Students offered PSAT incentives

Blair started a new program this year: offering freshmen, sophomores and juniors prizes for coming to school tomorrow and taking the PSAT.

In each tenth and eleventh grade classroom one of approximately 25 students will be awarded a door prize. At the end of the testing block, the proctor in each room will draw a card with a student's name on it and give him or her a $3 school store gift certificate, according to eleventh grade assistant principal Suzanne Harvey.

All sophomores and juniors will also be eligible for the main drawing, in which one student will win a pair of homecoming tickets.

Before the end of sixth period yesterday, Principal Phillip Gainous announced that Blair expected every student to take the test. "We need you to come to school on time," he said. "We need you to get a good rest."

Freshmen will be offered "other drawings," said Gainous. Seniors are required to attend an assembly in the gym, which will provide information on colleges and financial aid and offer hourly door prizes.

MCPS requires all tenth and eleventh graders to take the PSAT. For every sophomore, the county pays the $12 fee associated with the test score report; juniors who wish to see their score must pay the fee themselves. Harvey said that students who opted to see their scores but could not pay the fee were awarded scholarships. Freshmen will take a practice PSAT offered by Kaplan Test Prep.

Unlike for HSA incentives, refreshments will not be served since CollegeBoard does not permit students to eat food during breaks.