Dragon Connection
Carroll Senior High School, Counselors' Newsletter
November 2020
WELCOME DRAGON STUDENTS & PARENTS
Mark Your Calendars
Nov. 9 - Junior Conferences Begin - Juniors be sure to sign up with your Counselor.
Nov. 13 - Early Release for Students 11:12 am
Nov. 23-27 - Thanksgiving Break
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DRAGON NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
NOVEMBER: FOCUS TOPIC: GRATITUDE
THE BENEFITS OF PRACTICING GRATITUDE
People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.
Freshen Up Your Thanks
The best way to reap the benefits of gratitude is to notice new things you’re grateful for every day.
Be Social About Your Gratitude Practice
Our relationships with others are the greatest determinant of our happiness. So it makes sense to think of other people as we build our gratitude.
What Grateful People Have in Common
People who experience the most gratitude (and therefore the positive effects) tend to:
- Feel a sense of abundance in their lives
- Appreciate the contributions of others to their well-being
- Recognize and enjoy life's small pleasures
- Acknowledge the importance of experiencing and expressing gratitude
Train Your Brain for Gratitude
Whether or not these attitudes come to you naturally, paying attention to life's positives can train you to see more and more of them, which will help you learn to be more grateful. You might feel blessed that good weather allowed you to get out for an afternoon run, that a stranger lent a helping hand, that you made it to the bus on time, or that your kids offered to do the dishes. Acknowledging these things—on paper, with words, or even in your thoughts—will help you cultivate an attitude of gratitude—and with it, a boost in happiness that will last year-round.
Gratitude and Mindfulness go hand in hand.
Gratitude allows us to notice the many blessings we have and distracts us from the many misfortunes that we face. Mindfulness helps us react to our misfortunes with grace, acceptance, and meditation. Together these two practices nurture the happier self within us.
from paying attention
in a particular way, on purpose,
to the present moment,
with non-judgment.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS
What is Self-Management?
Self-management is an essential component of social emotional learning. Building from the foundation of self-awareness, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines self-management as, “the ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations.” This regulation is achieved by effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. In short, self-management is the ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals without significant deviation.
What Skills are Associated with Self-Management?
- Impulse control – Impulse control relates to the idea of delayed gratification. This refers to the ability to distract oneself from a desire in order to delay that impulse. Impulse control, then, is the ability to not act on immediate impulses, but rather delay that action for a period of time.
- Stress management – Stress management can occur through a variety of strategies. Teachers should expose students to several different methods through discussion and implementation. Having a solid foundation of self-awareness will allow students to determine when they are stressed so that they can implement practiced strategies with more success.
- Self-discipline – Self-discipline requires an individual to control one’s feelings and impulses. Also known as willpower, self-discipline allows us to ignore other stimuli in order to focus on the goal at hand and follow our plans despite distractions.
- Goal setting – Research has found that students tend to find more success when working with individually set goals. These goals, however, need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) so as to better prepare students to successfully meet them.
- Self-motivation – Intrinsic motivation is a skill that is difficult to teach. Students must develop their own internal push that will keep them moving toward a goal. Having developed a specific goal is a great start to employing self-motivation.
- Organizational skills – Organizational skills can refer to the organization of physical space and materials, mental pictures and information, and time. Keeping our work areas uncluttered, as well as storing materials in a neat and organized manner for easy access, allows for more productive work time. Filtering information to be relevant to the topic at hand with a clear big picture can help to keep us on track. Lastly, keeping track of time and being aware of time commitments can help us to meet expectations.
A Message From Coach McDade & Rachel's Challenge
See Coach McDade's message about an opportunity for leadership and to help create positive change on our campus:
https://vimeo.com/470750236/10deae4723 (Links to an external site.)
Email your counselor if you'd like to get involved with Chain Reaction!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
Attention Juniors: It's Almost Time to Sign up for Your Junior Conference
Your Junior Conference will cover your questions about: graduation requirements? Senior schedule? SAT/ACT tests? Service hours? Naviance? College? Career Planning? and More!
- Make sure your and your parent’s email addresses are updated in Naviance. Information regarding scheduling your junior conference will be sent via email using the email addresses you have listed in Naviance. Be on the look out for this email towards the end of October.
- Watch the video below, "Junior Fall Guidance Naviance Super Match". You will learn how to find Colleges that are the best fit for you. You will also learn how to login to Naviance and update your email address in case your forgot. :)
- Have your YouScience Assessment completed as well, you should have received an invitation from YouScience in your SouthlakeCarroll.edu account, if you are having trouble finding this email please email your counselor.
