice.

Pay attention.
Make sure you're placing your answers in the correct number space and section on your answer sheet. It's easy to place your answer in the wrong place if you're not paying close attention.

Budget your time.
Pace yourself! This test is timed. Only spend a few moments on the easy questions and no more than a minute or two on the harder questions. Don't forget that the SAT consists of several small, timed, tests. It's easy to lose track of time so make sure to pay attention to how much time is allotted for each test and how much time is remaining as you proceed through each section. Pacing yourself requires practice so practice, practice, practice.

Easy questions first.
A rule of thumb is that easy questions on the SAT typically precede harder questions.

Make sure you understand the question.
Make sure that you fully understand each question before you answer it. If you've taken a lot of practice tests you'll be tempted to answer questions you recall from practice tests. Make sure to answer the questions being asked and not those from practice tests.

Bring a watch or timer.
Don't forget to bring your own stopwatch to the testing center. There isn't always an accurate clock at the testing center.

Know what to expect on the test.
You need to know the types of questions to expect on the SAT. There 52 Reading questions (65 minutes), 44 Writing & Language questions (35 minutes), 58 Math questions (80 minutes) and one Essay (50 minutes).

Below we'll explore specific test taking strategies for each individual section on the SAT.

CRITICAL READING Section --- SENTENCE COMPLETION:

The Critical Reading section of the SAT is broken down into two parts: Sentence Completion and Reading Comprehension. Sentence completion questions make up about 25% of the Critical Reading section on the SAT. Each sentence completion question includes one or two blanks and you are required to find the best answer choice(s) to complete the sentence. On average, you'll need to complete each question in under one minute. The Reading section of the test is composed of 52 questions that must be completed in 65 minutes.

One of the best strategies for the sentence completion section is to complete each sentence in your mind using your own words BEFORE looking at the answers. Once you've completed the sentence in your own words identify the selection choice that is closest to your answer.

Don't rush through each selection. Don't waste time but make sure to review all the answers before selecting the best choice.

If you come across words you're unfamiliar with, use the context of the sentence to figure out what they mean.

One common mistake that students make is that they tend to overlook the reversing effect of negative words (such as not) or prefixes (such as un-).

Allow transition words, such as likewise and although, to suggest the better answer.

If you just can't figure out what a word means, think about other words you know that have similar prefixes, roots, or suffixes.

Eliminate choices in double-blank questions if the first word doesn't make sense in the sentence.

CRITICAL READING Section --- READING COMPREHENSION (Short and Long):

The Critical Reading section of the SAT (also known as the Reading Comprehension section) tests your ability to comprehend what you read. You'll be given several passages to read and then be required to answer questions based on the messages stated or implied in each passage. Passages will vary in length. Some will take about 3 minutes to read and be followed by just two questions. Others may take up to 15 minutes to read and be followed by up to 13 questions.

Identify the main idea of each passage.

Always make sure to read the italicized introductory text.

Always answer the easy questions first. Come back and answer the more difficult questions once you've answered all the questions you know the answer to.

Use the line referenced numbers that appear in the questions to find the correct spot in each passage.

You should limit your answer for reading comprehension questions to what is stated or implied in the passages.

Read each passage through at least once before reading the associated questions.

The most important sentences of each paragraph are the first and the last. Pay particular attention to these sentences.

Don't waste time memorizing the details of each passage.

First, answer all the questions for the topics that you are familiar with. Afterwards, go back and answer the questions for the topics you are unfamiliar with.

Some reading comprehension passages are presented in pairs. In order to see how these passages relate read the brief introduction first.

Focus the majority of your time answering the questions -- not reading and re-reading the text.

All reading comprehension content comes from the Social Science, Science, Humanities, and Literary Fiction.

There is no shortcut to improving your critical reading skills other than practice.

WRITING Section --- WRITTEN ESSAY:

Being able to write well is a skill critical to success in both college and the workplace. The Writing and Language section of the SAT is designed to test (1) rhetorical skills and (2) usage and mechanics. Rhetorical skills questions test your ability to revise and edit text, specifically your ability to organize sentences, passages, and paragraphs. The following tips and strategies will help you improve your performance on the Written Essay portion of the Writing and Language section.

Answer questions as you read. You don't have time to read entire passages, then read the questions, and then come back to the passage to re-find the answer. Start by reading the first question and then read what you need to in order to answer it.

You'll be asked to write a relatively short (250-300 words), persuasive essay on a specific topic that will be provided to you.

