1. HIGH SCHOOL 101:
SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Who Are You?
A. Explore Yourself
1. Personality Tests
2. Your Life Questions
B. Explore the World
1. Volunteer
2. Discover Your Local Community
3. Discover the World Online
4. KEEP READING
C. Explore Your Future
1. Discover Your Interests (Interest Surveys)
2. Research Your Interests
II. Preparing for High School Schedules
A. Track Your Time
B. Schedule Your Time
C. Reflect
III. Preparing for High School Challenges
A. When to Ask for Help
B. How to Ask for Help
C. Who to Ask for Help
IV. Checklists
A. Explore Yourself
B. Explore the World
C. Explore Your Future
D. Preparing for High School Schedules
E. Preparing for High School Challenges

2. Part I: Who Are You?
Explore Yourself
Think about how you communicate, and how well you tend to understand others. Are
there topics that usually excite or upset you when they arise in conversation? Do you feel
most like yourself in a crowd or alone? How do you respond to criticism? How would you like
to respond to criticism?
The following surveys will help you answer these questions and introduce you to many
more. A website cannot tell you who you are, but it can give you some new words and
characteristics to consider!
• Myers-Briggs
✦ Personality Pathways
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
✦ HumanMetrics (Jung Typology Test)
http://www.humanmetrics.com/index.htm#intro
• Various Personality Tests
✦ Similar Minds
http://similarminds.com/
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3. Volunteer!
• Volunteer Southern Arizona
http://www.volunteersoaz.org/
Whether you are looking for a way to volunteer or you represent an organization that
engages volunteers in your work, you've come to the right place! This site makes it
easier than ever for volunteers to find a variety of ways to get involved and for
agencies to promote their opportunities and programs.
• United Way
http://www.unitedway.org/take-action/volunteer
United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human
potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.
Discover Your Local Community
• Tucson Community Events
http://www.visittucson.org/visitor/events/community/
Tucson's major events draw visitors from around the world. There are many other
events going on in Tucson throughout the year. Be a local and check out one of these
community events. It is the best way to experience one of Tucson's unique cultures.
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Explore
Your
World!

4. Discover the World Online
• Kahn Academy
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Learn almost anything for free.
With over 3,200 videos on everything from arithmetic to
physics, finance, and history and hundreds of skills to
practice, we're on a mission to help you learn what you
want, when you want, at your own pace.
• TED Talks
http://www.ted.com/talks
1100+ talks to stir your curiosity. Browse by
subject, length, or rating (inspiring, jaw-
dropping, funny…)
• RSAnimate
http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/
The RSA (Royal Society for the
encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce): an
enlightenment organisation
committed to finding innovative
practical solutions to today’s social
challenges. Through its ideas,
research and 27,000-strong Fellowship, it seeks to understand and enhance human
capability so we can close the gap between today’s reality and people’s hopes for a
better world.
• Mango Languages
http://www.mangolanguages.com/
Many moons ago, when the internet was still
young, our founders set out to turn their love of
languages and learning about the world into a
successful business venture. They were driven
to make a better, more effective language
learning experience, and wanted to have a little
fun along the way. After several years of refinement, refinement, and more refinement,
Mango Languages was born. Today, Mango delivers a wide variety of language
learning capabilities to people all over the world.
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5. • Algebra Academy: FREE!
June
Four week summer program designed to introduce students to algebraic concepts via
hands-on activities. In addition, students will participate in high school, college and
career preparation workshops.
• Arizona Youth University: FREE!
June 6 – July 22
Summer enrichment classes that explore a wide variety of subject areas. Lunch is not
provided. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
• Astronomy Camp: $700-$975
April – October 2012: Different dates are available-see website
www.astronomycamp.org
Students learn about how science and engineering apply to astronomy. Participants
develop scientific skills of experimentation and data collection and have the
opportunity to work with telescopes. Possibilities for future careers in the field are
explored as well. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
• DigiDudes and TechDivas Summer Camps: $250
Grades 6 – 8
Camp 3: June 20 – 24
Camp 4: June 27 – July 1
Join other campers as you create your own business or non-profit, while learning how
to use technology for success. By the end of camp you will be able to open up shop.
Not only does the Technology camp provide a healthy learning environment for boys
and girls alike to learn about technology, the campers will be able to enjoy outdoor
games, campus tours, and crafts. Most importantly, our goal is to teach campers
about technology in their lives, and prepare them to use computers, photography, and
the internet to enrich their education.
KEEP READING
• Arrowhead Library System College Bound Reading List
http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html
• Read Aloud America Composite Book Lists
Grades 6-8: http://www.readaloudamerica.org/books_G68.htm
Grades 9-12: http://www.readaloudamerica.org/books_G12.htm
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6. Discover Your Interests
• Check Out a College.com
Career Interest Survey
http://checkoutacollege.com/explorecareers/interestsurvey.aspx
You are more likely to look forward to going to work each day when your
career matches your skills and personal interests. And that can open
doors to even more opportunities.
This career assessment tool takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It will
help determine your skills and interests and then suggest one or more
career fields that matches them.
Research Your Interests
• The Career Project
http://www.thecareerproject.org/
A free and interactive career profile
database. research thousands of real
careers through the eyes of the people
who work them.
• Kids.gov
http://www.kids.gov/6_8/6_8_careers.shtml
Alphabetical list of job descriptions written
for sixth to eighth graders.
Part II: Preparing for High School Schedules
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Explore
Your
Future!

