How is our daily walk challenge going for you? Have you been able to participate once, twice, or every day? What are you noticing during your walks? I am happy to recognize most days that I am feeling more relaxed, breathing more deeply, and experiencing a new level of calm toward the end of my walk. I am also noticing the world around me and appreciating the process of becoming increasingly aware...Yesterday, I paid closer attention to the things I heard as I walked. I heard a lot of traffic noise first – car engines revving up and gearing down, tires on pavement, the occasional honk of a horn. I heard a lot of air conditioning units working overtime to cool the interiors of homes. I heard the engines of an airplane overhead… As I continued to pay attention to sound, however, I heard also the laughter of two little boys racing each other down the sidewalk, the rustling of leaves, a bird’s song. I heard a mother giving bike safety instructions to little ones as they rode along, the crunch of dry seed pods under my step, the tinny ring of a bicycle bell. What have you heard, seen, noticed? If you have yet to join our challenge, consider joining with D’Evelyn staff, students, and community members today. Take a walk alone or with someone else. Encourage others to do the same. We can be outside together getting a little exercise, enjoying a little boost, and noticing something beautiful. Have fun! As introduced in the August edition of Jag Tracks, we are challenging members of our D'Evelyn community to engage regularly in practices that can raise one's overall sense of well-being. This series of challenges is being made to students, staff, and community members. This gives us all the opportunity to not only raise our own sense of well-being, but also encourage others in our families, work places, and community to do the same. Our first challenge - our September Challenge - is to take a daily walk. The challenge is to take a walk outdoors for a minimum of fifteen minutes each day. Taking the time to walk outside daily does several things to improve our sense of well-being. Most are familiar with recommendations of up to 10,000 steps daily. We recognize that there are numerous benefits, including improved health, decreased body fat, and reduced symptoms of depression. It is important to note that the benefits of these daily steps cost us nothing and are not connected with any negative side effects. We want to also remember that time spent outside has the additional benefit of reducing our stress levels and improving our mental health. Every day that we take the time to walk outside gives us the opportunity to engage our senses in appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. We get to feel the breeze on our skin, smell the earth and the plants, see the mountains and other natural wonders, and hear the birds. For these and other reasons, join us this month in daily walks outside - rain or shine. Record your experiences as you wish in your journal, in your notes on your phone, on your computer, or with your Fitbit. Share your experiences with your family members, with your friends, online, or with us through the counseling Instagram account. And be on the look-out for our next challenge - which you can add to this one, or with which you can replace this one for the month of October! Our goal is to encourage students to look at the big picture of their future and provide them with new suggestions, advice, and encouragement as they explore their new goals. Our goal is to help students recognize there is more to the college process than grades. Even though grades are very important, we want students to discover their strengths, their interests, and their passion to help them be successful when high school ends. We have the privilege to collaborate with some of the best staff, parents, and community members in the state to help our students reach their maximum potential. We are very excited for the school year, and to watch students grow as they continue their journey through D’Evelyn.
Counseling Calendar
As a counseling department we try to make our activities fun and relaxing for students at the end of the day. One of the ways we do this is by engaging them in activities and conversation with prizes to be given away. The most common and fan favorite of prizes is candy. Unfortunately, with the counseling budget candy and other treats are hard to come by. We are looking for candy bag donations for this upcoming school year. After a long day of working in the classroom we want to provide the students with a treat before they leave for the day. We would greatly appreciate any type of candy bag donation. If you are able to help support our program please drop any candy you have to donate off in the counseling office with Sue Brown, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support! College Visits Attention students! We have over 50 college visits already scheduled for this school year. We need students to begin signing up to meet with the college representatives who are CHOOSING to come to D’Evelyn to meet with all of you! On the D’Evelyn Counseling Homepage we have a link that will take students and families to a PowerPoint, which has a list of all of the upcoming college visits and how to register for a visit. You can also click here to access the PowerPoint. Attending college visits are very beneficial for multiple reasons:
How to sign up through Naviance:
Coffee with the Counselors Every year, at the beginning of the year, the counseling department likes to set up a time for parents to come into the counseling office to learn more about what we do, and to answer any questions you have about how we can best serve your students. This is typically a very informal meeting where we introduce ourselves, share our roles and responsibilities in the building, and then partake in conversation with parents. This is a great opportunity for parents to come in and ask questions about their students work on with counselors, learn about resources we have to help students be successful, and for the counselors to receive feedback on how to strengthen the program. The date for Coffee with the Counselors will be on September 19th at 7:30am. Coffee and breakfast treats will be provided by the counseling department. We will be hosting this event in the Counseling Office and we look forward to meeting with all of you! Boys Mentoring Boys’ Mentoring has more mentors than mentees! If your 7th or 8th grader would like to be paired with a junior or senior boy to help him connect, make friends, and have a lot of fun, please have him come to Counseling for an enrollment form. