NHS Counseling Newsletter
Fall 2024
Happy Fall from the NHS Counseling Department!
Welcome to the 2024-25 School year! We’re so excited to be working with you and your students to make this school year as successful as possible.
In this Fall 2024 Counseling Newsletter, you’ll find updates for each graduating class, as well as some general Social and Emotional Resources to help
CLASS UPDATES
College Applications:
KNOW YOUR DEADLINES
Deadlines come up quickly! Make sure you invite your counselors and recommenders at least 10 school days before any deadlines!
The last day to make any requests before winter break is Dec 13th, 2024
Check out the Senior Student & Parent Presentation
Verify that your transcripts were sent through Parchment
Verify that your test scores were sent from College Board or ACT (if needed)
Attend any College Visits that are interesting to you
Visit the Zen Den in the counseling office for College Q&A sessions every seminar in the month of October.
Sign up to see your counselor if you have questions!
Money
Financial Aid: US Department of Education is planning to have it open in December!
Scholarships: Check the Mustang Trail for weekly newsletter from studentscholarship.org
This is a reminder to continue to check the Counseling Scholarship and Financial Aid webpages for updates. It’s never too early to start planning to afford your goals.
Follow NHS Counseling on Twitter for Scholarship updates @NHSCounseling2
Testing: Get ready for your PSAT/NMSQT in October! You can use your scores from previous tests to get individualized test prep through Khan Academy to prepare for the fall’s PSAT and the Spring SAT.
If you’re wondering about how to stay on top of our graduation plans this year, use this timeline to help guide you. Everyone’s plans are different, but read through to make sure that you’re making moves towards your goals.
Counselors will be reaching out to Juniors to meet during the second quarter to talk through post secondary plans.
Have you been involved in clubs, volunteering or work? Start keeping track of your experiences in a document or a journal for future resume/ brag sheet creation.
Still working on finding the club or student group that sparks your interest…Come to the club fair on Wednesday Oct. 23rd from 7:15-8:30 in the auxiliary gym.
The Portfolio tool in Xello is helpful for keeping track of your extracurricular activities, jobs, skills and more. Take a look at how it works in this video. You can access your Xello account via Clever.
PSAT 10 is coming up in October! You can use your scores from previous tests to get individualized test prep through Khan Academy to prepare for the fall’s PSAT and any future College Board testing.
Counselors plan to general check ins with all sophomores in Nov/early Dec. But students should continue to sign up to chat with their counselor if they are in need of additional support.
We hope your school year is off to a great start! Starting strong in 9th grade is important to making sure that you reach your goals over the next four years.
Counselors visited all Freshmen English classes to introduce ourselves and help students to learn more about what counselors can do for them!
Counselors are meeting with all of our freshmen to help answer questions and support them in their transition.
Clubs:
Clubs are a great way to get involved, and meet new people. There will be a Club Fair on October 23rd in the Auxiliary Gym during Seminar. Check out the flier!
You can check out the NHS list of clubs here to find something that you are interested in. You can reach out to the moderators for the clubs to learn more about joining!
MUSTANG MENTORS
New this year, we are starting a program designed specifically to support our freshmen in their successful transition to NHS! This program will make use of Seminar time to help our freshmen students build relationships with other freshmen, as well as connect with some awesome upperclassmen student mentors. Throughout the school year, we will offer opportunities for freshmen-only social gatherings, as well as small group sessions designed to deliver timely information about high school topics and upcoming school events (such as joining clubs, what to expect at Homecoming, or how to prepare for Final Exams week). There’s more information to come, but we are excited to offer this program to our freshmen!
From Mr. Ferrell, our Career Counselor:
Checklist breakdown by grade levels: Helpful Timeline for all grade levels
From Ms. Shamus, our Social Emotional Counselor:
For so many students, returning to school each fall is an opportunity to reconnect with their friends, re-engage with meaningful clubs and activities, and re-embark on their academic journey. We know, however, that “back to school” can also mean “back to stress” for both students and families. This transition is a great time for students to practice healthy coping skills and to prioritize their own well-being, which will help them throughout the school year – and beyond! Healthy coping skills can include things like:
Identifying and responding to feelings of stress.
Prioritizing adequate sleep and daily movement.
Building time into the daily schedule to engage in an activity that brings joy, even just for 10-15 minutes. (Need some ideas? Try this Idea Sheet with links!)
As we move forward through the 2024-25 school year, we want to emphasize that feeling stress sometimes is a very normal part of the human experience. It’s important to acknowledge stress, and to use healthy coping skills to work through those feelings. It’s also important to recognize, however, when efforts to address stress are not adequately helping – and to seek out additional support when that happens! If eating habits, sleeping habits, or energy levels change, or if low mood and/or anxiety persist for more than a week or so, or if students start to disengage from friends or activities that they previously enjoyed, it may be a sign that some additional support is needed. And that’s ok!
Our counseling office is a great place to start when students notice themselves struggling in these areas. We can help students build a strong foundation of healthy coping and self-advocacy skills as well as facilitate communication among students, families, and staff. We can also provide referrals to local resources who can provide additional out-of-school support as needed. Students are always welcome to walk in, drop by, or schedule appointments with their Counselors!
All October Long: College Application Month in MI. Check out Fee Waivers here
October 16, 6pm-7:30pm: Wayne CCC College Night
October 17, 5pm: Wayne Med-Direct Information Session
November 8, 5pm: Wayne Med-Direct Information Session
November 7, 6 pm: NCAA Parent & Student Presentation in the Health Classroom
February 4, 6pm: Oakland University FAFSA Workshop
Northville Youth Network: This organization empowers youth through healthy lifestyle programs and serves as a bridge to services provided by other agencies and businesses.
Hegira Health Services: Dedicated to achieving wellness first, through our team’s commitment to excellence in service that embraces all people and does so with integrity and resolve.
New Hope: Bringing hope, healing, and new beginnings to those grieving the death of a loved one