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:
By: Gina Writz, Counselor Grades 6th-8th Alphabet M-Z
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. 3rd – Girls Mentor Training (7th Hour) Sept 3rd - Boys Mentor Training (7th Hour) Sept 6th - No School Sept 7th - Common Application Workshop (7th Hour) 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 Workship (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 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 Sue Brown, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support! College Day We are excited to announce that we will be having an in-person College Night this year and we have a great night planned for you. College Night will be on Wednesday September 15th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Our keynote speaker is Rob Franek, the Editor-in Chief of the Princeton Review. He is the premier expert on college admissions and he will be speaking on Finding the Dream College for Every Student. Over his 27 year career working with colleges he has held jobs as an admission administrator, publisher, editor, author and lecturer. He is the author of several books such as: College Admissions During COVID, College Admissions 101, The Best 386 Colleges, The Best Value College and Colleges that Create Futures. You may have seen him giving an interview on the Today Show. He is a charismatic speaker with a fantastic wealth of information to share – you do not want to miss his presentation! We will have break-out sessions as well on the following topics: · Writing an Effective College Essay · Financial Planning for College · Thinking of Heading Out-of-State? · Test Optional, Now What? · Find Scholarships to Help Pay for College Reserve your spot and RSVP today! We are expecting a packed auditorium so please reserve your spot today. We are partnering with another local high school and will open up registration to them on 9/3. Please complete the following registration form to secure your seat: https://forms.gle/TGm55eMDaHMTTWhs6 Because of COVID and capacity we will be assigning seats for everyone. You will receive an email with your specific seats before the event date. We are excited for you to join us for this great event. 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! We have created a google document that has the list of colleges coming to our school and what days. Attending college visits are very beneficial for multiple reasons:
College visits are available for all students to attend and students need to sign up for visits in Naviance. On Naviance, students need to go to the Colleges tab, and click on college visits. This will provide you with the list of colleges visiting our campus this year. We want to have every 10th – 12th grade student try to sign up for at least five college visits and every 7th-9th grade student sign up for at least one visit. How to view 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 what 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 22nd 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! 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 would like a letter from your counselor please stop by to make an appointment. 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 25th and 26th 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 year, 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. 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. If you ever need any assistance please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor. JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS We hope the start of the school year has been fabulous and we want to welcome everyone back to in person learning. There have been a few changes in the counseling office. D’Evelyn now has two full-time junior high counselors with the addition of Ms. Writz supporting students in grades 6th-8th with the last names who fall between the letters of M-Z. Rob Northway is the other junior high counselor working with students grades 6th-8th with the last name of A-L. The junior high counselors will be meeting with students throughout the start of the year to complete a needs assessment survey, anti bullying presentations, and ICAP (Individual Career Academic Planning). Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz have an open-door policy and encourage students to stop by to talk through any concerns or if maybe students just want to say hello. We are looking forward to a great year! Rob Northway Gina Writz [email protected] [email protected] 303-982-2629 303-982-5214 By: Jon Watson, High School Counselor, A-K
Welcome Back! As the counseling department, we understand there may be a plethora of concerns that students and families have as the school year begins. We want you all to know that we are here to support you and your students as we transition back to a more “normal” school year. The counseling department is here to assist students and families with academic concerns and struggles, emotional support, college and career support and information, and any other concern you all may have. As we transition back to a more normal school setting, 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 post-secondary process than just 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 developed a curriculum, which aligns with district standards and provides students an opportunity to explore career and academic interests outside of the classroom setting. 