Monthly Update

Monthly Update - November 2005
	Important Dates - Scholarship Deadlines November 30, 2005 - NSHSS Academic Scholarships (Claes Nobel Scholarships and National Scholar Awards--$1,000 - $5,000). If you have been unable to access the application please contact: scholarships@nshss.org. Semi-finalists will be selected in the next few weeks and notified by mail with a request for personal statement and educator recommendations. Final winners will be announced in early March. Projects Abroad December 31, 2005 - Deadline to apply for free Projects Abroad program scholarship. Projects Abroad and The National Society of High School Scholars have teamed up to offer a scholarship for up to a three month placement in any of Projects Abroad's 16 destination countries, including but not limited to Russia, Peru, South Africa, China, and Thailand. The scholarship is open to any member of the NSHSS--for more information and NSHSS member comments click here: www.nshss.org/partners/projects_abroad.htm February 1, 2006 - Robert P. Sheppard Leadership Award ($1,000): Application May 1, 2006 - NSHSS Academic Paper Awards ($250 each): Application Please visit FastWeb to search for more scholarships. The members-only site of the NSHSS also has other scholarship resources.
Member Event - University of Oklahoma
	On November 5, 2005, NSHSS members and guests attended a special event hosted by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, in Oklahoma City, at the prestigious downtown Petroleum Club, followed by a campus tour of the nearby University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, a series of seven health-related colleges. Mr. Nobel spoke to the group, as did Dr. Robert Con Davis-Undiano, Dean of the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma, and Dr. Joseph J. Ferretti, Senior Vice President and Provost of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Mr. Nobel presented a scholarship to Oklahoma student Chris Brydges and recognized area Educators of Distinction. Mr. Nobel also spoke to high school students at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. http://www.ossm.edu/ (pictured below) I thought it was really awesome meeting Mr. Nobel. He sets a high standard of excellence for all of us, and I hope to achieve it someday. Listening to him speak was incredible. I also enjoyed the tour of the OU medical school. It was a great opportunity for me to be able to speak with the Dean of the Honors College. Hopefully you will see me attending there in the near future. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.--NSHSS member Chris DuVall, Tahlequah High School, Tahlequah, OK Chris DuVall and NSHSS members at the Petroleum Club with Mr. Nobel 2006 Member Events will be posted next month.
	News--NSHSS staff attended and exhibited at the annual FFA conference in Louisville, Kentucky, October 26-29, an organization with over 490,000 students. More than 52,000 student leaders attended the conference. The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education, encompassing more than 300 careers in everything from agriscience to biotechnology to turf grass management. NSHSS Student Council members are eager to share their experiences and wisdom with other members. You can meet the Council members at http://www.nshss.org/council/studentcouncil05.asp, and if you have questions for a council member, email studentcouncil@nshss.org with the Council member's name in the subject line of the email. Here are some tips from Katherine Van Schaik and Christopher Riley. Keep these in mind to be ahead of the game when the big day comes to enroll in college. Two Survival Tips: From Home to College Life Christopher R. Riley, Georgia Southern University 2009 Student Council Member and NSHSS/Presidential Classroom Public Service Scholarship Recipient read article... Tips for a Successful, Productive, and (almost) Stress-Free Freshman Year Katherine Van Schaik, Harvard 2008 NSHSS Student Council Member and Claes Nobel Academic Scholarship Recipient read article...

		If you would like to be considered for the monthly Member Showcase, please click here.

		Zac Clement Jasper, Alabama Walker High School
		"Work hard at whatever you do to be the best you can be."

		Ashley Rebekah Kearl Salt Lake City, Utah East High School
		"Take or make every opportunity to better yourself educationally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually."

		Kevin O. Olusola Owensboro, Kentucky Phillips Academy (Andover, Massachusetts)
		"I hope to become a great advocate for musical education throughout the school systems in our nation."

		Sarahn Iyalode' O'Uhuru Bronx, New York Academy of Mt. St. Ursula
		"I live my life with one overarching philosophy: I am what I am...different."

		Shadya Sanders Newington, Connecticut Kingwood-Oxford Schools (West Hartford, CT)
		"If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants."--Isaac Newton

		Visit the NSHSS Scholar's store and check out our selection of great recognition items like honor cords and lapel pins, available only to members. Shop in the member section of the web site or print out an order form.

