Dragons Dig Deep
A Mental Health & Wellness Newsletter from CHS Counselors
December 2021
Important Dates:
Dec. 1- Jan. 7 Level Change Form available
Dec. 14 - 17 Final Exams for First Semester
Dec. 16 Early Release for Students at 12:00 p.m.
Dec. 17 Early Release for Students at 12:00 p.m.
Dec. 20 - Jan. 3 Winter Break
Jan. 4 Semester 2 begins
Jan. 17 School Holiday
Last Chance to Make Course Level Changes
If your student would like to level-down from an AP or Advanced course next semester, please have them fill out the google form below. This will be the FINAL opportunity for students to request a level change for this school year. The deadline to request a level change is Friday, January 7th by 4pm. Schedule changes will be effective when the second semester begins on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2021. If you have questions, please contact your counselor.
PreACT and PSAT Results
Prior to Thanksgiving break, PreACT score reports and student test booklets were distributed to all Freshmen who took the PreACT back in October. They were passed out in their English classes.
For Sophomores, PSAT scores will be released on the College Board website on December 6th. In anticipation of that day, sophomore students will need to have a College Board account set up so they can view their test results. Your student may already have an account because of AP courses they are/were in, but, if they haven't set up an account, they will need to do so prior to Dec. 6. Please avoid creating multiple accounts as that will complicate receiving test scores in the future. Feel free to contact your counselor or call College Board directly with any questions about your account.
To set up an account, you can use this link: https://account.collegeboard.org/login/signUp?appId=319&DURL=https%3A%2F%2Fcollegereadiness.collegeboard.org%2F
PSAT test booklets will be returned to students in their English classes before we leave for winter break.
CHS Counselors Want to Hear From You!
The CHS Counseling Crew would like some feedback from both our students and their parents. Parents, please go to the link below to answer a few simple questions about your experience and feelings during this fall semester. The Counseling Crew will send out an email to students with the link to their survey. We want you to know that we see you AND we hear you!
Stressed About Exams Coming Up?
Do you sweat, chew your pencil, and feel butterflies in your stomach as your teacher hands out a test? A lot of people (adults included) get freaked out when it's time to take a test.
It's natural to feel some stress about taking tests. In fact, sometimes a little adrenaline (a hormone made by your body during times of excitement or stress) is a good thing to jump-start you.
Here are some tips for taking tests:
- First, be sure you've studied properly. It sounds like a no-brainer, but if you're sure of the information, you'll have less reason to be worried.
- Get enough sleep the night before the test. Your memory recall will be much better if you've had enough rest. In a scientific study, people who got enough sleep before taking a math test did better than those who stayed up all night studying.
- Listen closely to any instructions. As the teacher hands out the test, be sure you know what's expected of you.
- Read the test through first. Once you have the test paper in front of you, read over the entire test, checking out how long it is and all the parts that you are expected to complete. This will let you estimate how much time you have for each section and ask the teacher any questions. If something seems unclear before you start, don't panic: ask.
- Focus on addressing each question individually. As you take the test, if you don't know an answer, don't obsess over it. Instead, answer the best way you can or skip over the question and come back to it after you've answered other questions.
- Relax. If you're so nervous that you blank out, you might need a mini-break. Of course you can't get up and move around in the middle of a test, but you can wiggle your fingers and toes, take four or five deep breaths, or picture yourself on a beach or some other calm place. As we all know, it can be easy to forget things we know well — like a locker combination. The difference is we know we'll remember our locker combination because we've used it hundreds of times, so we don't panic and the combination number eventually comes back. During a test, if you blank out on something and start to get tense, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to remember.
- Finished already? Although most teachers will let you hand a test in early, it's usually a good idea to spend any extra time checking over your work. You also can add details that you may not have thought you'd have time for. On the other hand, if you have 5 minutes until the bell rings and you're still writing, wind up whatever you're working on without panicking.
These tips should help most people, but some can get serious test-taking terror. If you're one of them, you may need to talk to a parent, teacher, or counselor for help.
Good luck!
Update: The Gifting Project
All of the CHS Angels have all been adopted; however, there are more ways to help! Please email Mrs. Hunt, CHS Intervention Counselor, at janay.hunt@southlakecarroll.edu for more information.
Students can earn up to 5-success scholar/ community service hours for their participation with this worthy cause. The breakdown will be as follows:
$1- $15 – 1 hour
$16 - $35 – 2 hours
$36 - $55 – 3 hours
$56 - $75 – 4 hours
$76 - $100 – 5 hours
The Value of Service for Students
The importance of community service lies in the fact that it connects us to the community by improving it and making it a better place for all of us to live in. Here are some other ways that community service can be beneficial:
- Provides you with the chance to improve skills important for a workplace, such as communication and organizational skills, teamwork, planning, problem-solving and task management.
- It's a perfect opportunity to become closer to the community you live in.
- Community service broadens your horizons by helping you understand the needs of the society and the population you are trying to help through the project you are volunteering on.
- An easy way to make friends is through activities you perform together. Not only would you be helping the ones in need, but you would also be able to meet some other volunteers.
- Opportunity to receive work-related knowledge and skills.
- Opportunity to create good references for potential employers.
If you are looking for an opportunity to help out the ones in need, improve your community, and acquire new knowledge and skills, consider performing community work. Habitat for Humanity is one of many local non-profits that you can look into. They offer a variety of volunteer opportunities depending on your time and preferences.
If you are traveling this holiday season, but still want to volunteer during your time off, many organizations provide opportunities to volunteer virtually. Click here for a list of Virtual Volunteer Ideas.
Your Interests Are Important!
Not Sure Where Your Strengths and Interests Lie? Naviance Can Help!
We encourage all students to take a few minutes to fill out these various surveys. Not only could they provide a deeper sense of self, but they can be a great starting point as you begin researching various career paths.
Here are several video tutorials to show you how to access these features on Naviance:
You can find all our Naviance tutorial videos here
CHS Counseling Office
A-D Melissa Watson
E-K Sherry McCoy
L-Q Becca Piriano
R-Z Kara Cuellar
Intervention Janay Hunt
Registrar Karen Moore
Office Secretary Jill Coates