Counseling Corner
Brighton High School Counseling Office
Welcome to our weekly update! March 27, 2020
Dear Families,
Thanks for hanging in there with us! Things sure have been different the last couple of weeks.
We hope you find this newsletter helpful as we navigate this journey together. This week we have some updates on available scholarships, ways to continue your college & career search at home, and tips to take care of yourself.
In addition to updates from our department, we will also include a weekly "Spread Hope" activity - thanks to Ashley Ellis, Behavior Support Specialist from FRES, for creating this beautiful movement. Please join us in spreading hope to our family, friends and greater Brighton community.
Wishing you all peace and wellness.
Sincerely,
The BHS Counseling Department
School Counselors
Kevin Donohue Kevin_donohue@bcsd.org
Keri Crowley Keri_crowley@bcsd.org
Courtney Stern Courtney_stern@bcsd.org
Debbie Bourne Debbie_bourne@bcsd.org
Marcia O’Brien marcia_obrien@bcsd.org
Jennie Viggiani jennie_viggiani@bcsd.org
Holly Likly-Juliano holly_juliano@bcsd.org
School Social Workers
Julie Bianchi Julie_bianchi@bcsd.org
Lance Mitchell lance_mitchell@bcsd.org
Family Navigator
Kristin Haughey Kristin_haughey@bcsd.org
School Psychologists
Erin Merydith erin_merydith@bcsd.org
Heather Gabriel heather_gabriel@bcsd.org
Health and Wellness
Take care of yourself!
If you or someone you know is in need of additional support, here are some counselors in the community who are accepting new clients:
Tree of Hope Counseling
www.treeofhopecounselingrochester.com
Now offering telehealth counseling sessions.
Please fill out their screening form so they can make an appropriate match for support: https://goo.gl/forms/6jkBGucGdLIvy6T83
Quiet Minds Therapy Services
https://quietmindtherapyservices.com/
Currently has 4 therapists taking new clients for Teletherapy only.
Erin Sweeney and Stephen Haramis, teens and adults (private pay or Aetna). Natalie Neil, adults (BCBS and Aetna) and Lori Teller McDonald, Adults (Aetna and private pay).
To make an appointment call: (585) 207-0432 or email newclient@quietmindtherapyservices.com
NYS Mental Health Hotline: 1-844-863-9314
Offering free support, consultation and referrals to those dealing with coronavirus-related stress or anxiety.
Here is a great article with tips to provide peace of mind in these overwhelming times:
Updates for BHS Students
AP EXAM UPDATE
- For the 2019–20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered.
- To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March.
- Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they have worked this year to earn.
- Students will be able to take these streamlined exams on any device they have access to—computer, tablet, or smartphone. Taking a photo of handwritten work will also be an option.
Check out the AP Update website for more details:
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update
We encourage you to check in with your BHS AP course teacher to see how this impacts your class directly.
Virtual College Tours
- Individual college websites
- Naviance (many of the colleges have videos and interactive information posted there)
- www.campusreel.org - over 15,000 real videos, tours and experiences from 300+ college campuses, created by current students
- Thanks to an incredible colleague in a College Admissions Counselor group who put together this working excel file. Including demographic data from College Board, she lists colleges in the US and Canada who offer virtual tours, youtube channels, etc. UK coming soon! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sO7pVos0EvK0BvXoMbnyg00K6r7hXbOQE0HNXF4N4eM/htmlview
Senior Class of 2020
BSAA Scholarship - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 1!
This scholarship is an award of $2500/year ($10,000 total) to be used to purchase textbooks or other required academic materials. The award will be provided for four years, as long as the recipient remains in school on a full-time basis.
Eligibility criteria:
- The applicant must be a college-bound graduating senior at BHS with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- This is a need based scholarship.
- The applicant must be enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited two-year or four-year educational institution.
Please complete the online application by Wednesday April 1, 2020:
- Completed application
- Upload FAFSA
- Upload Essay of no more than 250 words, addressing the topic of "What aspect of your Brighton High School experience (academic, extracurricular, or community service) has had the most impact in shaping your future direction and why?"
APPLICATION: https://www.brightonalumni-rochester.org/scholarship-application-form.html
*Once you have uploaded the required documents and submitted the completed application, please email Mrs. Schultz so she can submit your transcript: maryellen_schultz@bcsd.org
Jonathan B. Angelone Award for Excellence - DUE APRIL 30
This $1,000 award is made available to Brighton High School seniors in memory of Jonathan Angelone. Students must demonstrate accomplishments in at least four of the five areas listed below:
- Academic- Top 20% of class (transcript required)
- Arts
- Athletics
- Community Service
- Leadership
Applicants must include:
- Resume demonstrating accomplishments in above areas
- 500 word essay on how you plan to "Make a Difference in Our World."
