College, Career, and Counseling
Canyon High School
January 2024
THE CHS COUNSELING DEPARTMENT WELCOMES YOU BACK AND WISHES YOU A HAPPY 2024!
COUGAR COUNSELING NEWS
Upcoming Dates and Events
JANUARY -
- 3 - Classes resume for students; Start of Semester 2
- 4- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Massie and McJilton's classes
- 8- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Henderson's classes
- 9- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Jackson's classes
- 11- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Kush and Crisostomo's classes
- 12 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Schaffer and Swanson's classes
- 15 - MLK DAY - Student/Staff Holiday
- 16 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Keno's classes
- 17 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Avary-Gibson and Steele's classes
- 17- Fentanyl Parent Information Night at CHS PAC from 6:00-7:30 pm
- 17- Support Services plans to post 1st semester transcripts to Skyward portfolios
- 19 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Letzerich and Dunaway's classes
- 22- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings- new, absent, and all others will be called to counseling office
- 23 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Hewlett and Cato's classes
- 25- 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings- new, absent, and all others will be called to counseling office
- 26 - 1:1 Student/Counselor Course Planning Meetings - Perez and Henderson's classes
- 30 - Teacher Workday/Student Holiday
- 31- Fentanyl presentation in PAC for all grade levels- Times TBA
Grades & Attendance
Students and parents are both encouraged to check Skyward regularly to stay on top of attendance and grades. For help with Skyward access and alerts, check out Skyward Tips here.
Cougar Academy-Free Tutoring
Students can get extra support each Thursday night from 4:45-6:45 on campus in the library. A certified classroom teacher for math, social studies, English, science, and foreign language will be available. Please watch Cougar Connection for more details.
Individual Course Planning Meetings with Students
Counselors will meet with students during their English library time to review their course selection for next year on the following dates:
1/4- Massie and McJilton's classes
1/8- Henderson's classes
1/9- Jackson's classes
1/10- Cecconi and Henderson/Perez's classes
1/11- Kush and Crisostomo's classes
1/12- Schaffer and Swanson's classes
1/16- Keno's classes
1/17- Avary-Gibson and Steele's classes
1/19- Letzerich and Dunaway's classes
1/23- Hewlett and Cato's classes
1/26- Perez and Henderson's classes
*1/22 and 1/25- new students, absent students, and all other students will be called to counseling office
SchooLinks for Parents/Guardians - Review your student's Course Planner
Parents/Guardians - Please ensure that you and your student have both logged into SchooLinks. SchooLinks houses their 4 year plan, post-secondary goals, and many other items regarding their plans. Students have made a draft of their courses for next year, including three alternate classes.
Now is a great time for students to visit with their current teachers, parents, coaches, read the High School Course Guide, and review their selections for next year. This month, CHS counselors will meet with students to make final selections. The students will submit their plan, the counselor will verify it, and parents need to electronically sign between February 9th and February 23rd.
Please visit this website if you have any questions or need additional help for Course Planning Overview, Creating a Guardian Account, and/0r Creating a Plan in SchooLinks: https://www.comalisd.org/apps/pages/SchooLinks
Course Selection Spotlight- AP Seminar
Did you know that over 90% of students who take AP® Seminar complete their AP Exam and 88% score a 3 or higher? A flexible course with no prerequisites, AP Seminar is designed to support a wide range of students and can help them build confidence and skills that they’ll need to be successful in high school and beyond.
AP Seminar was the fastest-growing AP subject in 2023 with a 25% increase in student enrollment. For the 2023-24 school year, more than 2,500 schools will offer the course globally. AP Seminar is sometimes offered as part of a two-course sequence, along with AP Research, that makes up the AP Capstone Diploma™. Take a look at this student recruitment toolkit your student understand the value of this program. Have your student read this blog post to help them understand the AP Seminar experience. Click here to see more resources on the student recruitment hub to better understand this course.
College & Career Center
COUGAR COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER
Scholarships:
As a district, we utilize Going Merry for our Comal ISD Local Scholarship Program. This scholarship database is available to students in ALL grades to start the scholarship hunt! Students build a profile and then receive notifications of scholarships they meet the criteria to apply to.
www.goingmerry.com
Don't forget about the College Board Big Future tools that also have scholarships involved!
Dual Credit:
It's not too late for students to seek out Dual Credit! This is a great opportunity to get college credit while enrolled in high school.
Our course offerings at CHS:
Dual Credit Spanish III & Spanish IV
Dual Credit German III & German IV
Dual Credit English III & English IV
Dual Credit US History
Dual Credit Government
Dual Credit Pre-Calculus/College Algebra
Students should add the courses they are interested in to their Course Selection. Once this is done, Mrs. Uptain will work to provide all enrollment steps for the student.
Enrollment process includes: applying to the college, showing college readiness, and completing enrollment requirements from the college.
Cougar Nation, check out the College and Career Center website.
Individual appointments are available for students/parents. Please email Mrs. UPTAIN at leslie.uptain@comalisd.org if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.
Next ACT/SAT Testing Dates:
March 9 - SAT (register at College Board)
February 10 - ACT (register at ACT registration)
SENIORS - CLASS of 2024
The FAFSA has opened! Mostly. They have ongoing maintenance at the time of this notification and have called it a "soft opening" with limited access at this time.
Don't forget, you will need a user account called the FSA ID to complete a FAFSA. https://studentaid.gov
FAFSA Help
- Alamo Colleges will host two financial aid nights for Comal ISD in addition to Zoom Meetings for information.
