Cougar Connection

Hello Cougars! Even without the snow this month, February seemed to fly by. School counselors have now met with each student to select courses for next year and administration will take the next steps on developing a master schedule. The master schedule is a long, tedious process that takes six months to create by our Director of Student Services, Ms. Jennifer Hogan. It's quite the undertaking to put together many moving pieces to the puzzle.

If students would like to make changes to their course requests for next school year, we ask that they hold the requested changes until the end of the school year. For any questions or concerns, please contact the student's counselor.

In August, when counselors return from summer break, the finishing touches to the master schedule are being made. Counselors, at this time, will reach out to students who may have conflicts. This tends to be a very small percentage of students.

As spring approaches us, counselors will be back in student classrooms and have several projects planned. Stay tuned with more information on the projects we are working on.

School counselors have now met with all rising tenth through twelfth grade students to select their courses for next school year. Course can be viewed in both ParentVue and StudentVue SIS accounts under Course Requests.

We encourage families to discuss the courses students selected and plan for next school year. As a reminder, course request changes were due by February 28. If a student would like to request a change for next year, they can check in with his/her counselor for more info.

For this month's Flex Cougar Time, students had the opportunity to partake in a virtual brain break activity, which is a great resource for students to utilize at school or home. Counselors created a google site that contains multiple strategies on managing stress including Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Healthy Habits, and Coping Skills.

Students must use their google account to access the site: https://sites.google.com/fcpsschools.net/cougars-chill-spot/home

At the February PTSA Parent Education Workshop, presenters Michele Tureaud and Lori Kraden from FCPS Behavior Intervention Services offered helpful tips in understanding the teenage brain as well as on effective communication.

Feel free to check out the resources they provided:

The 7 Mistakes Parents Make with Teens Article from the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/7-pitfalls-in-teen-parent-relationships/2018/04/23/d729fdc2-3c22-11e8-a7d1-e4efec6389f0_story.html

Article on over-parenting from the blog/website the Conversation: http://theconversation.com/over-parenting-teaches-children-to-be-entitled-let-them-fail-and-learn-to-be-resilient-instead-130632.

For more information on the PTSA, check out their website: https://oaktonhsptsa.ptboard.com/.

The Summer Learning office is excited to share learning opportunities for Summer 2020.

Please read through the information below, and contact the Summer Learning team with any questions.

Summer Learning Opportunities

Online Campus - New or repeat credit (current 7-12 grade students):

· Courses offered: Algebra 2 Head Start, Economics and Personal Finance (not self-directed), Health and PE 9 and 10, Honors Geometry, Geometry, Algebra 2, Chemistry, Physics, Geosystems, Spanish 2 & 3, English 10-12, World History and Geography 1 & 2, VA/US History, VA/US Government (Eligible students must have completed VA/US History or will be sophomores in an International Baccalaureate (IB) school during the 2020-21 school year.)

· Students will need to have a computer with the specifications indicated.

· Registration opened January 6, 2020.

· Dates, testing information, and tuition information can be found here: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/summer-learning/online-programs.

CTE Summer Career Academy (current 10-11 grade students)

· CTE Summer Career Academy provides students access to CTE courses in the following areas: Construction Technology, Electrical Construction and Engineering, Health Sciences, Information Systems, and Teachers for Tomorrow.

· These are one credit introductory courses that students may not have the opportunity to take during the school year.

· Registration begins February 3, 2020.

· View addition program information on the program webpage.

Self-Directed Economics & Personal Finance (current 8-12 grade students)

· Session 1: Wednesday, April 22 – Monday, June 22, 2020

· Session 2*: Monday, June 29 – Friday, July 31, 2020 (*Self-Directed Economics and Personal Finance is the only course students can take with an Online Campus course during Session 2)

· Registration dates

o Session 1 registration: Monday, January 6 – Friday, April 10, 2020

o Session 2 registration: Monday, January 6 – Friday, June 12, 2020

· Tuition (discounts based on free/reduced lunch status)

o Full $140

o Reduced: $70

o Free: $14

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/summer-learning/self-directed-economics-and-personal-finance-summer-learning

February was a month of activity - from an apprenticeship program to a cosmetology rep to NOVA workshops to college essay writing tips, the College & Career Center has been offering resources to our student body. Recently, Luis Portillo, an admissions rep from the University of Delaware, spoke with our junior AVID class about the admissions process and answered student questions. He also hosted the college essay workshop after school, which was open to all juniors.

