
CJHS Counselor Corner Newsletter
5.6.2022
PSAT 8/9 Score Release
Students will be able to view their PSAT 8/9 scores on May 20, 2022.
Scores will be released to educators in the College Board K-12 Reporting Portal on June 21.
Students will need a College Board account to view their scores. If they do not already have an account, they can go to www.collegeboard.org and sign up for a free account.
Want to improve your PSAT score?
May = Better Hearing and Speech Month
In the public school setting, speech, language and hearing services are available to eligible students in many different areas. You can find those areas outlined in the attached infographic.
Even without a communication impairment, there are ways to encourage better speech, language and hearing at home.
1. Practice safe listening
2. Be aware of the signs of speech-language disorders
3. Be aware of the signs of hearing loss
4. Encourage reading! Whether hard copies, e-books, or audiobooks, reading enhances language skills. Use apps like Libby and Hoopla to access FREE e-books and audiobooks through the Clarkston Independence District Library. You can sign up for a library card here.
Allow your student(s) to explore reading they're interested in, it doesn't have to be a novel; graphic novels, cookbooks, magazines, online news articles, and technical manuals are all great exposure to different types of reading. Growing up (and to this day) my brother prefers to read the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) handbook to any novel - whatever works!
5. Family mealtime: Among many benefits, family mealtimes has been shown to enhance language development. Children expand their vocabularies and are exposed to different types of discourse including explanations (how-to's) and narratives. Read more here.
6. Keep connected! I am a resource for all CJHS staff, students and families
Mrs. Kathryn Alexander
CJHS Speech-Language Pathologist
Camp Leadership
Leaders-in-training will have the opportunity to work with campers at Clintonwood Camp or Bay Court Camp! L.I.Ts spend their summer with campers at the park, the beach, or on field trips!
Learn the valuable skills to because a day camp counselor in the future!
Once per week, L.I.T.s will participate in Leaders Days, which focus on team building and serving the community. See flier for more details!
To apply, follow the link below.
LIT Application Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQHJZ-KA7p_4nolFQr8xrHE06_CcX7U7UTdCgEWCaUTsBYSQ/viewform
Building Skills Summer Trades Program
Shared on behalf of Michigan Works:
- Do you work with young adults between 14-17 years old?
- Do your students have an interest in carpentry or construction?
- Would your youth participants like to earn $14.00 per hour working along side journeymen and experienced union carpenters?
- Would your youth like take courses in the NEW carpenters union training facility in Detroit?
- Would they like to work within the community, creating wheelchair ramps, fixing porches and giving back to the community?
We have an opportunity for them!
Attached is a flyer with additional information about this summer’s BUILDing Skills program – or see below. If you or any of your students are interested in learning more about the program or applying, please reach out to Brooklyn Frontiera (248.452.2260 or frontierab@oakgov.com). Applications will be accepted up until May 13th.
NOTES:
- Students must be able to travel to the Carpenters Union Training facility each day. Their address is: 11687 American St, Detroit, MI 48204
- Program may be best suited for those that reside in the south end of Oakland County, simply based off of transportation needs, but it is open to those that are willing to travel.
**Michigan Works! eligibility will apply.
Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship Program for those 18+
Oakland County Michigan Works! launches Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship Program:
- More than 650 tuition scholarships worth up to $2,000 are available.
- Scholarships target individuals interested in short-term job training or completing the last semester of a four-year degree.
- Additional funding may be available through Oakland County Michigan Works!
- To be eligible for an Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or authorized to work in the United States, 18 years old or older, a high school graduate or equivalent, and registered with the Selective Service (if applicable).
Mental Health Resources
SUMMER OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION!
10 Keys To Happier Living
Everyone's path to happiness is different. Based on the latest research, there have been an identified 10 Keys that tend to make life happier and more fulfilling.
Over the course of the remaining school year, we will include key components and practical actions in this newsletter that you can incorporate and apply to your daily life.
Direction: Have goals to look forward to
"How we feel and think about the future and how we work towards it can make a difference for our happiness in the present.
Having a sense of direction, optimism and hope can all contribute to feeling happier [1].
An optimistic or hopeful outlook means we are more likely to experience positive emotions, feel more confident, have higher satisfaction with life, have better physical health and are less likely to be depressed [2]. We are also more likely to take care of ourselves physically and persist with medical treatments [3]. Of course, we need to be realistic, but hope and optimism both contribute to our resilience too, helping us cope with tough times, approach relationship issues constructively, take a more active, solution-focused approach to deal with problems and be more likely to reach out for support from others [4].
