DECEMBER

 

DECEMBER HAPPENINGS 

WHAT WERE WE UP TO IN NOVEMBER?

• 323 individual student conferences during the month of November.
• Seniors were our most frequent visitors (115), but we're so glad that our other grade levels are starting to pick up and stopping by to visit with us!  Their breakdown is 62 (9th), 71 (10th), and 75 (11th).  
• The number one reason students came to see us were for academic concerns, but mental health was a close second.  We love that our Cardinals want to do their best and present themselves well in their classes, and they also want to nurture their mental well-being as well!
• We presented in 48 classrooms for the November Guidance Lesson, College & Career Readiness, to all students in all grade levels.  

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 for the spring semester, they will pick up the Request For Schedule Change Form from their teacher.  The forms will be available beginning December 11.  The deadline to turn return to their counselor is January 10.
• No other schedule change requests will be honored at this time.

CALENDAR ITEMS:

• Guidance Lesson
• December 7 and 8 (Theology classes)
• Stressbusters!  Getting Ready for Semester Exams!
• Check out the bulletin board by our office for resources from each guidance topic.
• STRESSBUSTER WEEK!
• Get ready for semester exams with some fun activities with the Counselors!

• Coffee with the Counselors
• Reviewing results from the Strengths Explorer, Career Interest Inventories, Personality and Learning Styles, etc.
• Share all the resources available in Naviance with college, career, and scholarships research.

PARENT CORNER:

How To Stress Less This Christmas

WRITTEN BYTama Fortner

I heard someone say once that as mamas, we are the keepers of all the things—especially all the appointments and schedules—from our kids, to our husbands, to the dog, and even occasionally ourselves. Carefully filed away somewhere in our minds are all those essential little details about favorite socks, hated and tolerated veggies, and that all-important, must-have-it-to-go-to-sleep lovey. 

We know who to call when this breaks and what to grab for this practice and that field trip. All the house stuff. All the kid stuff. All the time. So many details. And at Christmas, that just intensifies. Because we’re adding in holiday parties, shopping, baking, decorating, entertaining, and all the things. We want to simplify. We want to scale back. We want peace and calm and maybe even a nap. But where to start? How do we make that happen? 

Ponder your treasures:

Let me offer this little bit of advice: take a few minutes—in the carpool line, while littles are napping, or hiding in the tub—and do some pondering. Pondering? Yes. It’s a word I’m borrowing from one of my favorite verses—Luke 2:19. It says, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (NIV). It’s such a calm, peaceful image, isn’t it? Mary quietly pondering these treasures that have been gifted to her. And yet, do you remember when that moment happens? It’s right on the heels of a whole bunch of chaos. Just think about it. Mary has traveled to Bethlehem, given birth in a stable, and had a flock of shepherds burst into her barn. I’m guessing it’s not quite what she envisioned for her firstborn. But there she is, taking time to sort through and lift out the things that mattered most, the things she wanted to remember and treasure. So, as we’re poised to dive headlong into the chaos that so often characterizes the holidays, let’s do as Mary did and ponder for a bit. Let’s ask ourselves what treasures we want to be sure we’ve collected when this season screeches and tumbles to an end. What memories do we want to make and store up for ourselves and for those we love? 

3 questions to ask yourself:

As you ponder, I invite you to ask yourself the three questions that I find myself asking these days: 

1. What makes me smile? 

Is it the baking, the decorating, the entertaining? Is it the quiet times gathered with family at home? Maybe it’s this gathering, that party, or a highly anticipated event. Perhaps it’s choosing just the right gift and topping it with the perfect bow. Maybe it’s serving here or lending a hand there. I’m learning that I need to carve out time for the things that bring my heart joy. I need to plan for them and write them on the calendar—or they don’t happen. And conversely, what are the things that just don’t bring joy? Can some be simplified or simply skipped—making room for more things that do make me smile? 

2. What makes my loved ones smile? 

Sure, it’s important to include some moments for myself, but it’s just as important to include the things that make my loved ones smile. Because, as a mama, one of my greatest joys is putting a smile on the faces of those I love the most. Yes, even when it means doing something I could easily—even happily—skip. Sometimes I know what those things are, but as kids grow and our family life changes, it’s good to have a conversation or two. So I find myself asking questions like, What do you remember most from Christmas last year? What are the things you love and want to be sure to do? Is there anything you’d rather skip this year? What is it that makes Christmas special for you? The answers are sometimes surprising—and prioritizing these treasured things have made our holiday celebrations so much easier. 

3. What makes God smile?

And isn’t this the most important question of all? Because while the world gets so caught up in all the trappings of the holidays—myself included sometimes—what I truly want is for me and mine to be so caught up in all those things Mary pondered. 

What can I do to show my littles, my bigs, and the world around us just how wonderful and amazing and marvelous our Jesus is? How can we as a family honor this God who loves us so much that he sent his own Son to save us? Who can I gift with the story of God’s greatest gift? As I ponder these questions, as I lift them and their answers up to God, he opens my eyes, my mind, and my heart to what really matters. Then my calendar, my to-do list, and even my busiest of busy days begin to reflect him and his ways. 

This year, how will you answer these three questions? What are the things you’ll ponder? And what treasures will you and your loved ones collect?

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 JANUARY!

• Guidance Lesson---BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING
• Coffee with the Counselors--January 10 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.

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.

OCTOBER

 

OCTOBER HAPPENINGS 

WHAT WERE WE UP TO IN SEPTEMBER?

• 833 individual student conferences during the month of September.
• Grade levels were a little more evenly distributed as we continue to provide services to our students.
• Minute Meetings were the top reason for our visits.  Why Minute Meetings?
• Students love 1:1 positive attention. With Minute Meetings, each student can be assured, "My counselor knows me!".
• Students are reminded that the school counselor is a support person they can talk to.
• Counselors will get to know a student’s self-perception on things like school, family, friends, worries and needs.
• Counselors are about 2/3 through their student lists.  Minute Meetings will be continued through the next few weeks of school.
• We presented in 48 classrooms for the September Guidance Lesson, Mental Health Awareness, to all students in all grade levels.
• We have mental health resources available for our students and families.  Let us know if you need any information.
• The Shade is a great place in our office to reset and recharge.  We love that our students are utilizing this space!
• We offer Children's TeleHealth therapy sessions to our students.  HERE is their flyer for more information.  Please see counselor for referral.
• 
  

2023-24 JPII COUNSELING OFFICE NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

• Based on our Needs Assessment, we will be offering additional classroom guidance lessons on Stress Management and Time Management!
• Stay tuned for Parent Trainings and Coffee with the Counselors!  We look forward to sharing additional information with you!

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.

Breakfast will NOT be served in the Dining Hall on October 11.  Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast!  No snacks or water bottles will be allowed in testing rooms.  

School buses will run at 1:00 p.m.  If you have accommodations for extended time, you may need to make alternate arrangements.

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 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
• October 25 and 26 (Theology classes)
• Drug/Alcohol Prevention Awareness:  FENTANYL
• 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 months 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 during the next few weeks
• Small Group---David & Martha
• Stress & Anxiety
• Mondays--Sept. 18, Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Nov. 6, Dec. 4 (5 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:

• 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
• Resource Library:

COMING SOON FOR NOVEMBER

• Class Meetings--Racial Slurs and Offensive Language
• Guidance Lesson---College & Career Readiness
• Coffee with the Counselors
• Wednesday, Nov. 1, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Athenaeum
• Topic:  FENTANYL

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.