Written by: Jon Watson, High School Counselor
Schedule Changes for 2020-2021 Counselors will be taking schedule changes for next school year beginning in August 2020. We will be in our offices on registration day to assist students with schedule changes. Remember there are exceptions to schedule changes, and we are not always able to accommodate all requests. If you have any questions about this process please contact your counselor. Columbia University Summer Programs As the school year concludes and summer approaches, we know families are looking for ways to continue engaging and challenging their children in a safe environment. To that purpose, Columbia University is pleased to announce their Online Summer Immersion Program with 90 curricular options from art and architecture to creative writing and coding. High school students can also enroll in special lectures, clubs, and virtual spaces to meet other high-achieving peers from across the country and around the world—there’s something for everyone. They are waiving the application fee for your students with this code: HSIM220. You can learn more about the programs by visiting their website at: http://precollege.sps.columbia.edu/highschool/online or by contacting Anita Weiss at [email protected]. Deadlines are quickly approaching as our programs commence at the end of June. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Rob Franek and The Princeton Review: Free Resources Before you leave for your well-deserved summer break, I wanted to share with you a couple upcoming events that The Princeton Review has created for our students and families. Students at any grade level are welcome to join. All of these events are completely free. First, is a Rob Franek event on June 4th. Rob is the Editor-in-Chief at The Princeton Review, and he is a nationally recognized expert on colleges and higher education. Rob gives dozens of presentations a year to audiences of teachers, parents, and students. He has given keynote addresses at national conferences, chaired panels at the National Association for College Admission Counseling conference, and delivered commencement addresses at universities. Rob will cover the following topics:
Second, they are hosting an online HS Week, that will be filled with 5 different webinars, ending with an opportunity for students to take a free full length SAT and/or ACT practice test. Here is a schedule of events: June 14 – SAT, ACT, Both? Math Bootcamp - Click Here to Register June 15 – SAT Strategy Session - Click Here to Register June 16 – ACT Strategy Session | Click Here to Register June 17 – Five Key Steps to Get a Head Start on Your College Application this Summer | Click Here to Register June 18 – Getting Into Your Dream College | Click Here to Register June 19 – Take a free (timed) full-length SAT or ACT Practice Test SAT Registration | ACT Registration If you have any issues trying to register for any of the events listed above please contact your counselor. These are all great resources, and we are very lucky to be invited to attend these events at no cost. JUNIORS Just because Covid-19 has interrupted some of our daily routines, and limited our travel and gathering during this time, we still want you to be preparing for life after high school. If you are planning on attending a 4-year university there are still things you can be doing to prepare over the summer. If one or more of the universities you want to apply to is on the Common App, we encourage you to begin filling that out over the summer. There are multiple sections that need to be filled out, and the sooner you start, the easier your senior year will be. The summer is also a great time to get a jump start on your college essay. Almost every college you apply to will have some type of an essay, so you can either start in the summer or write college essays along with term papers…we suggest over the summer. We understand that traveling is limited at this time, but we encourage you to participate in virtual visits with the colleges that you are interested in. The summer before senior year is a great time to start narrowing down those colleges, so please participate in virtual visits, contact admissions representatives, or do some online stalking of your own. If you have questions about who to contact please reach out to your counselor. If you are looking to join the military or an ROTC program at a university, please start reaching out to military recruiters in the area. They will have all of the information you need to start preparing for a career in the military. If you are looking to enter an ROTC program, we highly encourage you to start talking to recruiters as soon as possible. ROTC programs are very competitive, and they view applications in waves. The first wave is typically towards the end of summer. For the best shot to be accepted into an ROTC program we encourage you to apply early. Applying for college and preparing for life after high school can be stressful, so do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor for assistance. We are not on our emails everyday over the break, but we will definitely try to get back to you as soon as possible. Enjoy your summer! SOPHOMORES You are about to begin the latter half of your high school career. This is an important time to start choosing courses that are going to set you up for success on college applications, and to best help prepare you for a career outside of high school. We encourage you to start exploring some colleges that sound interesting to you, or ones that you really want to go to. Look at their requirements, and what are some of the classes they want you to take while in high school. They will also tell you if they want you to take specific SAT Subject tests. These tests are different than the normal SAT, and they focus on one subject instead of multiple. The summer is a great time to start planning out when to take some of those tests (if they will even be offered). Speaking of the SAT…the state of Colorado has agreed upon a state-wide day to offer the PSAT/SAT tests that were originally supposed to be offered in April. This date is September 18. This will be a day where you will get to take the PSAT and get some extra practice. We will also be offering the PSAT/NMSQT in October, which is another opportunity for you to prepare for the SAT. We encourage you to start preparing for those exams over the summer. There are multiple ways to practice, and there are multiple companies that help students prepare. Please visit the SAT/ACT page on our counseling website. If you have more questions please contact your counselor. NJHS National Junior Honor Society-Service Before Self By: Reid Benfield, Vice President (9th grade) Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), has made astounding success despite the effects of COVID-19. Although the club got cut short this year, the advancements made in the first semester and the first 12 weeks of the second semester made a large impact on the companies that were supported by NJHS. Throughout the time we were in school, once a month, on a Friday, NJHS would sell blizzards to the whole school as a fundraiser. Another very important fundraiser is World’s Finest Chocolate. This fundraiser allowed for each member to get a box of chocolate to sell to help NJHS