The College & Career Center is happy to announce spring college admissions visits in T-35, which are open to all tenth and eleventh grade students. This is a great opportunity for students to begin researching colleges and to gain insight into the admissions factors. A full list of college visits is available on Naviance Student (linked through Blackboard) under College Visits. Students must register for the visits, which also serves as their pass out of class.

Want to know more about the events above? Students, please check your email from Ms. Banbury and Ms. Evans and/or swing by T-35. The College & Career Center also has information regarding summer opportunities such as employment, service military academies, internships and scholarships.

The ASVAB is a job placement exam for those who wish to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Oakton HIgh School will be hosting the ASVAB Exam in the College and Career Center-Trailer 35!

Date: March 10, 2020

Time: 8:00am until completion

The ASVAB Interpretation will be held in the College and Career Center-Trailer 35

Date: March 30, 2020

Time: 11:30am

Additional information regarding sign up, etc. will be sent out the first week of February, please feel free to stop by the College and Career Center-Trailer 35 if you have questions or direct them to Mrs.Banbury: dbbanbury@fcps.edu

School counselors will be hosting Junior Parent Night on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 6pm. Parents will gain insight into the college search process and application process.

The format is a large group setting in the cafeteria and auditorium divided by student last name. Students with the last names A - Lam will be in the cafeteria while students with the last names Lan - Z will be in the auditorium.

Can't make it? The presentation will be available online by the following week.

Oakton High School PTSA cordially invites you to a free screening of Screenagers Next Chapter on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

Dr. Delaney Ruston's film examines the science behind teen’s emotional challenges, the interplay of social media, and most importantly, what can be done in our schools and homes to help them build crucial skills to navigate stress, anxiety, and depression in our digital age.

Wednesday, March 18 - 7pm
Oakton High School Auditorium (Door 5)
Doors open at 6:30pm

Reserve your tickets today and let’s start a conversation. All are welcome and suggested for grades 6 and above. For more information, visit Screenagers: Next Chapter to see the preview.

This free event is sponsored by Oakton PTSA.

Attention Teens:

You are invited to attend the 2020 Fairfax County Teen Job Fairs and Resume Building Workshops.

These events will focus on student job seekers (approximately ages 16 to 18) looking for full time employment, after-school employment, seasonal positions, internship opportunities, or volunteer experiences. It is open to all teens in Fairfax County looking for employment or wanting tips to build their resume. Volunteer opportunities and resume building workshops will be available for younger students looking to begin to build their resume.

Businesses and organizations have the opportunity to showcase their companies, brand their business in the local community, and advertise the positions they have available. It does not cost to participate.

During our previous job fairs, over 2000 Fairfax County teenagers and 120 employers attended all events combined. These job fairs provided hundreds of teenagers the opportunity to get in front of employers and for employers and volunteer organizations to find talented, driven Fairfax County students to fill their positions.

Woodson High School is hosting the event on March 7th and Chantilly High School is hosting the event on March 14th. Check out here for more information: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/springfield/teenjobfairs.

Students interested in applying to a Service Military Academy are invited to attend the VA-10 Academy Day with Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. This event will help students complete the application for a congressional nomination.

Date: April 4, 2020

Time: 10am - 1pm

Location: Loudoun County School Administration Building

21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA 20148

With third quarter almost half way completed, AP Exams are quickly approaching. Below is the AP Exam Schedule with tentative room locations. The dates are set in advance by College Board and are national test dates, not Oakton's. The room locations may change due to space availability and impact by construction.

For more information about AP Exam logistics, please check out our testing site: https://oaktonhs.fcps.edu/academics/testing/ap-exams.

Mrs. Alyson Calvello has been a school counselor for 13 years. This is her 5th year at Oakton High School and she has previously worked at Brooke Point High School in Stafford County and East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Alyson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Temple University and a Master of Arts in School Counseling Services from Rider University.

In her free time, Alyson enjoys cheering on all Philadelphia sports teams with her husband (especially football), attending concerts, sweating it out at Orange Theory Fitness, and trips to the Jersey Shore. However, it looks like she won’t be having much free time anymore, as she is currently on maternity leave spending time with her new daughter, Charlie. Alyson became a school counselor because she recognizes how difficult high school and adolescents can be, and she wanted to be someone that students could talk to.

To celebrate National School Counselor Week, counselors delivered inspiring messages on the morning announcements advocating for resiliency and positivity.

Leadership students celebrated school counselors during National School Counseling Week with a banner and thoughtful, personalized messages to counselors. They also made individual videos for each counselor that were meaningful and special to each of us. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

We also want to send a big thank you to the PTSA who surprised us with individualized messages and a sweet treat. Thank you for your support!