LHS Counseling Weekly Update

In an effort to be more efficient in how we disseminate information from the Counseling Office, we will be sending out weekly emails with any important and timely information. BOTH STUDENTS AND PARENTS are receiving these newsletters. Parents: please encourage your child to read these messages, and take any appropriate action themselves. It is developmentally appropriate to get high schoolers in the "driver's seat" when it comes to tending to their academic, career, and emotional needs.

The topics are all listed below, with a link to the pertinent information so that you can quickly scroll through to see if any of the topics pertain to you. There are 3 sections:

• Mental/Physical health support and resources
• Academic/Career information and resources
• Just for Seniors

• FOOD FAIR: SSM Health, in partnership with the St. Louis Area Food Bank, is hosting a drive-thru food fair on Tuesday, September 24th at 9am. The food fair will take place on campus at St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles: 300 1st Capitol Dr, St Charles, MO 63301. This will be a drive-thru Food Distribution event for families in our St. Charles community.
• How are Self-Injury and Suicide Related?
• WSD Mental Health Resources Hub: Find a variety of mental health resources available to families in the WSD in our Mental Health Hub.
  

You can find the "Planning for College" and "College-bound Senior Seminar" that was held on 9/17 aat North Point High School on the WSD College and Career Hub.

• Planning for College: 9th-11th graders and their families are invited to attend this event to learn more about how to plan and prepare for college.

• College-bound Senior Seminar: 12th graders can learn about how to maximize their college search, application, and selection process for 4-year colleges, 2-year colleges, and trade/technical colleges

Register ASAP!

Juniors and Seniors are able to sign up for college rep visits to Liberty. There are already OVER 20 schools coming for a visit!

• Click HERE for a current list of colleges who are visiting LHS.
• Before signing up, do some research on whether or not the college is a good fit.
• Click HERE to sign up for a college. Only one college per submission. You must submit a separate sign-up request for EACH COLLEGE.
• You must sign up no later than 2:30 pm on the school day prior to the visit.

Visits the next two weeks:

• Truman State University
• St. Louis Community College
• Southeast Missouri State University
• University of Missouri-Columbia
• University of Iowa
• Missouri Southern State University
• Lindenwood University
• Evangel University
• University of Missouri-Kansas City
• Washington University in St Louis

On October 1st during the school day, all juniors will attend a Regional College Fair at LHS. Students will have the opportunity to visit with traditional 2-year and 4-year colleges, trade or technical colleges, military, and other occupational opportunities. We expect over 70 regional and national colleges and organizations to attend that day!

**ACTION REQUIRED** Juniors must pre-register for this event.

INTERESTED SENIORS MAY ALSO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT

Want to learn more about Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University? Sign up for their informational webinar on Sept. 23rd or 24th.

• Sign-ups for CEA (Career Explorations Alliance) Job Shadowing begin MONDAY AUGUST 26th.
• Each year WSD offers spots to 128 students to participate in Career Exploration Job Shadowing opportunities. All applications are due by September 22nd. If accepted, students MAY use these hours toward their A+ hours (must use A+ Job Shadowing Form).

Are you ready to ace the ACT? Join us for a comprehensive workshop designed to help you unlock your full potential on this important college admissions exam. Learn effective test-taking strategies, time management techniques, and in-depth content review for all sections of the ACT.

Dates: Thursday, September 26th (choose one)

Time: During Nest time

Location: Student Center

You must sign up using the Google Form:
https://shorturl.at/YmjL4https://shorturl.at/YmjL4

Click HERE to read more about the My Missouri Scholarship Promise, a program that works with students from low-income families to prepare for college during all 4 years of high school. Spots in the program are limited, so don't delay in getting signed up!!

** Some colleges do NOT require test scores for admission; do your research. ALL COLLEGES accept either type of test score.**

ACT

• At LHS during the school day in October (WSD Day of Testing)
• LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE
• Standard Testing Registration due by 10/11
• The deadline to request accommodations has passed

SAT

• At LHS
• Next Test: Oct. 5th
• Deadline to register (w/late fee): Sept. 24

11th & 12th: Sign up for A+ Training for Monday 10/14 during Red Soar Time or Blue Soar Time to get started on your hours this year.

9th & 10th: Keep up your attendance and your GPA this year!

ALL GRADES: You can do up to 12.5 of your A+ Hours through Job Shadowing. Here is the A+ Job Shadowing Form.

Email overload!!

• Due to the overwhelming number of emails that I get, I often worry that I'm going to miss an important message from parents or students.
• I've created an alternative to sending me an email that I have shared only with students and parents.
• Please use THIS FORM to send me a message. While I will obviously still need to keep an eye on emails, I will prioritize messages sent through the form.