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Northway. Military Opt Out Parents of 11th and 12th graders: If you want to OPT OUT of having your students CONTACT INFORMATION given to the military, you must log into Jeffco Connect and do so. Click on your students name and then on enrollment. Next, scroll down and click on Opt out. The deadline for this to be done is September 28th. Call Mrs. Brown in counseling if you have any questions. SENIORS We will be holding multiple workshops and activities throughout the year during 7th hour to help make the college process easier. Please keep an eye and ear out for our common application workshops, college essay workshops, scholarship workshops, and senior class meetings. We will be addressing all of your questions and concerns during this time, as well as meeting with you all individually to solidify your plan. This can be a very overwhelming time of the year, and we are here to help make the process go smoother. Do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor for questions. You will most likely need letters of recommendation for your college applications. Be sure to ask your teachers as soon as possible, and give them at least two weeks to complete the letter. You will need to provide them with the rec questionnaire, which can be found on the Naviance homepage at the bottom. You will also need to request a letter from them through Naviance. Be sure to ask them in person as well. Most teachers will not write you a letter if you do not ask them in person! If you have any questions about this process please contact your counselor. JUNIORS This will be a year full of ups and downs, with the most exciting up being you are almost to your senior year. During your junior year one of the most important pieces to focus on is your academics and the SAT. On August 16th, the first day of school, we met with you to help you get acclimated with Khan Academy (free SAT practice), and talk about the year. Our goal is to make sure you have all of the resources you need to be successful on the SAT and how to improve your scores. We will also be talking about steps you should start taking to prepare for the college process. Even though junior year is known as the most difficult we want to make sure you have time to enjoy the activities you participate in, and prepare for the next level. If you have any questions about college, the process, the SAT, Khan Academy, or just how to navigate through junior year please feel free to stop by and see your counselor. For most schools you will apply to they need a letter of recommendation from your counselor. We enjoy getting to know you all so our letters can be as outstanding as you are. SOPHOMORES This is an important year to start discovering your interests, and what excites you about life outside of school. Starting to gain a stronger understanding of what you’re interested in will help you as you move along in the college/career process. We will be meeting with you all multiple times throughout the year, and we will mostly focus on the exploration of careers, your strengths, and how we can combine those to help you discover what you want to do after high school. We will be hosting lunch career sessions throughout the year, and sophomores and freshmen are required to attend at least one session. As counselors, we are always here to help you with any issues that arise throughout your time at school, and if you have any concerns outside of school. Please do not hesitate to come see your counselor if you need any assistance. FRESHMEN This is the year that grades really begin to count towards your college transcript. We highly encourage you all to get off to a strong start, and work hard in all of your classes. We will be meeting with you all multiple times throughout the year to talk about goal setting, how to plan for success, the importance of freshman year, and how to prepare your next 4 years to have a strong college application. Our goal is to help you all be successful in and out of school. This is a great time to start learning more about your likes and dislikes. We encourage you to begin exploring career options and what your interests are. We will be hosting lunch career sessions throughout the year, and all freshmen and sophomores are required to attend at least one session. If you ever need any assistance please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor. 8th GRADERS Welcome to your second year at D’Evelyn! I truly hope you have a happy, successful and productive year. I will be available to help you in any way I can, and you are always welcome to come talk with me about any concerns or problems you may be having. You can even come in and share good news with me! Eighth graders will be meeting in the cafeteria on Wednesday, August 22, to complete our annual Needs Assessment. This is your opportunity to tell us what you need from Counseling. We will also be meeting once each semester to work on your Individual Career and Academic Plans. One thing to remember is that it is important for you to continue to develop good work habits and study skills as you prepare for high school. If you would like to talk about this further, please come see me. Also, keep in mind that it is important to enjoy yourself, and the best way to do that is to get involved in a sport or extracurricular activity that you enjoy! I consider it a privilege to be your counselor. 7th GRADERS Welcome seventh graders! This is the beginning of your six year adventure at D’Evelyn! Every year will be new and different and each year will have many opportunities for you to learn and enjoy what this school has to offer. Not only “school,” but there are many clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities for you to become involved with. D’Evelyn requires a lot from its students, but when you talk to the upper classmen they will tell you that it’s worth it. Please keep in mind that I am available to help you with anything that may come up. If you have difficulty in one of your classes, with friends, lockers, or anything please come see me and we can work on solutions together. You can come in and see me before school, after school, at lunch, or during a passing period. You will not be counted tardy anytime you need to see me during part of a period. I consider it a privilege to be your counselor. All seventh graders will attend a program about bullying September 17th -20th. Students will learn about bullying behaviors, some possible ways of dealing with bullies, why some people bully others, what gives bullies their power, and more. These presentations will be during 7th hour and parents are welcome to attend. |
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