Make sure to structure your essay based on the 5 paragraph essay format which includes an Introduction, Body (about 3 paragraphs), and Conclusion.

You're provided 25 minutes to complete the written essay portion of the test. Read the essay question as quickly as possible and spend about 5 minutes thinking about the topic you've been asked to address. Spend about 15 minutes writing your essay. Spend the remaining 5 minutes reviewing your essay and editing your grammar.

The introduction paragraph of your persuasive essay should clearly state your position on the topic you're writing about and introduce your thesis statement. The introduction should also include 3 points that support your position.

The body paragraphs should provide specific detail and examples to support each of your points.

Your essay's conclusion should summarize your position by restating your thesis statement in a shortened form.

Keep your writing clear, concise and simple. Don't use words and "filler" text that is not needed to support your position.

Read only what is needed to answer a given question. Most questions can be answered with only a few sentences from a passage.

Make sure you understand the relationship between ideas, including Reinforcement, Contract, Cause-and-effect, and Sequence.

WRITING SECTION -- MULTIPLE CHOICE: Usage, Sentence Correction, and Paragraph Correction

The questions in the multiple choice Writing section of the SAT are designed to test your skills in sentence structure, usage, and punctuation. Follow the tips and techniques below to improve your performance in this section of the test.

Think hard about each question before attempting to answer it.

Each usage and sentence correction question is based on an individual sentence. Each question is designed to test your knowledge of basic sentence structure, grammar, and word choice. Make sure to read each question carefully so that you understand what is required before you answer it.

Paragraph correction questions are based on two passages. There are typically several questions presented for each passage.

Make sure you understand the rules for using commas (,), semicolons (;), colons (:), dashes (-), and apostrophes (')

MATH Section --- STUDENT PRODUCED RESPONSE (GRID):

The math sections on the ACT are designed to test students' ability to solve mathematical problems, reason quantitatively, and interpret data that is presented in graphs and tables. Areas of math covered on the SAT include Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis. The math section offers two types of questions: Student Produced Response (grid-in questions) and Standard Multiple Choice questions. For the first section of the Math ACT no calculator is allowed. This section includes 15 multiple choice and 5 grid-ins. In the second section of the MAT ACT students are allowed to use a calculator. This section includes 30 multiple choice and 8 grid-ins (including on Extended Thinking question). In all 80 minutes are alloted for the completion of the Math ACT section (25 minutes for the "no calculator" section and 55 minutes for the "calculator" section.)

The following are tips and techniques for improving your performance on the student produced response questions.

Since there is no penalty for guessing make sure to answer all the questions even if you don't know the answer.

There are no negative answers in the student produced response math section. So if you come up with a negative answer, you'll need to try again.

You're able to enter a short answer in any column provided. For example, .8 can be entered in columns 1-2, or 2-3, or 3-4.

If your answer ends up being a repeating decimal, such as .4444444, just enter as many decimal points as you can in the grid provided.

Even though you can enter an equivalent decimal for your answer instead of a fraction, there is no reason to as it just wastes time.

Do not provide mixed numbers as answers. For example, if your answer is 2 3/4, you need to change it to 11/4 or 2.75.

MATH Section - STANDARD MULTIPLE CHOICE:

The following are tips and techniques for improving your performance on the standard multiple choice questions.

Read the question thoroughly and make sure you understand what the question is looking for. Select the best answer provided for the variable, value, or expression that is requested.

Make sure that you prepare beforehand for this section of the test. Know all of the important math definitions, formulas, and concepts that might appear.

Use only the test booklet provided to show your work and for marking up diagrams or graphs presented.

The first sets of questions in this section of the test are usually the easier questions, so don't spend too much time answering them.

If a question seems complicated and time consuming look for a shortcut to the answer. Don't get involved in detailed calculations that are going to require a lot of time. Look at the answers provided and see if you can rule out any as incorrect answers. This will help narrow down your selection of possible correct choices.

If you come across a question with a strange symbol, just substitute the accompanying definition when attempting to figure out the correct answer.

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SAT Testing Taking Tips, Techniques and Strategies

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The SAT is designed to test a student's aptitude and knowledge in three subject areas: reading, writing, and math. Like the ACT, the SAT is used by colleges to evaluate an applicants eligibility for admission. The better a student scores on the SAT the better the chance of getting accepted to a reputable college or university.

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Don't cram.

Familiarize yourself with the test.

Answer easy questions first..

Write in your book.

Don't write on your answer sheet.

There is only one correct answer.

