GHS Student Services Newsletter
SEPTEMBER 2020
Meet Your Student Services Staff
Mrs. Michelle Wauer
Mr. James Barke
Mrs. Mila Acosta
Mrs. Amy Kaminski
Mrs. Lynn Cain
Mrs. Beth Fleischhacker
September 2020
Welcome back to school! We sincerely hope this newsletter finds you and your family safe, healthy, and excited to jump start another school year. Our saying for this new world we are living in now is, "WEIRD, IS WONDERFUL!" And this saying can not be any more true. We are living in a weird world right now, but we are so proud of our HAWKS for learning how to cope with our new normal. We have started off strong and we are going to continue strong in HAWKS fashion. GO HAWKS!
Our newsletters are ways to communicate important information to students and their families. In these newsletters, you will find ACT/SAT testing information, scholarship information, mental health resources, and array of other important dates and events that are coming up. Also, please check out the new faces in the Student Services Department so you know who is who.
- Mrs. Michelle Wauer (Last names A-Hd): 414-855-2435
- Mr. James Barke (Last names He-Pe): 414-855-2436
- Mrs. Mila Acosta (Last names Pf-Z): 414-855-2437
Sincerely,
Your GHS Student Services Team
All day. Every day. Attendance Matters.
SOS Webinar
In the next four weeks students will participate in a SOS webinar during their Advisory hour. SOS stands for Signs Of Suicide. SOS is an universal program that teaches all students what to do if they are concerned about themselves or a friend. GHS Student Services team will be providing an age-appropriate video for students to watch. See below for grades and dates for when this webinar will take place for your student. If you have any questions please contact Student Services or email your student's counselor.
- Juniors on Thursday, September 24th
- Seniors on Thursday, October 1st
- Sophomores on Thursday, October 8th
- Freshmen on Thursday, October 15th
Testing Information
PSAT
Greenfield High School will be offering the PSAT for Juniors on Wednesday, October 14th. The PSAT is for students who will be going on to take the SAT, which may be required for some out of state schools. A complete list of U.S. Colleges that use the SAT results can be found on the College Board website. Students may also take the PSAT to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship if their scores qualify for recognition into the program. More information about this scholarship can be found at www.nationalmerit.org. Please click HERE to register for the PSAT. Registration must be received by Friday, October 9th, 2020. If you are unable to register online, please contact Mr. James Barke at jbarke@greenfield.k12.wi.us. The exam has a $17 fee that will be added to the student’s fees at the time of registration.
ACT
Many post-secondary institutions require that students participate in the ACT exam. All Juniors will participate in the statewide assessment on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. In addition, this year ACT has added more test dates throughout the year. See additional dates below. Please be aware that registration deadlines are well in advance of the test date: Register Here Saturday October 10 Saturday, October 17 Saturday, October 24 Sunday, October 25 (Sunday) December 12, 2020 (Registration Deadline - Nov. 6) February 6, 2021 (Registration Deadline - January 8, 2021) April 17, 2021 (Registration Deadline - March 12, 2021) June 12, 2021 (Registration Deadline - May 7, 2021) July 17,2021 (Registration Deadline - June 18, 2021) Additional dates and information may be found on the ACT Website
Academic & Future Planning
Attention Seniors!
ZAPS/DoorWay To College Foundation (DW2CF)
UW-Madison LIVE Information session with Q&A
Please use this link to register for the event on Sept 30th (there are a few questions we ask to ensure the privacy of our meeting and know who will attend)! It will then send you a link to use to join the event live! (Full URL is: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcoc-uorD4qGda3DjSRffCDI8-CmnnXBjlO)
UW-Madison continues to offer virtual events throughout the fall. There will be another larger event, the Milwaukee Student Information Session adding current student panelists and Financial Aid, on Sunday October 25th at 4pm (save the date) – more information coming soon about that. In addition, students can learn about what is happening on-campus and explore our offerings, including the UW-Madison virtual tour and virtual event schedule.
Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA)
Wisconsin Education Fair
The Site Coordinator for the Wisconsin Education Fair, which has been located at Franklin High School for about 15 years, will be hosting virtual meetings for students and their families. Additional information is always available at wefs.org.
Upcoming virtual dates for this school year:
- Wednesday, 10/7
- Sunday, 11/8
- Wednesday, 2/10
- Wednesday, 3/10
- Sunday, 4/11
Humane Animal Welfare Society
Soon the Humane Animal Welfare Society will be starting a new school-year session of their club for high school students called Animal Career Exploration (ACE). This program is geared towards students who are interested in joining a profession working with animals. This school year they are running ACE as a virtual program, and will be able to offer students an opportunity to hear from and ask questions to speakers from all over the US.
Students will hear guest speakers from a variety of professions talking about what they do from day to day in their job, what training and education was required for that profession, and what high school students can do now to start to plan for that career.
The cost for HAWS ACE is $10.00 per session. Their first virtual meeting is on Wednesday, October 7 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.
Students can to go this link for additional information or to register on-line.
Scholarships
Other great scholarship search engines are:
Looking to take higher level courses in a field that interests you?
