NCHS Counseling Newsletter

Welcome Back and Staff Updates! (All)

Introducing The PARC (All)

Schedule Changes (All)

Counseling Evening Programs (All)

Counseling Curriculum (9)

College Application Information (12)

FAFSA Graduation Requirement (12)

College Representative Visits to NCHS (11-12)

Visiting a College Campus (All)

Postsecondary Planning for Juniors (11)

NCompass (All)

SchooLinks Parent/Guardian Accounts (All)

Viewing Unofficial Transcripts in Infinite Campus (All)

Upcoming NCHS Events (All)

College Fairs & Other Events (All)

Counselors are excited to welcome all students and families to the 2024-25 school year! This monthly newsletter serves as a communication tool from counselors to families about the happenings in our department and important upcoming events. Look for our newsletter each month!

We are thrilled to welcome Erin LeRoy as the new Department Chair for School Counseling at Central! Additionally, we are welcoming Randi Perry to our team who is filling in for counselor Stephanie Hanstad while she is on maternity leave. Welcome Erin and Randi!

Naperville Central is proud to announce the rebranding of our College & Career Center. In an effort to be more inclusive of all the amazing postsecondary opportunities our students can pursue after high school, our center will now be known as the Postsecondary Advising & Resource Center (or ‘The PARC’ for short). This rebranding of our space is more than a year in the making, and a necessary evolution of the space & services we provide. We aim to help students plan for their lives after high school - whether that’s attending a 2 or 4 year college/university/trade school, enlisting in the military, becoming an apprentice, or embarking on a gap year. Our hope is that students & their families will continue to partner with our center in formulating their postsecondary plans, as well as utilize resources like our digital postsecondary planning guide, NCompass!

The PARC is located off the Learning Commons and is open daily from 7:30am-3:30pm. Students are welcome to come to The PARC during lunch, a blended period, or before or after school. Students and families are welcome to schedule an appointment with Mrs. Corder, our College & Career Counselor. We look forward to seeing you in The PARC!

The timeframe to change a first semester class ended on July 12th. At this point, students are only able to drop a course for a study hall. The deadline to drop a first semester course for a study hall is September 12th. The deadline to change a course for second semester is October 25th. To request a schedule change, please follow the procedures outlined on the schedule change form.

9th - 11th Grade Schedule Change Form

12th Grade Schedule Change Form

The Counseling Department offers evening programs for students and families. We invite you to view our calendar of events and save the dates and join us! We will send additional reminders about upcoming events via email and in each monthly newsletter.

On August 22nd, 9th graders will participate in a Freshmen Class Assembly during their Homeroom period. This will be an introduction to Student Services and life as a Redhawk.

On Monday, August 26th seniors will receive instruction from counselors during their English class about the college application process and how to use SchooLinks to facilitate this process. Once seniors receive this training, they will be able to request official transcripts and letters of recommendation through SchooLinks. Please review this letter that was emailed home to seniors and families on July 31st for additional information about the college application process.

Additionally, we will have a College Application Information night for parents on Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30pm in the NCHS Auditorium where we will discuss the college application process, testing, and NCHS testing procedures.

Public Act 101-180 requires all public high school students in the state of Illinois to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or, as eligible, the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid, as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma. A waiver provision allows a parent, guardian, or the student (if 18 years of age) to opt out for any reason. The 2025-26 FAFSA (for students beginning college in the Fall of 2025) is available to be filled out beginning December 1, 2024.

Juniors and seniors are welcome to attend college visits during the school day in The PARC beginning September 3rd. The college visit calendar is being finalized as college representatives are in the midst of planning their travel schedules. Each year, we typically host 150+ college representatives. To attend a college visit, you must sign up in SchooLinks. Instructions can be found here. If you are missing a class, you will need to get approval from your teacher and have a signed college visit pass from that teacher.

Why should you attend a college visit?

• Learn more about a potential college of interest.
• Meet the admissions rep from the college. BONUS: This is typically the person who will be reading your application when you apply!

• Show demonstrated interest in applying/attending a college. Some colleges track this interest.
• Get questions answered about a college that you can't learn online.

We highly encourage students to take the time to visit college campuses. It is the best way to find out if a school could be a good fit. We recommend using weekends or a day off from school to visit campuses; however, if you need to miss school to attend a visit, a parent/guardian needs to inform the attendance office. Students should also be talking with teachers in advance of the absence to find out what they will be missing that day. Students have 10 total excused absences each semester and college visits fall into this category. If you are visiting a campus, here are some tips and questions to consider.

Junior year is when postsecondary exploration and research really starts to ramp up! For students interested in attending college, we encourage learning about colleges, finding your fit, and visiting college campuses. We recommend following this timeline during your junior year to stay on track.

Counselors will be delivering postsecondary planning content to juniors through Homeroom. The videos and resources shared will be emailed home and posted in this newsletter as they happen. In addition, we recommend attending our testing night on Tuesday, October 8th at 6:30pm in the NCHS Auditorium to learn more about how testing affects the admission process.

NCompass is Naperville 203's Postsecondary Planning Guide. We encourage you to utilize this tool to research and explore postsecondary options. We highly recommend checking out the checklists by grade level.

SchooLinks is Naperville 203's college & career planning platform. Students began using this platform in junior high and continue to use it in high school.

Parents and guardians can create a SchooLinks Guardian account to take advantage of all of the wonderful tools that SchooLinks has to offer. Guardians can view their child's progress on SchooLinks, see assessment results, view favorited careers and colleges, and much more. We encourage all guardians to have an account. To create a SchooLinks Guardian account, please follow the directions in this document.

As a reminder, all students can access their unofficial transcript in Infinite Campus by going to Documents.

Please note, all programming will be held in person unless otherwise specified.

Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30pm in the NCHS Auditorium

We invite 12th grade parents & guardians to join NCHS counselors as we discuss the college application process, NCHS specific procedures related to college applications, and how parents can help in the journey.

Thursday, September 12th at 6:30pm in the NCHS Auditorium

Financial Aid Representative, Jennifer Stewart, talks about the ins and outs of financial aid and the FAFSA. This event is especially relevant for junior and senior families.

Tuesday, October 8th at 6:30pm in the NCHS Auditorium

Compass Test Prep experts Matty Steiner and Eric Anderson discuss college admission testing, the ever-changing test-optional landscape, and digital ACT and SAT testing.

Thursday, November 14th from 6:00-7:30pm on a Live Zoom

District 203 counselors, ISAC representatives, and college admission representatives discuss the financial aid process, tools to assist in financial aid planning, and the financial aid awarding process at college.

Saturday, October 5th 11:00am-3:00pm

More information here

Tuesday, October 15th 6:00pm-8:00pm