NOVEMBER

 

NOVEMBER HAPPENINGS 

WHAT WERE WE UP TO IN OCTOBER?

• 501 individual student conferences during the month of October.
• We saw more juniors and seniors this past month.  I'm sure those November 1 college application deadlines were weighing on our seniors' hearts!
• The number one reason students came to see us were for academic concerns.  We love that our Cardinals want to do their best and present themselves well in their classes!
• There is always that stigma about mental health....please remember we visit with students for a variety of reasons.  We work with the WHOLE STUDENT:  social/emotional, academic, physical, and spiritual!

• We presented in 48 classrooms for the October Guidance Lesson, Fentanyl 101, to all students in all grade levels.  Thank you to all of our parents that came to our Coffee with the Counselors to also talk about fentanyl!  Some facts that we shared:
• 2 milligrams (equal to 10-15 grains of salt) is considered a deadly dose.
• Fentanyl is not a drug killing addicts.  It's affecting regular people buying normally prescribed drugs (Adderral, Xanax, Ocycontine, etc.) off of social media.  For students, they are seeking to try drugs that are typically prescribed to friends, or they do not have their prescriptions refilled.
• It is an FDA approved drug, and it is 100x more potent than morphine.
• 5 Texans die every day from fentanyl poisoning, more than half of the state's drug-related deaths.
• 1 kilogram (equal to around 2 pounds or half a bag of sugar) has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
• The DEA confiscated 10,000 pounds of fentanyl in 2022.  They confiscated over 51 million pills containing fentanyl with 60% having enough fentanyl to be deadly.
• Fentanyl is added to other drugs because 1) it's cheap, and they can make multiple pills out of the one legitimate pill, and 2) it gives them street credibility that they are selling stronger, more potent drugs, even if some of their customers die.
• Fentanyl is a fast-acting drug.  Narcan is currently the only medication that can save a person's life.  It is now available over-the-counter at pharmacies.  The Diocese of Dallas has approved for JPII to have Narcan on campus for emergencies.  It is administered much like an inhaler for asthmatics. The recommendation is to administer Narcan, and then call 911.
• The biggest takeaway---only use drugs that are prescribed for you by your doctor that you've purchased from a legitimate pharmacy!
• Information taken from Texas Health and Human Resources.

Can you even see the grains of salt?  This amount would equal a deadly dose of fentanyl.

PSAT SCORES ARE IN!

Student PSAT Scores are available to be viewed on student College Board Accounts at this link or online at studentscores.collegeboard.org using the log-in students created. Students may also access using the Big Future School mobile app. Once students sign-in to College Board to review their scores, they will have access to additional information on Careers, Colleges, Scholarships and details on free SAT practice through Khan Academy.  If students have forgotten their College Board login credentials, they can contact College Board directly and come by the Counseling Office to receive a .PDF of their testing report.

AP UPDATES:

Stay tuned for more updates!  Ms. Heslep will be finalizing the ordering of exams for the spring in the next few weeks.  Make sure you read her emails!

SCHEDULE CHANGES:

• If students are interested in making a schedule change, students can apply again in December to be reflected on their spring semester schedule.
• No other schedule change requests will be honored at this time.

CALENDAR ITEMS:

• Guidance Lesson
• November 14 and 15 (English classes)
• Make sure your student can log into their Naviance account!  Need help? Check out THESE DIRECTIONS!  Still have problems? Let your counselor or our registrar, Mrs. Furlong, know!
• College & Career Readiness
• 9th--AchieveWorks Personality & Strengths Explorer
• 10th--AchieveWorks Learning Style & Career Clusters
• 11th--Career Interest Profiler, College Supermatch, & Military Academies
• 12th--Finalizing College Applications, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
• Check out the bulletin board by our office for resources from each guidance topic.
• Coffee with the Counselors

THANK YOU FOR COMING!  WE HAD AN INCREDIBLE GROUP OF PARENTS AND SOME GREAT DISCUSSIONS!  

Ask your students what they learned from our guidance lessons the last week of October in their Theology classes.

PARENT CORNER:

How fun is this? Little text messages of encouragement to send to your student.  Feel free to use some of these to encourage your Cardinal today!  :)

RESOURCES:

• Need to see your Counselor?  Email or stop by!  Our doors are always open!
• 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.)
• granthalliburton.org for upcoming meetings
• Additional Community Resources

COMING SOON FOR DECEMBER!

• Guidance Lesson---Stress:  Let's Get Ready for Those Semester Exams!
• Coffee with the Counselors--December 6 at 8:30 a.m. in the Athenaeum

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the John Paul II Counseling Office is to provide a proactive, comprehensive, and developmentally appropriate program to address students' academic and career goals in addition to supporting their personal and social needs. This is accomplished through a partnership with parents/guardians, staff, and community members to enable all students to become successful, productive citizens and lifelong learners in a diverse and changing world.

VISION  STATEMENT

The John Paul II High School Counseling Office is guided by our commitment to provide a safe, nurturing environment where the entire learning community addresses the unique needs of students to ensure students reach their fullest potential and successfully manage their lives as healthy, responsible, competent and productive citizens who respect themselves and others. Collaborating with students, parents, faculty and staff, we will foster the development of the entire person – mental, spiritual, academic and social. School counselors believe that every student can succeed through the collaborative efforts of school, home, and community leading to responsible and productive citizenship in the 21st century.