School Counselor's Desk

Ms Christine Meng
Patoka CUSD #100 School Counselor
618-432-5440, Ext. 305
[email protected]

Ms Meng


Guidance - - - February

Midterm is Friday, February 7, 2025.  Please be looking at your student’s grades and making contact with their teachers.

 What’s Happening?

                February 7          Midterm

                February 11        Little Egypt CEO visit for sophomores and juniors 8:25

                February 14        No School – Teachers’ Institute in Centralia

                February 17        No School – Presidents’ Day

                February 18        Southeast Missouri State University visit with juniors and interested seniors

                February 21        8th Grade Career Fair at Kaskaskia College

                February 24        Army National Guard lunchroom visit

                February 26        FAFSA Night @ 6:00 in the Media Center

 IAR Testing

Students in Grades 3-8 will all be taking the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR)Test.  The students testing window ranges from March 4 – April 19.  Grades 3-5 are planning on testing April 7-11 and grades 6-8 are planning March 17-20.  Continue to check the newsletter for updates.

 College Visits

As a junior and senior, you are entitled to two college visits that do not affect your attendance.  Use this day to visit a potential school to see if it is a good fit or to take a placement test.  See Ms Meng for further details and to obtain a form to be signed by a college official.  These days can also be used to job shadow, visit a union hall, or do military testing.  Use these days to help plan for your future.

 Scholarships

Now that you have completed the deadlines for college admittance, start working on outside scholarships.  Parents, check with your place of employment or places you do business.  So many scholarships go unawarded because no one applies for them.  STUDENTS, be proactive and earn free money!  Check out these websites for additional scholarships.

                https://www.scholarships.com/

                https://pages.collegeboard.org/big-future-scholarships

                pages.collegeboard.org

                https://studentscholarships.org/

                https://www.scholarsnapp.org/

                https://www.unigo.com/

 Kaskaskia College Foundation Scholarships

Graduating seniors, the KC Foundation Scholarship application is currently open and closes February 28, 2024.  Go to KC’s website, complete the information portion and start completing your essay, transcript, and letters of recommendation.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  If I do not know the answer to your question, Kaskaskia College has a fantastic Financial Aid office that would be more than happy to help.  (https://kaskaskiascholarships.awardspring.com/prospective/signin)

 Little Egypt CEO

Little Egypt CEO Program is accepting applications from sophomores and juniors in high school who are interested in participating in the 2025-2026 CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) program.  The CEO Program, provided by the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship, is an accredited, year-long course designed to get students out into their community and equip them with business knowledge.  CEO is not held in the classroom.  Instead, students meet each day in local businesses where they learn about the inner workings of companies and hear from community leaders.  Those who participate learn professional business concepts, are paired with a mentor in the community, and, from start to finish, set up their own, functioning business.  But it’s not just about starting a business.  Students learn about professionalism and essential life skills.  They have the opportunity to explore career opportunities and are encouraged to develop relationships with community leaders.  Students of all skill sets and backgrounds have the opportunity to be successful in this class, provided they are hard-working, trustworthy, and willing to take on an exciting challenge.  For students who are interested in participating, the application will close February 26, 2025.  Visit www.littleegyptceo.com to apply. 

 OKAW Area Vocational Center

OKAW Student Registration is now OPEN, please direct your students to okaw.us on the menu bar under student online registration. OKAW Area Vocational Center provides programs in Auto Body, Auto Mechanics, Building Trades, Computer Aided Drafting, Computer Tech and Networking, Culinary Arts/Food Service, Foundations to Education, Graphic Design (morning only), Office Tech and Business (afternoon only), Power/Sports Mechanics, and Welding/Metal Fabrication.  Applications are open until March 17, 2025 at 3:00 pm.

 As always, please reach out to anyone at the school with any concerns. 

 Christine Meng

[email protected]        

618/432-5440 ext 305

Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2025 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.