VHS Counseling February Newsletter

National School Counseling Week

• Recognizing the VHS Counseling Team
• Mental Health Resource for Teens

Course Selection Information

• Freshman & Sophomore Timelines
• Junior Conferences & Course Selection Info
• Subcampus Program Opportunities
• ACC Dual Credit - Summer & Fall 2023

College & Career Exploration

• Spring Workshop Series
• College Visits for VHS Students
• School Day SAT for Juniors // March 1
• ASVAB Career Exploration // March 7
• Applied Research Laboratories Summer Apprenticeship Program

GPA & Rank Information

• Junior & Senior Info
• Freshman & Sophomore Info

Seniors

• Mid-Year Reports for College Applications

National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. Counselors collaborate with all stakeholders (i.e. parents, teachers, administrators) and seek to build an equitable and inclusive learning environment. Let's celebrate our amazing Vandegrift Counseling team!

Supporting the mental health needs of our Vipers is our biggest priority as a counseling team, so when we come across helpful resources, we like to share with our students and families.

A professor from Yale University is offering a FREE six-week course designed to help support mental heath in teens. From the course description: "In this course, you will explore what the field of psychology teaches us about how to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to thrive in high school and beyond. The lessons along with short weekly ‘happiness homework’ assignments will ultimately prepare you to put these scientific findings into practice. The ultimate goal is for you to feel better and build healthier habits. Parents, teachers, and other professionals supporting teenagers may also find the course beneficial."

The course opens February 3, so be sure to visit the Coursera website ASAP to get signed up.

The initial course selection window is closed for freshmen and sophomores to allow counselors time to input course requests into the system. Requests will be visible in HAC sometime in March, and there will be a change window in April.

Please see the Course Selection Timeline for detailed information specific to each grade level.

Juniors began making course selections this week and will finalize initial requests by March 6. Please see the Viper Vitals for Juniors newsletter for more information.

Students - don't forget to schedule your JUNIOR CONFERENCE with your alpha counselor!

Parents/guardians - please view the webinar recording if you were unable to attend earlier this week. You can also view the slideshow presentation here.

Please see the Course Selection Timeline for detailed information specific to each grade level.

Leander ISD students have the opportunity to enroll in various specialized programs at other district high schools if the program is not available on the home campus. These programs have limited availability, and some are subject to prerequisite course requirements. The Culinary Arts program at Cedar Park HS and the Cosmetology program at Leander HS are currently accepting enrollment requests. Transportation is not provided for subcampus programs. Students will need to subcampus to their alternate campus for an entire A or B day.

Click here to submit an enrollment request for the Culinary Arts Program. Students must have previously earned credit for Intro to Culinary Arts to be considered for the program. The deadline to submit the enrollment request is February 17.

Note:

• Space in this class is very limited. Filling out this form does NOT guarantee entrance into the class. The form must be filled out by the student by Feb 17, 2023.
• This class is double-blocked. The periods are 2/3 or 6/7. Please apply only if you have room for this in your schedule.
• This is a rigorous fast-paced industry-based class.

Click here to submit an enrollment request for the Cosmetology Program. The enrollment request and due date for the information packet for Cosmetology is March 20, 2023. Do not delay, as several of the packet items require 1-2 weeks processing time.

Students planning to continue taking dual credit coursework (returning students) should start scheduling individual meetings with Mrs. Spradling to plan for 2023-24 courses (summer/fall/spring semesters).

Students new to ACC should be working through Enrollment Steps 1-4 and registering to take the TSI Assessment if needed. Information was presented to all sophomores during the school day, and was included with the sophomore parent webinar last semester. If you missed it and want to learn more, check out the College & Career Website for program details, but we also invite you to attend an information session available in-person during Viper Night on January 11th.

New students should aim to complete Enrollment Steps 1-4 and the required individual meeting with Mrs. Spradling, by the priority deadline of March 24 for summer registration. Students are invited to sign up for a Dual Credit Enrollment Workshop for support in completing the Enrollment Steps, offered February 7 and February 8 during PIT (sign up in the PIT Portal).

Check out upcoming spring semester College & Career Center Workshop Series! Workshops will return to in-person this year with resources posted afteward. Workshops will take place on Mondays starting a little before PIT (11:00) in order to ensure we're able to thoroughly cover each topic. All grade levels are invited to join - it's never too early to start thinking and planning!

Workshops will start up in February with registration links coming soon:

• GPA, Rank & Transcripts - Oh My! // Feb 6
• Can I Get In? Understanding Academic Fit & Assured Admission // Feb 13
• Conquering the College Application Activities List // Feb 27

Don't forget that college admissions representatives are still scheduling visits to connect with prospective applicants! This is a great way to find out more about colleges, develop an understanding about the admissions process, and connect with the representatives who will be reviewing your application.

