SEPTEMBER HAPPENINGS

WHAT WERE WE UP TO IN AUGUST?

384 individual student conferences in the first three weeks of school.

Our seniors visited us the most this month, but we hope to see our grades equally distributed as students get to know us!
Academic questions were the top reason for their visit. This is a typical August at the start of school!

We presented in 38 classrooms for August Guidance Lessons, Pop in To See Your Counselors, to all grade levels. We also served over 300 FREE bags of popcorn to our students after school on Thursday, August 31.
Meet the Counselor Presentations from Aug. 28/30

PSAT UPDATES

Digital PSAT: Attention 9^th, 10^th and 11^th grade Families

This year the PSAT/NMSQT is going digital. JPII will be proctoring the Digital PSAT/NMSQT for all JPII freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on the morning of Wednesday, October 11th. Parents, please make sure your students have completed the important PSAT Student Checklist below.

Students will be receiving more information with details on times and locations soon. The Digital PSAT/NMSQT will include built in tools such as a timer, calculator, reference sheet, and annotation/highlighting tools. On test day, students will be asked to bring a pen/pencil, their charged device, charger, approved calculator (if they choose) and bottled water.

Please see a short video of what to expect with the Digital PSAT/NMSQT here

IMPORTANT PSAT Student Checklist:
· All 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade students need to log in to their College Board account to verify their login/password by 9/21/23. If they are unsuccessful, they need to call 866-433-7728 to reset and then write down their new login/password for future use.
· All 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade students must upload Bluebook, the College Board testing app to their personal laptop by 9/21/23. Instructions for download are covered in the videos posted below:
WINDOWS/PC Users - Installing Bluebook Exams for PSAT - Watch Video
MAC Users - Installing Bluebook Exams for PSAT - Watch Video
· Students need to inform Kris Thurston, Director of Technology, ASAP if their personal device is a Chromebook (not permitted by College Board), so that a donor device can be borrowed.
· Students need to check their battery length on their device. It needs to stay charged and operational for 3+ hours.
· Students need to log in to Bluebook, using their College Board account and explore the new tools/practice test to be comfortable with the new testing platform.
· Students need to come to school on 10/11/23 with their CHARGED device and power cord.
There will be no late testing or retesting available. Please make sure students are prepared for the October 11 testing date.

AP UPDATES:

Payments for AP exams are now being taken through Total Registration.

Click here for Total Registration instructions.

Students who are taking an AP class must take the AP exam in May.
The payment deadline is Tuesday, October 31st for all AP exams (both year-long classes and 1st or 2nd semester classes.
Get your join code from your AP teacher.
Email Ms. Heslep if you have questions beckyheslep@johnpauliihs.org

SCHEDULE CHANGES:

If a student needs to drop a more rigorous course (Honors/AP) to a regulars course, those request forms will be available September 1 through September 8 from their teacher. This will be the final time to request a class change until December. Students can pick up this form from their teacher.
No other schedule change requests will be honored at this time.
If students are wanting a schedule change past the September 8 deadline, students can apply again in December to be reflected on their spring semester schedule.

CALENDAR ITEMS:

Guidance Lesson

September 27 and 28 (English classes)
Mental Health Awareness
Check out the bulletin board by our office for resources from each guidance topic.

Minute Meetings

Minute Meetings are brief meetings conducted by the school counselors to basically get the pulse of their student caseload. It gives us the opportunity to meet and make an immediate connection with every student in our building the first few weeks of school.
9th grade: September 5 to September 8
10th grade: September 18 to September 22
11th grade: October 2 to October 6
12th grade: September 11 to September 15
if students were absent or time ran out during the visit, counselors will be rescheduling

Parent/Teacher Conferences, September 22
Small Group---David & Martha

Stress & Anxiety
Mondays--Sept. 18, Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Nov. 6, Dec. 4 (6 sessions)
7:45 a.m.-8:45 a.m. in the CWA Room
Parent permission slips will be sent home.
Sign-up on QR Code below!

RESOURCES:

The Shade (Elijah's Story from 1 Kings 19)

Calming Room in the Counseling Office (check-in with counselor first)
Reset, Relax, Recharge, Refresh, Return!
Fidgets, Aromatherapy, Sound Machine, Cozy Chairs/Blankets, Journal, Coloring Books, & More!
20 minute limit....and then return to class

Children's TeleHealth

6-8 FREE weekly therapist appointments scheduled during non-core periods during the school day (referral through your counselor)

Mental Health Navigation Line

972-525-8181, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Helpline sourced through Grant Halliburton to assist families with finding therapists (based on need, insurance, etc.) in the DFW area

Coffee Days (mom support group for mothers of young people with mental health and emotional health conditions, offering opportunities to share experiences, resources, and information.)