Easy questions precede hard ones.

Guess.

Budget your time.

Read each question carefully.

Don't change your answers.

Practice, practice, practice!

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The ACT is used by many colleges to determine admission. Your ACT is important to colleges for two reasons. First, your ACT score shows that you're academically prepared for college. Second, your ACT score, if you're admitted, will be incorporated into a college's annual ACT statistics. A college's reputation among its piers, and prospective students, is in part based on the published ACT scores of its students. Schools including Harvard, Stanford and other top universities are often associated with excellence because of the high ACT scores of the students they admit.

Taking the time and putting forth the effort to improve your ACT score will go a long way toward getting yourself into the college or university of your choice. Combine a high ACT score with a good GPA and you'll qualify for entry into top colleges and universities. However, the ACT can be particularly important if you didn't get the best grades in high school. A high ACT score can make up for a low GPA. If you were to score a perfect 36 on the ACT, but only graduated high school with a 3.0 GPA, it's quite likely that admission officers would think your high school classes were just too hard and that you're still smart enough for college.

So should you try to improve your ACT score? Most definitely. Can you improve your ACT score? Most definitely. The ACT is made up of four sections. These include science, reading comprehension, math, and English. Below we'll explore proven study strategies and tips that will improve your overall performance on the ACT as well as your performance each individual section of the test.

General ACT Testing Strategies

The following are general strategies for improving your overall performance on the ACT. These tips and strategies can be applied to all sections in the ACT.

Don't cram.
The ACT tests you on knowledge you've accumulated over the course of your high school career, so there's no point in cramming. The day before the test relax, go watch a movie and then get a good nights sleep. Staying up the night before the test and studying will only stress you out and cause you to be tired the next day.

Familiarize yourself with the test.
Become familiar with the structure of ACT before test day. During your test prep, learn and review the directions for each of the sections on the test. When you arrive at the test you'll already know what is going to be required in each section of the ACT. This will save valuable time during the test which can be spent working on questions.

Answer easy questions first.
Answer the questions you're sure you know the correct answer to first. Put a mark in your exam booklet next to each question you skip so you can quickly find them later. After answering all the easy questions, go back and tackle the more challenging questions.

Write in your book.
Your ACT test booklet is yours. After the test it will simply be thrown away. So don't worry about making sure it remains in pristine condition throughout the test. Use it to your advantage. Write in it, cross out wrong answers and use it to do scratch work. Work out problems and jot down key information you'll need to answer certain questions in your test booklet since it is permitted.

Don't write on your answer sheet.
Your ACT answer sheet is scored by a machine that isn't able to distinguish between a correct answer, a stray mark, or a careless doodle in the margin. Make sure that your answer sheet is free from any stray marks. Follow the directions given carefully as you mark correct answers on your answer sheet.

There is only one correct answer.
On the ACT, there is only one correct answer to each question. Even if it appears as if there are two correct answers, you can only choose one answer - so select thebest answer to each question.

Easy questions precede hard ones.
Typically, easier questions on the ACT precede harder questions. In this way, the ACT gets progressively more difficult as you work through each section. Keep this in mind as you move through the test answering easy questions first and then return to answer more difficult questions.

Guess.
If you're faced with a challenging question for which you don't know the correct answer, just make an educated guess. Try to eliminate as many incorrect answer choices as you can and then select the answer that makes the most sense. There is no point deduction for wrong answers - so any answer is always better than no answer at all.

Budget your time.
Do not spend too much time on any one question since there is a time limit for completing the test. It is best to limit yourself to 1 to 2 minutes for the harder questions and no more than 10 to 20 seconds on the easier questions. The ACT consists of 4-5 small mini-tests that are timed. Pay close attention to how much time remains in each section, so you will not have to rush at the last minute to complete each test. We recommend bringing your own stop watch to the test to keep track of time.

Read each question carefully.
Never assume you know what a question is asking until you've read it in it's entirety.Sometimes students will provide an answer they recall from a similar question from a practice test. Read the words to each question carefully.

Don't change your answers.
Don't change your answers unless you're sure you made a mistake. More often than not your first answer will be the correct answer.

Practice, practice, practice!
Let us say it one more time. Practice, practice, practice! There is no substitute for practice.

English Section Strategies

The English section of the ACT is a 75-question, 45-minute test. That's an average of just over 35 seconds per question, so you'll need to work pretty fast in order to complete this section. This section of the test is always the first section presented on the ACT so be ready to take it right away.

