NHS GUIDANCE DEPT NEWSLETTER

Welcome to 2025! We hope you had a restful and relaxing winter break. We are excited to share our monthly newsletter with you.

As we approach the midway point of the school year, we’d like to remind ninth graders that the last full day of classes for second term will be Friday, January 17th. Students will follow a half day schedule with 11:00am dismissal during the week of midyear exams, Tuesday, January 21st - Friday, January 24th. Second term and first semester will come to a close on Friday, January 24th, and grades will post in PowerSchool the following week.

GUIDANCE SEMINAR: With the conclusion of the second term comes the end of Freshman Guidance Seminar classes. In the final weeks of class, students discuss course selection for the 2025-26 school year, and there will also be a CDS presentation (see below). As a reminder, students can still access all of our curriculum and many useful resources in their Freshman Guidance Seminar Google Classroom throughout the rest of the school year. We’ve loved seeing our ninth graders in Guidance Sem!

SCHEDULING FOR THE 2025-26 SY: The Guidance Department will be delivering a presentation in the auditorium to ALL ninth graders on Thursday, January 30th, during CDS to review the scheduling process and highlight important dates. The PowerSchool portal for students to enter in courses for sophomore year will be open between Friday, January 31st @3pm - Friday, February 14th @8pm. After February break, Guidance Counselors will meet one-on-one with freshmen to review course selection.

SEMESTER TWO CHANGES: All students should check their schedules in PowerSchool prior to the start of second semester on January 27th, to see their new CDS blocks, study halls, and second semester electives. If there are any questions, your guidance counselor is here to help!

PreACT: SAVE THE DATE! PRE-ACT REGISTRATION IS LIVE!

Attention sophomores - NHS is hosting the pre-ACT test on Saturday, March 29th. The test runs approximately from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Please sign up on the google form and bring a check for $35 made out to “NHS Testing” or cash to the Guidance office and give it to Ms. White or Ms. Slattery by Friday, February 7th. If you have testing accommodations, please indicate your accommodation on the google form. If you have any questions please contact - Ms. Erving at serving@natickps.org.

pre-ACT Sign up

The PreACT is a practice ACT test, which is a college admission test comparable to the PSAT, for Sophomores. This helps students get comfortable with the standardized testing experience and understand how they are doing in core subjects. Students will receive a personalized view of college and career possibilities - based on your answers to the ACT Interest Inventory, this can also help you start thinking about potential career paths.

For more information about practice tools and resources, click here.

SCHEDULING FOR THE 2025-26 SY: The Guidance Department will be delivering a presentation in the auditorium to ALL 10th graders on Wednesday, January 29th, during CDS to review the scheduling process and highlight important dates. The PowerSchool portal for students to enter in courses for junior year will be open between Friday, January 31st @3pm - Friday, February 14th @8pm. After February break, Guidance Counselors will meet one-on-one with sophomores to review course selection.

SEMESTER TWO CHANGES: All students should check their schedules in PowerSchool prior to the start of second semester on January 27th, to see their new CDS blocks, study halls, and second semester electives. If there are any questions, your guidance counselor is here to help!

PSAT

The College Board released scores earlier this fall to Juniors who took the PSAT. Scores were released through the student’s College Board account. All juniors who have not created an account through College Board should do so as soon as possible. A link to the College Board’s online account registration is below. Students who have already created an account do not need to create a new one.

Link To College Board Account Registration (New Accounts Only!)

Counselors are available to speak with students should they have questions about how to interpret the PSAT results, as well as other pertinent information regarding accessing free SAT test prep through Khan Academy and SAT/ACT information.

College Board PSAT Information

JUNIOR PARENT COLLEGE PLANNING PROGRAM:

In December, Guidance Counselors recorded and released videos for the Junior Guidance Planning Program. Parents can watch the full program or short videos by topic. We encourage all parents and students to view the program. Much of the information covered in these videos will be covered more extensively in the upcoming Junior Guidance Seminar classes.