- Log on to your Naviance account and complete your "Super Match" college wish list (we showed you this in your US History class back in September) and enter 3-5 college choices in your "Colleges I'm Thinking About" list (you will find both of these items under the "Colleges" tab.
Virtual Coffee with the Counselors
Our virtual Coffee with the Counselor video is ready and packed with information! We have prepared a meeting agenda with topics, times, and embedded links listed for your convenience. Click on the links below to view, and email your counselor if you have any follow up questions:
YouScience
Great news! Your student now has access to YouScience - a tool that will help them discover where their natural talents and passions meet. We believe YouScience is a great way for students to learn more about themselves, explore high-demand careers that are a good fit for them, and gain a better understanding of how their unique talents are needed in the economy.
Through a series of engaging 'brain games,' YouScience measures aptitudes (natural abilities most important to career choice). We then translate those talents (combined with interests) into real world, high-demand careers.
YouScience has been proven to engage students effectively and provide the direction they need to make the most important education and career decisions.
The insights students get from YouScience are meaningful and actionable. We want parents to be in the know and able to engage their students in conversation about their results and plans for the future. We have provided some FAQs and conversation starters to help get them talking!
What is YouScience?
YouScience is an online assessment that uses 11 "brain games" to find where passions and talents meet. We then match each student to more than 500 high-demand careers to recommend the paths that best fit their natural abilities.
How is YouScience different than other tests?
Most career guidance relies on interest-only surveys, but YouScience goes beyond that to measure natural abilities. While interests can be limited by exposure and understanding, aptitudes are able to give a broader spectrum of options and opportunities. Most importantly, you will never see a score on a YouScience profile. There is no pass/fail or good/bad. Every student has talent - we want to help them understand what makes them great and how to make most of it.
Click the link below to learn more about YouScience and what it means for your student.
THE RESILIENCY PROJECT
We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts and traumas many children face. Children can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom to bullying by classmates or even abuse at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience.
The good news is that resilience skills can be learned.
Building resilience — the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress — can help our children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. However, being resilient does not mean that children won't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common when we have suffered major trauma or personal loss, or even when we hear of someone else's loss or trauma.
DRAGON TIP LINE - 817-406-2512
The Dragon Tip Line system is designed to help students, parents and community members anonymously report past, present and predicted concerns in our school community. Information about bullying, harassment, drugs, violence, weapons, theft, or any other potential threat to school safety should be reported.
Report concerns anonymously, anytime 24/7.
A New Type of Help: Crisis Text Line
Text 741-741, ANYTIME YOU ARE IN A CRISIS
With today's teenagers living in the age of texting, the Crisis Text Line has noticed they feel more comfortable texting rather than calling into a helpline when they are in need of help. The great thing about this support is it is available 24/7 to anyone in any type of crisis. You can text confidentially between classes, in the middle of a situation without anyone knowing who you are talking to. Crisis counselors are on stand by 24/7 to help you from the heat of the moment to until you are calm.
Crisis doesn’t just mean suicide: it’s any painful emotion for which you need support.
SAT & ACT INFORMATION & DATES
Visit our CSHS Counseling Website for information on ACT/SAT Testing and More
$ PAYING FOR COLLEGE $
Visit your Naviance Account for a full list of scholarships available to you. There is a TON of money out there, APPLY and maybe you will be selected!
Check the Scholarship list in Naviance Monthly:
- Log in
- Click on the Colleges Tab
- Then click Scholarships and Money.
**Seniors this list will grow, make sure you check at least once per month.
You can also visit:
Our Counseling Team
Serving Students Last Names A-D
Tracey.Flores@southlakecarroll.edu
Melissa Woodward, M. Ed.
Serving Students Last Names E-K
Melissa.Woodward@southlakecarroll.edu
Keri Bettencourt, M. Ed.
Serving Students Last Names L-Q
Keri.Bettencourt@southlakecarroll.edu
Tammy Grasmick, M. S.
Serving Students Last Names R-Z
Tamara.Grasmick@southlakecarroll.edu
Deborah Warner, M. Ed.
Intervention Counselor - CSHS 504 Coordinator
Deborah.Warner@southlakecarroll.edu
Counseling Office Support Staff
Deidra Mulloy
Registrar
Deidra.Mulloy@southlakecarroll.edu
Anne Fore
Receptionist
Shela Daniel
Secretary
Shela.Daniel@southlakecarroll.edu
Website: https://www.southlakecarroll.edu/domain/736
Location: 1501 West Southlake Boulevard, Southlake, TX, United States
Phone: 817-949-5813
Twitter: @CounselingCSHS