SMHS Update
September 2024
Welcome to Our New School Counseling Staff
Elementary
Courtney Anthony - Sugarland
Hayley Becker - Liberty
Briah Doleman - Cool Springs
Michael Fields - Frederick Douglass
Julia Forman - Henrietta Lacks
Nancy Friedl - Buffalo Trail
Deriel Green - Guilford
Chelsea Hampton - Meadowland
Brenda Jochems - Steuart W. Weller
Edward "Eddie" Mann - Catoctin
Jill Mayer - Buffalo Trail
Madison Maynard - Banneker
Oliva McKelley - Steuart W. Weller
Megan Nunes- Hovatter
Karen Plosch - Rolling Ridge
Myranda Reid - Belmont Station
Nicola Richards - Potowmack
Ashley Sharma - Cardinal Ridge
Julia Stang - Cardinal Ridge
Jessica Tutton - Discovery
Alissa Westrick - Sterling
Middle
Laura Andrews - Stone Hill
Bethanne Arthur - Belmont Ridge
Rachael Boisacy - Trailside
Alexis Cannon - Smart's Mill
Anoma Hapangama - Willard
Kloe Rosso - Willard
Lisa Snevely - Willard
Carey Walker - River Bend
Taryn Zeidman - Watson Mountain
High
Suyapa "Patricia" Alfaro - Potomac Falls
Timothy "TJ" Atlee - Briar Woods
Daniel Choi - Lightridge
Emily Gardner - Rock Ridge
Shannon Gresh - Briar Woods
Erin Hill - Broad Run
Debbie Karr - Dominion
Cristina Membreno - John Champe
Jason Supon - Park View Director
Deborah Wolin - Independence
College Fair at Stone Bridge High School
The Office of School Counseling took great pride in hosting The College Fair on September 22nd at Stone Bridge High School. With enthusiasm and dedication, we welcomed an impressive assembly of 135 representatives from esteemed colleges and universities across the country. These representatives engaged with families, extending a warm invitation to explore their diverse academic programs.
Thank you, Amanda Baranek, SCS Program Assistant, for all your hard work and dedication to planning this incredible event! The College Fair was a huge success!
We were so excited to be offering two new additions to our College Fair! We hosted an information session to include the top Virginia schools (GMU, JMU, UVA, Vtech) where they shared admissions information and facts about their school! Concurrently, we offered a sensory-friendly option for students who may benefit from a quieter, less crowded fair!
The College Fair garnered an extraordinary response, drawing in over 3,500 enthusiastic participants. This overwhelming turnout is a testament to the shared commitment of students and their families to charting a path toward higher education and a brighter future.
We would like to extend our appreciation to everyone who supported our College Fair this year! We are so fortunate to have you all part of our team!
Thank you to the following School Counselors, Directors of School Counseling and Career Center Assistants for your support this week! From checking in vendors, students, fielding questions, and helping direct traffic, we could not have done it without you! Thank you all!
Recovery School Progress
On September 19, 2024 LCPS Department of Student Services hosted a Recovery School Roundtable to advocate with State and Local government officials, community partners and our School Board to fully fund the LCPS Recovery School. The Recovery School will be a secondary program designed to educate and provide services for students who are in recovery from substance use or co-occurring disorders.
CAMPUS Students Visit University of Virginia
On September 17th, CAMPUS took 120 first-generation college bound students to the University of Virginia for the first college field trip of the school year! Students engaged in an information session provided by the admissions office followed by a student-led tour to see the library, classrooms and more!
Shatter the Stigma - Loudoun Strong 5K
On Saturday, September 14, 2024, over 140 students, staff, participants, and community partners joined at Morven Park for our 1st Shatter the Stigma-Loudoun Strong 5K. The event demonstrated our community's commitment to raising awareness about substance use disorders, breaking down the barriers of stigma, and fostering a sense of hope.
Virginia Commonwealth University's Multilingual Ambassador Program (MAP) & LCPS CAMPUS Program
We are excited to announce that Virginia Commonwealth University's Multilingual Ambassador Program (MAP) & LCPS CAMPUS program are teaming up to pilot near-peer mentoring to CAMPUS English Learners at Heritage High School. The program connects multilingual college students at VCU with multilingual students across Virginia public high schools. The goals of the partnership are to support the confidence-building, identity development, and community building of multilingual students and to provide them with the support they need to obtain post-secondary education. The mentors will provide in-school tutoring, mentoring, and career and college readiness presentations. LCPS CAMPUS students at Heritage will have the opportunity to participate in a year-end celebration field trip to Virginia Commonwealth University! Heritage High School was selected to pilot this program due to the number of English Learners in their CAMPUS program.
LCPS Department of Student Services Mental Health and Wellness Workshops
Please share our Parent Mental Health and Wellness Series 2024-2025 with your families!
Domestic Violence Awareness Month - LAWS
The prevention and outreach team at LAWS is hard at work, especially at this time of year. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and LAWS is hosting many amazing events to celebrate survivors and spread awareness. Please see the attached flyers for our community events and feel free share them with your networks.
Parent Guidance - Parent Mental Health Series Spotlight
Bullying – Stop the Cycle
Monday: October 7th 7:00 pm & 9:00 pm ET
Parent Guidance is now offering live events in English and Spanish at various times (ET, CT, MT). Please see the Monthly Calendar and share in your newsletters.
Fentanyl Awareness - Community Event
The Office of Student Mental Health Services is hosting a fentanyl awareness event at Loudoun County High School on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. The awareness session will include a viewing of Song for Charlie’s short educational film, The New Drug Talk. In less than 30 minutes, this film covers the basics of the fentanyl crisis, how it’s affecting young people and the steps we all can take to help keep our communities safe. The presentation also includes vital information about naloxone, the life-saving, opioid overdose-reversing medication, as well as other resources.
A panel discussion will follow the presentation. Members of the panel will share their stories of losing a loved one to fentanyl poisoning and give a fact-based presentation about the dangers of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply, including its presence in fake pills that are being sold on social media and in our communities.
Empowered Resource and Learning Conference for EL Families
In honor of National Family Engagement Month in November, the DEL FACE Office would like to celebrate families as partners in education by hosting an EL Family Engagement Resource Fair and Learning Conference to share resources, engage in learning sessions about LCPS programs and services, and strengthen EL families’ sense of community and collaboration with LCPS.
Dari FlyerAdditional information is available on the Teaching and Learning site.