Hello Nichols families, welcome to our Counselor's Corner 6th edition. February is a month of love and appreciation as we celebrate Black History Month and Valentine's Day. This time is a great reminder to show kindness to ourselves and others. Though this is the shortest month of the year, we understand our students and families have a lot going on and we are here to support. We hope you find these resources helpful as we move through this month together.

We are committed to ensuring that our schools remain safe and welcoming places for all children and families.

Please make sure your student’s emergency contact information is updated with their school. To make updates to your contact information, please email registrationinfo@district65.net. For more information, view the PowerSchool webpage on the District 65 website.

Immigration enforcement guidance was shared with our staff to ensure consistent procedures are in place and ways in which we can best support our students. In the meantime, here are some helpful links to understand how we are providing support:

• Read District 65’s Safe Haven resolution in English and Spanish
• Review resources for immigrant and refugee familie

D65 School Counselors hosted an online Mental Health & Mental Toughness event on January 21 for our families. The meeting was not recorded, but our Google Slide Deck is linked here.

In the past couple of months our 6th graders have launched into SchooLinks. SchooLinks is the College and Career Readiness platform used by District 65. Students are receiving lessons and completing tasks during their AVID, Advisory or SLA class. Activities build upon each other year after year, until your student graduates high school! Students in 6th grade are exploring their personalities, talents and thinking through activities they enjoy. These things are then matched to "Career Clusters". There is not just one postsecondary path or career that fits every student. SchooLinks provides opportunities to explore the many paths that exist.

7th grade is of course busy with Math, Science, ELA and Social Studies (check out the One Stop Shop linked below), but what about teaching "soft skills"? We've got that covered too! 7th grade teachers have regular "binder checks" to help our students with executive functioning skills. A Nichols' expectation is that students bring their binders to every class. Teachers are checking to see if binders are organized, presentable, filled with current work, and old papers have been discarded. Students don't know when the next binder check is, but they should be ready February 5 (wink wink)!

8th graders have been focusing on getting ready for high school completing their course requests. For families of incoming Freshman who have not requested course selections, please do so here!

February is a month set aside to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. Click on the links below to continue learning about just a few prominent African Americans.

All books this month are by the same author - Renee Watson

Is your teen already dating or interested in dating? Planned Parenthood recommends the following when discussing how to identify healthy relationships:

• Actively listening to your middle schooler and asking open ended questions about their dating relationship
• Ask to meet their "special" friend
• If you're not okay with them dating until they get older, talk about what age that would be and what behaviors you're okay with when they get older
• Prioritize consent

We understand middle school comes with a lot of changes, and sometimes is a time when students aren't as confident. Here are some tips to help improve their self-esteem and encourage self love, from Nemours Teens Health.

💜 Be with people who treat you well

💜 Say helpful things to yourself

💜 Accept what's not perfect

💜 Set goals and work towards them

💜 Focus on what goes well (stop and smell the roses)

💜 Help others

Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 7:15

📌 Feb 11 - In person parent teacher conferences, please stop by our offices if you'd like to check-in!

6th Grade - Ms. DeMari, Room 323.5

7th Grade - Ms. Dortzbach, Room 223.5

8th Grade - Ms. Nelson, Room 105

📌 Feb 12 - Virtual parent teacher conferences, please email us to set up a time to meet if you'd like to check-in. We will send you our zoom link!

Email contacts below.

Additional Upcoming Events

Feb. 5 - School Improvement Day. Early Dismissal 11:00

Feb. 11 - 7th Grade celebrates National White T-Shirt Day

Feb. 14 and 17 - Non attendance day for students and staff

Feb. 20 - 6th Grade Field Museum Field Trip

Feb. 21 - 6th Grade Field Museum Field Trip

March 4 - 7th Grade MSI Field Trip

Upcoming Summer Events

Create a passion project. Work with top mentors

The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke and LSE. The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard.

The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure! To learn more, you can reach out to our Head of Partnerships, Maya Novak-Herzog, at maya.novak-herzog@lumiere.education or go to our website.

Apply by Feb 9th for our Spring 2025 cohort or Early Admissions Deadline for our Summer 2025 cohort using this application link!

6th Grade Counselor - Angelica DeMari

uziellidemaria@district65.net

7th Grade Counselor - Donna Dortzbach

dortzbachd@district65.net

8th Grade Counselor - Terri Nelson

nelsont@district65.net