By: Gina Writz, Counselor D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School The September Challenge 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! By: Gina Writz, Counselor D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School 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 Sept. 28th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Sept 29th - Student Voice (7th Hour) Sept 30th - New 8th and 9th grade student meeting (7th Hour) College Visits Attention students! We have over 57 college visits scheduled for this school year. Please sign up to meet with the college representatives who are CHOOSING to visit 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:
College visits are available for all students to attend. Students sign up for visits through Naviance. Students should know how to log on to Naviance. If you can’t remember or have issues, please stop by Counseling so we may assist you. Below are the steps to register for a college visit. Ideally, every 10th – 12th grade students should sign up for at least five college visits and every 7th-9th grade student sign up for at least one visit. How to sign up through Naviance:
Colleges Visiting D’Evelyn
NACAC FAIR Week The NACAC Fairs come to Denver every year, typically around early October. College admissions representatives travel from all around the country to try and be at the same place at the same time. These fairs have hundreds of colleges represented from in-state schools to out-of-state schools. This year the fair will be virtual. The fairs are Oct 3rd, Oct 24th, Nov 14th with over 400 colleges and 500 live sessions. In addition, Nov 2nd is an Art & Stem College Fair. The website for NACAC Fairs is https://virtualcollegefairs.org/conventions College Fair of Greater Denver is back and it’s virtual!
8th GRADERS
Welcome to your second year at D’Evelyn! Ms. Writz Mr. Northway truly hope you have a happy, successful and productive year. We will be available to help you in any way we can, and you are always welcome to come talk with us about any concerns or problems you may be having. You can even come in and share good news with us! We will 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 either Mr. Northway or Ms. Writz. 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! We consider it a privilege to be your counselor. Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz 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 upperclassmen, they will tell you that it’s worth it. Please keep in mind that Ms. Writz and Mr. Northway are 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 us and we can work on solutions together. You can come in and see us 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 20th-23rd. 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. Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz 6th Graders Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz are so excited to welcome the 6th grade class to D’Evelyn. We have had a wonderful time getting to know you as we have spent time together working on the Needs Assessment Survey and we also stopped by every classroom to personally introduce ourselves to students and to better define the role of a counselor. Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz are here to help students work through any type of issues, concern, question, or problem that students may have. Students are also welcome to stop the counseling office to say hi or just chat:) As the year progresses, we look forward to spending more time with students and getting to know you all better. By: Gina Writz, Counselor D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School Let us continue our discussion of stress and anxiety. It is a growing concern, and therefore will be a focus for us in this forum in the weeks to come. Information will be provided here about stress, anxiety, and coping. There will be information provided regarding what we can do for ourselves, as well as how we can support our children and students as they learn what helps them. The intention is to provide information and resources, which will be available if and when it is needed. Please know that if you need more information or more support at any time, you can contact your social emotional learning specialist or counselor in the counseling office, your family doctor, mental health professional in the community, or other support person whenever you need to do so. As we explore this topic in this way this year, let’s start by remembering one very important fact: stress is not inherently negative. I am concerned that this fact has gotten lost in our concern about rising rates of anxiety. While rising rates of anxiety are concerning, and we need to consider this trend, we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that stress is a natural and necessary part of our lives. Understanding the need for stress and how it enriches our lives can offer important perspective that actually helps us when we are facing stressful situations. The graphic below, from Cornell University, reminds us that we need some tension to perform. Without any measure of stress, there is no performance. Of course, too much leads to imbalance and the possibility of breakdown, but too little provides no opportunity for performance and growth. It can be immediately helpful to remember that stress provides the impetus for us to challenge ourselves and to learn new things. Without it, growth would slow. Growing coping skills and learning to move through stress and employ strength in the face of stressful situations can help to inoculate us to the more negative impacts of stress and build greater resilience. Stress does not become unhealthy until it is more than we can handle. Dr. Lisa Damour states, “Whether or not a stressor harms well-being has surprisingly little to do with the source of the stress and much more to do with whether adequate resources - personal, emotional, social, or financial - are available to address the problem.” Therefore, it is important for each of us to concentrate on growing strength, resources, and resilience. This will enable us to weather the stressors we face in our daily lives. As we think about growing strengths and coping skills, we may want to start thinking about growing the things that have worked for us before and trying new things that feel like they could be helpful. What are the things that help us to weather daily and other life stressors? The list of strengths and coping skills is a long one, thankfully, and everyone’s list will look a little different, but a few things to consider that are supported by research include:
These are but a few of the ways that we can increase our capacity to meet the challenges and opportunities of our days. We will continue to think about resources and coping skills as we continue to consider this topic. By: Gina Counselor D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
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 Sept 10th - Boys Mentoring (7th Hour) Sept 10th - Girls Mentoring (7th Hour) Sept. 13th 8th Grade Needs Assessment/Student Success (7th Hour) Sept. 13th – College Essay Workshop (7th) Sept. 14th - 7th Grade Needs Assessment/Student Success (7th Hour) Sept 14th - Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Sept 15th - College Day! Wear your favorite college shirt Sept. 15th - 6th Grade Needs Assessment/Student Success (7th Hour) Sept. 17th – NJHS Meeting (7th Hour) Sept. 20th – Anti-Bullying (7th Hour) Sept. 21st – Anti-Bullying (7th Hour) Sept 21st - Common Application Workshop (7th Hour) Sept. 22nd – Coffee with the Counselors (7:30am) Sept 22nd - Anti-Bullying (7th Hour) Sept. 23rd – Anti-Bullying (7th Hour) Sept. 24th – Boys Mentoring (7th Hour) Sept. 24th - Girls Mentoring (7th Hour) Sept 27th - 7th Grade ICAP (7th Hour) Sept. 28th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Sept 28th - 7th Grade ICAP (7th Hour) Sept 29th - Student Voice (7th Hour) Sept 30th - New 8th and 9th grade student meeting (7th Hour) For All We Are Looking For Candy Donations! 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 Kathy Hays, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support! Grade Levels 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. 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. 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 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. College Talk We are currently in the beginning of college visit mayhem! From the beginning of September to the end of October, college representatives from around the country spend two months flying all over the country to attend schools and college fairs. Typically, every university and college will have a college representative whose territory is the state of Colorado or a specific region in Colorado. Those representatives, who will also be the representatives who read your students college applications, will be coming to either D’Evelyn or a college fair nearby within the next two months. We want to emphasize the importance of you and your student visiting with these representatives when they come into town. Below is a list of reasons why students should meet with their representatives:
College Fairs of Greater Denver The fair will be held September 9th and 30th from 5:00-7:00 and it will be virtual this year. There will be workshop programs, however the details are still being worked out. Workshop will include sessions on scholarships, financial aid, WUE...etc. Student registration opens September 14th. Strive Scan will be building a custom website for students to register. There is a separate parent registration. The website for College Fairs of Greater Denver is college fairs denver.org. Student registration information and additional details will be available there soon. 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! College visits are available for all students to attend, and we want to have every 10th – 12th grade student sign up for at least five college visits and every 7th-9th grade student sign up for at least one visit. Students can sign up in the Counseling office. Here are a list of colleges coming over the next two weeks:
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