Senior Survey

• A little less than half of seniors have completed their Class of 2025 College and Career Survey. This survey will help me understand what seniors are planning to do after high school, and more importantly identify what they might need additional assistance with
• Please fill out the survey asap if you haven't already done so (seniors must fill this out themselves); if you're not sure… there's no harm in filling it out again. It only takes about 2 minutes

Transcripts

• Once you have applied to a college, you need to send your transcripts. Transcripts are loaded into Xello, and are ready to go. All you have to do is request that we send it. Here are directions on how to request transcripts. Pay attention to the different directions based on HOW you applied (Common App or directly on the college website).
• PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR APPLICATION STATUS IN XELLO AS YOU RECEIVE ADMISSIONS DECISIONS (accepted/waitlisted/denied). This helps me know where you are in the process, and also how to guide future students on their chances of admission

College-bound Senior Seminar

• In case you missed this college-planning event for seniors you can see the presentation on the WSD College and Career Hub

A+ Program

• The first step to get started on your A+ hours is to attend a one-time training. I hold these once each month during lunch. My first training of the year is TOMORROW, Sept. 16th during either Red or Blue lunch, in the Student Center. You may not begin your tutoring hours until you have attended a training.
• If you have already trained, and you need to get your hours started, you can apply to work WSD Chautauqua After-Care, or email the counselor contact at a school if you'd like to help in a classroom during the school day.
• We encourage ALL ELIGIBLE SENIORS to complete this program. A+ Graduates can take 2 free summer 2025 courses online or in-person through SCC, and transfer those credits to almost any college. This is like giving yourself a $3000-4000 scholarship!!

LHS Apply Week

• Seniors can sign up for college application help sessions during our annual LHS Apply Week (October 7-11)
• Limited number of seats per session, so sign up early!
• Attendees get food and prizes… in addition to assistance with completing college applications!

Graduating with Honors // WSD Pathways Completion

• If you are planning to graduate with honors or complete one of the WSD Pathways, you can pick up planning sheets in the Student Center
• Both of these options require careful planning, but you may still be able to complete missing requirements if you get started now!

• Once seniors submit a college application, the colleges will expect to receive an official transcript from the high school which includes courses taken, the semester grades for each course, cumulative weighted and unweighted GPA, and class rank.
• Liberty will send these official transcripts through Xello; we will be uploading official transcripts into student Xello accounts next week to have them ready to send by Monday, Sept. 16th.
• We are still in the process of updating transcripts in Focus. So, for Class of 2025 initial transcripts for college applications, we will be using the 6 semester transcripts from Tyler SIS. Once Focus transcripts are complete and accurate (hopefully by November 1st), we can send an updated transcript to colleges, if needed.
• WE DO NOT SEND ACT/SAT TEST SCORES TO COLLEGES; YOU WILL NEED TO SEND THOSE DIRECTLY FROM YOUR ACT OR COLLEGE BOARD ACCOUNT IF THE COLLEGE ASKS FOR TEST SCORES.
• Once we upload transcripts into Xello, students will be able to view an unofficial copy in their Xello account. These are for your reference only; do NOT send an unofficial copy to a college for admissions.

• October 7-11th - The first full week of October is LHS APPLY WEEK!! Seniors will be able to sign up (coming soon) for one or more college application help sessions during the week. Each session focuses on a specific type of application (Mizzou, Common App, SCC, Out-of-State Private, etc.). Students who attend the session will be able to work on, and hopefully submit their applications during the session. I will be available to answer questions while they are there. Food and prizes are provided to attendees. Seniors must know their Social Security Number in order to submit their applications. This is a great time to get started on applications if you haven't already done so.
• Spots are limited. Use the link above to sign up asap!

The SCC Be Ready Program is a no-obligation enrollment assistance program for SCC. The program makes it SUPER easy to apply and enroll in classes at SCC. We will do the application together, SCC will come here to administer placement tests (Reading/Math), we will take a field trip to campus to tour buildings, learn about financial aid, and all of the programs, activities and services they offer, and they will come to LHS to get students registered for summer/fall classes in the spring.

WHO SHOULD SIGN UP FOR THE SCC BE READY PROGRAM?

• Students who plan to attend SCC full time for Fall 2023
• Students who plan to take summer courses at SCC then enroll in a college/university for Fall 2025
• Students who have a different plan, but would consider SCC as a back-up plan

The SCC Rep met with Seniors at the Senior Meeting on 9/5; see below for directions on how to join the program. This is a Survey Monkey form, which CANNOT be accessed from a WSD device.

Last names

A-E: Mrs. Alicia Sheffield (aliciasheffield@wsdr4.org)

F-K: Mr. Chad Cunningham (chadcunningham@wsdr4.org)

L-R: Mrs. Mary Ellen Riley (maryellenriley@wsdr4.org)

S-Z: Mrs. Paige Blackford (paigeblackford@wsdr4.org)

College/Career/A+ Program: Mrs. Shelley Gerringer (michellegerringer@wsdr4.org)

Educational Support Counselor: Mrs. Collin Miller (collinmiller@wsdr4.org)

Email: chelseamccain@wsdr4.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/wsdr4.org/lhsacademics/home
Phone: (636) 561-0075
Twitter: @lhscounselors3