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 Aug. 16th – New Student Orientation Aug. 17th – First Day of School Aug. 23rd – 12th Grade College Process Presentation (7th Hour) Aug. 24th – 12th Grade College Process Presentation (7th Hour) Aug. 25th – 12th Grade College Process Presentation (7th Hour) Aug. 25th – 11th Grade Khan Academy/SAT Information (7th Hour) Aug. 26th – 11th Grade Khan Academy/SAT Information (7th Hour) Aug. 26th – Back to School Night (6pm) Aug. 30th – 10th Grade Do What You Are Activity (7th Hour) Aug. 31st – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Sept. 1st – 10th Grade Do What You Are Activity (7th Hour) Sept. 2nd – New 8th/9th Grade Group (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 Sue Brown, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support! Best College Day Yet! D’Evelyn’s annual College Day will be held on September 15th at 6pm, and this year we have the pleasure of welcoming nationally recognized college guru Rob Franek! Rob is the founder of the Princeton Review, which is a test prep and college information organization. They have published multiple books on the best colleges in the country, SAT/ACT/GRE/MCAT test prep books, and they provide multiple videos and presentations on college admissions. Over the years, Rob has developed strong relationships with many of the top schools across the country, and he is coming to D’Evelyn to share his insights with our community. In the evening we will be hosting an event for all family members to attend. The evening of the 15th, we will have a Keynote Speaker Address (Rob Franek) and 5 guest presentations for families to choose from. We have set it up so you are able to attend 2 of the 5 sessions. All families 7th-12th grade are encouraged to attend. It is never too early to start thinking about the college process. We are expecting a packed house so registration for the event will be required. The event is completely free, but because of our ability to land a high profile speaker we will need to pack the house. We are opening up to D’Evelyn families to register for the event starting on August 23rd. Our families will have first priority through September 1st. At that point, we will be opening it up to a few other Jeffco Schools if we cannot fill the space. We will only have around 500 tickets available, and it will be on a first come first serve basis. More information on the ticket registration process and the breakout sessions to come next week. College Visits Attention students! We have over 25 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 them! By next week, we will have a list of college visits posted to our website for students and families to view. Attending college visits are very beneficial for multiple reasons:
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 22nd 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! Grade Levels SENIORS Mr. Watson and Ms. Harrington will be meeting with you all on the second week of school to go over the college application process. We will be meeting with you in smaller groups (size of about 30), and it will be either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Please listen for when your part of the alphabet is called. We will demonstrate all of the steps that you need to take in the college application process, and we will answer any questions that you may have. 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 25th and 26th, we will meet 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. The majority of schools you will apply to will 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. Our first meeting will occur on August 30th and September 1st. You will only need to attend one of the sessions. 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. The first time we will meet is on September 7th, 8th, or 9th. You only have to attend one of those sessions. 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. 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. 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! Eighth graders will be meeting on Monday, September 13, 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! We consider it a privilege to be your counselors. Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz 7th GRADERS Welcome seventh graders! 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 we 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 us during part of a period. We consider it a privilege to be your counselors. Mr. Northway and Ms. Writz Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist
FREE Online Screening for the D’Evelyn Community starts Wednesday, the 17th of March. REGISTER here to receive your screening link. The email you provide when registering is the email to which the screening link will be sent. We hope you can join us for this important event! =) Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist
Your D'Evelyn Counseling team invites you to a FREE screening of the film Angst on March 17th! Angst is starting a global conversation to raise awareness around anxiety. This 56-minute documentary delves into all aspects of our society’s most common mental health challenge with:
Part of the beauty of this film is the openness of the children and young adults featured; for some of them, the “Angst” project marks the first time they are publicly sharing their experiences with anxiety. Our hope is that their candidness and bravery will inspire our community to do the same. The film is also hopeful and optimistic; Noah, a teenager featured, describes it this way: “Anxiety doesn’t define me. It’s not just a curse; it also gives me strength.” Please watch the Trailer to learn more - and mark your calendars so that you don't miss this opportunity to see the film and learn more about the experience of anxiety. More information to come! =) Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist Random Acts of Kindness Week starts on Sunday, the 14th of February, and continues through Saturday, the 20th. This is an annual tradition of celebrating and spreading kindness. We know instinctively that kindness is helpful - that it benefits both the giver and the receiver, but what does the science suggest? Take a couple of minutes to watch this Science of Kindness video to find out more about that, and then join us as we work to spread kindness this week during Random Acts of Kindness! As the video shares, this is as easy as helping someone close to you, holding a door, or smiling at a stranger. For more creative ways to make kindness the norm this week, visit www.randomactsofkindness.org or explore one of their ideas below:
Kindness Jar
Love Note
Care for Three
Have fun making kindness the norm this week! =) Written by: Ashley Jetton, RN, BSN Resources for Parents Upcoming Parent workshops: Start the Conversation- Talking with Youth About Vaping, JUULS, & Electronic Nicotine Products This workshop provides adults with information, skills and practice to support young people who may be using nicotine/vaping or another form of tobacco. This workshop uses trusted adult principles to make a difference in the lives of young people around tobacco/nicotine.
