RHS Counselors Connection
February 2019 Edition
Welcome!
Stay Informed...
RHS School Counseling Website: Click here for the New School Counseling Website
Subscribe to our Remind Text messaging service for specific grade levels- see Parent Resources Page
Career Exploration for High School Students
Helping Your Child Plan a Career
(Pointers for Parents)
In the high school years it is important for students to begin thinking about what they would like to do “when they grow up.” The decisions they make in high school are an important factor in determining a career later in life. For example, students interested in business would benefit from taking more business related courses as well as getting involved in organizations such as FBLA. You can help your child prepare for his/her career by using some of the following ideas:
1. Help them to discover their interests and abilities by encouraging them to talk to their teachers and counselors. Ask them what subjects they enjoy or excel in and try to find careers that match those interests and abilities.
2. Encourage them to see the relationship between what they do now and future outcomes. Help them develop guidelines for making decisions based on their values and goals. For example, getting into a good college degree program requires good overall grades in high school, so what they do freshman year is as important as what they do senior year.
3. Help them choose their courses every year. Knowing what their interests and abilities are can help them link those ideas to a possible career.
4. Make college visits. It’s never too early to start. Be sure you include vocational-technical schools, two-year associate’s programs, as well as four year colleges and universities.
5. Encourage your child to job shadow. This is one of the best ways for your child to get exposed to possible career choices.
6. Encourage your child to have a part time job or volunteer work. Even if it’s only a few hours a week or only during the summer, it’s still a valuable lesson in commitment and responsibility, as well as a taste of possible career areas.
10th Grade Career Exploration Classes
We encourage parents to follow up with their student after we visit. These conversations are critical to help your son or daughter visualize their next steps.
Resources include:
SJR State College Application Event
Thursday, Feb 14, 2019, 09:00 AM
Ridgeview High School
PERT Testing for Dual Enrollment Eligibility- Feb. 19th
If you have questions about Dual Enrollment and/or the full list of qualifications, please reach out to your son's or daughter's assigned counselor.
Positive Panther Project
...if you know of a threat
Show Orange to support those in unhealthy relationships that need help
Seek help if you have unsafe or unhealthy thoughts or feelings
RHS #SaySomething Day- Feb. 12th
#SaySomething day encompasses Teen Dating Violence Awareness, Mental Health Awareness, Suicide Prevention Awareness and School Safety Awareness.
Help us spread the word by wearing orange and by participating the in activities during lunch periods on this day.
Say Something if...
- you or someone you know is threatening to hurt themselves or someone else
- you know of a threat to someone or a place
- you or someone you know needs help with depression, anxiety, anger or any other mental health need
Teen Health & Well-Being
Important areas of wellness in life:
• Organization (Mind): The ability to keep track of and make good use of possessions, money, and time.
• Stress Resilience (Strength): The ability to deal positively with the adversities of life.
• Relationships (Heart): The ability to create and maintain healthy, life-giving connections with others.
• Rest and Play (Soul): The ability to balance work and play and to renew oneself.
• Handling Emotions (Heart): The ability to process, express, and receive emotions in a healthy way.
• Spirituality (Soul): The development and practice of a strong personal value system and a meaningful purpose in life.
• School and Work (Mind): The ability to get the most out of educational, volunteer, and employment opportunities.
• Care for the Body (Strength): The ability to build healthy habits and practices regarding our physical well-being, as well as the ability to end unhealthy ones.
Teens often feel that they can handle the challenges or daily stresses of life without any help, but we can all benefit from some simple daily stress reduction techniques. Here are a few strategies that you can suggest to your son or daughter if they need to regroup or refocus.
1. Yoga
Yoga offers a variety of physical and mental health benefits, such as improved flexibility, posture, and strength as well as a sense of inner calm. Teens can learn yoga in a variety of ways. Attend a yoga class with your teen and you’ll gain the added benefit of spending quality time together, or look for yoga videos that will let you practice in the privacy of your own home.
