Counseling Department Newsletter

The Neshaminy High School Counseling staff offers a variety of support services. Dedicated counselors work with students, families and staff to assist in the academic planning, college and career development and personal/social growth for each student. Our goal is to provide assistance, encouragement and support for students as they develop and prepare for their future. The resources offered through this site will assist students and their parents in gathering information on topics such as colleges, careers, scholarships, financial aid, and academic assistance.

Counselors will meet with their students throughout the course of the year to review their grades and develop an academic and college/career plan. If at any point you or your child would like to meet with their counselor before such meeting occurs, please encourage your child to make an appointment or call the School Counseling Office to schedule a meeting.

Counseling Office 215-809-6101 Transcript Office 215-809-6159/6161

Ms. Christina Savage (A-Brown) csavage@neshaminy.org

Mrs. Patience Burton (Bru-Dem) pburton@neshaminy.org

Mrs. Jill Ortman (Den-Ga) jortman@neshaminy.org

Mrs. Casey Rodgers (Gb-Jag) crodgers@neshaminy.org

Mr. Jeff McCaughey (Jah-Le) jmccaughey@neshaminy.org

Ms. Traci Hindle (Lf-Me) thindle@neshaminy.org

Mrs. Jennifer Coe (Mf-Pen) jcoe@neshaminy.org

Mr. Erik Styer (Peo-Sa) estyer@neshaminy.org

Ms. Catherine Bond (Sb-Ta) cbond@neshaminy.org

Mrs. Heather Krajcer (Tb-Z) hkrajcer@neshaminy.org

April 1, 2022- Last day of Marking Period 3

April 4, 2022- First day of Marking Period 4

May 2, 2022- First day of AP Exams*

May 12, 2022- Families Connect Series: Dr. Katherine Dahlsgaard*

May 16, 2022- Biology Keystone Exam*

May 18, 2022- Biology Keystone Exam*

May 19, 2022- Algebra 1 Keystone Exam*

May 20, 2022- Algebra 1 Keystone Exam*

May 23, 2022- Literature Keystone Exam*

May 24, 2022- Literature Keystone Exam*

*more information below

Before School help is offered Monday-Thursday from 6:45am-7:10am located in the Media Center.

After School help is offered Monday-Thursday from 2:30pm-4:00pm located in the Media Center.

Come with a question and a teacher will help you!

The Keystone exams were created to replace the Grade 11 PSSA and serve as one component of Pennsylvania's statewide high school graduation requirement. The exams are end-of-course assessments designed to assess proficiency in the subject areas of Algebra 1, Literature, and Biology.

Keystone Exam Dates:

Biology: May 16th and 18th

Algebra: May 19th and 20th

Literature: May 23rd and 24th

AP Exams begin Monday May 2, 2022. Please check the schedule below for your AP Testing date and session. More information will be available about location and report time for the exams.

Seniors, Juniors- Each week, throughout the school year, numerous post-high school programs visit Neshaminy High School to meet with our students for information sessions. These colleges and trade schools share details about majors and career opportunities on their campuses.

• We encourage families to frequently check Naviance's homepage to see an up-to-date list of the upcoming visits.
• Over the next month, these are the schools who have scheduled visits at Neshaminy, so far (more to come):
• Cabrini University will be visiting on Monday, April 18th, 2022 at 8:25
  
• LIM College will be visiting on Monday, April 18th, 2022 at 10:00 am
  
• Binghamton University will be visiting on Wednesday, April 20th, 2022 at 8:25 am
  
• Stony Brook University will be visiting on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022 at 8:25
• To register for a visit, just click on the event in Naviance and hit "Register"

Juniors- If you will need a letter of recommendation for your applications in the fall, you should touch base with your teacher(s) before the end of junior year

• Keep in mind that several schools do not need a letter. So do NOT ask a teacher for a letter if you will not need it. Letters are very time consuming so you don’t want to have a teacher write one if you will not need it.
• For example: Schools such as Temple, University of Pitt, West Chester, Penn State, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg, Bucks County Community College DO NOT require letters of recommendation.
• Also, some schools only want 1 letter, so do not ask more teachers than you need.
  
  

Process for requesting a letter:

1. Ask the teacher in person.
2. Sign on to Naviance. Click on the “About Me” tab and fill out the Recommendation Data Sheet.
3. Then once that is complete, click on the “Colleges” tab in Naviance.
4. Once there, click on the “Letter of Recommendation” link
5. From there, you type in the teacher’s name who is going to write you a letter and send them the official request.

Junior Financial Aid/Scholarship Information Night (Thursday, March 10, 2021):

Donna Wilkoski, Director of Financial Aid at Bucks County Community College, presented helpful information geared towards juniors. All college-bound students can benefit from the information provided in her power-point.

Please click on the link below for a recording of her presentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c95ZsRGhvzi16u5FWfz6wpXkfzbUpva_/view?amp;ts=622bbbb9

Naviance Family Connections is a valuable tool for post-secondary planning. It allows students to explore their learning style, personality type, career interests and potential college plans. The college application process will also be mainstreamed through Naviance, allowing us to forward transcripts and letters of recommendation to colleges via eDocs. We encourage parents to become familiar with Naviance Family Connections and use it with their children. You can access your Naviance Family Connections page by going to: https://student.naviance.com/neshaminyhs

The SAT is a college admissions exam administered by the College Board to help aid colleges in the admissions decision process. The purpose of the SAT is to measure a high school student's college readiness, and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants.

The ACT is a college admissions exam administered by ACT, Inc. to help aid colleges in the admissions decision process. The purpose of the ACT is to measure a high school student's college readiness, and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants.

Branches of the military offer more than 1,600 different occupations. If you are considering the military as an option after high school, speak to representatives in each branch of the service to gain more insight of the demands and benefits each branch has to offer.

Scholarships Available!!!

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to earn money for college or trade schools.

Scholarships are still available but you must apply now!

The remaining available scholarships have deadlines ranging from April 8th to April 29th.

Make sure to go to Naviance and look under Scholarships & Money. From there, select Scholarship search to see a list of all active scholarships and their deadlines.

Over the past couple of months, Neshaminy has had the privilege of hosting two speaker events with accomplished professionals in the fields of family and adolescent growth and development. Both events, one with Dr. Michael J. Bradley and another with Dr. Robert Brooks, focused on ways for parents and students to tap into social emotional skills that will help build resiliency, trust and a supportive home environment. Recordings of these events can be found at: neshaminy.org/familiesconnect

We are excited to announce that the next event will be with Dr. Katherine Dahlsgaard. This Family Connect event will be on Thursday, May 12, 2022 from 7-8:30 via Zoom. Dr. Dahlsgaard will be joining us for a live, free virtual session to continue our discussion of resiliency, along with:

• Exploring why structure matters
• Investigating how to model healthy habits for children
• Discovering appropriate expectations that nurture mental wellness

To attend this event, you must register using this link:

https://neshaminy.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3aShp2h9Qo2dg2m1U2xPJw

Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late. With Safe2Say Something, it’s easy and confidential to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies.

Here’s how it works:

• Submit an anonymous tip report through the Safe2SaySomething system
• Crisis center reviews, assesses and processes all submissions
• Crisis center sends all submissions to school administration and/or law enforcement for intervention
• If needed, crisis center may contact tipster anonymously through the app

https://www.safe2saypa.org/

The Virtual Calming Room is a safe place for students and families to find strategies for managing emotions and feelings. Access our Virtual Calming Room by clicking the link below:

https://neshaminy.instructure.com/courses/31039/pages/virtual-calming-room