Wishing you a happy and healthy new year! It's a new semester too. We hope students enjoyed a restful break and have returned with renewed motivation, starting fresh with the best study habits. We encourage students to ask for help when needed and use all of the resources available to them. Please read below for important updates. Our team is here to support students and families in the Counseling & Wellness Center on the 2nd floor of the main office. Students may visit during break/lunch, or with a pass from their teachers. Caregivers should contact the counselor to schedule an appointment.

In our continued efforts to support students, and in compliance with AB 1808, a bill that calls for suicide prevention instruction to be offered to middle and high school students, our counselors will be conducting classroom presentations to 9th grade students during English classes the week of January 22, 2024. The presentation will include understanding warning signs, talking to a trusted adult and resources available. If you have questions, please contact Laura Dawson, Wellness Counselor, at (619) 668-6045. For more information and resources on Youth Suicide Prevention, click here.

SafetyNet: Smart Cyber Choices® is a collaborative program of the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the San Diego Police Foundation. It is designed to help kids, parents, educators, and concerned adults learn how to keep kids safe online. The focus is to help kids, parents, educators, and other concerned citizens learn to navigate their online lives safely BEFORE tragedy strikes. Visit the Internet Safety 101 page of the Safety Net website to find out everything you need to know about Internet Safety. Included in this section, you will find important information about cyberbullying, social networking, privacy, and hackers & scammers.

At that time, students and parents will be able to log into Infinite Campus to access report cards and transcripts (under documents). We will meet with seniors next week and will meet with all other students during February/March to review progress toward graduation and post-secondary goals. Please contact your counselor if you have any questions.

Please click here for information on how to register new Grossmont students!

Future Foothillers who do not live in our attendance boundaries may apply for School Choice:

• The School Choice Window opened on December 1, 2023 at 8:00am and will be open until February 23, 2024 at 4:00pm.
• Siblings of current students placed at Grossmont through school choice must also complete a School Choice application as an incoming student.
• Once the Online Registration is complete and approved you'll receive an invitation to create an Infinite Campus Parent Portal account.
• Submit a School Choice application through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Students with disabilities can request accommodations from the College Board or ACT organization. Follow the steps in the link HERE. Please note, it's important to follow the deadlines such as January 18th for all AP exams, and Jan. 19th for the March SAT.

The CSU/UC universities are no longer using ACT/SAT test scores for admissions purposes. However, other universities may require one of these exams, or they may have a test-optional policy, which means an excellent score can add value to an application. They may be required by specific programs or scholarships. Please click here for more information and test dates. Use the voucher code FEB-NAT-PVO-FF by Jan. 22nd for $5 off ACT registration fees at ACT.org.

It's not too late to apply to a University of California campus. UC Merced opened to undergraduates in 2005 as the newest campus in the University of California system, and is the youngest university to earn a Carnegie research classification. A top-100 research university and the fastest-growing public university in the nation, UC Merced is on the cutting edge of sustainability in campus construction and design, and supports high achieving and dedicated students from the under served Central Valley and throughout California. More info here.

Counselors look forward to meeting with seniors during the week of Jan. 16th to follow up on their post-secondary plans and provide information to assist them in reaching their goals.

Seniors who need to request that a transcript be sent to a prospective university should click here.

In just one application, the Common Scholarship Application provides students access to more than 100 scholarship opportunities with awards ranging from $1,000 to more than $5,000. Some scholarships can be renewed for multiple years to help offset the financial burden for a student’s entire undergraduate career. Click here for more information and to apply! Additional scholarship opportunities are available on our counseling website here.

A new version of the financial aid application was just released! However, it is currently available for short periods of time with pauses for site maintenance during the soft launch. If it is unavailable when you try to access it, you may need to try again later. All seniors need to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or CADAA (California Dream Act Application) by April 2nd, whether you are heading to community college, a vocational or trade school, a four-year university, or even if you are not quite sure yet. Click here for the information counselors shared with seniors in their economics classes. Please join us on on Jan. 31st at 5pm if you need assistance from a Grossmont College Financial Aid Office representative. See details above, under Upcoming Events.