raise money. This money did not just sit in the bank of NJHS, however. Instead, we donated over $2000 to organizations that help with water purification in Africa as well as the company, The Shoe that Grows, which is a shoe that fits many sizes and can be adjusted for kids who don’t have access to shoes. Additionally, we donated one of our blizzard sales to Jessica’s (President) sister who needed funding to go to teach kids around the world with the organization Global Glimpse. Interestingly, service is a very large part of what we do and what we have done over the 2019-2020 school year. As NJHS, we helped D’Evelyn with the Trick-or-Treat Street in October with many of our participants volunteering their time. In fact, this year we had over 600 service hours as a whole, and individually over the course of this year. Unfortunately, we were not able to carry out our plans of helping Stamp out Hunger as well as the Jeffco Action Center Garage Sale due to restrictions, but we are very proud of what we have done for the community here, and throughout the world! We are very disappointed that we cannot have our induction ceremony this year, but to all of you who were inducted, CONGRATS! We know you will be the next generation of NJHS and you will do great! The group of kids in NJHS at D’Evelyn strive to help the community, and follow the NJHS motto: Service Before Self. We want to wish you all a wonderful and well rested summer! We can’t wait to see you all again next school year. The counseling staff will be out of the office for most of June and July. We will do our best to reply to your questions and concerns in a timely fashion. Written by: Jon Watson, High School Counselor
Counselors will be taking schedule changes for next school year beginning in August 2020. We will be in our offices on registration day to assist students with schedule changes. Remember there are exceptions to schedule changes, and we are not always able to accommodate all requests. If you have any questions about this process please contact your counselor. SENIORS Please make sure you pay your transcript fees. There are still scholarships out there, so please keep applying! We look forward to seeing you in August, so we can have an official celebration of your success. We are very excited for you all to begin the next step in your lifelong journey. We are truly going to miss you all, and we want to wish you the best in everything that you do! JUNIORS Just because Covid-19 has interrupted some of our daily routines, and limited our travel and gathering during this time, we still want you to be preparing for life after high school. If you are planning on attending a 4-year university there are still things you can be doing to prepare over the summer. If one or more of the universities you want to apply to is on the Common App, we encourage you to begin filling that out over the summer. There are multiple sections that need to be filled out, and the sooner you start, the easier your senior year will be. The summer is also a great time to get a jump start on your college essay. Almost every college you apply to will have some type of an essay, so you can either start in the summer or write college essays along with term papers…we suggest over the summer. We understand that traveling is limited at this time, but we encourage you to participate in virtual visits with the colleges that you are interested in. The summer before senior year is a great time to start narrowing down those colleges, so please participate in virtual visits, contact admissions representatives, or do some online stalking of your own. If you have questions about who to contact please reach out to your counselor. If you are looking to join the military or an ROTC program at a university, please start reaching out to military recruiters in the area. They will have all of the information you need to start preparing for a career in the military. If you are looking to enter an ROTC program, we highly encourage you to start talking to recruiters as soon as possible. ROTC programs are very competitive, and they view applications in waves. The first wave is typically towards the end of summer. For the best shot to be accepted into an ROTC program we encourage you to apply early. Applying for college and preparing for life after high school can be stressful, so do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor for assistance. We are not on our emails everyday over the break, but we will definitely try to get back to you as soon as possible. Enjoy your summer! SOPHOMORES You are about to begin the latter half of your high school career. This is an important time to start choosing courses that are going to set you up for success on college applications, and to best help prepare you for a career outside of high school. We encourage you to start exploring some colleges that sound interesting to you, or ones that you really want to go to. Look at their requirements, and what are some of the classes they want you to take while in high school. They will also tell you if they want you to take specific SAT Subject tests. These tests are different than the normal SAT, and they focus on one subject instead of multiple. The summer is a great time to start planning out when to take some of those tests (if they will even be offered). Speaking of the SAT…the state of Colorado has agreed upon a state-wide day to offer the PSAT/SAT tests that were originally supposed to be offered in April. This date is September 18. This will be a day where you will get to take the PSAT and get some extra practice. We will also be offering the PSAT/NMSQT in October, which is another opportunity for you to prepare for the SAT. We encourage you to start preparing for those exams over the summer. There are multiple ways to practice, and there are multiple companies that help students prepare. Please visit the SAT/ACT page on our counseling website. If you have more questions please contact your counselor. NJHS National Junior Honor Society - Service Before Self Written by: Reid Benfield, Vice President (9th grade) Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), has made astounding success despite the effects of COVID-19. Although the club got cut short this year, the advancements made in the first semester and the first 12 weeks of the second semester made a large impact on the companies that were supported by NJHS. Throughout the time we were in school, once a month, on a Friday, NJHS would sell blizzards to the whole school as a fundraiser. Another very important fundraiser is World’s Finest Chocolate. This fundraiser allowed for each member to get a box of chocolate to sell to help NJHS raise money. This money did not just sit in the bank of NJHS, however. Instead, we donated over $2000 to organizations that help with water purification in Africa as well as the company, The Shoe that Grows, which is a shoe that fits many sizes and can be adjusted for kids who don’t have access to shoes. Additionally, we donated one of our blizzard sales to Jessica’s (President) sister who needed funding to go to teach kids around the world with the organization Global Glimpse. Interestingly, service is a very large part of what we do and what we have done over the 2019-2020 school year. As NJHS, we helped D’Evelyn with the Trick-or-Treat Street in October with many of our participants volunteering their time. In fact, this year we had over 600 service hours as a whole, and individually over the course of this year. Unfortunately, we were not able to carry out our plans of helping Stamp out Hunger as well as the Jeffco Action Center Garage Sale due to restrictions, but we are very proud of what we have done for the community here, and throughout the world! We are very disappointed that we cannot have our induction ceremony this year, but to all of you who were inducted, CONGRATS! We know you will be the next generation of NJHS and you will do great! The group of kids in NJHS at D’Evelyn strive to help the community, and follow the NJHS motto: Service Before Self. We want to wish you all a wonderful and well rested summer! We can’t wait to see you all again next school year. The counseling staff will be out of the office for most of June and July. We will do our best to reply to your questions and concerns in a timely fashion. Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist We have now been home together, albeit separately, for nine weeks. Much has changed in that time and we are coping as well as we can, while knowing that things may be different again tomorrow and we will need to adapt once more. This can feel exhausting or even overwhelming. For this reason, we continue thinking together about the things that can help us to take care of ourselves and those we love, as we grow in resilience. Today, we add “watering the helpful seeds” to the strategies we have considered and may be practicing. This is a practice that helps us be a bit more conscious of the things in our lives to which we are giving our attention and energy, and making some adjustments if we need to do so. As we have considered before, what we are focusing on makes a big difference in how we feel. This is another way of fine-tuning that focus. An excellent way for us to think about watering the helpful seeds is to review the Cherokee story of the two wolves fighting within us. Many of us have heard this tale, but it may have been some years back at this point. It warrants a bit of a refresher: While I may think more in terms of helpful and less helpful than good and evil, this tale helps us to reflect upon what we are feeding. Or, in terms of watering the helpful seeds, what we are watering. Are we watering and encouraging growth in the things that help us and make us more able to adapt and grow? Or are we watering the things that make us more upset and afraid? It matters significantly because the seeds we water are the seeds that grow. What do we want to grow – our sense of hope or our sense of fear? We may have both and need both, but which do we want to be central? Making decisions about what we seeds we are watering can help us tip the balance in a way that improves our sense of well-being. We may want to think about what are we focusing on – what are we watering?
What are the things that you are doing right now to help you and your family cope with our changing world? Our answers to this question will vary, but might include:
Of course this list could go on for pages. The truth is that there are many ways that we can and do take care of ourselves and grow in resilience, even while we move through difficult and unprecedented times. Watering the helpful seeds means thinking of what things you are doing, whether you need to do more of them, and if you could benefit by adding some new ones. While it may be true that we are all doing the best we can at any given time, it is also true that we tend to drop a helpful practice when we are busy, distracted, or stressed. So, reevaluating whether there are some helpful seeds that need watering is important work. The second part of this process then is considering the seeds that are less helpful. What are the things you are doing right now that instead of helping you to cope and grow in hope, are leading to more distress and fear? If we are honest with ourselves, there are probably a few weeds in our gardens that we may want to pull – or at least water less frequently. Again, the list here is diverse for different people, but we are often aware for example of an increase in anxiety after too much time spent ingesting media or of the spike in irritability following night(s) of poor or not enough sleep. Are there things that you are doing that you recognize as less than helpful that you could spend less time doing? So, it can be helpful to take a moment of reflection from time to time. Consider what is working well and what is not. And then concentrate anew on watering the helpful seeds. =) Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist Taking Care of You and Yours We have been focusing on ways in which we can take care of ourselves and our loved ones during this time of great change. We have worked to acknowledge that this is hard, while we continue to think together about ways we can get through it – day by day and week by week. We continue to explore the things that help this week by going back to an ever present and always valuable practice – the practice of gratitude. A daily gratitude practice gives each of us the opportunity to focus and concentrate on the positive experiences we enjoy every day. You may remember that we thought last week about the fact that we are often attuned to the negative, not only because of the news cycle or high levels of stress, but because of a natural negativity bias. Remember also that we can counter that bias with other practices, including savoring joy and practicing gratitude! The practice of gratitude is incredibly simple – just jot down three things you are thankful for every day. This record can be kept where it is most convenient for you – in a journal, on a piece of paper in your wallet, in the notes section on your phone, or any other place you can access it easily and keep track of it over the course of the weeks ahead. Record big things and little things you are thankful for during your day. Think about the obvious, the things that have gone well, as well as the things that make you smile during the day. If you feel stuck, appreciate the beauty in the world and people around you. Before you know it, the positives will seem more evident to you. This simple practice is actually a powerful tool that helps us to improve our happiness, motivation, and overall sense of well-being. It trains us to focus on the positive, which allows us to recognize more of it in our daily lives. It trains our brains to scan the environment for the positives, and the pay offs are huge. Daily gratitude journaling practices have led to increased reports of “positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness, and energy” in young adults. Research also suggests that a regular gratitude practice can result in fewer physical complaints, an improved sense of well-being, and an increase in feelings of optimism. There are myriad reasons to start a gratitude practice and really no downside. Of course, just because a practice is simple doesn’t mean it is easy to make it a habit. We are busy, we have other commitments, and we may just forget. We can make it easier, though, by leaving a journal where we think we might use it, by trying to do it at the same time every day (often first thing in the morning or just before bed can work well), or by setting a reminder on a favorite device. Whatever works for you, try recording three good things every day for the next three weeks – you may be astounded at the shift in your perspective, and in your newfound ability to identify, focus on, and savor more positivity in your life each and every day! Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist At present, most of us can find a few things to complain out. We wish we could go out more; we wish we could go to the gym or the movies or a favorite restaurant. We wish we could hang out with friends in person. Some of us miss physical touch. So, the spread of COVID-19 has provided us with a few negative things to notice. But truth be told, most of us can find a few things to complain about most of the time. No outbreak required. Have you ever noticed that you or others tend to focus more on the insults than the compliments? That we tend to think more about what went wrong than reflect on what went right? That we respond more quickly and more strongly to negative events? That we focus more quickly on the negative than the positive? If you’ve noticed this about you – or someone you are close to – it is because of what we know to be an adaptive and evolutionary function called “negativity bias.” Negativity bias is simply the human precondition to prioritize negative input over positive. As a human race, it has been important for us to recognize negative information, including danger. We have learned to scan our environments for threats. This bias can keep us safe, but when overactive in modern times it can also lead to a lower sense of well-being and lower our experience of happiness. We don’t live with the same level of threats to life that we once did (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!), but our bodies are still processing the threats (emails and traffic and cares, oh my!) in the same way. This can lead to overwhelm. The good news is that there are myriad ways and practices for us to address this bias and to work to increase positivity in our daily lives. We need that now as much if not more than ever. One way is through savoring joy. Beyond the obvious advantages of feeling more joyful, intentionally cultivating and expanding joy can help us to feel more present and increase both attention and concentration. How does one intentionally cultivate joy? One great way is through savoring – appreciating and revisiting our experiences of joy, which is easier than it may initially sound…
As we savor the joy in our lives, we anchor it. We give it attention and help it to grow. As we focus more on the positive, we see more of it. (We will think about this concept again soon when we review the benefits of practicing gratitude.) This helps us to work against the natural negativity bias, and recognize and experience more positives – and more joy. We may also want to increase the number of our joyful experiences. What are the things you most enjoy? Whether it is time spent with family or outside or doing something creative, how can you plan to include more into your day or week? This week, if you would like to cultivate joy, see if you can do more things that bring you joy, and take the time to savor those moments. Have a week filled with more joy! Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist At the risk of stating the obvious, it is vital for us to create an intentional plan for our physical health as we endeavor to take care of ourselves and others right now. We are likely following guidance and protocols that work to protect us and to slow the spread of the virus, including but not limited to washing our hands, wearing masks, creating physical distance between ourselves and others, not touching our faces, and staying home much of the time. It is also important for us to remember other basic ways that we need to care for our physical health – we need also to plan for optimal sleep, diet, and exercise. I tend to think about and refer to these basics as the three-legged stool upon which other self-care sits. Creating a plan to eat well, sleep enough, and exercise often provides a good foundation for us to feel well and up to the challenge of caring for ourselves and our loved ones during this time. It is easy to forget the importance of a healthy diet when we have so much going on, and there is nothing wrong with the easy occasional frozen pizza. We do not, however, feel our best if we are living exclusively on convenience items. Many of us are good at planning for well-balanced meals some or even most of the time. However, if that has slipped as stress has increased, now is a perfect time to revisit intentional meal planning and healthy eating. Giving our bodies the best fuel helps them to run as well as they can during times of varying levels of stress. Regular exercise can feel harder right now, depending on what your typical routine might include. Gyms and recreation centers are closed. We are under a stay-at-home order, which recommends most time spent at home. Exercise in your living room isn’t generally as fun as a pick-up game at the local court. So, we have to get creative and do something that works for us, whether that is running/walking outside while creating distance between ourselves and others, virtual fitness classes, games in the yard with the kids, jumping rope or hula hooping. Keeping ourselves moving – and for that matter outside when possible – keeps us feeling better. Exercise helps us to manage our stress, boost our immune systems, and improve our energy levels, so we want to exercise regularly. While good sleep can feel elusive during times of increased stress, its importance cannot be overstated. According to the University of Chicago Medical Center, “optimal sleep helps regulate mood, improve brain function, and increase energy and overall productivity during the day.” But how can we get optimal sleep during a time of uncertainty and high stress? We do so by examining our sleep hygiene and creating a routine that supports optimal sleep. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest the following Tips for Better Sleep:
If you are doing these things and continuing to have trouble with consistent or optimal sleep, it could be helpful to also create a nightly routine that helps signal the brain that sleep is approaching. A helpful routine might include one or more of the following:
Is there something you can do to improve the way you are feeling by changing the way you are planning for sleep, diet, or exercise? If so, have fun with it and see the impact it can have. Until next time, take care of you! Take care of your family! Be safe and stay healthy! =) Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist Many of us have been in our homes now for about five weeks. That is five weeks of spending the vast majority of our waking – and for that matter sleeping – hours in our homes. This has been a huge shift for most, and has created new stress experiences. Many of us have recognized that this has been and continues to be really hard at times – for us and for our loved ones. We have thought in this series about some things that can help, and we continue that today. Today, let us consider the value of adding mindful practice into our daily activities.
