Counselor Newsletter
COUNSELOR NEWSLETTER
March, 2010
SCHEDULING PROCESS
The scheduling process for the 2010-11 school year is winding down, and will conclude at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 10.
Counselors have been meeting on an individual basis with their current sophomores and juniors, have met with freshmen during their English classes on February 12, and have traveled to John Deere Middle School (February 23) and Wilson Middle School (February 25) to schedule eighth graders. If you have not already done so, please ask your son/daughter as to what classes they have signed up for in the upcoming school year.
There will be no schedule changes next year. A list of courses that your son/daughter signed up for will be mailed home some time in May. Please pay careful attention as to what they will be taking next year. If you have any questions or concerns, please call your son/daughter’s counselor before June 1 to make any adjustments. Failure to do so will not result in changes made in the fall.
CAREER CRUISING
The district has recently been granted access to a new network for students to use in career exploration and future planning. To introduce this new program to students, the counselors will host an initial exploration of the program with all freshmen through their science classes on Monday, March 15. This program allows all MHS students access to career and educational planning opportunities both locally and nationally. Each student creates a personal portfolio, which, once created, a student can access from any computer with internet access. The program is very user friendly and a tremendous tool for helping students look forward toward their post-high school future.
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
The end of the 3rd quarter grading period will be Friday, March 12, and Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, March 18, from 3:30 – 7:30 p.m. and then again on Friday morning from 8:00 – 12:00 noon. At the conferences, you will receive your son/daughter’s report card, along with papers representing each class so you can see what they have been doing this past quarter. They in turn will lead the conferences like they did last fall in their advisory period.
We will be doing something different in conferences with seniors and juniors. Senior parents will have their son/daughter go over a “Senior Checklist” with them as they count down the days to graduation and what necessary steps need to be completed before that date. Junior parents will receive important Prairie State Achievement Exam information to help them get ready to take the ACT/PSAE tests later that month on Wednesday, April 28, and Thursday, April 29 along with all juniors in the State of Illinois.
You should have received a sign-up sheet for conferences to be filled out with your preference of a time slot. If you have not already done so, please return the conference sheet back to school to their advisor.
Please remember, as in the past, if there is a particular teacher with whom you wish to speak to before or after your conference time slot, please feel free to call that teacher and schedule an appointment around their conference schedule.
*ENCOURAGE YOUR HIGH SCHOOLER TO PRACTICE ‘REAL’ WRITING AT HOME
Teens used to spend hours talking on the phone to one another. Now they’re texting, emailing and instant messaging with friends. The sound of keystrokes has taken over the sound of voices—and by the amount of typing you hear coming from your family computer, your teen could be writing the next War and Peace.
Written communication has clearly come back into fashion—with a speedier response time than the days of letter writing. Yet with teen’s missives often resembling half-completed crossword puzzles (idk wut 2 do), many parents worry that this revolution in communication is occurring at the expense of teen’s writing skills.
However, a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that that is not the case. Surprisingly, many teens don’t even think of these activities as “writing” at all—they consider it communication, like a phone call or quick “hi” in passing. So how do their “real” writing skills stack up?
All teens spend time doing “real” writing at school—and 93% surveyed stated that they write for fun outside of school. A whopping 86% of teens agree with parents that good writing skills are important for success in life.
So continue talking about the importance of writing with your teen—and encourage her to pen a short story of keep a journal to exercise those real writing skills!
*TEACH YOUR HIGH SCHOOLER HOW TO READ A WORD PROBLEM IN MATH
Even teens who are good at math can have trouble solving word problems. In one study, even though 95% of students could read all the words in a word problem, fewer than four in ten knew what they had to do to solve the problem.
That’s because you don’t read a math problem the same way you read a short story or even a history textbook. Here’s a five-step process your teen can use when reading a word problem so he’ll know how to solve it. Have your teen:
Survey. Read the problem. Then read it aloud and create a mental picture of the problem. Or, draw a picture.
Identify the question the problem asks you to answer. Usually, this comes at the end of the word problem. (“When will the two trains meet?”)
Figure out what math process should be used to solve the problem (addition, subtraction, division).
Read. Read the problem aloud again.
Compute. Do the computation to answer the problem.
*DOES YOUR TEEN KNOW THE PURPOSE FOR READING?
Every time your teen reads, she’s reading for a purpose. When she reads the sports page, her purpose is to see who won. If she is reading a mystery, her purpose is entertainment.
Sometimes people read for information. Want to know how many calories are in the cereal? Read the box. What to learn how to program the DVD player? Read the instruction manual.
Knowing the purpose for reading actually helps readers decide how to read. For example:
To find the calories in the cereal, your teen won’t have to read the entire box. She’ll just look quickly until she finds the nutrition label.
To program the DVD player, your teen doesn’t have to read the whole instruction manual. She can skip the part about how to set the time and move right on to the section she needs.
Setting a purpose for reading is also helpful when your teen reads school assignments. For example, if your teen is reading:
A novel for English, she needs to start on page one and read completely through to the end.
A chapter in science, she needs to skim quickly for key points. Then read more carefully to learn the major ideas.
Teens (and adults) are better readers, when they know their purpose for reading!
*TAME YOUR NERVES WHEN IT COMES TO TOUGH TALKS WITH YOUR TEEN
Teens face difficult issues every day—from sex and dating concerns, to drugs and violence. You aren’t helping your teen if you cover your ears every time she asks you a tough question.
Be prepared to have an open conversation with your teen to discuss these issues. It’s better for you to share your family’s values with your teen than for her to go along with whatever her friends are doing.
Here are some tips for surviving tough talks with your teen:
Do some thinking in advance. It’s natural that your teen will eventually come to you to talk about a difficult issue. Spend time thinking of typical teen behaviors and how you would advise your teen to address them.
Avoid delaying the conversation. Your teen will likely catch you off guard with her question. But realize that if she’s asking your advice on a situation, she has probably already asked her friends for their advice. You’ll have to answer the question right away. Buy yourself some time to think by saying something like “I’m glad you came to me with that question.”
Be clear and honest in your response. Discuss your family’s values. Use proper terminology for things rather than slang. If you’re embarrassed, say so. Your teen will be more likely to turn to you in the future if she knows you’ll give honest advice without being judgmental.
*Reprinted with permission from The Parent Institute
IMPORTANT MARCH DATES
2 - University of Iowa College Rep—10:05 a.m.
3 - University of Wisconsin/Platteville College Rep—10:05 a.m.
8 - Indian Hills Community College Rep—10:05 a.m.
Michigan Technical University Rep—1:15 p.m.
La’James College Rep—2:10 p.m.
11 - Iowa Wesleyan Univesity Rep—8:15 a.m.
Quincy University Rep—9:05 a.m.
Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences Rep—2:10 p.m.
12 - Upper Iowa University College Rep—9:05 a.m.
End of 3rd Quarter
17 - St. Ambrose University College Rep--9:50 a.m.
Kirkwood Community College Rep--1:30 p.m.
18 - Parent/Teacher Conferences—3:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Southern Illinois/Carbondale College Rep--9:05 a.m.
19 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Parent/Teacher Conferences—8:00 – 12:00 noon
23 - Davenport Academy Paul Mitchell Partner School Rep--10:05
a.m.
24 - Capri Cosmetology Rep--9:05 a.m.
University of Illinois/Springfield Rep--12:55 p.m.
29 - Monmouth College Rep—9:05 a.m.
Northern Illinois University College Rep—10:05 a.m.
31 - Kaplan College Rep--10:05 a.m.