- Two letters of recommendation from adults who have worked directly with you in your academic, artistic, athletic, service or leadership pursuits.
APPLICATION: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2087
*Please email completed applications to Mrs. Hellman (sandy_hellman@bcsd.org)
Kiwanis Club of Brighton- Vance Scholarship Application- DUE APRIL 30
This scholarship recipient is chosen by the Kiwanis Club of Brighton and is a service based award.
- Attach a resume of your community volunteering for the last 4 years, detailing the organizations with which you worked, the time period that you worked with them and the total hours during that time period.
- Attach a letter of recommendation from a member of the school administration or a teacher telling why you deserve to be recognized for your volunteerism.
- Attach an essay of approximately 500 words explaining why you should receive the award.
APPLICATION: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2087
*Please email completed applications to Mrs. Hellman (sandy_hellman@bcsd.org)
Speaking of Scholarships...
Searching for scholarships can be time consuming...and since you may have some time on your hands, this is a great opportunity to look for FREE money! Check out Naviance and our BHS Website for a list of scholarship search websites: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2087
At this time, all MCC related activities scheduled at BHS are cancelled. We will be in touch with students as soon as we get more information from MCC directly.
Application Updates
We are still able to electronically process all supporting documents needed for college and scholarship applications if needed. Please contact your School Counselor directly.
Making Post-Secondary Decisions in a COVID-19 World
Trying to make decisions about your post-secondary plans can be a stressful time, and now more so than ever. WE ARE STILL HERE FOR YOU! Please reach out to us for any support and guidance.
We will try to keep you updated with any information we get from colleges and other programs. In the mean time, this is a great article on ways to continue to explore your options and make an informed decision: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brennanbarnard/2020/03/17/the-covid-college-choice-how-to-pick-a-college-during-a-global-pandemic/
Junior Class of 2021
Sign Up For The Summer College Essay Writing Course!
Multiple one-week sessions offered, beginning the week of July 13th, Monday – Friday!
AM Session: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
PM Session: 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Brighton High School, 1150 Winton Road S.
Fee: $89 (financial assistance is available! Just let your counselor know!)
This summer enrichment class is designed to help students write the college essay, generate ideas for short answer questions and provide an overview of how to address the entire college application. Students will read and critique model essays, be provided with written feedback on work, have one to one conference time with the instructor and complete at least one full essay in five days.
Start the college application process by completing the most challenging part of the application this summer, the essay. This enrichment course has been designed for 2020-2021 seniors only. You do not have to attend BHS to register for this class!
Sign up at https://brightonschools.revtrak.net
Questions may be directed to Brighton Community Education at ce@bcsd.org or 585-242-5200 ext.5595.
FREE Online Proctored SAT & ACT Exams
Our friends at Chariot Learning will be running free online practice tests every Saturday until we can go back to in-person testing. All the details will be on their calendar: https://chariotlearning.com/events/
ACT has rescheduled it's April 4 national test date to June 13. Please check out www.act.org for more information
College Board is canceling the May 2, 2020 SAT and SAT Subject Test administration. Please check out www.collegeboard.org for more information.
We'll be sure to post any updates we get regarding standardized testing.
Seminar
We are already missing our time together! In lieu of our groups meetings, we have posted all of our seminar packets on the BHS Counseling Website under "Seminar": https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2068
This will take you through our entire Junior curriculum. Here are a few more things you can be doing to continue your college and career search:
- Update your Resume and finish your Junior Survey in Naviance.
- Continue to research careers and colleges on Naviance.
- Have your parents check out our Junior Parent Night information packet. This provides parents a crash course in all you would learn in junior seminar: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2072
Just because we cannot see you does not mean we aren't here for you. Please email your counselor for any post-secondary planning questions.
Sophomore Class of 2022
If you are interested in attending EMCC next year, and did NOT get a chance to hand in your application, please email Mrs. Stern as soon as possible.
Seminar
Just because Sophomore Seminar is over, doesn't mean you can't continue to work on your self and career exploration. Log into Naviance (use CLEVER), take some of the assessments, explore careers and update your resume. If you are missing your packets, they can be found on our BHS Counseling website here: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2068
Freshmen Class of 2023
We are so sorry we didn't get a chance to finish seminar in person! Please check out the BHS Counseling Website (https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2068) for all of the seminar packets and feel free to continue your self and career exploration in Naviance!
Brighton High School Counseling Department
Email: courtney_stern@bcsd.org
Website: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2063
Location: 1150 South Winton Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: (585) 242-5000