WHS Counseling News Hub
November 18, 2021
MONTHLY MENTAL HEALTH
We are in our second month of promoting mental health strategies. For November, we are highlighting GRATITUDE. The practice of gratitude has been widely researched and proves to be one of the most powerful ways to increase positive emotions which in turn helps you feel more resilient during times of stress. Research shows that translating your thoughts into concrete words has advantages over just thinking the thoughts.
Here are some ways to practice GRATITUDE:
- Keep a gratitude journal. All it requires is noting one or more things you are grateful for on a daily basis. No fancy notebook or computer program is required.
- Give at least one compliment daily, whether directly to a person or by sharing your appreciation of something.
- When you find yourself in a bad situation ask: What can I learn? When I look back on this, without emotion, what will I be grateful for?
- Vow to not complain, criticize, or gossip for a week. If you slip, rally your willpower and keep going. Notice how much energy you were spending on negative thoughts.
- Sound genuinely happy to hear from the people who call you on the phone. Whether they respond with surprise or delight, they'll feel valued.
- If you identify something or someone with a negative trait (the cold conference room), switch it in your mind to a positive trait (the conference room with a great view).
- Join a cause that's important to you. Donate money, time, or talent. By getting involved, you’ll better appreciate the organization — and it will appreciate you more, too.
Articles:
Gratitude Is Good: Why It’s Important And How To Cultivate It
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
Video:
Don’t forget to always count your blessings!
11th GRADE CLASS MEETINGS
This month, the West High Counseling Team met with 11th grade students during AcLab. The following topics were discussed.
Post-secondary options- We encouraged Juniors to maintain a rigorous course schedule and presented ways of helping boost their gpa and/or test scores. We also discussed the various post-secondary options such as 4 year college, community college, tech/trade schools, military, etc.
ACT/SAT Prep- We explained the purpose of the ACT/SAT tests along with the reasons why most colleges require them. We shared a FREE online test prep program called TESTIVE. The program offers several practice tests, practice questions, video explanations, and review topics. Students can also determine the amount of time they want to spend studying each week leading up to a national test date and TESTIVE will design a study program for them. TESTIVE offers free prep for both the ACT and SAT.
College Exploration- During this part of the presentation, we discussed what factors to consider when exploring potential colleges such as location, cost, student life, size, public vs. private, etc. Additionally we went over the timeline for researching colleges, various ways to explore college options (including visits with College Reps and Campus Visits), and how many colleges a student should reasonably apply to. Students were then allowed time to complete the Career Interest Profiler (to help identify a program of study they may be interested in) as well as the SuperMatch program in Naviance to assist in identifying colleges that meet the students criteria. To end the presentation students were directed to begin a list of potential colleges they would like to apply to under the "College I'm Thinking About" tab in Naviance.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your student's counselor!
ACT
COLLEGE | EVENTS
The College Tour - Virtual College Visits
Many universities are streaming virtual college tours. Click HERE for past and upcoming episodes.
COLLEGE | WHS REP VISITS
Rep Visit Schedule
Below are the upcoming virtual visits for the next two weeks which are for Students Only
All scheduled rep visits and instructions on how students sign-up to attend them can be found HERE
University of Memphis (TN) | 11/19 at 8:15 am
West Point Military Academy | 11/23 at 9:30 am (passcode: Longhorns)
Webster University (MO) | 12/1 at 9:45 am
JOB BOARD
Saturday, January 29, 2022 | 9:00 a.m. - noon
Friday, February 4, 2022 | 9:00 a.m. - noon
The St. Louis Zoo will be hosting two job fairs this winter for those interested in seasonal employment during spring, summer, and fall.
Click HERE for the flyer
_____________________Counseling Team___________________
Erin Sternberg (Last names A - Da)
314-415-7519
esternberg@parkwayschools.net
click HERE to make an appointment
Chris Lorenz (Last names De - H)
314-415-7521
clorenz1@parkwayschools.net
click HERE to make an appointment
Jennifer Wibbenmeyer (Last names I - Mi)
314-415-7517
jwibbenmeyer@parkwayschools.net
click HERE to make an appointment
Jennifer Skalski (Last names Mo - Se)
314-415-7512
jskalski@parkwayschools.net
click HERE to make an appointment
Jennifer Spotanski (Last names Sh - Z)
314-415-7523
jspotanski@parkwayschools.net
click HERE to make an appointment
SUPPORT STAFF
Cindy Devine – Front Desk Secretary
cdevine@parkwayschools.net
Stephanie Hornsby – Testing Coordinator
shornsby@parkwayschools.net
Lauren Rowe – College Secretary
lrowe1@parkwayschools.net