The English ACT is composed of five passages, each followed by a selection of multiple-choice questions. These questions are designed to test your reading comprehension and may ask about specific content (sentences, phrases, concepts, etc.) covered in each passage. Several questions will test Usage and Mechanics (including grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and usage). Other questions will test Rhetorical Skills (organization, strategy, and style). You'll receive a score for your performance in each of these two categories.

Punctuation (10-15%) will test your understanding of internal and end-of sentence grammatical conventions. Grammar and Usage (15-20%) tests your understanding of basic grammar rules. Sentence Structure (20-25%) tests your understanding of the relationship between clauses in order to link clauses and form sentences. The Strategy section (15-20%) is designed to test your ability choose correct words and phrases within the context of an essay or passage. Organization questions (10-15%) test your ability to organize ideas and choose correct sentence structures within the context of a passage or essay. Style questions (15-20%) will test your ability to select the most appropriate words and sentence structures to maintain or support the style and tone of an essay.

For Punctuation questions, read, review and consider the entire sentence, even if the question is asking you to focus on just a subset of the sentence. When answering ACT English questions, never focus on just part of the sentence. You must make sure your answer makes sense within the context of the entire sentence and passage.

When answering Grammar questions, read each question CAREFULLY so you don't make mistakes. It's easy to select the wrong answer, even when you understand the concept, if you don't read the question carefully and understand what is being requested.

For Organization questions, find the choice that best leads into the first sentence of the passage.

For Strategy questions take the entire passage into account and consider whether a suggested revision adds clarity or confuses the message the passage it trying to communicate.

When answering Sentence Structure questions, consider the sentence as a whole so you can determine with answer choice offers the most natural and clear relationship between clauses.

To answer Style questions correctly you must have a strong grasp of the passage's meaning and tone.

Pay close attention to each author's writing style. The correct answer will probably better suit the individual author's style than other choices.

Carefully examine each answer option to see how they differ from one another.

If "No change" is a possible answer, only choose it if other options are wrong. This can be a dangerous choice if you aren't familiar with obscure grammar rules. Double check all other answers before selecting "no change". (Note: The "no change" answer is the correct answer about 25-30% of the time it's an option.)

When given a selection of answers to choose from, try and plug each of the answer choices into the sentence to see which one fits correctly.

In questions with underlined text, review surrounding sentences to determine how these sentences relate to the underlined section. Then, compare the answer you've selected with the underlined text.

Reading Section Strategies

The Reading section of the ACT is a 40-question, 35-minute test that covers four 750-words passages. The four passages include (1) Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative, (2) Social Science, (3) Humanities, and (4) Natural Science.

Prose Fiction and Literary Narrative passages contain excerpts from literary and fiction memoirs. This section will ask you questions about the main theme of the passage, the narrator's tone and intent, the message of the passage, and which questions are or are not answered in the passage.

Social Science passages typically offer a straight forward discussion of social science topics, including sociology, education, and psychology, among others. You'll likely be asked questions relating to the main point of the passage, the author's view, and how information presented supports the subject of the passage.

Humanities passages often come from personal essays and memoirs, and address subjects such as literature, art, philosophy, or media. You'll likely be asked questions about the tone of the passage and point of view of the narrator.

Natural Science passages are nonfiction passages about science. They may cover a myriad of subjects, including biology, chemistry, technology, physics, or medicine. Questions often focus on specific statements made or details that are supported with evidence from the passage.

Seem daunting? Don't worry. It isn't, if you're prepared. Follow the strategies and tips below to prepare for the Reading section of the ACT.

Read the questions first. This will help you focus on crucial information to answering each question as you read the passage.

Read the entire passage carefully. Do not get distracted by details; rather, focus on the main points addressed in the passage.

Eliminate incorrect answer choices. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT strategies to answering Reading questions. All incorrect answers have incorrect elements. If you can identify incorrect elements in an answer choice, the answer is definitively incorrect. Every answer must be directly and clearly supported by the passage. If it isn't, it's incorrect. Eliminate the incorrect answer choices and you'll find the correct answer.

Start with your strongest passage type. If you're most comfortable with Social Science then start with the Social Science passage.

Employ the 3-stage method (previewing, reading and reviewing) to maximize your comprehension and recall of each passage. As you read each passage, focus on the big ideas.

Take short notes as you read each paragraph focusing on the purpose of the passage. Keep track of the various people and opinions mentioned.

Frequently refer to the passage when determining correct answers. Make sure your answer is supported by the passage.