Finding and working towards meaningful goals is a way of connecting the present to our future and research is showing how it can boost our happiness and wellbeing too [5].
Although our personality or circumstances might orientate us towards seeing the future more positively or more negatively, science shows there are future-focused practical actions we can take that can contribute to how happy we feel now.
Visit our goal setting page for more.
Optimism
Try it: On each of the next four days take a minute to imagine your life in the future, at a time frame that makes sense to you (e.g. 6 months, a year or 5 years). Imagine that everything has turned out as well as it possibly could. You’ve worked hard and any challenging circumstances have changed just enough to enable this best possible life to happen. Then spend 20 minutes writing freely about this best possible life. Describe all the different aspects of your best possible life in as much detail as you can [11]. After you have completed this activity, write a letter to yourself now from your future self with advice on the steps you might take to start to move towards the future you imagined [12].
Try it: Two to three times a week over the next three week, reflect back on the previous few days and list five things (however small) that helped you feel that life is enjoyable, enriching and/or worthwhile and three things that could help you see the bright side of a difficult situation [13].
Hope
Try it: Small Goals - Once a week for the next three weeks, write down a goal you’d like to achieve in the next day or so and describe the steps you will take to achieve this goal [18]. Then bring to mind an obstacle that might get in your way. This could be external, e.g. not getting resources you’ll need, or internal e.g. losing confidence in your ability. Now make a plan for how you will get around that obstacle should it arise. You can try this for more than one obstacle if you need to!
Finding goals that are good for happiness
Try it: Think of a goal you are working towards or one you’d like to set for yourself. Reflecting on the bullets above
How imagining the future can help us achieve our goals
Try it: Bring to mind a goal you have that is meaningful and matters to you, then complete the following steps:
- Spend five minutes really imagining how you will feel when you achieve the goal, what will happen, where will you be and how you will celebrate. Visualise it in lots of detail. Then take a few minutes to write down a few notes on what you imagined.
- Next, imagine the steps you will take to reach your goal, visualise them in as much detail as possible, especially the early steps. Consider if there are different ways you might reach your goal. Think about who might help, encourage or support you or what resources you’ll need to put in place and how you’ll do that. Again write these thoughts down.
- Bring to mind the obstacle from inside you that is most likely to get in the way of achieving your goal or distract or derail you.
- Reflecting on that obstacle, identify a plan to get around or overcome it when it occurs. Write this plan down in the form of ‘If [your obstacle] happens, then I will [your plan to get around it].
- Now decide on the very first action you need to take. Visualise where, when and how you’ll get started and how you will celebrate when you’ve taken that first step [22]."
Study Tips
Beneficial Reads
Community
Clarkston Arts Scholarships (Grades 6-12)
In 2022, Clarkston Cultural Arts Council is awarding a total of three scholarships to students of the Clarkston Community Schools, grades 6–12, pursuing further education in any area of the arts (visual, performing, etc.).
Applications can be found at www.clarkstonarts.org
(1) $1,000 scholarship — intended for college tuition for current senior entering an arts-based collegiate program
(2) $500 scholarships — intended for students attending arts-based private lessons, programs, or camps
Applications due by May 20th.
Clarkston Family Farm Fundraiser
The Clarkston Family Farm will hold its first fundraising event in three years...the Chicken Run 5K Race!
There will be a contest among the CCS schools to see who gets the most racers- that school wins the traveling trophy and a Free Family Fun Day at the Farm for the entire school!
The Chicken Run is our fundraiser for the Pathways to Possibilities Project-ADA Access for all ages and abilities to our Farm and Garden spaces at the Clarkston Family Farm.
Counseling Department Staff
Mrs. Eva Marie Rottach, Counseling Secretary
Phone: 248.623.5690
Fax: 248.623.5679
Mrs. Sarah Hester, Counselor A-G
Phone: 248.623.5689
Mrs. Shannon Donnellon, Counselor H-O
smdonnellon@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Phone: 248.623.5692
Ms. Allison Cumper, Counselor P-Z
Phone: 248.623.5691
Mrs. Lynn Larsen, Social Worker
Phone: 248.623.5686
Mrs. Natalie Stevens, Social Worker
Phone: 248.620.7803
Mrs. Renee Alexander, Psychologist
raalexander@clarkston.k12.mi.us
Phone: 248.623.5688
Mrs. Kathryn Alexander, Speech-Language Pathologist
kjalexander@clarkston.k12.mi.us
248.620.7826
Mrs. Susan Joseph, Department Chair for Support Services, Teacher
Phone: 248.623.5687