Early College Credit Program (ECCP)
Early College Credit Program (ECCP) allows a student in grades 9-12 to apply to enroll in a UW System institution or a participating private/nonprofit institution of higher education (IHE), to take one or more courses up to 18 credits, for which the student may earn high school credit and post-secondary credit. Students must meet certain criteria. The website with FAQs and more information can be viewed here. For more information on the ECCP as it relates to the UW System, please click here. For more information on the ECCP as it relates to WAICU (Private Colleges & Universities), please click here. The deadline for submitting completed ECCP applications for Spring Semester 2021 is October 1, 2020.
Start College Now
Start College Now allows a student in grades 11-12 to apply to enroll in a Wisconsin Technical College, to take one or more courses up to 18 credits, for which the student may earn high school credit and post-secondary credit. Students must meet certain criteria. For more information on Start College Now, please click here. For information about Start College Now and Waukesha County Technical College please click here. The deadline for submitting completed Start College Now applications for Spring Semester 2021 is October 1, 2020. Students cannot be enrolled in both ECCP and Start College Now at the same time.
Mental Health
Mental Health Emergencies
If you become aware of a student safety situation, where another student is expressing intent to harm themselves or to others, or you have other immediate concerns:
Tell a parent/guardian who is physically with you first. Choose from the following possible supports:
- Call 911 if the threat is urgent and immediate
- Call the Greenfield Police Department at 414-761-5301 for a wellness check. The police can visit the home of the student whose safety is in question to see if they are ok and follow up accordingly.
- Use the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
- Milwaukee County Crisis Line is 414-257-7222
- If a parent believes their child is experiencing a crisis, call the Children’s Mobile Crisis Team at 414-257-7621
- Use our GHS suicide prevention page found here for guidance in helping yourself, a friend, or a child.If you become aware of a student safety situation, where another student is expressing intent to harm themselves or to others, or you have other immediate concerns:
Coping at Home
- Exercise - walk around the block, do some in-place light exercise (jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups) - you can even find free virtual fitness classes right now (just make sure they're totally free, and not just free for the first month)!
- Have a routine - pick a time you usually wake up, eat, and work on school. This keeps your mind engaged with your day and the things you still need to do - like homework and checking in with your teachers.
- Communicate as much as possible - Whether it's texting with friends, talking with people at home, or even just messaging someone on Instagram, having contact with people at least once a day is good for your mental health.
- Try not to watch too much news - While it is vital that we all stay informed during this time, studies have shown that watching too much information (especially things we are not currently in control of) can be detrimental to our mental well being. Check in each morning for updates, and spend the rest of your day doing the best that you can to stay healthy and accomplish what is needed.
- Still struggling? Contact your counselor for additional support and ideas!
How are you doing?
Student Services is here to help you. If you or someone you care about is struggling emotionally, academically, or unsure of what their future plans might be, we are eager to help. If you need to see a counselor, please head to Student Services to make an appointment. We will fit you in as soon as possible. If it is urgent, please tell our secretaries, Ms. Cain and Mrs. Fleischhacker that it is an emergency, and we will do our best to see you right away.
Parents - if your child needs mental health support beyond what we can offer at school, our list of community supports is meant to help you find a mental health counselor for your child. You can also search for therapists in your area, that take your insurance, on www.psychologytoday.com/therapist. Still having trouble? Email your child's counselor and we are happy to make other suggestions.
Check out the resources below for additional mental health crisis supports.
Crisis Text Line
Text 741741
Need someone to talk to when you're alone? Crisis Text Line provides 24/7 support. Anything from "I had a tough day" to "I'm thinking of hurting myself" can be helped through this service. If you're in an emergency situation, Crisis Text Line will deploy a response team to help you immediately.Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The National Suicide Hotline provides free and confidential support for those in crisis. Please - if you or a loved one is feeling unsafe, seek help immediately.
Suicide Prevention
Frequently Asked Questions & Resources
Google Classroom
The student services department has created Google classrooms for each grade level to uniformly communicate information going forward and provide supports for students. We encourage students AND families join their respective groups on Google Classroom - the classroom codes are as follows:
Class of 2020: ff56nto
Class of 2021: 6kk42se
Class of 2022: i7dbdo
Class of 2023: 2nwastg
Senior Scholarship Awards
Transcripts
We will continue to process transcript requests in a timely manner. To request an official transcript to be sent CLICK HERE. There will be no charge for transcripts processed at this time.
You have access to an unofficial transcript with your GPA and class rank listed on it through your/your student’s Infinite Campus account. Please log in, click on reports along the left side and select transcript. Please know if you send an unofficial transcript to a college or scholarship at this time, it will be your responsibility to request an official transcript when we are back at school.
Contacting Counselors
- Phone
- Virtual meeting
Counselor Support
As counselors, we are here to help support with a variety of challenges in your day to day. Mostly, we focus on academic, emotional, and future-planning support. We will be updating Google Classroom, reaching out, and available by email during office hours to help as much as we can.
Zoom Conferencing
Your teachers and counselors may request either a phone call or a video conference with you to check in! Head to www.zoom.us to create an account today!