Semester Exams

Semester exams for MTS will be administered during the week of Dec. 5-9. Any make-up semester exams will be administered Dec. 12-14. Students should make sure that all exams are complete and any missing course work is turned in before leaving for the break. This is important because instructors will submit final grades before leaving for the break.

Wallace State Field Trip

I wanted to remind our seniors who will be visiting Wallace State on Tuesday, Dec. 6 that everyone will need to arrive at MTS via the morning tech bus. We will depart at 8:15 and return to MTS by 2 p.m. so that everyone will be able to ride the afternoon tech bus back to his/her high school. Albertville students who are unable to ride the morning bus will be responsible for providing their own transportation to MTS. Also, please remember to bring money for lunch.

Well done med prep!

Marshall Tech is pink each year during the month of October due to MTS' medical prep program and its support for breast cancer awareness. Medical prep raised almost $1,000 to help pay for mammograms for those in need through an array of activities such as a volleyball tournament and penny drop. The annual "pink glove dance" is always a huge success! Great job Nurse Peppers and your students for the work you do for this worthwhile cause!

Congrats Robotics team!

1st Place - Marketing Team

Congratulations to the Marshall County Robotics Coalition, which is a combined team made up of Marshall Technical School and Brindlee Mountain Middle School robotics teams! The team finished second overall at the Northeast Alabama Robotics Competition. The team's marketing team won first place and the team won first place for spirit and sportmanship. A special thanks goes out to MTS robotics instructor Mr. Glenn Bruce for the incredible effort and hours he puts into this competition each year for his students. His teams have been incredibly successful through the years and we are very proud of our teacher and students!

Marshall County College & Career Expo

Please remember that the Marshall County College & Career Expo will be held this evening (Nov. 1) from 4-6 p.m. at Marshall Technical School. Students from Asbury, Brindlee Mountain, DAR, Douglas, Albertville, Boaz, Guntersville, and Marshall Christian are invited to attend. Most of Alabama's state colleges and universities will be in attendance. Also, most of our military recruiters will also be available for you to speak with. Finally, several local employers and several community agencies will be here as well. Numerous door prizes will be given away so come out and be a part of this awesome event!

Wallace State visit and field trip

Wallace State career tech recruiter Brenda Johnson will be at MTS on Nov. 1 to meet with juniors and seniors. MTS seniors will also have the opportunity to visit Wallace State career tech programs on Dec. 6. Rather than tour all programs, students will have the opportunity to choose one or two programs of their choice to spend some time visiting. Wallace State instructors will have special activities set up for our students who are visiting.

ALCAC Fee Waiver Program

The colleges listed below will waive their application fee during the week of October 31- November 4, 2016

Alabama State University

Auburn University at Montgomery

Judson College*

Spring Hill College

Stillman College

Troy University**

University of West Alabama

*Judson College- students must select the regular application NOT the Distance Learning app.  The link to the app is: https://ecommerce.isafe.net/isafe/judsoncollege/applic.asp.

**Guidance Counselor will need to provide a list of students who apply to college during that week to Troy University.

FAFSA Change!

Students are now able to begin completing their FAFSA applications on Oct. 1 using their parent/guardian's previous year tax return. This is a huge change! In the past students typically had to wait until after their parents had filed their income taxes in order to complete the FAFSA application. Since April 15th is typically the deadline to file income taxes, some students were unable to complete their FAFSA applications until late spring. This was a huge problem since some scholarships require students to have previously filed a FAFSA application. The new rules will now allow students to go ahead and complete their FAFSA without waiting for their parents to file their tax return for the upcoming year. Please click here to access the link to the FAFSA website.

