TMS Hoops Grabs First Win of Season

The Nighthawks notched their first basketball win of the season with a 73-41 victory over Pescadero High School last Friday. Highlights included the following: Alex Cobb: 25 points and 12 rebounds, Brian Nickerson: 16 points and 5 steals, Nick Gaede: 14 points and 3 steals, and Gabe Amparano: 9 points and 9 steals. Watch the Nighthawks in home action this afternoon vs. Redwood Adventist at 4:00. Go Nighthawks!

College Planning for the Week of 12/14

College of the Week - St. Lawrence University, a private, coeducational liberal arts college of approximately 2,100 students, is located in northern New York State, approximately 1 1/4 hours from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Known for an innovative first-year program and opportunities to study abroad, students also select St. Lawrence because of its student-centeredness, choice of over 30 majors, and pre-professional courses. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in a large variety of athletics, extracurricular activities, and community service.

Did you know? What's the difference between a college and a university? The lines are a bit blurry between the two. In general, a university is a collection of schools or "colleges" operating under a single administrative umbrella. For instance, DePaul University has nine colleges: Arts and Science, Education, Computing and Digital Media, Commerce, Communications, Music, Theatre, Law, and the School for New Learning. At a college, these distinctions would likely be departmental and the overriding focus would be on undergraduates.

Colleges using Harry Potter to market themselves? Check out this funny article (Taking the Magic Out of College), written for the New York Times by a high school senior, for a glimpse into Harry's impact on higher education.

Quote of the Week - Jordan and I were talking about her applications and I asked her to confirm which UC campuses she had applied to (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara). She replied, "UCLA and one of the Santas". Clearly she has the holidays on her mind!

Seniors - Checklist for each application: Make sure that......

• You meet all deadlines - send applications as soon as they are finished!
• Someone else has reviewed your application - a good thing to ask parents to do.
  
• You have printed and saved a copy of the application.
  
• You paid the application fee or applied for a fee waiver.
• You have asked the College Board or the ACT to send your official test scores to your colleges. You must do this - I cannot do it for you and a college will not read your application until they receive your scores officially from the testing agency.
  
• You've asked me to send any required transcripts, teacher recommendations or Secondary School Report (counselor recommendation).
• You have sent any additional documentation such as writing samples and resumes to the college
• You are checking your email and the student portal accounts for UC and CSU applications to see the status of your application and information about other things that might be required.
  

My Schedule this Week - I will be on campus on Monday from 10:00-6:00, Wednesday 9:00-2:00 and Thursday 11-2:00.

Susan

TMS Hoops in Hard Loss to Summerfield

The TMS basketball game lost a hard-fought game to Summerfield High School last night 19-63. The Nighthawks take on Pescadero High School tonight at 5:00 at Pescadero. Next home game is Tuesday, 12/15 vs. Redwood Adventist at 4:00. Go Nighthawks!

College Planning Information for the week of 12/7/09

College of the Week - Whitman College, a four-hour drive east of Portland, is known for academic rigor in a collaborative environment. Whitman students are unpretentious community members committed to both their studies and a multiplicity of co-curricular activities. Whitman’s campus is a ten-minute walk from Walla Walla’s award winning Main Street. The charming town of 30,000 has a four-season climate with 300 days of sunshine. Whitman's campus is stunning, reminding me of a east coast college

Did you know? A big portion of the Critical Reading section of the SAT is really about vocabulary. Increase your vocabulary and you'll likely increase your SAT score. Check out the SAT Word of the Day at Number 2.com, a free test prep site. Among other free offerings, you can subscribe and have the word of the day sent to your email. Almost painless.....

My Schedule this Week - I will be on campus on Monday from 10-3:30, Wednesday 10-4:00 and Thursday 10-2:30.

FOR SENIORS

What are your deadlines? Check the chart you started back in September and make sure you are aware of your next application deadline. Many colleges have 12/15 and 1/1/ deadlines. If you lost your chart, use the one attached to this email or come and get one from me.

Application Help on Wednesday 2:30-4:00 - See you in the Library!

Check your email - Remember that many colleges (particularly the CSU and UC campuses) only communicate with you by email or expect you to check their portal for messages. Make sure you are checking and responding to your email regularly and check the portals every week or two. There is no forgiveness if you miss an important communication from them.

FOR JUNIORS

PSAT scores have arrived! If you did not pick up your scores last week, please see me and I will help you interpret them. Scores were also mailed home last week. If you have any questions about them, let me know.

--
Susan Gotshall-Maxon
College Counselor

Sophomore Class Views Mural Artwork in San Francisco

TMS Sophomores visited The Mission in San Francisco yesterday to take part in a tour with La Precita Eyes, a community-based mural arts organization that works to educate local and international communities about the history and process of mural artwork. The field trip coincides with the current Latin America Unit in Sophomore World Literature. We enjoyed the artwork and ate some great local food!

Grandparents' Day a Great Success

In a tradition that has continued for some years now, grandparents and other friends and relatives were invited to attend a day of class here at school on the last day before the Thanksgiving break last week. Many students had loved ones with them who would not normally see what their grandchildren, nieces and nephews do in high school. Guests shared lunch with their students, attended a couple of classes in the afternoon, and enjoyed a round of student performances, including a French-language techno rap, to top it off.

TMS Holiday Food Drive

In cooperation with the Marin County Food Bank, the Student Council has launched a food drive that will go until Friday, December 11. Chaired by senior Hannah Aubrey, the Food Drive Committee has placed four barrels just outside the TMS library in Building 4. Each barrel is labeled for one of the four grade levels, freshmen through seniors, in order to promote a friendly competition to see which group can collect the most food. The class that has amassed the most donations by the end of the drive will be treated to a lunch-time party, featuring pizza, salad, drinks and cupcakes -- all compliments of Student Council -- in January when students return from winter break. Parents, students and teachers are all encouraged to participate!

TMS Basketball Season Begins Today

The Marin School's basketball team has their first game tonight at 4pm against Candell's College Prep Academy. This is a home game for the Nighthawks and will be played at the Mazanita Recreation Center located at 630 Drake Avenue, Marin City. You can find the basketball schedule and results on MaxPreps.

TMS Photography on Display

Photography students from The Marin School will exhibit their night photography images at the Marin Youth Center in San Rafael this Friday evening, December 4th.

The Marin Youth Center is located in San Rafael at 1115 Third Street. The reception will begin at 6pm. We hope you can join us.