2. Meditation
Getting teens to slow down and focus on one thing at a time can be a challenge in today’s digital world. But learning how to do so through meditation can provide improved physical and emotional benefits. Meditation has been linked to everything from increased happiness to improved immunity. There are several different types of meditation, but at the core of all of them is the desire to calm the mind. Explore meditation tutorials, guided meditation, or meditation books to learn meditation skills. Your teen may enjoy a meditation app. Many of them will walk your teen through meditation strategies step-by-step and offer reminders to meditate every day.
3. Deep Breathing
When people feel anxious, they often take shallow and rapid breaths, which can induce physiological changes—like an increased heart rate—which can add to stress. One of the simplest relaxation exercises involves breathing. Teach your teen to take deep slow breaths when she’s feeling anxious. Just a few deep breaths can provide an instant calming effect that can help reduce stress. Look for books or online resources that offer tutorials about breathing exercises.
4. Imagery
Envisioning a ‘happy place’ can help your brain take a vacation from whatever stress your teen is experiencing. Tell your teen write down a description of her favorite happy place. It could be a cabin in the woods, a sandy beach, or even your backyard. Request that she describe how it looks, feels, smells, and sounds—the more details the better. When she’s stressed out, tell her to close her eyes and spend a few minutes imagining that scene.
5. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Stress can cause people to tense their muscles, and the more tense they feel, the more stressed out they become. Letting go of that tension can be a simple way to let go of stress. Progressive muscle relaxation can raise your teen’s awareness of muscle tension. Encourage your teen to start tensing and relaxing each muscle group—moving from her toes all the way up to her head. By the time she’s done, all of her muscles should be relaxed. There are lots of tutorials that can walk you through progressive muscle relaxation as well. Some teens enjoy listening to an audio clip that describes how to tense and relax each muscle group.
Practice Relaxation Skills
Teens with healthy self-soothing skills are equipped to handle the realities of the adult world. When she knows how to manage stress, she'll be willing to do hard things, pick herself up when she fails, or tackle new challenges. Just like all new skills, relaxation exercises require practice. The first few times your teen tries them, she may report it wasn’t helpful. But with regular practice, these skills can greatly help her reduce stress.
Learn and practice new relaxation skills with your teen. Doing so, won’t just help you manage your stress, it will also give you an opportunity to try something new together, which can help you maintain a healthy relationship.
Apps for Mental Health Support
Obviously, for tweens and teens in crisis, there's no substitute for face-to-face intervention and professional help. However, since phones are tools most teens use, they can offer timely resources and help for those who need it. Aside from general health apps, these tools focus specifically on coping with anxiety, depression, and specific difficult circumstances via meditation, connection, and other techniques. While some are focused on an individual's experience, others offer chat and the option to find a therapist. Especially when used in conjunction with other approaches, these apps might offer teens a little peace of mind.
Mental Health Awareness for Mind, Mood & Wellbeing
age 13+
Empower with information using resource; still seek support.
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
(2017)
age 13+
Make a plan, get support to stop suicidal thoughts.
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
(2018)
age 15+
Meditation app has some teen-friendly, some mature content.
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch
(2018)
age 17+
Find tools, social support from strangers and therapist.
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, Android
(2018)
College Corner
Ave Maria University
Ave Maria University (AMU) was founded by former Domino’s Pizza owner Tom Monaghan in 2003. Ave Maria University is a vibrant University located in beautiful Southwest Florida. It is an academic institution that pledges faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church and is committed to offering one of the finest classical liberal arts curricula available, as well as opportunities for specialized study in all of the sciences and humanities.
Ave Maria is known for its exceptional academics, faithfulness to the magisterium of the Catholic Church, dedicated faculty and caring staff, and a unique educational philosophy that strives to develop the whole person. For more on this, see the Mission Statement of Ave Maria University and brief account of Our History. The university’s superb faculty, challenging curriculum, professional staff, and a student community where it is easy to form lasting friendships, provide graduates with a training that empowers them to step out into the working world as future leaders and wealth-creators, with a solid understanding of contemporary challenges, and a strong confidence in their own intellectual training and foundation.