Mindfulness is at its core the practice of being present, which sounds pretty simple and may not feel very helpful right now. But if we think about what we are not doing when we are being present, we begin to see how it can be very helpful at any time and especially helpful right now. When we are aware of and focusing on the present moment, we are not worrying about the past or the future. We are not thinking about all of the things that are currently out of our control. Or if we notice that we have a worry or concerning thought, we can notice it and let go of it in a new way. While mindfulness practices have roots in Buddhist traditions, the secular practice of mindfulness and its benefits have been researched for more than forty years here in the U.S. Jon Kabat Zinn introduced the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program through the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, and the body of evidence supporting its benefits have continued to grow. Practicing mindfulness improves our immune systems, reduces heart rate and blood pressure, reduces negative emotions and stress, improves memory and attention, boosts confidence and creativity, increases feelings of well-being, and has a number of other positive health and mental health impacts. However, sometimes we don’t know quite where to start. We can start simply by taking a moment to breathe – to notice the breath and concentrate on the breath – how it feels entering and leaving the body – and to allow ourselves to slow. Taking mindful breaks throughout our day, even for just a few moments, allows for us to calm and reset and start anew. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time and doesn’t have to involve a lot of formal practice. It can, however, include formal practice, and many of those resources are currently available to us for free during this time of distancing and staying at home. Check out some of these free online guided meditations and mindfulness resources, if you are interested: Calm: https://blog.calm.com/blog/free-resources Mindful: https://www.mindful.org/free-mindfulness-resources-for-calm-during-covid-outbreak/ UCLA: https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mindful-meditations Dartmouth: https://students.dartmouth.edu/wellness-center/wellness-mindfulness/relaxation-downloads/mindfulness-meditation Written by: Jill Athenour, M.A., C.E.P Jill Athenour, founder of Head to College, is a private college counselor with over 15 years of experience in college admissions. She has earned the profession’s highest designation of Certified Education Planner (CEP). She is a member of HECA (Higher Education Consultants Association) and has recently been elected to the Board of Directors as Standards and Ethics Chair. sContact your Counselor
During the remote learning time frame all of the counselors are still available to students and parents through multiple platforms. For students, counselors have created google forms for students to fill out if they need to set up an “appointment” with a counselor. Those forms can be found in google classrooms, on the counseling website, and in this article at the bottom. Counselors will “meet” with students in ways that students feel most comfortable, whether that is through email, google chat/meet/hangouts, or through telephone calls. We are here to support students who are struggling with remote learning, students who are struggling communicating with teachers, if students are experiencing social/emotional concerns, college/career planning, and/or just to talk to avoid isolation during quarantine. We miss all of our students greatly, and we want them to know we are always here for them. For parents, the best way to contact a counselor is through email. All of our emails are on the counseling website, and we will get back to you within a 24 hour time frame during the weekdays. Just like with students, if we need to meet with you on a different platform we will make ourselves available for that. We want to help support you while you support your students learning at home. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Here is the link to the counseling website, which has links to all of our google forms for students. https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/dhs-counseling-center/. SAT Update The national SAT exam scheduled for June 6th has been canceled. Based on the amount of school closures and recommendations from governments to limit the amount of large gatherings, the College Board has made the tough decision to cancel the national SAT on June 6th. They understand how difficult this may be for many students, so they have added an additional SAT in the fall. They will now be offering the SAT every month during the fall semester. These are the current known dates for the SAT: August 29th, September TBD, October 3rd, November 7th, and December 5th. Students can register for these exams on the College Board website. If for some reason schools do not reopen in the fall, College Board will provide a digital SAT for home use that will be similar the AP exams that will be offered this May. This will only happen if school does not return in the fall. For more information please visit the College Board website. Seniors We have a few updates that we need our seniors to pay attention to, so please read all the way through this section if you are a senior/senior family member. The first piece of information that we need you to tackle is the 2019-2020 Jeffco Senior Survey in Naviance. This survey is required for all students to fill out in order to have their final transcripts properly delivered to their desired institution. Students will not be able to start at a college or university next school year if they do not have their final transcripts sent. Directions on how to complete this survey will be displayed on Monday 4/20, on the senior google classroom. This classroom was created Friday morning, and all of the seniors should have received invites to the classroom through their Jeffco email. In this classroom we will make important announcements for seniors as they approach the end of the school year. We also are being flooded with scholarship opportunities. The current worldwide pandemic is leading to a decrease in scholarship applicants. We have updated the Naviance websites with scholarships, and here is a link to new scholarships that were sent our way this week scholarsapp.com/scholarships/in/Colorado. We encourage students to continue looking for scholarships, as there are multiple organizations looking to give their money away. If you meet the criteria we encourage you to apply, you never know, you may be the only one who does. If you have more scholarship questions please contact Kim McSwain at [email protected]. College Admissions Update Letter Below is a letter from a highly recognized college counselor in the Colorado area. We find this information very valuable, and will hopefully provide families answers to some burning college questions. Students and Parents, As with just about everything, the coronavirus has had a significant impact on college admissions. I work with high school students every day and see the toll this is taking. In an effort to help you through this time, I have provided some general tips and guidance below: Standardized Testing As of Thursday morning, the ACT is still scheduled for June. ACT was planning to offer a computer-based option starting in September anyway so they may be working on moving that option earlier. Many juniors are concerned because they have not been able to take the SAT or ACT since tests were cancelled in March and April as well. Rest assured, colleges are well aware of this and they are making adjustments. The list of test-optional schools is growing daily: University of Oregon, Boston University, Case Western, etc. This week Swarthmore, Tulane and Virginia Tech announced they will be experimenting with