Jan. 27, 2021 5:30 - 7:00 pm MST Link to Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z
Feb. 10, 2021 5:30 - 7:00 pm MST Link to Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z Jefferson County Public Health - Tobacco Prevention initiative (TPI)- www. [email protected] Ph: 303.275.7555 The Tobacco Prevention Initiative offers training and educational information, support, and resources related to tobacco in Jefferson County for youth and adults.. ____________________________________________________________________________ Did you know… JCPH offers class on how to talk with teens! Visit: www.twelvetalks.com Topics include: Friends Corona Virus Marijuana Mental Health Tobacco and Vaping Dating Mental Health Gender Identity Prescription Drugs Hopefulness and Coping Setting Boundaries Sex/Consent Did you know… Jefferson County Public Health offers a Parenting Workshop called Navigating Substance Experimentation in Teens (NSET). This free, interactive, online workshop provides strategies, information and resources for parents or guardians whose teen has begun experimenting with, or using vape, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and/or other drugs. The workshop is led by Jeffco School nurses who specialize in teen substance use prevention.
Register here. Did you know… Your DIS Nurse can discuss referrals to programming with Denver Family Therapy Center, including:
Your (DIS) High School Nurse can also refer your son or daughter to a 6-week group called:
Just a friendly reminder from your School Nurse to continue to report positive Covid results, even if they were over the break! Written by: Jon Watson, High School Counselor, A-K
We have finally made it! The end of the 2020 portion of the school year is finally here, and we could not be more proud of all of our students, staff, and families for all of the work they put in this year. We know this year was not easy, and many of us took on new roles or modified versions of the roles we thought we knew. We learned that it took a team approach, and we are thankful for everyone involved in making this first part of the school a success. Throughout the year we saw an increased amount of stress and anxiety from everyone at some point, and we want to make sure everyone feels supported going in the break, and at the start of the New Year. Below are articles written throughout the counseling department with more information on how to find and utilize supports over the break and outside of school hours. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to your counselor, but please know that counselors will be on break as well and are not expected to reply during the two week break. We will be back in the office on January 5th. Resources As we move towards a well-deserved holiday break from the stress of Remote Learning, we want you to know that the D’Evelyn counseling team is thinking of you. This challenging time of COVID is not going to go on forever and soon students will be back to school. We look forward to that day. During these uncertain times, it is essential to address and tend to the wellness and mental health of our children and ourselves. According to a recent nationwide study by George Mason University on teacher and student wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic, 46% of teachers reported encountering student mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, academic stress, trauma and grief more often than they did before the pandemic. Below you will find a variety of resources to support you and your family while school is not in session. The ones that we found helpful are student mental health supports, family resources, and the virtual calm room. Here is a link to the district mental health hub. https://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/services/mental_health_services/mental_health_hub If you feel like your child is experiencing emotional distress, there are several community resources available to assist you during this challenging time.