Mathematics Sections Strategies

The mathematics section of the ACT is a 60-question, 60-minute test designed to test the math skills and knowledge you've acquired over your high school career. There are eight content categories covered bin the ACT mathematics test. These include Number & Quantity (7-10%), Algebra (12-15%), Functions (12-15%), Geometry (12-15%), Statistics & Probability (8-12%), Integrating Essential Skills (40-43%) and Modeling (>25%).

Set-up and work through problems before examining the answers. If none of the answer options match yours, redo the problem.

Calculators are usually only useful to compute figures. Do not rely too heavily on a calculator during the math section since you will have to work problems out to effectively solve them. If you don't understand how to approach a problem or use formulas a calculator won't be much help.

When possible, project what you believe the answer will be. If the final answer is completely different from your projection, redo the problem to ensure it is correct.

Once you find the correct answer, mark it and go to the next problem. Remember, you have less than 60 seconds to answer each question.

Always double check your calculations. When rushing through a problem, it's not uncommon to mess up a calculation.

The general instructions on the math portion of the ACT are fairly long. Read these instructions and become familiar with them the day before the test. Don't waste time reading these instructions the day of the test.

Use the same method to approach every ACT math question. (1) Read the question. (2) Review the information provided in the question and the answer options. (3) Solve the question by back solving, picking numbers, using traditional math, or strategically guessing. (4) Make sure you answered the specific question being asked.

To save time, back solve when you can. Back solving problems works when you see integers in the answer choices.

As you reach each question, translate the words into math so that you can more easily identify and solve the problem. Don't forget that "of" indicates multiplication is required.

Review and know number properties (odd, even, prime, and order of operation), triangles (30-60-90 and 45-45-90 rules, pythagorean triplets 3:4:5, 5:12:13 and their multiples), common shapes and math relationships (values, ratios, and percents).

Keep your eyes open for "trap" answers. These include oddball answers and answers that are obviously to big or too small. Identifying trap answers will help you narrow your selection of answer options.

Science Section Strategies

The Science section of the ACT is composed of 40 questions that must be completed in 35 minutes. That means you have just over 50 seconds, on average, to complete each question. Students often expect the Science section of the ACT to be like the Math section, but it's actually more like the Reading section.

The Science section includes seven passages that cover various scientific topics. Passages often contain charts, graphs, scientific opinions, or experiment summaries. Each of the seven passages is followed by four to seven questions. The key to doing well on the Science section of the ACT is being able to quickly and accurately read and comprehend scientific findings, postulates and data.

The ACT science section is composed of three types of questions: Data Representation (30-40%), Research Summaries (45-55%), and Conflicting Viewpoints (15-20%). Data representation questions will require you to read and understand data presented in tables, read graphs and interpret scatter plots. Research summaries require you to analyze and interpret the results of experiments. Conflicting viewpoints questions are designed to test your ability to comprehend, analyze, and compare two conflicting viewpoints.

While the Science section of the ACT will test your knowledge, it is designed specifically to test science skills. How do you learn these skills? By taking science classes during high school. At minimum, you should take three years of science in high school, including a least one course in biology, physical science and earth science. By the time you graduate high school you should understand how to apply the scientific method, collect and analyze data, and evaluate and test a hypothesis.

Since science problems are usually complicated, write notes in the booklet's margins while reading a passage.

Don't get distracted by unnecessary details. In fact, to make it easier, cross out unnecessary details when reading a passage.

Students frequently get distracted by technical details and terminology. Even if these details or terms are confusing, you can still figure out the right answer. In most cases, technical terms and details have no relation to the correct answer.

Leave the Conflicting Viewpoints passage until the very end. This passage takes the longest because it doesn't typically offer any visual aids and it requires a different strategy than the other passages.

The ACT science section is more reading than science. When preparing for this section, you need to focus on your ready strategies and approach for each passage type rather than on science. In our opinion, the best approach for the Data Representation and Research Summary passages is to skip the passage, read the question and attempt to answer the questions using only the graphs, charts, and other visuals presented. Answer as many questions as you can this way before referring to the passage. If this approach doesn't work for you, then we recommend skimming the passage first, focusing on keywords and context, and then trying to answer the questions. Finally, if all else fails, read the entire passage first. But be aware this takes a lot of time - so read fast.

The Conflicting Viewpoints passage is unique in that it doesn't usually offer any visuals. Hence, the best strategy for this passage is to read the entire passage. As you do, try to identify and distinguish between the scientist's/student's viewpoints. Attempt to answer these questions: What do they believe? How do their points of view differ? How are their viewpoints similar? Alternatively, you can skim the questions and then read the Conflicting Viewpoints passage.