test-optional for a year or two. This was a trend that started some time ago, but that trend has accelerated with the recent SAT/ACT cancellations. It is worth noting that even for the schools that are test-optional, generally about 80 - 85% of the students who are accepted did submit test scores. That indicates to me that tests are not going to go away. However, this year, who knows?! With the June tests cancelling, we can expect to see even more schools going test optional. Researching Colleges In response to the Coronavirus, colleges across the nation have moved to virtual learning, closing their campus and sending students home for the duration of the semester. This move impacts not just current students but prospective students as well. There are many seniors making final decisions on which college to attend next fall, and juniors have had to cancel their plans to visit colleges this spring. While online research and virtual tours can’t replicate in-person experiences, there is an abundance of resources available for students to compare and evaluate colleges from home. College Websites: Do a deep dive into the websites. Look at curriculum requirements and opportunities for your prospective major. If you’re undecided, investigate advising resources for students with undeclared majors. Head to the section on student life and learn about student organizations and club sports. There is a wealth of information on every college website. Virtual Tours: Many colleges offer virtual tours on their websites. Campus Reel offers virtual tours of more than 300 colleges: https://www.campusreel.org/. College Admissions Offices: Reach out to your regional admission representative via phone or email to inquire about their plans. Ask for their recommendation on how best to experience the college virtually. See if they can connect you with a student ambassador through Skype or FaceTime. This is also a good way to demonstrate interest. Social Media: Facebook may not be your platform of choice, but most colleges have Facebook groups. Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are resources as well. Search for YouTube videos on your colleges of interest and you’ll find plenty of students sharing information and experiences. Interviews: Turn to peers, neighbors and family members to ask about their experience if they attended colleges you are considering or ask if they know current students at those institutions with whom you can connect. There is a wealth of information available through virtual experiences so grab your laptop and cellphone and immerse yourself in research and discovery. Staying on Track Seniors, as you are weighing your final decision be sure to stay up on deadlines. May 1 has traditionally been National College Decision Day, although some colleges have extended their deadlines this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak. An updated list of those changes is available on the NACAC website. Juniors now is a good time to start the Common Application (a.k.a. the Common App). The Common App is used by over 800 colleges, and the benefit to you is that you only have to fill out details such as name, address, family information, and extracurricular activities one time. That's a huge time saver!
Be well. Jill Athenour Written by: Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist As we move through these days, it is important for us to continue to acknowledge the difficulties of what we face and the strengths we bring to bear in facing them. I hope we continue to practice self-compassion. Today, we add to these practices a review of how we are creating predictability in these unpredictable times. So much has changed in the last month, and one of the things we lost early on is a sense of predictability. I recognize that I am stating the obvious here, but it warrants consideration because many may not have created new measures of predictability in these last weeks. Taking the time to create them now or to revisit (and possibly tweak) what we have created can help us to feel less vulnerable and to lower the level of stress we are experiencing. When we think in terms of creating needed predictability for ourselves and our family members, Bessel van der Kolk recommends that we each:
Creating a daily schedule that is mindful of daily needs, work, social connections and things to look forward to can help us return to a comfortable sense of predictability. We know that our world is changed and that our old routines are not available to us currently. We implement new routines that reflect those changes right now, so that we increase the sense that we know what each day may bring at least on the micro level, and we look forward to the next. More thoughts on improving our sense of well-being to follow. In the meantime, it should be noted here that Bessel van der Kolk is a world-renowned researcher, educator, and author who has dedicated his life to understanding how we adapt and respond to traumatic experiences. If you would like more information about his work, please visit https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/ As these well-being updates are moving this week from the community messenger to Jag Tracks, if you would like to continue to access resources provided in earlier weeks, all segments are easily accessible on the counseling website at: https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/dhs-counseling-center/social-emotional/well-being-and-health-resources?authuser=0 FOR ALL
Counselors Will Be Available During Remote Learning Remote learning can be a big change and learning process for many students and teachers. The counseling department will be available to students and families throughout this whole process. We will not be in the building or by our office phones during this time, so the best way to contact your counselor is through email. Outside of email, we will be contacting students through Google Hangout and/or Google Chat. These are part of Google’s programs, and students will be able to message us while they are logged in to their Google account. Students can contact counselors through Google Hangout or Google Chat by:
If you have any questions about the counseling process over the next week please do not hesitate to reach out. Our emails are all provided below: [email protected] – Jonathan Watson, High School Counselor A-K, Office Hours: 8am – 4pm [email protected] – Molly Harrington, High School Counselor L-Z, Office Hours: 7am – 3pm [email protected] – Robert Northway, Jr. High Counselor, Office Hours: 8am – 4pm [email protected] – Suzanne Roberts, Social Emotional Learning Specialist, Office Hours: 7am - 3pm [email protected] – Kathy Hays, Registrar & Counseling Secretary SENIORS DEF Scholarships Seniors, remember that DEF Scholarships are due by April 1st! Assuming we are back in school after spring break, all applications will need to be turned in to the Counseling office by 3pm. We recommend turning everything in earlier in the week because the lines to turn in the scholarships will be big on Wednesday the 1st. The counseling office will print off your transcript and letters of recommendation. You are responsible for adding the other additional materials. If you have questions about any of this please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor or Kim McSwain, [email protected]. If we are not back in school the week after spring break, we will send out further instructions about the scholarship turn in process. FAFSA Completion Are you a senior looking to attend a 2 or 4 year institution? Then you should be filling out your FAFSA! There are a lot of misconceptions about the FAFSA and many reasons why families elect to not fill it out. The biggest myth about filling out the FAFSA is: My family makes too much money for me to receive any aid. Regardless of family income or any other reason you can think of to not complete the FAFSA, here are some reasons why you should.
