October is the month we celebrate many counseling awareness topics. To honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will host Girl Talk Lunches in the Counseling Corner during both lunches on Friday, October 19 with junior and senior girls who would like to learn more about teen dating violence, date rape drugs, and digital abuse. Our host will be Bonnie Spotts, the Community Relations Coordinator at Family Services of Southeast Texas.
We will also host activities for Red Ribbon Week this month, see below for the weekly activities. The Peer Counselors will be reading daily facts over the PA, handing out red ribbons and red candy at lunch and Ms. Correll Cormier from Family Services will also be giving out information for drug and alcohol awareness.
For Mental Illness Awareness, we are thrilled to have Emily Torchiana coming to speak in a school wide assembly on October 25. She speaks about being a victim to severe cyber-bullying in high school, which led to her struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Social Anxiety, as well as overcoming a suicide attempt. Emily founded The Invisible Illnesses, a non-profit organization. Emily has won the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Public Service at the Jefferson Awards Foundation’s National Gala. For more information you may visit her website: Emily Torchiana
Grade Level Updates:
We’ve just completed our freshmen Transition Survey and are thrilled that we have been able to meet with our students one-on-one to ensure they are all off to a good start. Having this unique opportunity to build positive relationships with our new students allows for time to help us make sure they are making friends, feeling success in class, joining activities, and learning how to improve time-management and study skills.
Our sophomores just attended a fabulous Career Expo at Ford Park last week where they were able to meet local business and industry leaders to discover future internships and practice interviewing skills!
Juniors, be sure to get extra rest tonight and a healthy breakfast before the PSAT tomorrow! This is the year you may qualify for National Merit Scholarships!
For our seniors, this month begins the FAFSA application process. We will host a parent lunch-and-learn with Mrs. Taylor Henderson regarding the FAFSA and scholarship opportunities for seniors on Thursday, October 18th. You can locate the FAFSA Website at FAFSA Application and another link to a helpful resource on the FAFSA can be found at How to Apply for FAFSA .
We have also posted many documents in the links and news bulletin sections of Naviance for your reference. Be on the lookout for upcoming deadlines for college apps, rec letters, and scholarships! *some colleges expect you to complete the FAFSA before they will consider you for scholarships and other aide. Check their websites!
All students may search the Naviance section on scholarships both for local opportunities as well as national scholarships in their Sallie Mae Database. Another scholarship service we partner with is Going Merry. You can access that account at Going Merry
We look forward to visiting our future bulldogs during 8th grade recruitment week at the end of the month!