MDHS Counseling Newsletter
Student/Parent | July 2020
Scheduling Timeline
Course requests will be available via the Student Aeries Portal beginning on Tuesday, July 28th - Friday, August 7th. This will include the courses a student is enrolled to take. Teacher assignments, block order, and morning/afternoon session information will not be viewable until official schedules are released.
Prior to this date, incoming freshmen and transfer students/parents will receive an email from abi@materdei.org with Aeries login information and a second email from ipad@materdei.org with instructions for logging in to your student’s new Mater Dei email address.
The last date to make any course changes is Friday, August 7th. No course changes will be honored after this drop/change deadline. Course change requests must be emailed to the student’s school counselor no later than Friday, August 7th.
Official schedules will be available via the Student Aeries Portal the week of August 11th.
Flex Block
Student Zone
All students will see Student Zone in the course requests for the upcoming school year. This is not a class that meets during the year. Instead, it will have important resources for students, such as contact information for different areas on campus and technology resources for using the iPad. No credit is given for this class.
SAT/ACT Updates
The ACT has announced additional test dates in September and October. Please see the ACT Registration web page for details. Beginning September 2020, ACT has new testing options: paper or online testing, and full test or section retesting. Students may choose from available testing sites through the registration page, or test online. Please see their video and infographic to learn more.
National Test Dates for 2020-2021
- September 12, 2020
- September 13, 2020
- September 19, 2020
- October 10, 2020
- October 17, 2020
- October 24, 2020
- October 25, 2020
- December 12, 2020
MD Testing Center
Mater Dei will be closed as a testing center for the following dates:
SAT: August 29, 2020, October 3, 2020, November 7, 2020
ACT: September 12, 2020, October 24, 2020
Mater Dei will remain open for the following dates:
SAT: March 13, 2021, May 8, 2021, June 5, 2021
ACT: April 17, 2021, June 12, 2021
For the most up-to-date test center availability please visit the links below:
SAT: www.collegeboard.com
ACT: www.actstudent.org
MDHS Partnership with CHOC 2020-2021
We are pleased to announce our new partnership with CHOC Children’s Mental Health program that is starting this academic year.
As part of this partnership, we will have a licensed psychologist, Dr. Maleia Mathis, Ph.D., who will supervise a full-time post-doctoral fellow, as well as be on campus herself. We will also have a doctoral student, who will be providing services on campus one day a week.
We entered into this partnership as we felt that there were many opportunities for increasing wellness activities as well as addressing a range of mental health concerns. In this upcoming year, we will be focusing on providing additional training for teachers (such as how to help students re-acclimate to school after sheltering at home since March), identifying and beginning wellness opportunities for students, which could include courses on the use of mindfulness and relaxation for performance improvement, stress management techniques, and ways to reduce anxiety. We will also work on developing educational opportunities for parents to learn more about mental health issues that are confronting high school students in high achieving schools. As we know, there are limited mental health treatment options available in the community, so we are pleased to be able to offer mental health treatment on campus, with parental permission. The CHOC psychology team will also be available to help with any mental health crisis situations that might come up during the school day. The CHOC psychology team will work closely with the MD Counseling Department, providing support and additional training to the counselors for student mental health concerns and to use evidence-based practices to bring more wellness to our campus.
In our first year of the partnership, we anticipate developing the programs mentioned above as well as exploring what additional needs exist within our community. We look forward to including our parents and students in this process to develop the best possible system of support for our Mater Dei community.
More details and information to come in the next month as it relates to our exciting new partnership with CHOC!
For Wellness Counseling Support
If you need to contact someone about personal concerns we encourage you to contact Mrs. Kellie Bauer via email or call 714-850-9567.
For additional support for coping that is free and confidential, students may contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline-1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line-Text HOME to 741741.
- - - - - - - STUDENT ACTIVITIES - - - - - - -
College Application Workshop Series
The Counselors offered a virtual College Application Workshop Series for our rising seniors the week of July 20-24. In case you missed it, see below for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's power points:
- Monday, Counselors covered the College Planning Handbook as well as the Counselor Letter of Recommendation Questionnaire and Teacher Letter of Recommendation Questionnaire.
- Tuesday we were honored to have Chris O’Sullivan from George Mason University share with us the Do’s and Don’ts of the College Essay.
- Wednesday, Gary B from the University of New Mexico shared with us how to find the perfect fit college and pay for it.
- Thursday, the Counselors briefly reviewed the Common Application and the UC Application.
Power Points:
The Counselors will be working on a list of upcoming workshops that will be held online in the fall. Is there a topic you would like us to cover? If so, please email Mrs. Young at ayoung@materdei.org with your suggestions!
ATTN: Rising Seniors | Letters of Recommendation
Would you like to start working on your college applications early? If you will need any letters of recommendation, consider working on your Counselor Letter of Recommendation Questionnaire now and during the summer! Please see instructions and information about letters of recommendation here. Download the 2020-2021 Counselor Letter of Recommendation Questionnaire and upload your completed PDF to the Submission Link (google form).
What is the Counselor Letter of Recommendation Questionnaire?
- Just like its name, it is the questionnaire that MD students must fill out and submit if they need a letter of recommendation from their counselor. Some colleges require letters of recommendation, and some do not. Our questionnaire has a section for students and a section for parents/guardians. It helps us to understand and share about your background, personality, passions, accomplishments, and future goals.
- You may submit your completed questionnaire as soon as you are ready. So that your counselors can write the best recommendations, we ask that you turn in this questionnaire at least 3 weeks in advance of your first college application due date. Earlier is always appreciated, but when you are ready is just as important to us.
Build a Resume
Students, consider creating or updating your resume! A resume is a document that sums up your background, skills, experiences, and accomplishments, and can be submitted to a potential employer or supplement your college application. You can start building a downloadable resume in your Naviance account (instructions) or through California Career Zone (create a free account first, Resume Builder instructions). Check out these helpful tips, examples, and resume templates for high school students.
- - - - - - - STUDENT RESOURCES - - - - - - -
MD Counseling FAQ
“What are some enrichment activities or extracurriculars that I can do during this time or during the summer? What about the SAT/ACT?” We compiled some of the recent most Frequently Asked Questions for counselors. Please see the MD Counseling FAQs if you’ve had some of these questions too.
Advice for Junior Students From MD Seniors
Juniors, we asked seniors, class of 2020, who just went through the college application process and are finishing their high school experience what advice they have for you. Learn from their honest and helpful feedback by reading Advice for Juniors from MD Seniors. This is a great read for both students and parents.
NCAA & NAIA Eligibility Center Response FAQs
Link to NCAA | REPONSE FAQs
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/COVID-19_Public.pd
Link to NAIA | REPONSE FAQs
- - - - - - - HEALTH & WELLNESS - - - - - - -
CHOC 24/7 Hotline
CHOC 24/7 hotline to speak with a Nurse to answer questions about the Coronavirus
https://www.choc.org/ 1-844-GET-CHOC
Mater Dei High School Counseling Department
Website: https://www.materdei.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=70016&type=d&pREC_ID=237246
Location: Mater Dei High School, 1202 W Edinger Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92707