The University offers 30 undergraduate majors, with programs in the humanities, the sciences, music and professional areas. The most popular majors are biology, business, psychology, and theology. New majors have been added in finance, environmental science, health sciences, and nursing. More than 60 student clubs, organizations, ministries, outreach efforts, and households offer an abundance of activities that include athletic clubs (such as running, ice skating, swing dance, rugby, and fishing) and academic clubs (such as newspaper, writing, film, and business).
Students also have opportunities to serve on mission trips with sisters from the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, Uganda, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Washington DC and New York City.
Career Planning & Spotlight
Computer Careers
Careers in computer related fields are growing. Big demand means big salaries. Possible careers include Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Gaming, Medical Imaging, and Online Music and Movie Distribution.
Computer careers and technology careers are available in practically every industry. Computer careers may involve creating business applications or performing system analysis. Some computer careers involve working in the field of robotics or artificial intelligence.
There's a demand for skilled Information Technology (IT) professionals. IT professionals are involved with designing, developing, supporting and managing computer software, computer hardware as well as information networks, including the Web.
Go to computingcareers.acm.org for more info!
Scholarships 101
Now is the time to set up accounts on the scholarship databases listed in the left hand column. Start applying early and for as many as you can. A lot of scholarship money goes unused because students don’t apply. Also check with the schools you plan to apply. They each have their own scholarship applications and deadlines.
Federal Financial Aid
It is also time to request your FSA ID. You will need this to complete your FAFSA. CLICK HERE for directions. BOTH you and your parent must request a FSA ID prior to completing the FAFSA. FAFSA opens on October 1, 2018 for the 19-20 school year (the year you plan to attend college or other institution).
Florida Bright Futures
Information about eligibility requirements can be found at the Florida Bright Futures website. Be sure to check your specific status at Florida Shines. Your State ID is your social security number with an X at the end. If you have questions about your status, see your School Counselor.
Institutional Financial Aid
Each college or university also has their own sources of financial aid. You need to check with each school individually to see if they have a financial aid application.
Scholarship Databases
There are several online scholarship databases that provide secure links to apply for private scholarships. We recommend that you use one (or many) of these to ensure that your private information is not stolen. Googling scholarships can lead you to scam or phishing sites that target students for identity theft.
http://studentscholarships.org/
http://tuitionfundingsources.com/
http://college-scholarships.com/
http://www.militaryscholar.org/index.html
RHS Scholarship Bulletin
We keep a running list of private scholarships that we are aware of. It is not intended to be a full list but a place to start. It is updated on a weekly basis. CLICK HERE to go to our Scholarship Bulletin.
Student Resources
SAP (Student Assistance Program) Counselor- Kim Barrera
The Student Assistance Program works with identified adolescents to screen for risk factors that may interfere with a student’s ability to positively cope with life challenges and stressors. The program consists of individual and/or group prevention activities where teens work with an SAP team member 1-4 times a month on a short term basis. SAP does not provide direct therapy services but can assist students with accessing services through Clay Behavioral Health. You can ask any of your teachers to go see Ms. Barrera in Building 5 room 554 or you can talk with your School Counselor to be referred for services.
Military Life Counselor- Atrews Bell
Mr. Bell provides a variety of services and/or referrals for students with a parent/guardian on active duty or retired military. This can include academic assistance, personal counseling, help with transitioning from school to school and much more. See your School Counselor for more details or stop by Mr. Bells office in Building 1 room 140.
Contact Us!
Pre-IB & IB Students
(904) 336- 8912
Lori.feathergill@myoneclay.net
Maria Littlejohn
Student Last Names A-E
(904) 336- 8904
Maria.littlejohn@myoneclay.net
Jackie Welch
Student Last Names F-L
(904) 336- 8903
Jacquelyn. welch@myoneclay.net
Margo Whyte
Student Last Names M-R
(904) 336-8902
Tabbatha Johns
Student Last Names S-Z
(904) 336-8906
Tamara Mansel-Tucker
College & Career Coach
(904) 336-8889