- February 8th - Canyon High School
- February 13th - Smithson Valley High School
- Zoom Financial Aid Saturday
Saturday, January 13, 2024
11:30AM-12:30PM
Zoom link: https://alamo.zoom.us/j/94061146966
Zoom Meeting ID: 940 6114 6966 - Howard Payne University's New Braunfels Center is hosting an information session titled “What You Need to Know about the NEW FAFSA Form” 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9. This session is open to the community and will cover the 2024 New FAFSA form, what applicants need to complete the form, and the financial aid implications anticipated.
Great FAFSA Resources:
https://www.uaspire.org/resources/financial-aid-resources
https://www.salliemae.com/blog/fafsa-faqs/
Applying to Colleges & Trade Schools
ApplyTexas Application
Go to https://applytexas.org/ to create your account and work on college applications.
Common App Application
Recommended for students who are applying to both in and out of state schools. https://commonapp.org
School Specific Application
Some universities or trade schools have their own internal application and do not utilize the common applications above.
College Transcript Requests
If you student needs a copy of your unofficial transcript, they will check their Skyward account.
- Many schools now do the SRAR, Self Reported Academic Record, for the first round of admission review. Your unofficial transcript can help you with this.
To request an official transcript, please click on the following link for instructions to SchooLinks to request one be sent to the college of your choice: Transcript Reques
- GVEC Scholarship, Deadline Feb. 1: https://gvec.org/scholarships
- Terry Foundation:https://terryfoundation.org/future-scholars/freshman-scholarship/
- Dell Scholars: https://www.dellscholars.org/
- Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships:https://www.jkcf.org/our-scholarships/
- Coca Cola Scholarships: https://www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org/apply/
- Footlocker Scholarship:https://footlockerscholarathletes.squarespace.com/
- The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation is a great resource for college information and some scholarships. Visit the website at www.mspf.org.
- PEO STAR scholarship is available for senior women. Visit the PEO website for scholarship information and application instructions.
TESTING CENTER
CREDIT BY EXAM - SPRING 2024
Comal ISD offers Credit by Examination for acceleration at every grade level and subject area offered in accordance with the Texas State Board of Education rules. A student is allowed to advance one grade level or one course per subject per academic year. Comal ISD offers four Credit by Examination testing windows throughout the year.
Applications are due to your Counselor:
Tuesday, January 9th, 2024
Testing Dates:
Sat. Feb. 3rd, 2024 - Canyon Lake HS
Sat. Feb. 10th, 2024 - Pieper HS
Sat. Feb. 17th, 2024 - Smithson Valley HS
Sat. Feb. 24th, 2024 - Davenport HS
Sat. Mar. 2nd, 2024 - Canyon High School
If you have any questions, please stop by the counseling center!
CLICK HERE to access the UTHS Study Guide
End-of-Course scores for Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II and US History are available in the TEA family portal. To make it easier to access those scores, however, parents and guardians can now find their child's scores using the Skyward Family Access dashboard.
SAT SCHOOL DAY
The signing of House Bill 3 by Governor Greg Abbott during the summer of 2019 enabled Comal ISD to offer the SAT (without the writing portion) to our junior level learners. This test will be offered during the school day at no cost to parents/guardians.
Testing will take place on Tuesday, March 5th. All Canyon HS 11th Grade student will be automatically registered for the SAT School Day exam.
There is no make-up day for this test through the district. However, you are welcome to register your child for other SAT testing opportunities through the following website: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/digital-testing/dates-deadlines
The official SAT Practice on Khan Academy is world-class SAT prep that is effective, personalized to your child, and 100% free. All students should check it out today!
Khan Academy will create a tailored practice exam based on a diagnostic and/or their previous PSAT test scores. If you took one of the PSAT-related assessments, you can link your College Board and Khan Academy accounts. Khan Academy will analyze your strengths and weaknesses based on your score report.
CLICK HERE to view the Khan Academy Parent Guide
STUDENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS
Student Support Specialists
As your Student Support Specialists, we are here to support students and families in any way we can. If your student or family is in need, we are here to help connect you with community and parent educational resources.
New Braunfels Utility Assistance
The NBU Utility Bill Assistance Program is designed to aid families and individuals in our Comal & Guadalupe county service area who are experiencing extreme hardship and financial need.
https://nbfoodbank.org/our-programs/benefits-assistance/nbu-utility-assistance/
COUNSELING TEAM DIRECTORY
Counseling Team
CHS Counselors:
Jennifer Simmons - Lead Counselor jennifer.simmons@comalisd.org
Brandi Boyd (A - Da) Brandi.Boyd@comalisd.org
Natalie Austin (De- Ho) Natalie.Austin@comalisd.org
Greer Del Rio (Hu - Mo ) greer.delrio@comalisd.org
Sara Schroeder (Moo - R) sara.schroeder@comalisd.org
Michelle Lopez (S - Z) Michelle.Lopez@comalisd.org
Academic & Career Advisor:
Leslie Uptain - leslie.uptain@comalisd.org
Campus Student Support Specialist:
Carolina Beletz-mailto:carolina.beletz@comalisd.org
Alexandra Middleton- Alexandra.Middleton@comalisd.org
Testing Coordinator
Brandon Villarreal - brandon.villarreal@comalisd.org
Registrar
Leeann Parks- leeann.parks@comalisd.org
Counseling Admin Assistant
Denise Ulloa- denise.ulloa@comalisd.org