Dragon Connection
Carroll Senior High School, Counselors' Newsletter
May 2019
WELCOME DRAGON STUDENTS & PARENTS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS WITH CSHS SPRING EVENTS:
May 2 - Mr. Duhon's Annual Cookout @ Lunch
May 3 - Senior Awards, 10:00 AM in CSHS Auditorium
May 6 – May 17 AP Exams
May 6 - Summer School Registration Opens
May 8 – EOC US History @ CSHS
May 10 – Last Day to Purchase Picnic Ticket
May 18 - Senior Prom @ DFW Hyatt (7:30pm-11:00pm)
May 20 - Mandatory Senior Meeting/Practice, 8:30am, Auditorium
May 20 - Senior Picnic @ Austin Ranch, Grapevine
May 21 - Senior Exams (Block 8th) – Regular School Day
May 22 - Senior Exams (Block 4th) – Regular School Day
May 23 - Senior Exams (Blocks 5, 6, 7)
May 24 - Senior Exams (Blocks 1, 2, 3)
May 24 - Junior Exams (Blocks 3, 4)
May 26 - Baccalaureate @ Whites Chapel, 4:00pm (optional)
May 27 - MEMORIAL DAY - SCHOOL CLOSED
May 28 - Junior Exams (Blocks 7, 8)
May 29 - Junior Exams (Blocks 1, 2)
May 30 - Junior Exams (Blocks 5, 6)
May 30 – END OF 4TH 9 WEEKS
May 31 - Graduation Practice, Dragon Stadium @ 8:00am
May 31 - Graduation Ceremony, 7:30 PM, Dragon Stadium
May 31 - Project Graduation, 11:00pm-5:00am-MainEvent Grapevine
June 1 – SAT @ CSHS
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!
TIPS FOR SURVIVING THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
Start Each Day on a Positive Note
Encourage students by sharing positive messages (written or verbal).
Contain Your Focus
Encourage students to be mindful and attentive during the final few weeks of school. Remind them that we want to make the last few weeks really special and try to keep excellent behavior.
Strive for Routine
Keep your routine as much as possible. This will help students stay focused and avoid unnecessary stress.
Have Fun :)
Be Flexible
Go with the flow. It’s May and things are going to come up. Take the changes as they come and embrace them! It’s the end of the year.
Celebrate
Celebrate the accomplishments of students. They’ve worked hard this year! Celebrate the hard work and growth your children have made.
Plan Ahead
Keep lists/notes to help stay organized on what needs to be accomplished for the end of the year and even the fall.
Prepare for Next Year
Are there things that can be prepared now to alleviate extra stress in the fall?
Reflect
Think back on your child's year. What went well? What didn’t go so well? What goals do your children have for the upcoming year?
TIPS FOR STUDENTS: HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF SUMMER
Get Active and Outside
- Intense physical activity programs have positive effects on academic achievement, including increased concentration; improved mathematics, reading, and writing test scores; and reduced disruptive behavior (Journal of School Health 1997).
- Find ways to ensure your child is active for 60 minutes each day. Have him or her walk the neighbor's dog, go swimming, play badminton or soccer, take walks, or go for family bike rides. Look for safe, fun ways to play outside together year-round.
- Stay in the learning zone by reading, writing, and doing math daily. The largest summer learning losses for all children occur in mathematical computation, an average of 2.6 months.
- Monitor screen time (TV, cell-phone, and video games)
- Spend time together as a family
- Try something new (cooking, art lessons, Karate)
- Students learn better and "act out" less when they engage in activities to aid in their social-emotional development, such as community service (The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning, 2004).
- Encourage your child to help out neighbors or friends. He or she can volunteer with a local group or complete a service learning project. Big Help web site together for more ideas.
PERSEVERANCE
Perseverance is the ability and self control that pushes you to work through challenges. Having perseverance means that when you are facing a challenge, you use your mind and your body to overcome it. Perseverance means you are able to wait and work through difficulties, whether they have to do with your mind, your body, or your emotions.
It’s important to point out that the definition of perseverance is not “don’t give up no matter what” or “never quit”. Sometimes you’ll do your best but it will still be time to move on to a different goal. However, perseverance is the ability to do your best toward a goal, even though it’s a big challenge.
What is Test Anxiety?
Test anxiety is a problem, and it's getting worse. We live in a culture that is promoting more tests all the time. There's a push for data on everything, and that means more testing. But that change comes with consequences. Test anxiety is a feeling of worry or nervousness about an upcoming test, and it can be debilitating. It not only makes it hard to think about anything else before a test, but it causes people to perform worse than they normally would, and reduces the efficiency of their studying shortly before the test.
How do you know if you have test anxiety? Well, symptoms include:
- Having repeated negative thoughts about failing or not performing well.
- Having trouble focusing on anything else.
- Being easily distracted by things.
- Being unable to think during tests.
- Doing worse on tests than you would expect given your knowledge level.
- Physical reactions include fidgeting, butterflies, elevated pulse, rapid breathing, sweating and nausea.
Thankfully, there are ways to overcome test anxiety. It can be difficult, but it will not only improve your quality of life, but also your test performance at the same time.
Steps for Overcoming Test Anxiety
The steps for overcoming test anxiety can be put into two categories: mindset, and preparation. Test anxiety is largely inside your mind, so it makes sense that the main answer would be psychological. But it's also true that greater test preparation can reduce test anxiety in some people.