Watch for contradicting details in science passages. Comprehending each contradictory detail can help you locate the correct answer.

Writing Section Strategies

The ACT writing test is a 40-minute essay test. This test is designed to measure your ability to write at a high school and pre-college level. This test requires you to (1) analyze and evaluate several perspectives, (2) develop your own perspective, and (3) compare your perspective with those given.

The score you receive on the ACT writing test is not factored in to your Composite ACT score. Your score on this test is determined by your skill in developing ideas and analysis, development and support, organization, and language use and conventions.

Utilize the 5-paragraph essay format (introduction, thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion), in the writing section.

Prepare an outline before each essay.

Never stray from the main points of your essay.

To support your thesis, use specific details and examples.

Write legible and easy to understand essays. If your essays are unreadable, you could receive lower scores.

Make it very clear what YOUR perspective is and how your perspective relates to of the three perspectives provided.

Fully explain every point you make. Use concrete example to illustrate your points.

Make sure your response is organized in a logical format/sequence. Give each point you make 1-2 paragraphs.

Make sure your word choice is skillful, precise and you sentences are clear. This does not mean should use fancy vocabulary or words. Each sentence you include should add clarity to your argument and further your argument (not make it more difficult to understand).

Remember, you're scored is based on your writing style and skill not on your knowledge of the facts. In fact, you're facts can be completely erroneous as long long as your write well and still get a high score.

Your essay should be at least one page in length. A page and half is a good target length of your essay - but make sure not to repeat yourself, include irrelevant information or digress from your main point.

Review your essays for spelling, grammar, and syntax errors if you have time.

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The ACT is used by many colleges to determine admission. Your ACT is important to colleges for two reasons. First, your ACT score shows that you're academically prepared for college. Second, your ACT score, if you're admitted, will be incorporated into a college's annual ACT statistics.

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When Tempers Flare

Do you lose your temper and wonder why? Are there days when you feel like you just wake up angry?

Some of it may be the changes your body's going through: All those hormones you hear so much about can cause mood swings and confused emotions. Some of it may be stress: People who are under a lot of pressure tend to get angry more easily. Part of it may be your personality: You may be someone who feels your emotions intensely or tends to act impulsively or lose control. And part of it may be your role models: Maybe you've seen other people in your family blow a fuse when they're mad.

No matter what pushes your buttons, one thing is certain - you're sure to get angry sometimes. Everyone does. Anger is a normal emotion, and there's nothing wrong with feeling mad. What counts is how we handle it (and ourselves) when we're angry.

Tools to Tame a Temper: Self-Awareness & Self-Control

Because anger can be powerful, managing it is sometimes challenging. It takes plenty of self-awareness and self-control to manage angry feelings. And these skills take time to develop.

Self-awareness is the ability to notice what you're feeling and thinking, and why. Little kids aren't very aware of what they feel, they just act it out in their behavior. That's why you see them having tantrums when they're mad. But teens have the mental ability to be self-aware. When you get angry, take a moment to notice what you're feeling and thinking.

Self-control is all about thinking before you act. It puts some precious seconds or minutes between feeling a strong emotion and taking an action you'll regret.

Together, self-awareness and self-control allow you to have more choice about how to act when you're feeling an intense emotion like anger.

Getting Ready to Make a Change

Deciding to get control of your anger - rather than letting it control you - means taking a good hard look at the ways you've been reacting when you get mad. Do you tend to yell and scream or say hurtful, mean, disrespectful things? Do you throw things, kick or punch walls, break stuff? Hit someone, hurt yourself, or push and shove others around?

For most people who have trouble harnessing a hot temper, reacting like this is not what they want. They feel ashamed by their behavior and don't think it reflects the real them, their best selves.

Everyone can change - but only when they want to. If you want to make a big change in how you're handling your anger, think about what you'll gain from that change. More self-respect? More respect from other people? Less time feeling annoyed and frustrated? A more relaxed approach to life? Remembering why you want to make the change can help.

It can also help to remind yourself that making a change takes time, practice, and patience. It won't happen all at once. Managing anger is about developing new skills and new responses. As with any skill, like playing basketball or learning the piano, it helps to practice over and over again.

The Five-Step Approach to Managing Anger

If something happens that makes you feel angry, this approach can help you manage your reaction. It's called a problem-solving approach because you start with the problem you're mad about. Then you weigh your choices and decide what you'll do.