		Connect with other members in the NSHSS forums. Chat with members from around the globe. Visit the Member Connection Section.
		From the Editor Making Sense of College Rankings Susan Thurman, Ph.D. Scholarship Director, NSHSS Each fall college-bound students and their parents are bombarded with a confusing mix of college ratings – the best this and the best that. Several educational organizations survey and come up with ratings each year, such as “U.S. News & World Report,” “Newsweek-Kaplan College Guide,” and the “Princeton Review,” all of which are different. Colleges that make these lists proudly promote their rankings in their recruiting materials and ones that don’t or that drop in various ratings from previous years often take issue with the methodology behind the ratings—that the ranking are too subjective and imprecise. So how do you make sense of them in selecting a college? read more...

Check out NSHSS partners For more information on NSHSS partners and member benefits they provide please visit our Partners Page at http://www.nshss.org/partners

Institute for International Sport

I am both honored and thrilled to join in partnership with Claes Nobel and the National Society of High School Scholars to offer the opportunity to all NSHSS members to participate in the fourth World Scholar-Athlete Games. Together we stand united in our commitment to the recognition and shepherding of excellence in today's global youth community--Dan Doyle, Founder & Executive Director, Institute for International Sport

A partnership has been forged between the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) and the Institute for International Sport, through which all members of the NSHSS will receive an automatic nomination to participate in the famed 2006 World Scholar-Athlete Games (WSAG), heralded as the most unique sport and cultural event in the world. The Games, administered by the Institute, will be held on the campus of The University of Rhode Island and in Newport, Rhode Island, from June 24 - July 2, 2006, and will bring together more than 2,000 talented scholar-athletes and scholar-artists from over 160 countries, and all 50 U.S. states. Tens of thousands of nominations from around the world will be received, so all interested NSHSS members are encouraged to act early and send in the application form as soon as possible. For an application, please call 401-874-5088 or email wsag@internationalsport.com. More complete information can be found on the website at www.internationalsport.com/sa2006. (Please include cover note with application indicating that you are an NSHSS scholar.)

The Scholar-Athlete Games is one of the most impressive and remarkable gatherings of young people I have ever witnessed.--Rudy Giuliani, Keynote Speaker, 2003 US Scholar-Athlete Games

National Honors Convocation
NSHSS has partnered with the newly-formed National Honors Convocation, founded by successful professionals in the fields of business, law, medicine, and television & film. These extraordinary individuals share a strong passion for their careers and a desire to help exceptional youth achieve similar goals. NHC offers NSHSS members and other honor students the opportunity to attend programs in the career fields of business, law, medicine, or television & film. Each program begins with a dedicated leadership curriculum provided in partnership with Churchill Leadership. For more information, visit the website at http://www.honorsconvocation.org.

Get Ready for College! Go Online for College Information Now!

The National Society of High School Scholars is happy to provide you with an online resource full of college information. My College Guide, published annually and now available online, has information on almost 100 colleges! To access My College Guide online, go to www.mycollegeguide.org/nshss.

The new 2006 issue has articles on how to reduce stress when applying to colleges, studying abroad, and taking the guesswork out of college admissions. Also, you'll find out why engineering is such a hot major now. Best of all, you can request college information right online by going to: www.mycollegeguide.org/request. You'll also then be automatically entered to win either an iPod mini or an Olympus digital camera.

My College Guide is a great place to start your college search.


	Claes Nobel School of Distinction Award Sarasota Military Academy Sarasota, Florida We are pleased to recognize Sarasota Military Academy as this month’s Claes Nobel School of Distinction. It is the first Charter Military School in the USA. SMA was nominated by NSHSS member Johnny Staffiles, who says that his school experience is “like none other I have seen” including being the first high school to send its entire student body though the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Program. The school has also adopted eight families this Christmas though Adopt-A-Family while also sending over a thousand letters by Troop Fan Mail to all troops overseas. They provide a five star education (Florida Department of Education rating) while the army has marked the school as an Honor Unit with Distinction. The school motto is Honor... Honoring of Ourselves, Honoring of Family, Honoring of Family, Honoring of Nation.” SMA received the 2005 Florida School Recognition Award for outstanding academic performance in the 2004-05 school year for its “proven leadership in providing a quality learning environment that allows all students to reach their full potential.” Its stated mission is “Our primary intent is to help enable students to become productive citizens and to help them shape their futures into satisfying and fulfilling lives.”

To nominate your school for consideration, please email Dr. Susan Thurman at susan.thurman@nshss.org with an explanation of why your school deserves this recognition. Be sure to include your name and contact information, the school's name and city, and a link to the school's website.