Junior College Planning Program

GUIDANCE SEMINAR:

Juniors will begin their Junior Guidance Seminars during the CDS block starting the week of January 27th. Guidance Counselors will cover various topics including, but not limited to: SAT/ACT, college search criteria, transcripts and GPA, Naviance and its numerous features, requesting teacher recommendations, campus visits, the college essay, and the Common Application. Counselors provide students with access to a Junior Guidance Seminar Google Classroom that is full of materials and resources. We encourage students to share the classroom with their parents.

Please be aware that seniors will often receive notification from the colleges and universities saying they have not yet received records from the school. There is no reason to worry when this occurs. Understand that when online or mail submissions are received by the colleges, it can take 2-3 weeks for them to upload the information on their end. If this timeframe has passed since your records were sent, and if there is no change in your application status, feel free to call the Admissions office and ask for a status update.

MID YEAR GRADES will automatically be sent to all the schools your child has applied to. There is no need to call or email this request to the guidance counselor. The mid year grades will be sent in mid February after incomplete grades and grade changes have been resolved. Your child may get notifications from the colleges suggesting they see us, but we are readily prepared to send these grades upon availability. We suggest they follow the same protocol as mentioned above; wait for 2-3 weeks after records have been sent and then call the Admissions office to inquire.

Amongst all the online applications, teacher recommendations, and transcript request forms, remember to keep college deadlines in mind. There are many schools that have January 15th deadlines. Transcript Request forms are due 1 month prior to any deadline and can be found on the Guidance website under College Planning or in the Guidance office.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The Guidance Department maintains an updated database of independent scholarships. To download a list of independent scholarships please CLICK HERE.

LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS 2024-2025

• The local scholarship application portal will open on February 6, 2025

• Information will be available on our website as well as emailed to all Natick High School seniors about the application process.

• Recipients of Local Scholarships are announced during the Senior Class Night Award Program.

For more information on scholarship opportunities please visit the NHS Guidance Department website.

FINANCIAL AID and FAFSA DAY MASSACHUSETTS

FAFSA Day will take place virtually on various dates. This program assists families with the completion of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Please note there is a pre-registration for this event.

Direct links to the community service and job opportunity web pages are located on Career and College Readiness Website. Please check out the CCR bulletin board located between the gymnasium and cafeteria as it is updated regularly. Feel free to drop by Mr. Nardi’s office in the Guidance suite or schedule a time to meet with him if you have any questions. (jnardi@natickps.org)

The Career and College Readiness Center offers:

• Work-Study Program

• Community Service Opportunities

• Dual Enrollment (at local colleges)

• Job Placement & Application Assistance

• Resume Writing

• Interview Skills

• Career Exploration

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

All NHS students are required to complete 30 hours of Community Service in order to graduate. Please visit the Community Service Website for more information and to print the Community Service Form. There are plenty of opportunities for students to participate in community service!

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT:

To learn about local employment opportunities for students, please visit the Employment Opportunities Website.

GAP YEARS:

Gap years have been a growing trend in past years. Gap years are a period of time between completing high school and beginning college when a student steps outside the traditional classroom experience. This is a time to explore the world, reflect on their personal values and goals, and prepare to take the next purposeful step in life. Gap Year programs give students an opportunity to expand their perspective and gain direction that give the college years meaning and focus. For many students, Gap Year programs provide them with time to develop independence and confidence as well as pursue various fields of interest.

There are plenty of Gap Year resources and fairs available! Please visit the Natick High School Guidance Department website for more information.

To see upcoming Gap Year fairs in the area, please visit the following website:

https://www.gooverseas.com/gap-year/usa-fairs/schedule

January 11 - Boston @ Noble and Greenough School

January 13 - Newburyport @ Newburyport High School

January 14 - Brookline @ Brookline High School

**All fairs ask that you register for the event in advance.