Grade 9 Counseling Newsletter
Sent on the last Thursday of each month, the Counseling Newsletter provides extra guidance and information to assist you during your high school journey. Please read each issue carefully. The newsletter is also shared with your parents and teachers, and it can be used to help create more dialogue about your future.
Sent on the last Thursday of each month, the Counseling Newsletter provides extra guidance and information to assist you during your high school journey. Please read each issue carefully. The newsletter is also shared with your parents and teachers, and it can be used to help create more dialogue about your future.
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December
2019 |
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We are nearly halfway through the school year - can you believe it? Great job for the hard-work and commitment you show each day in both your academics and extracurriculars. You have definitely earned the three week holiday that is just a few weeks away...
This issue of the counseling newsletter includes strategies for managing stress with your academics, contains information regarding the PSAT results, provides resources regarding the use of technology and ideas for relaxing during your winter break!
Kind regards,
The HS Counseling Team
Exams
Midterms are considered to be one of the most stressful times of the year for high school students. They can be even more nerve-wracking for freshmen, who are new to the exam experience. Fear not, freshmen: YOU DON'T HAVE MIDTERM EXAMS!
It is probably not a good idea to brag about this to the grade 10-12 students. That might not be pretty.
However, as we near the end of the semester, you likely have long-term projects due, and other forms of assessment that you are preparing for. The poster below offers some basic tips to deal with heavy academic loads - not just exams! If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, then try to apply one of the strategies below.
Should you need help with studying, understanding rubrics, organizing yourself, pacing your studies, please do not hesitate to see your teachers, your counselor or Mr. Teather in the academic lab!
Midterms are considered to be one of the most stressful times of the year for high school students. They can be even more nerve-wracking for freshmen, who are new to the exam experience. Fear not, freshmen: YOU DON'T HAVE MIDTERM EXAMS!
It is probably not a good idea to brag about this to the grade 10-12 students. That might not be pretty.
However, as we near the end of the semester, you likely have long-term projects due, and other forms of assessment that you are preparing for. The poster below offers some basic tips to deal with heavy academic loads - not just exams! If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, then try to apply one of the strategies below.
Should you need help with studying, understanding rubrics, organizing yourself, pacing your studies, please do not hesitate to see your teachers, your counselor or Mr. Teather in the academic lab!
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On December 9 - 11, students who opted to take the PSAT and provided their email address on their PSAT/NMSQT answer sheet will receive an email reminder from College Board explaining where and how to view their scores.
You can access more information here. |
Summer Programs
Summer feels like a long time from now... but it will come and there are MANY valuable ways to spend the time off from the school year schedule. Family vacation, reading books, playing sports, summer camp, relaxing, recharging and creating are all great ways to spend that time!
Summer programs are another way to spend part of your summer. Summer programs are not necessary to be successful in high school or the college application process. However, if you choose to participate in a summer program they can provide some of the following benefits:
Taken from "Benefits of attending a summer program" - MUN article
Summer programs are another way to spend part of your summer. Summer programs are not necessary to be successful in high school or the college application process. However, if you choose to participate in a summer program they can provide some of the following benefits:
- Learning from positive role models
- Development of self-reliance and independence
- Making new friends and meeting people from different backgrounds
- Development of new social skills
- Exploration of new academic topics and fields of study
- Exploring life on a college campus
Taken from "Benefits of attending a summer program" - MUN article
- taken from Big Future College Board: Summer Learning Programs
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SFS Information for Applying to Summer Programs
Here's what you need to know...
If you intend to apply to a summer program please complete the following steps:
If you intend to apply to a summer program please complete the following steps:
- Complete the Summer Program/School Request Form.
- Complete the Counselor Recommendation Questionnaire.
- Students can request recommendations for two summer school/programs per year.
- SFS does not accept credits or grades earned at any summer school program.
- Requests for teacher recommendations should not be given directly to the teachers
- If it is a paper/pdf recommendation, it should be turned into the counselor.
- If it is electronic recommendation, please do not send the request to the teacher until you are directed by your counselor.
- Be advised, recommendations are not given to students/parents.
- A minimum of two weeks before the application deadline should be allowed for the counselor to process application.
Applying to Boarding School?
SFSHS recognizes that some of our students choose to transfer to boarding schools around the world,
If you have decided to apply to boarding schools, please complete the following forms:
1) Boarding School Form
2) Counselor Recommendation Questionnaire for Boarding Schools
SFS supports a maximum of THREE applications per school year.
Please remember requests for recommendations should not be given directly to the teachers
A minimum of two weeks from the application deadline should be allowed for the counselor to process application packet.
*Freshman applications: Transcripts are not available until the end of first semester (typically beginning of February), Transcripts maybe sent after the deadline.
SFSHS recognizes that some of our students choose to transfer to boarding schools around the world,
If you have decided to apply to boarding schools, please complete the following forms:
1) Boarding School Form
2) Counselor Recommendation Questionnaire for Boarding Schools
SFS supports a maximum of THREE applications per school year.
