Issaquah High Counseling Newsletter
Winter 2018 Update
Ringing in the New Semester!
Grading Reminders
Congrats on finishing first semester! These grades are due on February 5th and will be available in Family and Student Access on February 6th. Report cards are not sent out, so it will be important to check Family and Student Access to see your final grades. If semester one grades produced a situation in which an updated graduation plan needs to be made, counselors are available to meet and discuss credit recovery options and other paths to on-time graduation.
Counseling Drop-In Hours and Appointments
Students are able to drop in to see their counselor any day of the week during their lunch. We leave these times open for students so they do not need to miss class to have quick questions answered and to do our best to serve students as quickly as possible. For questions or concerns requiring a longer amount of time, students can make appointments to see their counselor with our secretary. All parent and family meetings are scheduled directly with the counselor.
For a translated version of this newsletter, please click here.
Updates by Grade Level
Seniors:
- If you are applying to schools that require a mid-year report, you will need to order another transcript from Parchment. Make sure to select "hold for grades" to ensure your first semester grades from this year are included. For schools using Common App, you only need to send one transcript directly to Common App (not each individual school).
- As we get closer to graduation, the Senior Page will have important dates and announcements regarding cap and gown pick up, graduation tickets, senior advertisements, and other important graduation requirement information. This is a great page to check periodically to make sure you are up to date on senior reminders.
Juniors:
- PSAT results were passed out after finals last week. If you did not collect your booklet and score sheet, stop by the counseling office to pick yours up. For help understanding your score, check out College Board's score report packet. For a Spanish version, click here.
- If you are interested in running start for next year, come to our lunch presentation on March 13th in the library to find out more information on the program and how to apply! More information can be found on our running start page.
Sophomores:
- PSAT results were passed out after finals last week. If you did not collect your booklet and score sheet, stop by the counseling office to pick yours up. For help understanding your score, check out College Board's score report packet. For a Spanish version, click here.
- If you are interested in running start for next year, come to our lunch presentation on March 13th in the library to find out more information on the program and how to apply! More information can be found on our running start page.
Freshmen:
- Spring sports are coming up and are a great way to get involved! Registration is due Friday, February 16th and all packets can be turned into the Athletics office on campus. More information can be found on the Athletics website.
Academic Achievement
Course Selection
While we encourage our students to challenge themselves in their coursework, we also want to emphasize the importance of balance and focusing advanced classes in students' areas of strength and interest. When deciding on courses, take into consideration the amount of time after school activities such as clubs, sports, volunteering, and work will take up each day. More advanced courses tend to have more homework after school, so it is important to be realistic about how much time you will have each day to spend on homework after your after school activities have finished.
Survey of 11th Graders
Procrastination
College and Career Readiness
Predictors of Future Success
What determines if students will be successful in high school? What skills do we need to foster within students to ensure they continue to reach their educational and career goals? How do we measure success?
Growing Leaders attempts to answer these questions in the article linked below. They believe, as many of us do, that GPA and SAT scores are not the best predictors of future success, and that we should be focusing on lifelong skills and resiliency factors to encourage and best support our students. Here is a snippet from the article:
"According to First Year Experience programs and our work with over 6,000 schools and organizations worldwide, we have reduced the list of highest predictors of student success (meaning engagement, excellent performance and satisfaction) to what we call the “Big Five.” The “Big Five” are quite simple. When a student experiences these five realities they are most likely to graduate and excel in life". - Growing Leaders, The Five Greatest Predictors of Student Success
Social and Emotional Support
Mental Health Resources
- Laura Kastner will be speaking at IHS on February 7th on how to support students' successful development in the face of increasing stress levels and performance expectations. To register for the event, click here. This event is put on by ParentWiser, an educational group that partners with Issaquah Schools to put on events for parents and families. You can find more information on their events here.
- Stress and anxiety are a few of the biggest concerns we see students facing. One of the easiest, and most researched coping strategies in dealing with life's stressors is breathing. Often when we are anxious, our breath is shallow and fast-paced. When we slow down and focus on our breathing, research shows we are better able to regulate our emotions. For a guided breathing practice or more information on the research behind this simple yet effective coping strategy, check out UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center's website.
- Check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness's (NAMI) resources on suicide prevention and awareness. These resources outline risk factors for suicide, prevention strategies, and how to respond when you or someone you know is in crisis.
- Sound Mental Health is offering family resources and support groups for anyone facing difficulties supporting students with behavioral or mental health challenges. The link to their flyer with group meetings times and info can be found below.
We'd love your input!
Contact Us
Hanine Castro: A-Dal
Emily Tuttle: Dam-I
Jen Martinson: J-Mim
Samantha Wren: Min-Sim
Jen Schwarz: Sin-Z
Visit our website to find our specific contact information.
Email: marbutj@issaquah.wednet.edu
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/ishscounseling/
Location: 700 2nd Avenue Southeast, Issaquah, WA, United States
Phone: 4258376140