Each step involves asking yourself a couple of questions, then answering them based on your particular situation.

Let's take this example: There's a party you're planning to go to, but your mom just told you to clean your room or stay home. The red-hot anger starts building.

Here's what to do:

1) Identify the problem (self-awareness). Start by noticing what you're angry about and why. Put into words what's making you upset so you can act rather than react.

Ask yourself: What's got me angry? What am I feeling and why? You can do this either in your mind or out loud, but it needs to be clear and specific. For example: "I'm really angry at Mom because she won't let me go to the party until I clean my room. It's not fair!" Your feeling is anger, and you're feeling angry because you might not get to go to the party.

Notice that this is not the same as saying, "Mom's so unfair to me." That statement doesn't identify the specific problem (that you can't go to the party until you clean your room) and it doesn't say how you're feeling (angry).

2) Think of potential solutions before responding (self-control). This is where you stop for a minute to give yourself time to manage your anger. It's also where you start thinking of how you might react - but without reacting yet.

Ask yourself: What can I do? Think of at least three things. For example, in this situation you might think:

(a) I could yell at Mom and throw a fit.
(b) I could clean my room and then ask if I could go to the party.
(c) I could sneak out to the party anyway.

3) Consider the consequences of each solution (think it through). This is where you think about what is likely to result from each of the different reactions you came up with.

Ask yourself: What will happen for each one of these options? For example:

(a) Yelling at your mom may get you in worse trouble or even grounded.
(b) Cleaning your room takes work and you may get to the party late (but maybe that adds to your mystique). With this option, you get to go to the party and your room's clean so you don't have to worry about it for a while.
(c) Sneaking out may seem like a real option in the heat of anger. But when you really think it through, it's pretty unlikely you'd get away with being gone for hours with no one noticing. And when you do get caught - look out!

4) Make a decision (pick one of your options). This is where you take action by choosing one of the three things you could do. Look at the list and pick the one that is likely to be most effective.

Ask yourself: What's my best choice? By the time you've thought it through, you're probably past yelling at your mom, which is a knee-jerk response. You may have also decided that sneaking out is too risky. Neither of these options is likely to get you to the party. So option (b) probably seems like the best choice.

Once you choose your solution, then it's time to act.

5) Check your progress. After you've acted and the situation is over, spend some time thinking about how it went.

Ask yourself: How did I do? Did things work out as I expected? If not, why not? Am I satisfied with the choice I made? Taking some time to reflect on how things worked out after it's all over is a very important step. It helps you learn about yourself and it allows you to test which problem-solving approaches work best in different situations.

Give yourself a pat on the back if the solution you chose worked out well. If it didn't, go back through the five steps and see if you can figure out why.

These five steps are pretty simple when you're calm, but are much tougher to work through when you're angry or sad (kind of like in basketball practice when making baskets is much easier than in a real game when the pressure is on!). So it helps to practice over and over again.

Other Ways to Manage Anger

The five-step approach is good when you're in a particular situation that's got you mad and you need to decide what action to take. But other things can help you manage anger too.

Try these things even if you're not mad right now to help prevent angry feelings from building up inside.

Exercise. Go for a walk/run, work out, or go play a sport. Lots of research has shown that exercise is a great way to improve your mood and decrease negative feelings.

Listen to music (with your headphones on). Music has also been shown to change a person's mood pretty quickly. And if you dance, then you're exercising and it's a two-for-one.

Write down your thoughts and emotions. You can write things in lots of ways; for example, in a journal or as your own poetry or song lyrics. After you've written it down, you can keep it or throw it away - it doesn't matter. The important thing is, writing down your thoughts and feelings can improve how you feel. When you notice, label, and release feelings as they show up in smaller portions, they don't have a chance to build up inside.

Draw. Scribbling, doodling, or sketching your thoughts or feelings might help too.

Meditate or practice deep breathing. This one works best if you do it regularly, as it's more of an overall stress management technique that can help you use self-control when you're mad. If you do this regularly, you'll find that anger is less likely to build up.

Talk about your feelings with someone you trust. Lots of times there are other emotions, such as fear or sadness, beneath anger. Talking about them can help.

Distract yourself. If you find yourself stewing about something and just can't seem to let go, it can help to do something that will get your mind past what's bugging you - watch TV, read, or go to the movies.

