8th Grade Parent Newsletter
Amy Rowland, School Counselor
About Mrs. Rowland
My name is Amy Rowland and I will be your son or daughter's school counselor over the next two school years. This is an exciting time with them ending Middle School on a positive note and preparing for the next four years of high school. This is my 14th year in education and all of them have been in this school district. I have worked with students in grade levels 6-12 during my career. My husband Matt is a math teacher and we have two children. My daughter Kate is in 2nd grade at Ste. Genevieve Elementary and Colin will begin Kindergarten next school year. I look forward to getting to know you over the next two years.
8th Grade Manufacturing Expo
8th Grade Students recieved information and a permission slip last week while I visited ELA classes. Mineral Area College is hosting an event to get students interested in careers in manufacturing. This is a wonderful opportunity for kids interested in a hands on career. They are offering this free of charge and will provide them a box lunch at the event. We will leave campus on Friday, October 7th at 8am and return to campus 7th hour. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Permission slips are due in my office on Friday, September 16th. I can only take 80 students so the first to turn them in will have a better chance of attending. I will also revisit their interest inventories from last semester inn case of a large interest.
Personal Plans of Study
Your son or daughter will be enrolling in high school classes in later January/early February. In order to prepare them for this task they will be developing a personal plan of study. This is a document prepared on a website that was introduced to them in 7th grade called MIssouri Connections https://mocis.intocareers.org/materials/portal/home.html. Mrs. Meyer facilitated the 7th graders to set up their user name and password to begin working on this important site. They will be using this site throughout their middle and high school career. The 7th grade task was to take an interest inventory to direct them on what careers suited them best. This year we will work on creating an ideal schedule for the four years of high school using the Personal Plan of Study tool. The students will begin by hearing about a majority of high school classes by watching videos I recorded with the HS teachers. If you would like to view them they are linked to my website at https://sites.google.com/a/sgdragons.org/guidance-rowland/. They are located at the middle of my page under high school course videos. My hope is that all 8th grade students will have a completed personal plan of study by enrollment in January. If you would like access to their Missouri Connections account to monitor this process, please email me and I can set you up a parent account.
8th Grade Career Week
In order to prepare for high school course selection, the students must also be educated on college and possible careers available to them. The week of October 17th, we will have several events to help educate and prepare them for their future.
- Monday, October 17th (Shadow Day): Student will have a choice to visit one class that has not been offered by SGMS or view a presentation on careers available in the medical field by Ste. Genevieve Memorial Hospital.
- Tuesday. October 18th (Career Day): Students will hear from 6-7 speakers (2 of their choice) from different career paths.
- Wednesday, October 19th (What It Takes Day): Students will hear from Dr. Flieg about what it takes to gain employment, representatives from MAC, SEMO, and SLU about how to gain college admission, and Dr. Mercer about how to qualify for the A plus program.
- Thursday, October 20th (Perryville Vocational Trip): We will travel as a class to the Perryville Vocational Center to explore class options there. They will attend 3 classes with a hands on experience of their programs. Permission slips were given out in ELA prior to Labor Day and are required for this trip. The forms are due back to the Counseling Office by 9/16.
Career Day
Students hear from Harrison "Chase" Keeling about his freelance career developing apps for Apple
Perryville Vocational Trip
8th grader Kyle Kiefer participating in a hands on demonstration in the Industrial Engineering Class taught by Mr. Garris.
Always time for a selfie!
8th grade students take a selfie before heading home from the Vocational Center to end a great week!
More 8th Grade Resources
I want to use this newsletter to also show you resources I am sharing with your son or daughter in class that would be of interest to you.
- Admission Selectivity Categories in Missouri Colleges. I went over ACT and G.P.A and and the impact on college admission. http://dhe.mo.gov/policies/admissions-selectivity.php
- SEMO Admission Guidelines: Every college website has an admission page to inform you about what they are looking for in a potential student. Some students are not good test takers and high Grade Point Averages can really help attain admission. SEMO's guidelines are a good example of this. As soon as student is interested in a college it is best practice to research the college's current admission guidelines. http://www.semo.edu/admissions/new.html#admissioncriteria
- SGHS Course Book: We have not reviewed this yet in class, but it is never too soon to start looking at this document that Mr. Hoehne has put together. It is your comprehensive guide to high school. http://www.stegen.k12.mo.us/tchrpges/admin/choehne/student/SGHS_coursebook.html
- My Website: Many more resources for you under parent resources. https://sites.google.com/a/sgdragons.org/guidance-rowland/
Mrs. Rowland
8th and 9th Grade Counselor
SGMS Buddies and Mentors Co-Sponsor
Southeast MIssouri School Counselor Association Multi-Level Vice Preseident
Email: arowland@sgdragons.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/sgdragons.org/guidance-rowland/
Location: Ste Genevieve Middle School, North 5th Street, Ste. Genevieve, MO, United States
Phone: 573-883-4500