Counselor Connection Newsletter
Winter 2020
High School Happenings
Now that second semester is underway, there are a few things to look out for in the coming months.
Seniors, as you continue to hear back from the schools you applied to, make sure you are checking the Counseling Page of the website for new scholarships. Scholarship deadlines vary, so please keep an eye on when you need to turn in your material. Some may require letters of recommendation. It’s good practice to give your recommenders a couple weeks’ notice so they have time to prepare a thoughtful letter for you.
Juniors, now is the time to start signing up for the spring offerings of the SATs and ACTs. Some students choose to take them twice in the spring, others once in the spring and once in the fall. See below for upcoming SAT/ACT test dates.
We are taking interested 10th and 11th grade students to CCBC to visit the Academies (Health, Aviation, Construction, STEM and Criminal Justice) on Friday, February 7th. Any student interested in attending one of these academies needs to go on a visit as part of the application process.
Also, on February 26th a representative from the Beaver County Career and Technology Center (BCCTC) will be here to talk to students about their programs and the benefits of getting an education / certification in the various trades. The following week, March 3rd, we will take interested students on a tour of the BCCTC. Please feel free to contact myself or Mr. Reed if you have any questions about the academies or the CTC programs.
We will begin course registration in March, so please keep an eye out for the colored registration forms and review them with your student before signing them.
On the social/emotional side of things, we just wrapped up our 8-week long grief group we facilitated with the Caring Place. The Caring Place is an amazing resource for students and families who are experiencing grief. They run groups several times throughout the year at their locations in Warrendale and Pittsburgh. Check out the Caring Place's website for more information. We hope to run another grief group in the high school next fall so if please feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like more information.
Daniel LaRue
High School Counselor
724-573-9581 ext. 2607
Email: dlarue@sssd.k12.pa.us
Website: http://www.sssd.k12.pa.us/Counseling1.aspx
Twitter: @sshscounseling
SAT Exam Date
Register at: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines
Other upcoming test dates:
May 2nd (Sign-up by April 3rd)
June 6th (Sign-up by May 8th)
Saturday, Mar 14, 2020, 07:00 AM
Neighboring Districts
ACT Exam Dates
Register at: http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
Other upcoming test dates:
June 13th (Sign-up by May 8th
Saturday, Apr 4, 2020, 07:00 AM
Community College of Beaver County, Campus Drive, Monaca, PA, USA
Middle School Moments
The school year is halfway through and it is hard to believe we are starting the third quarter and the 4th rotation of the unified art classes.
During the month of November, we honored grieving children with an assembly presented by The Highmark Caring Place and the creation of a Heroes for Hope Wall. Students wrote the name of a loved one they have lost on a butterfly then those butterflies were added to the wall in remembrance of their loved one.
December was a month of giving through our district-wide Helping Hearts and Hands program. We also had an assembly by The SaltWorks Company on how addiction can influence the entire family.
SSMS continues to offer a variety of programs for our students. We recently completed our eight-week grief group with The Caring Place. The group was created for middle school students that have lost a loved one and are dealing with grief. We hope to have this group continue into the upcoming school years. The students in the group stated they really enjoyed the peer-to-peer support and knowing they were not alone in their grief.
Sixth and eighth graders at SSMS participated in career exploration field trips during the month of November. After receiving their first report cards, students were introduced to our first round of minute meetings with the counselor. Minute meetings are a method to get face-to-face time with each student in the middle school and discuss topics such as academics, career and social/emotional well-being.
Please continue follow us on the middle school Schoology page, this newsletter, and the school website for updated information and exciting news on our program.
Kelly Fulciniti
724-573-9581 ext. 2610
Holiday Extravaganza
Helping Hearts and Hands
Giving back to our community through our annual Helping Hearts and Hands program.
Winners!
8th grade students participated in a Anti-Vaping poster contest. This is the winning poster along with the creators.
Elementary Essentials
The good news is that in the last few months I have been very busy with classroom and grade level lessons, completing our first ever Grief Group where we partnered with the Highmark Caring Place, finally getting my lunch groups underway, having a lot of fun with our Little Ram Rallies, and so much more- focusing in on Responsibility, Compassion, and Gratitude! We have talked about the importance of our choices and how they determine the consequences (both good and not-so-good), the importance of telling the truth, staying away from gossip and rumors, and being safe and responsible online. Did you know that just over half of our current 5th grade students report having their own cell phone?
It is what it is, I hear the concerns from both sides of the fence. At this point I really do believe that the most important thing we can do as adults in our students' lives is to be educated and help them to know how to navigate the ever growing online world. Being proactive and being ahead of the game for our students is critical, and a lot more helpful than being reactive. If you have not ever heard of it before, please check out Ryan Klingensmith's website for a lot of great resources, research, tips, and tricks when it comes to raising our students in the ever more digital world: http://www.shapethesky.org/
Looking ahead, this month we are focusing on Friendship-- the healthiest versions of them, how to make them, how to respect them, and even how to recognize and accept when we grow apart from one another from time to time as we grow up. This first full week of February, the students will be bringing home a flier with a tie on it for them to color in/ fill out... so we can be "Tied Up in Friendship" together! I hope you will take a minutes to talk with your little ones at home about your thoughts on Friendship, and maybe even share a few experiences. They are soaking every one of these precious conversations in, no matter how big they are getting!
One last thing I wanted to mention here: If you have not yet signed up to be active in Schoology, please do so. We are trying to communicate more and more with everyone there. Once you are logged in, you can see many updates (and take part in polls to help share your thoughts on planning new things in the coming months or even for next year) and join different groups and classes including my group, "Engaging with Mrs. Emrock" (the access code for it is: VHW8-RSVS-N8FFX if you are interested by the way). If you go through the district's website it should be fairly simple to log in. However, if you have any issues, please do let me know.
All of this being said, I am excited for all this next semester has to hold and hope you and your family are off to a great start!
Julia Emrock
724-573-9581 ext. 1403
Website: https://www.instagram.com/ourlittlerams/
Twitter: @MrsEmrockSSES
Responsibility Reports
Spring School Counseling Advisory Council Meeting
If you are not currently a member of our Advisory Council but would be interested in becoming involved in the future, please reach out to one of the School Counselors.
Friday, Apr 3, 2020, 01:00 PM
South Side Area School District, PA, USA
South Side Area School District
Website: http://www.sssd.k12.pa.us/
Location: 4949 Pennsylvania 151, Hookstown, PA, USA
Phone: 7245739581