Click here to access the College Visit Calendar and instructions for registration. In fact, this month we have VHS Alumni visiting campus who can provide valuable student insight. Schools represented include: Baylor, St. Edward's, University of Texas, University of Miami, Texas A&M, UC Boulder, and University of Tennesee.

On March 1, VHS will administer the SAT test to all 11th grade students. Students should be sure to be at school on this day as there is no make-up opportunity for this FREE administration - no registration required. Information about School Day SAT, including the structure of the test and what to bring on test day can be found here. More information will be shared in the coming weeks. Direct questions about School Day SAT to the VHS Testing Coordinator, Delis Golden (delis.torresfigueroa@leanderisd.org).

The ASVAB Career Exploration Program is a FREE test available to interested 10th-12th grade students. The ASVAB program facilitates career planning and exploration, combining a multiple-aptitude test with an interest self-assessment and a wide range of career exploration tools. The test is open to any student who simply is wanting more career guidance, but is a requirement for students interested in pursuing military options. NOTE: LISD does not release scores to the military; students pursuing the military are responsible for sharing their scores.

The test will take place on Tuesday, March 7 (B-day). Testing will take place in the VHS Lecture Hall from 8:15 AM - 11:54 AM. REGISTER HERE.

Each summer Applied Research Laboratories, a component of The University of Texas at Austin, sponsors a Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program for high school graduates who will be attending a 4-year college or university in the next fall semester, and who have applied to UT Austin. Preference is given to students attending UT Austin, and whose intended majors are electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, and computer science.

This program, which began in 1982, involves summer employment at Applied Research Laboratories in northwest Austin and provides a "hands-on" introduction to research and development. This is a competitive, 9-week summer program for graduating seniors, offering a salary of $19.00 an hour. This prestigious group of students also write reports that are published and widely distributed at the end of their summer term.

Application deadline is March 10, 2023 // details & application

GPA & rank information has been uploaded into Naviance. As a reminder, parents do not have separate Naviance accounts. Students should access Naviance through Launchpad and are asked to share their log-in information with parents in order to access Naviance.

About Me > My Account > Listed under Academic section.

The number of students in your class can be used to determine your quartile.

Class of 2023: 678 students

Class of 2024: 692 students

Quartiles are 25% segments (think quarters). To calculate your quartile, find your rank and divide by the number of students in your class.

25% = 1st quartile, 50% = 2nd quartile, 75% = 3rd quartile, 100% = 4th quartile

Example: If a student is ranked 332 out of 657 students, they divide 332/667=.49 or 49%, thus falls in the 2nd quartile.

NEW TO VHS STUDENTS - If you did not complete semester 1 at VHS, you will not have a GPA/rank in Naviance. You will receive your GPA/rank once you complete a full semester at VHS.

As a reminder, the Classes of 2025/2026 fall under the new LISD Rank & GPA policy.

Cumulative GPA will be calculated at the end of the 9th grade year (June) and again at the end of the 10th grade year (June).

Class rank will only be reported for the top ten percent of each class. After each calculation period, students in the top ten percent will be told their exact class rank in accordance with administrative procedures.

The lowest weighted GPA of students in the top ten percent, the first quartile, the second quartile, and the third quartile shall be communicated to all students in the class after each calculation period in order for students to determine their GPA quartile.

Freshmen:

Your GPA will be calculated at the conclusion of the school year and posted over the summer.

Sophomores:

The weighted GPA you see listed in Naviance was calculated at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. This will not change until GPA is recalculated at the conclusion of this school year. Quartile information based on July 2022 data is as follows:

• Top 10% GPA Range: 5.08 - 5.56
• First Quartile (top 25%) (includes top 10% students) GPA Range: 4.71 - 5.56
• Second Quartile (26% - 50%) GPA Range: 4.2 - 4.7
• Third Quartile (51% - 75%) GPA Range: 3.48 - 4.19
• Fourth Quartile (lower 25%) GPA Range: 0.0 - 3.47

Some colleges/universities require a Mid-Year Report as part of the college application process. Mid-year reports can be sent once semester grades are finalized and GPA's have been recalculated and reviewed. This will be complete by mid-February.

The method for submitting a mid-year report will differ based on your method of application for each school.

• Common App - if any of your Common Application schools require a mid-year report, no further action is needed on your part for these schools. Your counselor will submit the report on your behalf once mid-year transcripts become available.
• Coalition - if any of your Coalition schools require a mid-year report, your counselor will upload a mid-year transcript to your Coalition Locker once it is available. You (student) will need to then attach it to your applications.
• School Specific Application - if you applied through a school specific portal and need a mid-year report, you will order a transcript via Parchment. Please be sure to select the "Hold for Grades" option. This will ensure the registrar sends the mid-year transcript to include 1st semester grades.