DECEMBER

 

PEACE ON EARTH!  GOOD WILL TO MEN!

Even as we approach Christmas, sometimes our world feels like a mess, our personal lives feel like a mess, or we're just a mess ourselves.

I’m reminded that God uses the difficult times in our lives to bring us and others back to Him. After all, isn’t Christmas all about “Peace on earth”?

One of my favorite stories about Christmas is a powerful account about personal tragedy and its unforgettable message. I remember the first time I read about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote the poem which eventually became the hymn, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”  Longfellow’s context was also one of national division, the Civil War, as well as personal loss. His wife, Fannie, had died when her dress caught fire. Henry tried to put the fire out by smothering the flame with his own body, but it was too late. Then two years later his 18-year-old son Charley left home and signed up to serve in Lincoln’s Union Army.

On December 1, 1863, Longfellow was having dinner with his family when he received a war telegram stating his son Charley had been severely wounded in battle. Surgeons were concerned about paralysis, and they warned he would face a very long recovery.

A biographer sets the stage for the war taking place in Longfellow’s heart:

On Christmas Day, 1863, Longfellow—a 57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him.

He heard the bells that Christmas Day and the singing of "peace on earth" (Luke 2:14), but he observed the world of injustice and violence that seemed to mock the truthfulness of this optimistic outlook. The theme of listening recurred throughout the poem, eventually leading to confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair.

I pictured Longfellow wrestling with what he saw and felt and picking up a pen to craft a poem which would eventually become my favorite Christmas song:

I heard the bells on Christmas day 

Their old familiar carols play 

And mild and sweet their songs repeat 

Of peace on earth good will to men  (JOY)

And in despair I bowed my head 

There is no peace on earth I said 

For hate is strong and mocks the song 

Of peace on earth, good will to men (DESPAIR)

Then rang the bells, more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor does He sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men (HOPE)

Then ringing singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day 

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime 

Of peace on earth, good will to men (PRAISE)

Even now, as I absorb the music and words, tears come to my eyes when I think about my Savior and how He came to give all of us broken human beings peace with God and “peace on earth.”
If you'd love to hear a beautiful rendition of this carol, LISTEN HERE!

WHAT WERE WE UP TO IN NOVEMBER?

• We met with 378 students individually during the month of November.  Our sophomores were the ones that popped in the most this month!  Way to go, Class of 2027!  We love that you see us as support here at JPII!
• We presented in 46 classrooms for our November Guidance on College, Career, & Military Readiness.  Students were able to look at their strengths, learning styles, and career interests.  They can then connect those to colleges that would best support them.  Ask them to show you their results!  It would be a fun dinner table conversation!  Seniors met with Mr. Saloma to finalize their college applications, scholarships, and other post-secondary plans.  Our Cardinals are ready for their futures!

SCHEDULE CHANGES:

 If students would like to request a schedule change for the spring semester, they will pick up those forms from their current teacher starting December 2.  In order to complete the forms, students must have attended tutorials, have no 0s in the gradebook, and parents need to conference with the teacher.  Once all the signatures are obtained on the form, students will turn in to their counselor by December 17.

AP UPDATES:

Stay tuned for more information!

Email Ms. Heslep if you have questions at beckyheslep@johnpauliihs.org

CALENDAR ITEMS:.

• Guidance Lesson
• Stress During the Holidays--December 3 (9th/10th) and 10 (11th/12th) during Class Meetings 
• The Counselors will be throwing our Stressbusters Week Party again during the week of December 9 through 13!  Come join us by the Senior Hall Stairwell for some fun stressbusting activities....and we hear we'll be getting a surprise visitor on Friday!

• Check out the bulletin board by our office for resources from each guidance topic.

• COFFEE WITH THE COUNSELORS
• December 4 at 8:45 a.m., in the Athenaeum
• Teens and Stress

                              

• Save the dates!  See below!
• UPDATE--Our February Coffee is cancelled because of our JPII Athletes signing with their future colleges!

PARENT CORNER:

10 Things to Say to a Teen Who’s Stressed Out:

1. I love you. The first thing is because it’s the most important thing. There’s a difference between classic cliché, and this is classic because it’s the foundation for everything else worth saying. I’m saying it even though I hope you know it’s true without being told. I’m saying it even though you might give me an eye-roll in return.

2. Take a deep breath. Slow breath in, slow breath out. Repeat. You might have to fight yourself to do what feels like nothing when what you want to do is something, but the point is to hit the pause button and reset your racing mind and emotions so you can fix the problem, not feed it.

3. I’m already proud of you. How I feel about you does not hinge on how this test or this paper or this project or this semester or this game or this application or this interview or this audition or this try-out turns out. Entirely apart from any of this, I’m proud of who you are and of who you’re becoming. I’m proud of what you’ve already done and of the effort you’ve put into the doing.

4. This is not your whole story. Whatever is going on right now is not your entire life right now. And it is not all there ever will be to your life. This is part of your reality, but it is not all of it. There’s more to today and more to the future than this.

5. How you feel at this moment is not how you’re going to feel forever. You’re not going to be stuck here for the rest of your life. This is not your new normal. I know getting to the other side might seem like it’s taking an eternity, but at some point (probably sooner than you’re expecting), you’ll suddenly realize you’re looking back on this instead of staring straight at it.

6. Remember how you’ve gotten through tough times before. This isn’t the first time you’ve felt this way, and it won’t be the last. But so far, you have a 100% success rate of surviving things you thought you’d never get through. Don’t let this current struggle make you forget your past successes.

7. Just do the next thing. The next right thing you can figure out to do. The next thing that needs to be done. The next thing that seems wise and productive. The next one thing, not the next ten things.

8. Is there anything I can do to help? I know you have to figure this out on your own. I know I can’t do it for you. I know it’s not my job to fix it. But if there’s something I can and should do to help you get from here to there, tell me, and I’ll try to do it.

9. I’m here for you. I’m not going to check out of this situation. I’m thinking about you and thinking about it and thinking about you thinking about it pretty much all the time. Life is full of changes, but there are some constants you can count on, and my love and support are two of them.

10. How about some ice cream? Or pizza? Or pizza and ice cream? They’re called comfort foods for a reason.

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 TCHATT
• 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

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 c