Seniors Scholarships Now that the application season is starting to come to an end, we want you to start considering looking for scholarships. Although scholarships may be hard to win, there are thousands of scholarships out there, and you never know what will happen if you don’t apply. The counselors have put together a scholarship page in the Senior Google classroom for you all to access whenever you would like. This page has a handout that has all of the top scholarship search engines to help you find scholarships, the handout has directions on how to utilize the Naviance scholarship search, and it has information on the best places to look for scholarships. The page also contains a google spreadsheet of all the scholarships that are shared on Thursday’s in the classroom. We have started a segment called “Scholarship Thursday” where we roll out 2-3 new scholarships to students every Thursday. We are hoping this takes away some of the stress students have from looking for scholarships. The universities and colleges you decide to attend are going to be your best bet in receiving some type of scholarship aid. The next best place to look is going to be through the D’Evelyn Education Foundation Scholarships. Those will be shared with students in January. We have over 20 scholarships that students are eligible to apply for, and they are only competing against themselves! Please tell your students to take advantage of these scholarships once they are available. Scholarships do take some time to complete, but you do not need to reinvent the wheel. The majority of scholarships have essays that need to be completed, but a lot of them have very similar prompts. Students may need to tweak the essay in some way, but don’t be afraid to use essays that have already been written if it meets the prompt. Students can contact the counselors at any time to receive more scholarship information. FAFSA The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is available for students and their families to apply for, and we highly recommend that you do, even if you don’t think you will receive any funds. We say this because the majority of schools won’t provide scholarships to students if they have not applied for the FAFSA. The FAFSA is completely free to apply for, and you DO NOT have to accept any funds that are offered to you if you do not want them. Universities and colleges like to have this information for their own financial aid packages that they offer students. The website is https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. You will need your prior-prior year tax return information, and you will need to complete it with your student. If you have more questions we have information on our website, or you can contact your counselor. Application Deadlines There are more college application deadlines that are arriving in the near future. Please make sure you take advantage of the break, and finish your applications. As second semester gets going you will not want to stress about last minute applications and your homework assignments. Big deadlines are January 15th and February 1st. They will be here before we know it, so double check when your deadlines are and start planning ahead. ALL GRADES Course Selection Early in second semester the counselors will be presenting in classes about course selection. This will fall around the end of January, and we want students to be thoughtful of the classes they are choosing. For our older students, we want to make sure they are choosing classes that they are interested in, and that will help them as they start thinking about applying for college. For our younger students, we want you to use this time to start exploring classes to discover those subjects that you enjoy and excel in. We want students to be thoughtful with their selections, and we encourage family discussion on possible class choices. We will have more information about this next semester. HAVE A GREAT BREAK!!! Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist As this edition of Jaguar Tracks goes to print - or online - we know that we have overcome much and have much more to face. It goes without saying that 2020 has been a lot. This year has been different, challenging, and at times quite difficult. We have responded to the many challenges as we could as individuals, families, and as a school community. I have had the great pleasure of working with Sources of Strength and our incredible team of peer and adult leaders during this time, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to see how challenges create opportunities also for connections and growth. D’Evelyn Sources of Strength has continued this year to work to spread hope, help and strength throughout our community. Our incredible team has brought us multiple campaigns and contests, including a strength masks campaign, an Inkvember drawing challenge, a Halloween costume and pumpkin carving contest, a letter writing campaign, a positive messages campaign, a story advent calendar, a 12 days of good news broadcast, a holiday baking contest, a What Helps Us video, an ugly sweater contest, an author of the month campaign, and much more. Our students in Sources of Strength are passionate about growing strengths and connections in our community, and the national Sources of Strength team is, too. They have created a resource guide for us to use this holiday season, that includes strengths-based conversation starters, activities, and other fun. This twenty page guide is available for all of us here: Practicing-Strength-at-Home-for-the-holidays.pdf I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and winter break, and have fun building strengths using this resource, too. See you in the New Year! =) Written by: Ashley Jetton, District Registered Nurse Did you know… JCPH offers class on how to talk with teens! Visit: www.twelvetalks.com Topics include: Friends Corona Virus Marijuana Mental Health Tobacco and Vaping Dating Gender Identity Prescription Drugs Hopefulness and Coping Setting Boundaries Sex/Consent Did you know… Jefferson County Public Health offers a Parenting Workshop called Navigating Substance Experimentation in Teens (NSET). This free, interactive, online workshop provides strategies, information and resources for parents or guardians whose teen has begun experimenting with, or using vape, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and/or other drugs. The workshop is led by Jeffco School nurses who specialize in teen substance use prevention. The class is free, but requires registration: Register here NEW! Explorando la Experimentación de Sustancias en Adolescentes (NSET) Register here. Did you know… Your DIS Nurse can discuss referrals to programming with Denver Family Therapy Center, including:
Your (DIS) High School Nurse can also refer your son or daughter to a 6-week group called:
Please contact your school Nurse who can directly answer your questions about Health Services for your student. Ashley Jetton, RN, BSN 720-315-3864 [email protected] Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist As we all move into and/or through our winter holiday season this year, we may well be facing some challenges. This has been a year full of unique challenges, and at times has felt quite difficult. How in this place and time do we take care of ourselves and our loved ones and enjoy a beautiful holiday season? Regardless of what level of travel, activity, and time spent with others is right for you and your family, it will quite likely be different in many ways from typical years. How do we cope with that and help others to do the same? Current recommendations are for us to continue to do much of what we have been working to do all year, including working to:
These are but a few ideas to make this unique holiday season a fabulous one! For more information about these ideas to consider some more, please check out:
Written by: Jon Watson, High School Counselor, A-K
Attention students and families! Your D’Evelyn Counselors are here to support your students through anything and everything that pertains to academics, relationship struggles, emotional distress, organization, career and college readiness, and navigating this crazy start to a school year. Counselors are always available to meet with students either in-person, through phone or email, or through the google platforms of chat, meet, or hangouts. Now that students are coming back into the building we want to make sure they know they can always come down to see us if needed. We also want them to know that even if they are not in the building we will provide all of the same services just online. Change can be difficult for a lot of people, and this school year is a change we have not seen before. We want to support you all during this time, and we are always willing to try our best to meet your needs. Our contact information can be found on our website and in our google classrooms. If we are busy when students try to come see us, just set up an appointment with our registrar to get on our schedule. If there is ever an emergency, students and families can go to any of our counselors for assistance. We know this is going to be a great school year, and it will certainly be an adventure. We are all in this together! Google Classroom The counseling department has created google classrooms for every grade level. We are utilizing these classrooms to communicate with the students on a whole-group level about activities happening around counseling, about tasks they will need to complete, and any updates. We encourage all students to check their counseling google classrooms at least once or twice a week. Right now, we have information about college visits, boys and girls mentoring, and videos on how to access certain materials. This is going to be one of the main sources of communication for counselors to students throughout the semester and possibly the year. We will also be holding office hours for students to connect with us regarding questions to materials we post in the classroom every Friday from 11 am – noon. The link for those virtual office hours is the main link for the classroom. Students can also reach out to their counselor for more information. Virtual College Week D’Evelyn will still be hosting a College Day this year, however, it will look different than it has in the past. Our College Day will turn into a Virtual College Week with a few online virtual activities occurring on specific days. The Virtual College Week will begin on Monday, September 14th. We encourage students to wear their college t-shirts both days they come to campus. We will be holding two different raffles during the week. Our first raffle will be for students who submit pictures to the D’Evelyn Counseling Instagram page wearing their college t-shirts. If students submit pictures wearing their college t-shirts they will automatically be entered into the raffle. Our second raffle will have a college question of the day students can fill out. We will post a google form with two questions students will answer. They get one entry for every correct answer. Both raffles are completely optional to participate in, but we encourage students and teachers to participate in both. More information about each event will be released towards the end of next week. We will also have a “Virtual College Fair” this year. This will be a document with information from all of the institutions that were slated to attend out college fair this fall. Their page will have information about the institution, a virtual visit link, and contact information for that specific college representative. We will be creating a College Day page on our website, as well as sharing it out on multiple platforms (Jag Tracks, Naviance emails, etc.) that will contain all of the information from breakout sessions, to the keynote speaker, and any additional information that comes up throughout the week. Our breakout sessions this year are:
College Visits The infamous D’Evelyn College Visits will begin next week. College visits are when admissions representatives from institutions all around the country come and meet personally with our students. We highly encourage students to attend these visits, especially for institutions that they are really interested in. The admissions representative who comes to meet our students is the same person who reads their applications when they apply. This is a great way for students to stand out in the college application process. College representatives are always looking for students who are interested in their institutions, and for students who show that interest for multiple years. College Visits will look different this year than they have in the past. We typically have multiple institutions coming to our campus each day. This year we will only have two visits per day, and they will all be virtual. Students, during 7th hour, will need to use their chromebooks, laptops, or phones to access these virtual meetings. The links for the meetings are provided in their counseling google classroom and in Naviance. Students will also need to register for each visit on Naviance. Directions about how to sign up for college visits are posted in their counseling google classrooms. This is going to be a different process, and we want to be able to support students as much as possible. We already have over 40 institutions signed up to visit with our students, and we want students to attend these visits so we don’t lose this special privilege with the representatives. Here is the link the google doc that contains all of the visits, dates and times of the visits, and the links students need to click on to join those meetings. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q3K-AZI1ITXJdEpGpEPf6D5iexv02xkRV8Bw7x6ixtg/edit?usp=sharing THESE MEETINGS ARE FOR STUDENTS ONLY. However, we would love for you to encourage your students to attend, and provide them with any questions you may have. Seniors Now that school is back in session the time is going to start flying by, even if it seems that it is moving slowly, deadlines will start to creep up on you. Ms. Harrington and Mr. Watson are here to support you through the college application process, scholarships, and any post-secondary aspirations you may have. We are holding office hours every single Friday from 11 am – noon during first semester. That’s right…EVERY FRIDAY. Our goal is to support you and provide you with as much information as possible to make sure your college application process, military process, or any other post-secondary thoughts go as smoothly as possible. In our most recent office hours, Friday September 4th, we had a total of 7 students hop on to ask questions. We were able to provide them with tips and strategies on how to work through their applications. Even if you do not have any questions in mind please look to attend one of the office hours just to learn more information. The first major application deadline is October 13th. That is the Colorado Free Application Day! This is the day you can submit all of your Colorado Universities applications for free. Most applications cost around $50-$60 to apply, so submitting applications on this day will help you out greatly. This is a little over a month away, and we promise it will sneak up on you if you are not prepared. You may also set up individual meetings with your counselor if you have questions about the college application process if you do not want to attend an office hour meeting. We will do our best to accommodate with your schedule. We look forward to working with you all, and do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything! Written by: Jon Watson, High School Counselor, A-K
Welcome back to school D’Evelyn families! We are excited for the beginning of the school year and to witness all of the amazing work our students will accomplish. We hope you all had a wonderful summer, and we want to share some information with you about the year to come. Experiencing change can be extremely difficult and frustrating for many of us, especially when we have done things the same way for so long. This year has already presented more changes than most of us endure over a long period of time. As a counseling department, we are constantly looking to keep up and stay ahead of the changes that many students and families are experiencing. For this school year, we have changed our overall vision of the counseling department, we are altering the ways we provide lessons to students, we are developing new curriculum, and we are adjusting our approach in the ways we meet individually with students. As we were discussing how the school environment will be changing this year, we thought about how last year ended and what the main concerns students, families, were and staff were experiencing. The word that constantly came up was CONNECTION. We felt like, as a community, the lack of connection led to significant challenges, frustration, and loneliness. This brings us to our newly developed vision for the 2020-2021 school year. Our vision: Create a supportive environment for the D’Evelyn community including students, parents and staff that promotes communication, connection, and resources to help guide the community through this challenging year. We recognize this year is going to present new challenges, and things may not always run as smoothly as we would like. Our goal is to help provide the support and the communication necessary to bring a sense of connection to the whole community. Our department is working with the administration on developing a new curriculum that will hopefully lead to more positive connections among students and staff. We want to provide students an atmosphere where they can share their strengths and their struggles. We invite them to express their concerns and share their successes. As with any type of community, we will be most successful if we are all able to grow and learn together rather than apart. Counselors will