DCHS Counselor Connection
October Issue
A Message from the Counselors
DCHS Counselors are pleased to bring you our newsletter to help you and your student navigate high school and keep up to-date on important opportunities. We work with students in a variety of settings, from one-on-one, to small groups, to classroom guidance. Our goal is to help your student make important decisions in High school and develop a meaningful post graduation plan.
Keep in touch with the Counseling Office website at: https://www.gpisd.org/domain/11979
Melissa Hohnstreiter, Academy of Business Communications
• Business, Marketing, and Finance• Graphic Communications
• Information Technology
• Media Technology
Melissa.Hohnstreiter@gpisd.org
972-343-7852
Tiffeny Irvin, Academy of Human Services & Transportation
• Ag Power Systems
• Automotive Collision
• Automotive Technology
• Cosmetology
• Culinary Arts
• Recreation and Hospitality
972-343-7831
Kimberly Williams, Academy of Health Science & Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Architecture
- Dentistry
- Engineering
- Health Science
- EMT
- Health Science
- Phlebotomy
972-343-7858
What's Happening in the Counseling Department this Month?
Guidance Lessons
- October is National Drug Prevention Month! During the month, counselors will be conducting guidance lessons on Drug Prevention & Awareness.
- Suicide Prevention Lessons will also continue in the month of October. The Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas will be presenting to students on Oct. 4 & 5 through students' Health & Professional Communication Classes.
RESPONSIVE SERVICES
- "Getting to Know You Group" (New to Dubiski students)
- "Good Grief" (Support for students who've experience grief)
Individual Planning
- On Oct 2-6, counselors will be meeting with seniors to review their credits, graduation requirements, and to discuss post-secondary plans.
Grade Level Conferences
- Also happening in October, counselors will be going into junior, sophomore, and freshmen pathway classes to discuss "Road to Graduation and Beyond", a lesson that provide students with information about graduation requirements, the tools and skills to be successful in school, and how to map their future college & career goals.
- October 5 - F.O.R (Friends of Rachel) Club Meeting
- October 11 - PSAT Testing (for all 10th graders and selected 11th graders)
- October 16-20 - Quarter 1 Final Exams
- October 24 - GPISD FAFSA Night for Seniors
School, friends, family, a part-time job, extracurricular activities – teenagers’ lives are busy! But there are only so many hours in a day. To maintain a healthy balance, parents, teachers, and counselors can work with teens to develop a time “budget”. Here are some tips on how this can be accomplished:
- Color Code – Have students set priorities in his/her planner or on a calendar app. Items can be highlighted in different colors, for example “must do” activities with orange, “would like to do” in yellow, and “if time permits” in green. Students will be able to tell at a glance what comes first – and if they have spare time to take on something new.
- Think of Time Savers – Help students come up with solutions for maximizing their time. One idea is to do homework on the bus ride to school. Another is use some of his/her time with friends for things they need to do like studying for a test.
- Cut Back – Teenagers often feel like they must do everything, a feeling that’s known these days as FOMO (“fear of missing out” on what others are doing). Suggest that students think “quality over quantity” instead to keep their activities at a comfortable level. If teens are starting a part-time job, for example, suggest that they drop an activity that they no longer love to do.