These ideas can be helpful for two reasons:

1. They help you cool down when you feel like your anger might explode. When you need to cool down, do one or more of the activities in the list above. Think of these as alternatives to taking an action you'll regret, such as yelling at someone. Some of them, like writing down feelings, can help you release tension and begin the thinking process at the same time.

2. They help you manage anger in general. What if there's no immediate problem to solve - you simply need to shift into a better mood? Sometimes when you're angry, you just need to stop dwelling on how mad you are.

When to Ask for Extra Help

Sometimes anger is a sign that more is going on. People who have frequent trouble with anger, who get in fights or arguments, who get punished, who have life situations that give them reason to often be angry may need special help to get a problem with anger under control.

Tell your parents, a teacher, a counselor, or another adult you trust if any of these things have been happening:

You have a lasting feeling of anger over things that have either happened to you in the past or are going on now.

You feel irritable, grumpy, or in a bad mood more often than not.

You feel consistent anger or rage at yourself.

You feel anger that lasts for days or makes you want to hurt yourself or someone else.

You're often getting into fights or arguments.

These could be signs of depression or something else - and you shouldn't have to handle that alone.

Anger is a strong emotion. It can feel overwhelming at times. Learning how to deal with strong emotions - without losing control - is part of becoming more mature. It takes a little effort, a little practice, and a little patience, but you can get there if you want to.

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Do you lose your temper and wonder why? Are there days when you feel like you just wake up angry? Some of it may be the changes your body's going through: All those hormones you hear so much about can cause mood swings and confused emotions.

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- Resource List in English
- en espanol...

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A plethora of resources for families/ individuals that may have experienced a change in their living situation ...

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About Families in Transition

Purpose: Designed to provide support services, tutoring, enrichment activities and case management to families in transitional living situations.

Role: To provide assistance to families meeting criteria for the McKinney-Vento Education Act implemented to ensure all students the right to an education regardless of their living situation. The program provides the necessary supports to increase the likelihood that students living in homelessness or chronic poverty attend school consistently and with little interruption. These services include immediate enrollment, nutrition via the free/reduced lunch program and transportation.

Responsibility: The responsibility of the FIT Social Worker/Counselor is to identify, assess and provide case-management for homeless students and those students at risk of homelessness due to chronic homelessness, or resulting from a natural disaster, incarceration of a parent and/or death of a parent.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The McKinney-Vento Act was originally authorized in 1987 and most recently re-authorized in December 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Everyone who is between the ages of 4 and 21 on September 1st of the school year and has not been expelled, has the right to attend school, even if they:

Do not live with a parent or legal guardian

Lives temporarily doubled up with friends or family due to loss of housing or economic hardship

Sleeps in a shelter

Sleeps in a campground, car, abandoned building, or other place not designated for, or ordinarily used as regular housing for people

Lives in substandard housing (no electricity or water)

Participates in a transitional housing program

Does not have school records

Services Provided

The Federal McKinney-Vento Act and Texas State Law guarantee that if you meet eligibility requirements you may:

Enroll in school even without records

Continue to attend the school in which you were last enrolled, even if you have moved away from that school's attendance zone or district

Receive transportation from your current residence back to your school of origin

Qualify automatically for district free/reduced lunch and other district food programs

Participate fully in all school activities and programs for which you are eligible; and

Contact the district liaison to resolve any disputes that arise during the enrollment process

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Department Contact: Tori Sisk SOS Coordinator Homeless Liaison Foster Care Liaison (682) 867-7452 Email Us Hilldale Annex 4814 W. Arkansas Ln. Arlington, TX 76016 Office: (682) 867-7668 Fax: (817) 492-3388 About Families in Transition Purpose: Designed to provide support services, tutoring, enrichment activities and case management to families in transitional living situations.

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Information about AISD FIT & PEP Programs ...

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Not Sure Where You are Headed After High School? 

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Not Sure Where You are Headed After High School? 

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...Xello has college and career exploration tools, in addition to working together with the Common App and more. Sign in with your AISD Rapid ID

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Think you can't afford college? Think again! Don't let the cost of college get in the way of your future. Most students receive financial aid.
~ More information about financial aid is available online at www.aisd.net/financialaid.

~ Need One-on-One Help ? - make an Appointment with a GO Center Mentor

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Overview of the FAFSA process...

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This packet is a comprehensive guide for everything FAFSA! Feel free to download, print, or just view this attachment

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Step 1 of completing the FAFSA ...

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Have your FSA ID and ready to start your FAFSA? This video walks you through the process.

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Do you need to complete the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) because you aren't eligible to complete the FAFSA? This video walks you through the process.