still be meeting with students in the building and through online platforms. We are asking parents to encourage their students to have Google Chat open while they are working remotely, so we can easily chat back and forth with your student. We will also be sending communication to students and parents through email, google classroom, Jag Tracks, and Naviance messages. We are going to continue to utilize our Google Forms for students to request appointments, which are located on the home page of the counseling website and in all of the Google Classrooms. Students can also request appointments by stopping by the counseling office when they are in the building. We are excited for another school year to begin, and we are looking forward to conquering this new format of life that has been thrown our way. We encourage all students and families to contact us with any questions or concerns, and we will always support you in any way that we can. We know this year may seem scary and frustrating, but just remember, no one has to go through it alone. Google Classroom The counseling department will be creating a google classroom for each grade level. Unfortunately, we are unable to meet with students in large groups like we have in the past to present and complete our comprehensive school counseling curriculum. There are many activities that we feel are valuable in supporting student development from college preparation, to career exploration, and finally with social-emotional development. With cohort restrictions and the change in the schedule, we have to move all of our curriculum to an online format. We will be inviting every student to join their grade appropriate Google Classroom. In this classroom we will post our Google Form where students can request appointments, and we will provide information about college, careers, and social emotional health. We will require every student to join this classroom. The assignments that will be posted will not be graded nor will they have strict due dates. However, some of our assignments will be required by the district, so students will need to complete them. This classroom is supposed to provide additional support for students throughout the year. We encourage you to make sure your students join the classroom and participate in the assignments. Schedule Changes for 2020-2021 As of right now, the schedules are still not finalized. Our administrative team is working diligently night and day to get these schedules finalized. Unfortunately, this has not been an easy process, and with the ever changing school schedule, they have had to remake the schedules multiple times. Our goal is to release the schedules sometime this week. Once they are released we will begin taking schedule change requests. We DO NOT make schedule changes for the following requests:
We will only look at changing a student’s elective request. With the tight schedule we may not be able to accommodate every request. We have student’s select up to 4 alternate electives during the course selection process for this exact reason. Military Opt Out If you would like to opt-out your child’s information from being given to the military you need to do so by the end of September. You can do so by logging into your Jeffco Connect account and click opt-out. If you have any questions about this process please contact Kathy Hays in the counseling office. Virtual College Week D’Evelyn will still be hosting a College Day this year, however, it will look different than it has in the past. Our College Day will turn into a Virtual College Week with a few online virtual activities occurring on specific days. We are targeting the start of College Week to be the week after Labor Day. We will also have a “Virtual College Fair” this will be a document with information from all of the institutions that were slated to attend out college fair this fall. Their page will have information about the institution, a virtual visit link, and contact information for that specific college representative. There will be more information to come about our Virtual College Week including: breakout sessions, speakers, and more! Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist Taking Care of You and Yours As we move into our summer break, I have considered sharing more tools that can be helpful in coping with uncertain and difficult circumstances. I think a possibly more timely discussion, however, centers around asking for help if you need it for yourself or a loved one. We all need some extra help sometimes, and it is okay to reach out for it. There can sometimes exist a reluctance to admit that we are having a tough time and that we could use some extra help as we get through. It is important to recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength, and never a weakness. We are experiencing a new level of sustained stress, and while we are working to both manage and cope with the symptoms we experience, if that stress leads to prolonged distress and you recognize symptoms of concern, please take the time to reach out to your doctor, therapist, or clergy. If you or a loved one is having increased difficulty coping, it makes sense to check on it with someone you trust. If you aren’t quite sure where to start or who to reach out to, Jeffco Public Schools has created a webpage that can help. Please take a moment to check out Jeffco COVID-19 Mental Health Supports page. If you or someone you care about is in crisis, please reach out any time of day or night to Colorado Crisis Services or call 911. The truth is that we all need extra help at times, whether it is from friends, family members, mentors, neighbors, doctors, counselors, clergy, or other supports. If you need something, please let someone help. We can all get through this together. We hope that you and your loved ones have a happy and healthy summer vacation. We look forward to seeing you all in the fall! |
Jon Watson Archives
April 2022
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