February Counseling Newsletter

The deadline to submit the Community Scholarship application was extended to Friday, February 6th. Thank you to all of those students who applied. We will be reviewing all applications as a committee and will have more information about the event where students chosen will be honored.

Parents of Juniors! Please be sure to SAVE THE DATE for Hereford High School College & Career Planning Night for parents of Juniors on March 18th. Information will be shared regarding the college application process and what steps juniors should be taking during the spring/summer to prepare for applications in the fall. We will also discuss other post secondary options (i.e. CCBC, apprenticeship/certificate programs, military and work).

Current Seniors planning to attend CCBC in the fall

We will hold an INSTANT ADMISSIONS session for all graduating seniors planning to attend CCBC in the fall on Monday, March 23rd during enrichment. Students who plan to attend must have their social security number with them in order to apply. Email Mrs. Kovack with any questions- kkovack@bcps.org

Fall CCBC on-location courses for seniors

If your child is going to be a senior and plans to have periods 4AB free on their schedule, they may consider registering for one of the fall on-location CCBC classes. We will be offering Communications 101. Students may have expressed interest with their counselor during registration. This DOES NOT register them for the class. A meeting will be held in April where students will be able to register for these classes. Stay tuned!

As part of CCBC's initiative to offer more credit courses at the Hunt Valley location, they are offering ECAP students the ability to take free courses at Hunt Valley for the Spring Semester 2026. Non-CCR students as well as CCR students who have already met their CCR limit will qualify for free tuition and fees for the following courses in the link below.

Hereford High School will offer help sessions to assist with FAFSA completion on the following dates:

February 18

February 23

***Registration is required. You MUST email Mrs. Kovack if you would like to register. Be sure to include the date you plan to attend and your name. Email kkovack@bcps.org

Juniors will take the SAT on March 25th during the school day. This is a FREE administration of the SAT. Practice resources are below.

Xello

-There are many scholarship offerings listed in Xello. Be sure to login to Xello and click on "Explore" then click "Scholarships." From there you can filter scholarships by due date and award amount.

Schoology posts

-The counseling office posts scholarships regularly. Be sure to check and apply for those that you may be eligible for.

We've completed one-on-one conferences with students in grades 9, 10 and 11. Parents are encouraged to review, sign and return the forms as soon as possible. Confirmation of course requests will be shared with students in March.

School counselors will be visiting classrooms during the months of February/March to teach lessons on digital citizenship and celebrating diversity. We look forward to seeing your students in the classroom setting to deliver these lessons.

Raising children isn’t easy! Adults can help children thrive in the digital world by ensuring that they provide balanced use of technology, in the right environment, in a safe way, and at the right times.

One way to help your children be safe, healthy and ready to learn is to manage their access to the Internet and use of devices. If your child brings a cell phone or smart watch to school, be sure to set up parental controls to reinforce that the device is off and away during learning time. You can also use parental controls to limit the length of time, time of day and sites they visit on the Internet. For more information on using parental controls, Android phone users can visit Family Link; iPhone users can visit Family Controls; and Apple-Watch users can visit Setting up Schooltime on Apple Watch and Setting Up Apple Watch for Your Kids.