JUNIORS SAT Information The SAT is right around the corner with the test taking place at school on April 14th. These next few weeks will fly by, and the test will be here before we know it. There are some important pieces of information we want to share with you all leading up to the exam. The state of Colorado pays for all juniors to take the SAT on April 14th, so the test is completely free! We highly recommend all juniors to take the test even if they have already taken the SAT and they are pleased with their score. We recommend that students begin preparing for the SAT by utilizing all of the free resources that are available to them. Khan Academy is a company that has paired with College Board (creators of the SAT) to provide free individualized practice for all students. This is a great tool for students to use in their preparation for the exam. There are multiple test prep companies that students can utilize where they can receive group help, individualized tutoring, or online practice. On the counseling website there is a link for our SAT/ACT page, which provides more information and resources for families. Please contact counseling with any questions. College Visits Juniors, it is about that time to really start vamping up your college preparation. One of the best ways to help you discover which college experience will be best for you is to start visiting campuses that you are interested in. Experts say that visiting a college is one of the top factors in discovering the right fit. With spring semester upon us, and the final semester before you start applying for college this is one of the best times to tour college campuses. Whether you want to stay in state or travel to the coasts, we highly recommend that you visit the campuses you are interested in. You can sign up for a structured visit with a tour guide, or go and explore the campus on your own. With the Caronavirus taking off many campuses have closed their on-campus admission offices and canceled tours. Please double check school websites or contact the admission offices to make sure they are open when you want to visit. Counseling Calendar
Change to Naviance! The district has changed the login process for Naviance. The link has been updated on the Counseling website. Students will now enter through the “Clever” platform, which is operated by Jeffco. Students will need to login into Clever using their Jeffco login and password. If you or your student have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the counseling department. Here is a link to the new Naviance Login: https://clever.com/in/jeffco. SENIORS With the early action deadlines coming to a close it’s time to start thinking about those regular decision college application deadlines! Make sure you are paying attention to the deadlines for each of the schools you are applying as some of them will be over winter break. YOU are responsible for keeping track of your deadlines. Remember you will need to request transcripts for those schools before the break as we will not be available to submit anything during the break. We are asking that you have all of your requests in by DECEMBER 16th. If you have any questions please come see your counselor. This notification is for students who have college applications due by January 6th. Scholarship Workshop Starting on December 9th, we will hold our first scholarship workshop of the year. This is not mandatory, but it can be a great time to get a jump start on the scholarship application process. We will have lists of databases to access, information on how to utilize Naviance, and a handful of hard copies of scholarships that have been mailed to D’Evelyn. Our goal is to make the process as easy as possible. Please stop by during 7th hour at any scholarship workshop to learn more. Our next workshop will be on January 15th. ICAP and Scholarship Class Meeting Mark your calendars! On Wednesday, January 8th we will be meeting with you to complete your district required ICAP. We are going to be touching on some last minute college information, and introducing you to financial aid information. We will be having you all sign up for the COF (Colorado Opportunity Fund), which helps give students from the state of Colorado a discount to attend in-state schools. To sign up you will need your social security number, so make sure you know that or have it with you on Wednesday! We will also be having a guest from the DEF share scholarships that pertain directly to all of you! This will be a very informative meeting on paying for college so we highly encourage you to attend! JUNIORS ICAP and College Introduction When we return from winter break we are starting off the ICAP season with you! On January 9th we will be meeting with you during 7th hour to complete the district required ICAP. This meeting is targeting what you are doing to reach your goals after high school. We will be looking at what careers you are considering, and what steps you will take to prepare for those careers. We will also be introducing you to college search engines, and help you take the steps you need to start deciding which colleges you want to apply to. SOPHOMORES ICAP and College Introduction When we return from winter break we will be meeting with you all as a big group on January 7th based on your last name to complete the district required ICAP. The purpose of this ICAP is to help support you in your continuing exploration of careers, and to help you generate a plan to reach your future goals. We want you to begin to consider life after high school and what steps you need to take to reach your end goal. We will also be introducing you to the college search process so you have the foundation to begin looking at schools you are interested in attending. We are very excited to work with you all again, and hear about all of the great ideas you have! FRESHMEN Course Selection and ICAP In late January we will be coming into your English classes to go over your course selection for next year! On this day we will talk about the courses you will need to take your sophomore year, and introduce the possible electives you can take. Once we complete the course selection we will also complete your required district ICAP. This ICAP will help you outline the steps you need to take over the next few years to graduate on time. You will be setting goals, choosing careers that interest you, and other taking a deeper look into what you need to do to reach your goals. College Talk High School Graduation Requirements Over the last few weeks we have received questions about the new Colorado graduation requirements. Last year the state of Colorado released its new graduation requirements for students graduating in the year of 2021 and beyond. For students to graduate from high school they will need to meet their high school’s graduation requirements, and they will need to receive a passing score on one of the following assessments: SAT, ACT, ASVAB, or an AP Exam. Below is a chart that has the passing benchmarks that students need to reach for each specific exam. As mentioned, students only need to meet the passing requirement for ONE of the options. We offer the SAT exam for free to all juniors in the spring semester of their junior year. Students will take a SAT practice exam (PSAT) in freshman, sophomore, and the