GHS Counselor Connection

We hope you are getting your school year off to a great start! 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.

The second annual 988 Day is on Monday 9/8! Your GHS counselors want to remind you that you can call or text 988 anytime 24/7, to be connected to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. Visit the 988 website for more information about how 988 provides judgment-free support for mental health, substance use, and more.

The teen years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions-difficult for teens, their parents, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil. However, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age, and the past decade has seen teen suicide rates double. To proactively address this issue (and comply with Assembly Bill No. 2246), Laura Dawson, our Wellness Counselor, will provide suicide prevention curriculum to all 9th and 10th graders this school year.

Our goals for this program are straightforward:

• To help our students understand that many mental illnesses are treatable.

• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated mental illness.

• To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in a friend

• To impress upon teens that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns

Following each presentation, students will be asked to complete a google form stating whether or not they have questions or concerns regarding the presentation for themselves or for a friend. Those students will be able to speak with a counselor about their concerns. More information will be sent in an email to families of 9th and 10th grade students. Any questions about this program can be directed to Laura Dawson at ldawson@guhsd.net.

The Student Wellness and School Culture Department at the San Diego County Office of Education, in collaboration with certified mindfulness meditation instructors, is pleased to offer a free online class series this fall for parents and caregivers of school-aged children. Learning to Relax Through Mindfulness is a four-part series designed to help participants explore stress management, relaxation techniques, and ways to cultivate emotional awareness for a happier, healthier life. Each session will provide practical tools and tips that parents and guardians can use themselves and share with their families.

• September 11, 2025 - Mindfulness of Emotion: Register here.
• September 18, 2025 - Attending to Thoughts: Register here.
• September 25, 2025 - Awareness: Your Brain's Superpower: Register here.

Welcome to Grossmont! We want you to know where to find support. Our Wellness Counselor and Peer Listeners will be visiting 9th grade classrooms soon to introduce the services offered in the GWC (Grossmont Wellness Center). Counselors will also be visiting 9th grade classrooms on Sept. 9th and 10th to review graduation requirements, post-secondary planning, and strategies for success. A copy of the presentation will be posted on our counseling website, here. We hope you will make it a habit to check this website often!

The PSAT will be offered at GHS on Oct. 28th, 2025. Registration in the GHS Finance Office will be open from September 29th through October 10th, with no exceptions after this date. Priority will be given to 11th graders. The cost is $18 but limited fee waivers are available in the counseling office for students with financial need. The PSAT is an opportunity to practice for the SAT exam. Eleventh graders who score exceptionally well may also earn honors and scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Program. The SAT exam is no longer used for admission purposes by the California State Universities or University of California campuses. However, there are some other universities and major programs that still require the SAT/ACT exam or have a test-optional policy, meaning a high score could add value to a student's application.

The GHS Counseling Department wants to let you know that we are starting our senior meetings! Starting the week of September 15th, all 12th graders will be sent a call slip to meet with their counselors about plans for after high school. Our goal is to make sure our seniors have all the information/tools they need to meet their goals. Students, please be sure you are prepared with any questions you may have about your post-high school plans during that time. We will also be providing some handouts on things like scholarships, community college, trade schools and 4 year university application workshops coming up–parents/guardians, ask your senior to see these handouts after our meeting. As a reminder, here are the links to the presentations we delivered to students last spring about planning for life after high school. Please review these with your student.

4 Year University Students

Community College/Workforce/Military/etc.

We look forward to seeing our seniors!

Check out this fall calendar from College Essay Guy! It includes college application deadlines and to-do lists.

Great news! GUHSD has an agreement with California State University San Marcos that grants students guaranteed admission to CSUSM (nursing majors excluded) if they have fulfilled specific requirements. Please see the flyer for details.

The University of California application must be submitted by November 30th! It's time to start preparing your responses to the Personal Insight Questions! Students, this is your opportunity to let the UC admissions representatives get to know the real you. Think of it like an interview rather than an English essay. You will need to respond in your own voice, with a maximum of 350 words, to each of four out of eight prompts. You should write your responses in a separate document, take time to proofread, revise, ask someone else for feedback, and then paste the final draft into the application. Here are some great resources to help!

UC Website: Personal Insight Questions

University of California PIQ Worksheet (English)

College Essay Guy UC PIQ Workbook

Seniors who are applying to private or out-of-state universities may need to take the ACT or SAT exam ASAP. Check the prospective university's website to find out if the college is test-blind or test-optional. Register for the ACT at www.act.org and/or register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com. Fee waivers are available in the counseling office for students with financial need. CSU schools, UC campuses, and community colleges do not use the SAT or ACT for admissions purposes but they can be used for placement purposes.

Students who need to request a letter of recommendation from their counselor for colleges or scholarships must complete a brag packet. Click here to download a copy and return it to your counselor. Please allow three weeks notice and keep in mind that counselors do not work during holiday breaks. Letters will be sent directly to the college or scholarship committee. To request a letter of recommendation from a teacher, we have a different form that you may find helpful (optional-click here). Please give your teachers plenty of notice, too.