Counseling Corner
Brighton High School Counseling Office
Updates for BHS Students
Welcome to our weekly update! April 24, 2020
Dear Families,
Usually the start of 4th quarter is one to celebrate- school is winding down, seniors are getting ready to graduate, we are able to find the light at the end of the academic tunnel before summer vacation.
But, here we are, still at home, trying to make the best of the situation around us. This is not normal. We will get through this.
We are so incredibly grateful and proud of all YOU- students and families- and what you have done in the past month. YOU have taken lemons and created lemonade. This community is amazing and we are so happy to be a part of it.
So, go out there. Celebrate the small things. Enjoy the sunshine. Find the light at the end of your tunnel. And if you can't, let us know. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU.
Wishing you all peace and wellness.
Sincerely,
The BHS Counseling Department
Senior Class of 2020
COMPLETE YOUR SENIOR EXIT SURVEY
As those admission decisions are coming in and you are making your final decisions, we also need to know WHAT you plan to do and WHERE you are heading this fall. This will determine where we send your final transcript.
Please take a few minutes to complete your BHS Senior Exit Survey- 2020 in Naviance.
Log into CLEVER and choose link to Naviance
Click on the About Me tab
Choose My Surveys
Choose Surveys Not Started
The link to the BHS Senior Exit Survey should then show up. This will ask you to fill out your plans for next year and update your admissions information if you applied to colleges. Please be honest (admit, deny, waitlist) as the data is anonymous and creates our scattergrams for future Barons to utilize in their college searches.
IF YOU NEED SUPPORT WE CAN HELP! Reach out to our amazing Registrars- Mrs. Schultz & Mrs. Leyens- or your counselor. maryellen_schultz@bcsd.org
VIRTUAL SENIOR DECISION DAY 2020
Decision Day 2020 is going virtual this year for the Class of 2020! We are going to collect short, 5 second video clips or a picture, where you are celebrating the DECISION you have made for the fall of 2020! Even if we are back in school by May, we will still offer this opportunity for all of our seniors! We will also be doing a picture from THEN (young age) and NOW (senior photo) for a senior class slide show – more to come on that!
Check out the email from Dr. Hall sent out Thursday April 9th for details. This includes instructions on how to submit your video/photo and the link to do so. We are looking forward to celebrating all of your accomplishments and future endeavors!
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/
College & Career
Scholarships
Check out our latest scholarship just sent to us this week:
Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Water Environmental Association Senior Scholarship- DEADLINE JUNE 30
This year we are pleased to offer one scholarship up to $2,500 scholarships to high school students who will be enrolled in an environmentally related program in a two-year or four-year college or university.
Applicants must include:
- Proof of college acceptance
- Official transcript
- Two- 500 word essays on career aspirations & environmental objective
- Two letters of recommendation, one must be a teacher, one a personal or professional reference
APPLICATION & INFORMATION: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2087
*Please email Mrs. Leyens if you plan to apply so we can submit all materials together (josie_leyens@bcsd.org)
Here are a few specifically for our BHS SENIORS:
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)
Virtual College Experiences
SUNY is hosting Virtual Information Sessions!
SUNY Virtual Events include:
- SUNY Information Sessions featuring 40+ Campuses
- Which SUNY Are You? Information Sessions
- Financial Aid Information Sessions
Students can register for the above events at www.suny.edu/studentevents or by calling 1.800.342.3811.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN - Strive for College Knowledge Virtual College Exploration Week
Program extended: Two more weeks added! Monday, April 20 - Friday, May 8, 2020
- Open to students nationwide
- 3 days of virtual, panel presentations from +100 college reps
- Extensive range of topics targeted towards juniors and underclassmen
- Variety of timeslots throughout the day: both day and evening options
- Free to both students and colleges!!
Register here: https://www.strivescan.com/virtual/
More ways to get "on campus"
Although you can't physically get on campus right now, this is a great time to take a virtual trip! Check out these resources:- 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
Summer Experiences
JUNIORS- Sign Up For The Summer College Essay Writing Course through Brighton Continuing Ed!
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.
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.
UR's Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP)- Deadline extended to MAY 1
STEP stimulates participants’ interest in career development opportunities in medicine and the health care professions. Students may work directly with MDs, technical staff, and medical and graduate students. Students are exposed to a variety of academic and professional skill development to enhance problem solving, critical thinking and test taking skills through “hands-on” learning.
Applicants must be:
- Members of an underrepresented group OR economically disadvantaged
- A New York State resident and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Rising 7–12th grade student
- GPA of ≥2.8
- Express interest in science and/or the health professions
Students can apply at the following link - https://stepapplication.urmc.rochester.edu/.
UB's Pharmacy Summer Institute- now a NO COST virtual program July 2020
The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) Pharmacy Summer Institute is an enrichment program providing information about the challenging career pathway opportunities in the profession of pharmacy and exposure to the fields of pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences to interested and motivated high school and college students.
This unique day camp experience incorporates active participation in a broad scope of learning experiences, including:
- Academic advising and planning: Receive tips and guidance on how to prepare for your education and career in pharmacy practice and/or research.
- Career discovery: Learn about the diverse job opportunities for pharmacists.
- Research opportunities: Visit UB SPPS labs and meet with faculty researchers in clinical and basic sciences.
- Tour facilities and shadow pharmacists: Explore the internationally-recognized community of healing, learning and discovery.
- Meet pharmacy professionals, researchers and current students: Find out about working in different pharmacy settings from real-world practitioners, researchers and current UB SPPS PharmD students.
- Hands-on activities and live demos: Learn about pharmacy skills and techniques, such as patient counseling and compounding.
Click here for more information: https://pharmacy.buffalo.edu/news-events/events/annual-events/pre-pharmacy-summer-camp.html
Work Permits Are Still Available!
SAT & ACT Updates
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 has canceled the MAY AND JUNE, 2020 SAT and SAT Subject Test administration. Please check out www.collegeboard.org for more information.
Seminars
Please check out the BHS Counseling Website (https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2068) for all of the seminar packets for grades 9-12. Log into Naviance (use CLEVER), take some of the assessments, explore careers and update your resume!
Junior Seminars 5-7 "LIVE" with Mrs. Crowley & Mr. Donohue
In order to help keep you guys on track for planning your life after high school, we've condensed Junior Seminars 5-7 into one presentation. Please take the time to watch this seminar and reach out to your counselor with ANY questions.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/eea26cd3-30ae-4fdf-b37e-504d7f217823
Make sure you have done the following in Naviance (log in using CLEVER):
- Complete your Junior Survey
- Update your Resume
**WE NEED THESE TO WRITE YOUR LETTERS OF REC**
Health and Wellness
Virtual Calming Room
We love our families, but we also need a break once in a while. Thanks to our friends at Wayzata Public Schools for creating this amazing Virtual Calming Room. You'll find links to lots of different ways to unwind and calm the body and mind:
https://sites.google.com/wayzataschools.org/virtualcalmingroom/home
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:
Genesee Behavioral Health Center
https://www.rochesterregional.org/locations/rochester/genesee-mental-health-center-gmhc-child-clinic
Now taking intakes for new clients over the phone: 585-922-7770.
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:
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