fall of their junior years. As a counseling staff, we will evaluate the scores of the PSAT exams and provide suggestions and recommendations to students and families on how to meet these graduation requirements. If you have any questions about the requirements, exams, or process please feel free to reach out to your counselor. Graduation Requirement Chart: Must pass the MATH and ENGLISH section of ONE test. At what point does stress become unhealthy? We tend to think of stress as becoming unhealthy when we are no longer coping well, when we are becoming dysregulated, and when it is negatively impacting us and our daily functioning. When stress and anxiety have outweighed our resources, we have begun to experience unhealthy stress, and unhealthy stress needs to be addressed. Remember the Cornell University graphic that was shared here last month - that as we increase stress past peak performance, we move into imbalance and performance breaks down. When we or people we care about experience that overload, what can be done? Last month, we explored boosting our strengths and coping skills, and that is always good practice. However, if the stress continues to feel overwhelming and insurmountable, it can be helpful to add additional resources. The good news is that resources abound. There are numerous apps and online supports available to help with stress management, and many can be accessed at low or no cost. Just a few links are provided here:
Should we need them, professional supports are also available in our community. If you or someone you care about is struggling with overwhelming stress or anxiety, professionals can be found that can offer help and support. Treatment is possible and accessible. Possible professionals that can offer support include but are not limited to:
If you need help finding a resource, please consider contacting your family doctor or call the counseling office anytime. This is one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year for students, parents, and admissions representatives all across the nation. The first round (early action, early decision) of college applications are due, and everyone wants to know the secrets on how to get into universities all around the country. The National Association for College Admission Counseling releases a report every year with responses from college admissions representatives and secondary school counselors on what they consider to be the most important factors in college admissions. At the bottom of this segment there are links that will take you to the data reports. According to the research, the top three factors that are of considerable importance to universities are: Grades in all courses, grades in college prep courses, and the strength of a student’s curriculum. Colleges and universities want to see how students perform in their classes, and are they challenging themselves with a rigorous curriculum. There are other factors that are mentioned in the study that have importance in the admissions decision, so please look through those as well. The research also stated that institutions that were more selective placed more emphasis on grades in college prep courses and the strength of curriculum. Those colleges also rated more highly on the essay/writing samples, counselor and teacher recommendations, extracurricular activities, and work. The report also provides information on the increase in applications across the country, and the admittance rate among certain institutions. The national average acceptance rate for all four-year institutions in the country was 66.7% in the fall of 2017. From 2017 to 2018, the amount of applications from first-time freshman increased by 6%. If you would like more information on this report, or other college admissions related data please click on the links below. https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/publications/state-of-college-admission/ https://www.nacacnet.org/ https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions-insider Counseling Calendar
Nov. 4th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 5th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 5th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Nov. 6th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 9th – D’Evelyn Open House (9am – 12pm) Nov. 11th – Scholarship Workshop (7th Hour) Nov. 12th – Counseling Advisory Council Meeting (2:45 pm) Nov. 15th – Girls Mentoring (7th Hour) Nov. 19th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Nov. 20th – Student Voice (7th Hour) Nov. 21th – New 8th/9th Group (7th Hour) Nov. 22nd – Boys Mentoring (7th Hour) Nov. 25th – 29th – Thanksgiving Break SENIORS Early Application Deadlines ‘Tis the season for early application deadlines! Seniors please pay attention to those deadlines as some have come and gone, and others are due soon. The majority of universities that have early application deadlines will have due dates on or around: Nov. 1st, Nov. 15th, and December 1st. If you need any assistance for those applications please feel free to stop by the counseling office. Also be sure to ask teachers for letters of recommendation sooner rather than later. They typically need at least 2 weeks to construct a letter for you. They will need the req questionnaire found on Naviance to be able to complete your letter. Scholarships Everyone wants to find a cheap way to attend college. There are a million scholarships out there and the hardest part is figuring out where to start. Counseling will be hosting a scholarship workshop for students on November 11th. During 7th hour we will meet in the counseling office to go over where to search for scholarships, the DEF scholarships, and give students time to apply for scholarships. We will also introduce students to Going Merry. This is a non-profit organization, created by graduate students from Stanford, to help students through the scholarship process. This program is known as the common app for scholarships. They have a computer system that matches all of the students’ data to scholarships across the country. Students do not have to sign up for this program, however, we believe it will be a great resource for students when looking for scholarships. 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! 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 are a list of reasons why students should meet with their representatives:
NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) 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. The fairs are located at different sites throughout the course of the week. The first fair, an all out-of-state fair, will be on October 2nd at Monarch High School from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. The next fair, another all out-of-state fair, will be on October 3rd at Lakewood High School from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. The final fair, an in-state and out-of-state fair will be at Mountain Vista High School on October 5th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. For more information about the fairs and a list of all the schools attending please visit www.collegefairsdenver.org. 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 to 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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