Month: September 2018

Hidden Gems High School Fair THIS SUNDAY 9/30/18

Live in the city and have middle school aged (6th-8th grade) children? Come to the 7th Annual “Hidden Gems” Chicago High School Fair THIS Sunday, September 30th from 1-4pm to meet representatives from over 35 public and private high schools (and several resource vendors) that have terrific programs and more holistic or realistic admissions standards. 7th and 8th grade can be a stressful year for you and your students – take the pressure off by realizing all of the great options in the Chicagoland area.  See our frequently updated list of participating schools online.
 
Register today for discounted early registration pricing: HS Fair Registration
Details for Hidden Gems High School Fair
The schedule for the program will be as follows:
Doors open at 12:30pm, but Disney II tours are available starting at 12:15pm.
  • 1PM:  Introduction from Chicago School GPS and Amundsen High School (sponsor) in the auditorium
  • 1:05PM-2:00PM:  Brief 1 minute presentation from each school (historically the most enlightening portion of the fair)
  • 2:00PM-4:00PM:  School exhibitor booths open
  • 2:30PM-4:00PM:  Half hour Information sessions for parents:
    • High School Admissions for public & private schools
    • Entrance Exam Testing for SEHS, HSPT & ISEE
    • Scholarship Ins and Outs
  • 2:30PM-4:00PM:  Half hour participation sessions for middle schoolers:
    • Peer to Peer forums – high school ambassadors (one per school) answer questions from middle schoolers
    • Middle Schooler workshop- tips on writing a high school entrance essay
    • Executive Functioning Skills workshop
  • 4:00PM:  Fair ends  
Come learn about wonderful high school options and reduce your family’s stress about their high school search!  Register NOW! (Fee waivers available)

 

GoCPS Account Activation is Available Now

Families seeking to apply to CPS schools for 2019-2020 can begin the process to open an online GoCPS account.  While the website references mostly high school (https://go.cps.edu/apply/activate), the activation process should be open for anyone interested in applying to the 4 CPS Magnet PK programs (Suder, Drummond, Mayer & Inter-American), and CPS elementary and high schools.

CPS applications for 2019-2020 officially open on October 1, 2018 and close on December 14, 2018, but there are a few things to do prior to that depending on what your status is.  From ChiSchoolGPS’s latest newsletter:

“Unless you are enrolling in your assigned neighborhood school where no application is necessary, you can try for a seat at almost any other CPS school as long as you apply for a spot one year ahead of time.  The first place to start that process is the CPS online application portal at go.cps.edu.

If you are applying to PK-4th grade:

  • And are NOT already affiliated with CPS, first request a GoCPS Student ID # HERE.
  • And are already in CPS, simply create your GoCPS account here and have your child’s CPS ID # on hand.

If you are applying to 5th-8th grade:

  • And you would like to try for a selective enrollment (Classical, Gifted or Academic Center) seat but did notattend a CPS school last year, then apply for Fall NWEA MAP testing HERE by September 7th to take the MAP eligibility exams in September.
  • And you DID attend a CPS school last year OR you are a non-CPS student who only wants to apply to magnet or open enrollment schools, then simply ACTIVATE your GoCPS account.

If you are applying to 9th grade:

  • And did NOT attend CPS in 7th grade but would like to apply for selective enrollment, magnet, IB, military or CTE programs, then register for NWEA MAP testing HERE by Sept. 7th to see if you qualify for those programs.
  • And you were a CPS 7th grade student last year OR you are a non-CPS 8th grade student interested only in Charter or programs with no academic minimums, then simply go ACTIVATE your GoCPS account.”