Scholarships with September deadlines

Siemens Scholarship Competition
Scholarship Value: $100,000
Awards Available: 18
Award Deadline: September 20, 2016

All our Seniors should be eligible

Requires FORMAL Research Paper

2016 Scholarship Points Awards
Scholarship Value: $10,000
Awards Available: 10
Award Deadline: September 23, 2016
All our Seniors should be eligible

Quick and easy

You Deserve it Scholarship
Scholarship Value: $1,000
Awards Available: 1
Award Deadline: September 29, 2016

All our Seniors should be eligible

Blocked by school…will have to do at home

Review It Scholarship
Scholarship Value: $1,000
Awards Available: 1
Award Deadline: September 30, 2016
All Seniors with 2.5 GPA or higher

Quick and Easy….must answer online questions

My Kool Smiles Scholarship
Scholarship Value: $5,000
Awards Available: 1
Award Deadline: September 30, 2016
All our Seniors with a 3.0 GPA should be eligible

Must write an essay about “How dental health can contribute to the well-being of families and children”

Marshall County Elks Lodge #2869 Scholarships

Applications are judged on scholarship, leadership and financial need

Most Valuable Student - Application

• Must be a Senior and take the ACT by Nov. 5th
• BIG scholarship money!!
• FAQ link
• Somewhat involved. You will be required to interview.
• You must create an account after you click on the application link.

Legacy Award

• Must have a family member who was an Elk member prior to April 1, 2014
• $4,000

Financial Aid

Many colleges and universities use federal financial aid information to help them determine how scholarships are awarded. It is a great idea to complete a financial aid application even if you are unsure as to whether or not you are eligible to receive assistance. Unlike student loans, Pell Grants do not have to be repaid as long as you comply with the rules. There are many websites that offer assistance with financial aid applications for a fee. You need to avoid them! The federal financial aid application is free! If you need assistance, often the college financial aid office of the school you intend to attend has staff available who are able to provide assistance. You can also drop by the counseling office at MTS for assistance. You can find a link to the free financial aid application below.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

ACT WorkKeys

All Alabama seniors now take the ACT WorkKeys assessment. WorkKeys is unique in that it assesses job skills that are required in the workplace. In order to help students prepare for the WorkKeys assessment, Marshall Technical School utilizes the KeyTrain program. Mrs. Christine Amos will be in charge of implementing the KeyTrain program with Marshall Technical School students. If you would like to learn more about ACT WorkKeys or KeyTrain please visit the following websites:

ACT WorkKeys
KeyTrain
Career Ready Alabama 

Colleges & Universities

Please remember that the most complete information regarding college programs and scholarship information can easily be found online. The following are some links to several of our local colleges and universities:

Snead State Community College 
Gadsden State Community College
Northeast Alabama Community College 
Wallace State Community College 
Auburn University
The University of Alabama 
The University of Alabama in Birmingham
Jacksonville State University 
The University of Alabama in Huntsville

ACT Test Dates

2016-2017 ACT Test Dates & Registration Deadlines

Test Date	Registration Deadline	Late Registration
June 11, 2016*	May 6, 2016	May 7-20, 2016
September 10, 2016	August 5, 2016	August 6-9, 2016
October 22, 2016	September 16, 2016	September 17-30, 2016
December 10, 2016	November 4, 2016	November 5-18, 2016

Marshall County College Expo

Marshall Technical School will once again host the Marshall County College Expo on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. The event will be held from 4- 6 p.m. High school students from throughout Marshall County are invited to attend. Most of Alabama's colleges and universities typically attend the event. Most branches of the military are also typically in attendance. The event is sponsored by the Marshall County Manufacturer's Association and the Marshall County Economic Development Council. Stay tuned for additional updates!

BEST Robotics

Our annual BEST Robotics competition kicked off last week and the clock is ticking! We have only six weeks to get ready for competition on October 29th. As you all know, this is a school wide competition so talk to your about getting involved! This year is especially exciting as we have joined forces with Brindlee Mountain Middle School to form the Marshall County Robotics Coalition or McRoc for short! This year's theme is called Bet the Farm and we are already well on our way to harvesting a bumper crop at robotics competition!

Welcome to the MTS Student Success Blog!

Rather than sending out the traditional counseling newsletter or perhaps even just updating the the school website, I wanted to do something different this year by establishing a Student Success Blog for MTS! I hope that you will check back frequently as I hope to update the page at least a couple of times each week. This will be a place that you will find a variety of information about MTS. Information may range from information regarding upcoming events to tips for preparing for the ACT. I also want to use this page to help promote many of the awesome things that are going on at MTS!