Please remember requests for recommendations should not be given directly to the teachers
- If it is an electronic recommendation, please do not send the request to the teacher until you are directed by your counselor.
- If it is a paper/pdf recommendation, it should be turned in to your counselor.
- Be advised, recommendations are not given to students/parents.
A minimum of two weeks from the application deadline should be allowed for the counselor to process application packet.
*Freshman applications: Transcripts are not available until the end of first semester (typically beginning of February), Transcripts maybe sent after the deadline.
Sleep Check
What happens to your brain when you check your smartphone before bed?One of the biggest misconceptions is you must cram the night before the exam or "pull all-nighters" to get the BEST GRADE.
False! The best thing you can do the night before the test is to get sleep.
Watch this video to see what happens to your brain and body when you use screens before bed.
What happens to your brain when you check your smartphone before bed?One of the biggest misconceptions is you must cram the night before the exam or "pull all-nighters" to get the BEST GRADE.
False! The best thing you can do the night before the test is to get sleep.
Watch this video to see what happens to your brain and body when you use screens before bed.
Sleep Deprivation is an Epidemic among Teens
- article by Ruthann Richter for Stanford Medicine
Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts. According to a 2006 National Sleep Foundation poll, the organization’s most recent survey of teen sleep, more than 87 percent of high school students in the United States get far less than the recommended eight to 10 hours, and the amount of time they sleep is decreasing — a serious threat to their health, safety and academic success. Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts. It’s a problem that knows no economic boundaries.
Carolyn Walworth, 17, often reaches a breaking point around 11 p.m., when she collapses in tears. For 10 minutes or so, she just sits at her desk and cries, overwhelmed by unrelenting school demands. She is desperately tired and longs for sleep. But she knows she must move through it, because more assignments in physics, calculus or French await her. She finally crawls into bed around midnight or 12:30 a.m.
The next morning, she fights to stay awake in her first-period U.S. history class, which begins at 8:15. She is unable to focus on what’s being taught, and her mind drifts. “You feel tired and exhausted, but you think you just need to get through the day so you can go home and sleep,” said the Palo Alto, California, teen. But that night, she will have to try to catch up on what she missed in class. And the cycle begins again. “It’s an insane system. … The whole essence of learning is lost,” she said.
Continue reading here.
- article by Ruthann Richter for Stanford Medicine
Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts. According to a 2006 National Sleep Foundation poll, the organization’s most recent survey of teen sleep, more than 87 percent of high school students in the United States get far less than the recommended eight to 10 hours, and the amount of time they sleep is decreasing — a serious threat to their health, safety and academic success. Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts. It’s a problem that knows no economic boundaries.
Carolyn Walworth, 17, often reaches a breaking point around 11 p.m., when she collapses in tears. For 10 minutes or so, she just sits at her desk and cries, overwhelmed by unrelenting school demands. She is desperately tired and longs for sleep. But she knows she must move through it, because more assignments in physics, calculus or French await her. She finally crawls into bed around midnight or 12:30 a.m.
The next morning, she fights to stay awake in her first-period U.S. history class, which begins at 8:15. She is unable to focus on what’s being taught, and her mind drifts. “You feel tired and exhausted, but you think you just need to get through the day so you can go home and sleep,” said the Palo Alto, California, teen. But that night, she will have to try to catch up on what she missed in class. And the cycle begins again. “It’s an insane system. … The whole essence of learning is lost,” she said.
Continue reading here.
Technology, Family, and Winter Break
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http://www.familiesmanagingmedia.com/ Kingsfield.com
With a three week holiday coming, hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities to rest and relax!
Maybe you are a student who is counting the days until you can spend unlimited amounts of time on your favorite video game or social media outlet. Maybe you are a parent who is staring down potential battles with your children over technology use in order so that you can enjoy some quality family time. The potential for a healthy, enjoyable, rejuvenating, fair and peaceful holiday can be increased greatly if there is a family conversation where everyone shares their hopes and expectations regarding the three weeks of holiday, paving the way to making a family agreement about technology use during the three week holiday.
Here is a website full of helpful resources for families as you navigate healthy family relationships with each other and technology:
Families Managing Media
With a three week holiday coming, hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities to rest and relax!
Maybe you are a student who is counting the days until you can spend unlimited amounts of time on your favorite video game or social media outlet. Maybe you are a parent who is staring down potential battles with your children over technology use in order so that you can enjoy some quality family time. The potential for a healthy, enjoyable, rejuvenating, fair and peaceful holiday can be increased greatly if there is a family conversation where everyone shares their hopes and expectations regarding the three weeks of holiday, paving the way to making a family agreement about technology use during the three week holiday.
Here is a website full of helpful resources for families as you navigate healthy family relationships with each other and technology:
Families Managing Media
Creative and fun ideas to relax:
Here are some ideas you can do over your holiday...
https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/12/mostly-productive-ways-to-spend-winter-break/ https://www.10mag.com/17-of-the-best-korean-winter-activities/ |
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