US Counseling & Advisory Newsletter
30th September, 2021
Dear Students,
This new lease on learning was also reflected this month during Advisory. We began our Advisory sessions getting to know each other better through bonding and team building activities, as our many new students to ASM got to know us better, and we them.
We had many highlights this month such as Community Meetings Celebrating our Seniors, College Counseling Workshops for Seniors and Student Council Introductions to our entire student body. Career assessments and inventories are also very important to us and we got the ball rolling with the Learning Style assessment for our Freshmen. Likewise, Juniors also did their Thriving Index career inventory and were able to download a full report based on their results.
During Advisory we also engaged in meaningful conversations based on two powerful Ted Talks. Our Sophomores watched Questions Every Teenager Needs to Be Asked and our Juniors watched The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong. Processing questions were then posed to engage you on the themes that came out of these presentations and many teachable moments were seized.
Our Counseling Department embarked on a Buddy Program to help new students transition to our community (more below), and our College Counselors have been working hard at getting our seniors ready to submit their college applications.
We are continually upgrading our Comprehensive School Counseling and Advisory Program to make it more engaging and relevant to our current times. We therefore invite you to go over this Newsletter and take in the highlights for this month.
Tessa John-Guerra
US Guidance Counselor
OUR BUDDY PROGRAM
Our buddy program was focused on helping new students transition easier to our school. ASM students who wanted to serve in that capacity signed up for the program and were matched with new incoming students in their same year level. Some newbies were contacted in the heat of the summer and had already met up with their ASM buddies long before school reopened. A few buddies also supported the ASM Embajadores by wearing their T-Shirt and welcoming the newbies on campus during orientation.
PLEASE SEE BELOW SOME OF THEIR EXPERIENCES AND REVIEWS ON THE PROGRAM:
"During the new kid orientation, I conversed with other new kids and am great friends with them to this day. I have also hung out with them (Adam and Alvaro 12th grade) several times since the orientation."
- Katherine Anne Williams
Senior
"It was wonderful to help new students and to be a help to my community."
- Samuel Ortega O'Hale
Sophomore
"My experience with the Buddy Program this summer was wonderful! Not only was this a marvelous experience for me, but also for my buddy, who I was able to talk to regarding many aspects of ASM and the Upper School."
Sophomore
"Here is a picture of Me with my Buddy Trip. I started talking to him and answering his questions this summer and eventually met in person before the school year to get him situated. We are now good friends and have a large amount of my classes with him."
Junior
"My buddy's name is Nia Chetkovich. We began hanging out during the summer and I helped immerse her into ASM community. From this program she has become one of my closest friends."
Senior
"My buddy’s name is Zenabruv. Zena really enjoyed my company, and we did a variety of activities. We mainly went to restaurants and ate cheese!"
Junior
"My buddy’s name is Ian, and we first got in contact in the middle of August, and when we started school, I helped him around and showed him where everything was."
Junior
"My buddy was Daniel and he had a very smooth transition into ASM considering he was returning."
Sophomore
"I enjoyed the buddy experience because it was fun to connect to someone I didn't know before and get to talk to them one on one before school started."
Freshman
ASM Buddies
- Freshmen
Grade 9 Advisory: Quotes for Collaborating
The purpose was to:
- Identify expressions that represent personal ideals and values.
- Collaborate with peers.
- Extend creative ideas through practical application.
Key Skills learned were:
- Listen effectively
- Discern value
- Generate ideas
- Creative thinking
Quotes were then put up in their classrooms and hallway to inspire others
Grade 10 Advisory: Uncommon Commonalities
Uncommon commonalities are uncommon things that we have in common. These are the rare, unusual or exceptional attributes that we have in common as opposed to the usual and the evident.
The beauty and dynamism of this exercise is when students are having fun figuring out the uncommon things that they didn't realize they had in common with their peers. For them it was a journey of both self-discovery and group-discovery.
The Purpose was to:
- Develop Self-Awareness of one's interests, abilities and talents.
- To reinforce skills of active listening, asking questions and taking notes.
- To build group identity through self discovery of what we have in common and what is unique.
To implement one of the tips in the video above, please find below a template of an after school schedule. It will help you to be more organized, so that way you can study smarter and not longer.
Fill it out as you would like your after school hours to look like.
You can name it My After School Schedule or My Study Time Table or whatever you like.
CAREER GUIDANCE
THRIVING INDEX
Our students start off their Career Assessments from Grade 9 and continue throughout their four years of High School.
During Advisory, Juniors were introduced to the Thriving Index assessment that allowed them to see areas where they can work on, to not only survive, but to Thrive.
During this time of year, College Counselors work closely with seniors to finalize university lists, and select and apply to programs that are the “best fit” for each student.
We hope you enjoyed the videos above!
One of the most important themes in Public Health is the disparity in health observed in different groups, for example related to economic resources and race/ethnicity.
FREE International Virtual University Fair
The purpose of this international fair is to provide free information about different study abroad opportunities, mainly aimed at high school seniors and university students. This fair presents an innovative model through an immersive Virtual Fair in 3D format, which can be visited from anywhere, and in this 2021 edition it focuses on Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico in Latin America and Spain and Portugal in Europe. The information that they are providing is free of charge to the public and will be focused on:
- Camps
- Language courses
- Undergraduate and postgraduate studies
- Scholarships
The dates for students in Spain are October 28 and 29 at 12:00pm to 5:30pm on both days. If you are interested please register HERE. You can also see a short video about it here.
AS WE END THIS NEWSLETTER
Thank You for coming to the end of our Upper School Counseling & Advisory Newsletter.
SCAN this QR code on your left to book an available appointment slot with Upper School Guidance Counselor Tessa. A Google Meet link can also be generated for parent support consultations.
Did you miss the other Newsletters?
- Please go over all the past newsletters where you will find different study strategies under the sub-heading of Study Skills.
- Then go over all the different professions explored under the sub-heading of Career Guidance.
Email: tessajohn@asmadrid.es
Website: asmadrid.org
Location: American School of Madrid, Calle América, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
Phone: 34 917401902