Relaxed Mindset
To retrain your mind against test anxiety, there are many things you can do:
- Challenge your own negative thoughts as soon as you have them. After thinking, 'I'm about to fail this test,' remind yourself that you have no way of knowing that. Tests go better than expected every single day. Just because you didn't do so well last time, doesn't mean you won't this time.
- Re-frame the consequences. The consequences of underperforming on a test are never as bad as we imagine in our minds. You should always try hard, but to reduce anxiety, you can remind yourself that a single result really doesn't matter all that much.
- Re-frame the purpose of a test. Think of the test not as a way to punish a failure to learn, but as a way to reward what you have learned. Remember: depending on the test, it's likely that you would have gotten close to a zero before the first class. So any test result shows that you've learned things - and that's really the goal.
- Remind yourself of backup plans: If you don't do so well, you'll do x, y, and z to prepare for the next test. If you don't do so well on this course, will that in any way affect the courses you take next year? If so, it just means a change of direction. If not, then it definitely isn't worth worrying about. Even a test that means you don't get into your ideal university isn't the end of the world - there are always other schools that you will get into. It isn't as important as people claim.
- Remind yourself of what you will always have. If you have your health, that isn't going to change. (In fact, stress will only make it worse.) You'll always have the people who care about you. They're not going to abandon you because of a test. Having a support system that can remind you of these things really helps.
- Get plenty of sleep. It's harder for a tired mind to banish negative thoughts, and harder to do well on the test when you are exhausted. Your brain also organizes the new things you've learned while you sleep, so any extra study time you get by not sleeping is usually undone by not sleeping.
- Remember that there's only so much you can do. Once you're at the test, studying is over and is now outside of your control. And there's no benefit to worrying about something you can't control.
- Avoid talking to other students, unless you're sure they will calm you down. Other people's anxiety can be contagious.
- Practice breathing exercises. Breathe in deeply, so that your belly moves up and down (not just your upper chest) and count to 5. Other relaxation exercises can be found online.
JUNIOR FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
2019-2020 Course Selection/Arena Scheduling Timeline
Adjustment Window:
First: June 3-7
Second: August 5-9
IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you have completed arena scheduling and you have submitted a schedule change request form. Please be patient while we make the adjustments. DO NOT submit multiple forms with the same request, or send multiple emails this will delay the process. We are working as quickly as possible to try and meet your requests. Keep checking Skyward for updates to your schedule. REMEMBER school starts in AUGUST, so there is plenty of time to make adjustments.
RESOURCES
How-to printables:
Course offerings:
THE RESILIENCY PROJECT
We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts and traumas many children face. Children can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom to bullying by classmates or even abuse at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience.
The good news is that resilience skills can be learned.
Building resilience — the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress — can help our children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. However, being resilient does not mean that children won't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common when we have suffered major trauma or personal loss, or even when we hear of someone else's loss or trauma.
DRAGON TIP LINE - 817-406-2512
The Dragon Tip Line system is designed to help students, parents and community members anonymously report past, present and predicted concerns in our school community. Information about bullying, harassment, drugs, violence, weapons, theft, or any other potential threat to school safety should be reported.
Report concerns anonymously, anytime 24/7.
A New Type of Help: Crisis Text Line
Text 741-741, ANYTIME YOU ARE IN A CRISIS
With today's teenagers living in the age of texting, the Crisis Text Line has noticed they feel more comfortable texting rather than calling into a helpline when they are in need of help. The great thing about this support is it is available 24/7 to anyone in any type of crisis. You can text confidentially between classes, in the middle of a situation without anyone knowing who you are talking to. Crisis counselors are on stand by 24/7 to help you from the heat of the moment to until you are calm.
Crisis doesn’t just mean suicide: it’s any painful emotion for which you need support.
SAT & ACT INFORMATION & DATES
Visit our CSHS Counseling Website for information on ACT/SAT Testing and More
Click here for 2018-2019 SAT/ACT Testing Dates and Deadlines
$ PAYING FOR COLLEGE $
Visit your Naviance Account for a full list of scholarships available to you. There is a TON of money out there, APPLY and maybe you will be selected!
Check the Scholarship list in Naviance Monthly:
- Log in
- Click on the Colleges Tab
- Then click Scholarships and Money.
**Seniors this list will grow, make sure you check at least once per month.
You can also visit:
Our Counseling Team
Serving Students Last Names A-D
Tracey.Flores@southlakecarroll.edu
Melissa Woodward, M. Ed.
Serving Students Last Names E-K
Melissa.Woodward@southlakecarroll.edu
Keri Bettencourt, M. Ed.
Serving Students Last Names L-Q
Keri.Bettencourt@southlakecarroll.edu
Tammy Grasmick, M. S.
Serving Students Last Names R-Z
Tamara.Grasmick@southlakecarroll.edu
Guidance Office Support Staff
Deidra Mulloy
Registrar
Deidra.Mulloy@southlakecarroll.edu
Anne Fore
Receptionist
Patricia.Fore@southlakecarroll.edu
Shela Daniel
Secretary
Shela.Daniel@southlakecarroll.edu
Website: https://www.southlakecarroll.edu/domain/736
Location: 1501 West Southlake Boulevard, Southlake, TX, United States
Phone: 817-949-5813
Twitter: @CounselingCSHS