7. Track Your Time
What do you do all day? Use
the following chart to list your daily
activities, or purchase a planner and
record what you did and for how long
you did it at the end of the day. Do
this for a week, and then identify
which activity dominates your
schedule. Do you spend most of your
time talking to others? Playing
sports? Working with animals?
Sleeping?
Schedule Your
Time
Now that you know what you do during your days, start taking charge of
what you do during your days. Use the following chart to plan to spend at least
an hour a day doing something that you do not usually do. Experiment with
different times of the day, or different activities, to discover that for which you will
and won’t change your personal schedule.
Reflect
How did you feel at the end of days you didn’t plan? How did you feel at
the end of days you did plan, but did not actually follow through? What about
the days you planned out, and then performed what you’d planned to do? What
makes it easier for you to change your natural schedule?
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8. Part III: Preparing for High School Challenges
When to Ask for Help
Promoting from eighth grade to
high school is a major transition. You
are entering a new environment full of
new rules, new subjects, new levels of
homework and social structures.
Everyone in your situation feels
uncertain sometimes, even frightened.
Fear can become anger and frustration
very quickly, and those negative
emotions cause social, academic, and
behavioral problems. Whenever you
feel worried, stressed, uncertain, or any other negative feeling, whether you
know why or not, ask for help. Every adult was once your age, and remembers
how it felt to be a new freshman.
How to Ask for Help
Don’t wait until you’re on the verge of an outburst of some kind. Ask for
help early, and don’t be discouraged if the first person you ask doesn’t have an
answer. That person will take you to someone who does have an answer. Try to
identify what is making you upset, too: where are you when you feel upset?
With whom are you talking, or are you alone? What are you thinking about most
often?
Who to Ask for Help
Every adult at the high school will either know how to help you or who to
send you to for help. Specifically, your faculty advisor, any of your classroom
teachers, the front office people, or the community director are great first choice
for advice or encouragement. If you are in need of academic or education aid,
try your public library. Don’t be intimidated by the librarians; just be sure you
know what you want to ask before you get their attention!
Your parents, guardian, or relatives are also wonderful resources for
conversation partners. Sometimes all you need it a friendly face or sympathetic
ear, sometimes you need an expert to help you understand a detailed problem,
sometimes you need someone who has lived through what you’re just beginning
to experience; these people are all around you, and all you need to do is ask for
their assistance.
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9. Part IV: Checklists
Explore Yourself
• How do you communicate?
• When are you most comfortable?
• What makes you most uncomfortable?
• How do you deal with discomfort?
• What stresses you?
• What do you do when you’re stressed?
• What excites you?
• What do you do when you’re excited?
• What irritates you?
• What do you do when you’re irritated?
• With whom are you most comfortable?
• What is your Myers-Briggs Personality Index?
• Talk to your family or friends about what you’ve learned about yourself.
Explore the World
• Choose one topic from Kahn Academy and investigate it.
• Watch a TED talk video.
• Watch an RSA Animate video.
• Read about the volunteer opportunities available to you, and consider applying for a
position.
• Investigate a summer camp that sounds interesting to you.
• Talk to your friends about something you did on this checklist.
Explore Your Future
• Take the Interest Survey.
• Investigate the suggested occupations that result from your interest survey.
• Read about an occupation you’ve never heard of before.
Preparing for High School Schedules
• Take ten minutes every evening for a week and record what you did all day, and for
about how long you did it. (Ex: slept for six hours, played Angry Birds for three hours,
talked to Esperanza on the phone for an hour, etc.)
• Plan out a schedule for one day, changing something you do regularly. (Ex: sleep for
eight hours, play Angry Birds for two hours, walk the dog for one hour, etc.)
• Consider the difference in how you felt at the end of the day after either planning or not
planning your schedule.
Preparing for High School Challenges
• List the things that worry you when you think about high school. (Ex: Bullying, Too
much homework, etc.)
• Research and list the contact information (phone numbers, email, etc.) of the people
who might help you in those situations.
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10. Part IV: Checklists
Explore Yourself
• How do you communicate?
• When are you most comfortable?
• What makes you most uncomfortable?
• How do you deal with discomfort?
• What stresses you?
• What do you do when you’re stressed?
• What excites you?
• What do you do when you’re excited?
• What irritates you?
• What do you do when you’re irritated?
• With whom are you most comfortable?
• What is your Myers-Briggs Personality Index?
• Talk to your family or friends about what you’ve learned about yourself.
Explore the World
• Choose one topic from Kahn Academy and investigate it.
• Watch a TED talk video.
• Watch an RSA Animate video.
• Read about the volunteer opportunities available to you, and consider applying for a
position.
• Investigate a summer camp that sounds interesting to you.
• Talk to your friends about something you did on this checklist.
Explore Your Future
• Take the Interest Survey.
• Investigate the suggested occupations that result from your interest survey.
• Read about an occupation you’ve never heard of before.
Preparing for High School Schedules
• Take ten minutes every evening for a week and record what you did all day, and for
about how long you did it. (Ex: slept for six hours, played Angry Birds for three hours,
talked to Esperanza on the phone for an hour, etc.)
• Plan out a schedule for one day, changing something you do regularly. (Ex: sleep for
eight hours, play Angry Birds for two hours, walk the dog for one hour, etc.)
• Consider the difference in how you felt at the end of the day after either planning or not
planning your schedule.
Preparing for High School Challenges
• List the things that worry you when you think about high school. (Ex: Bullying, Too
much homework, etc.)
• Research and list the contact information (phone numbers, email, etc.) of the people
who might help you in those situations.
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