NNHS Counselor Connection

• 📱 Follow us!
• 💼 Career Takeover on Nov. 5 (All)
• 🌙 Counselor Evening Programs (All)
• ✅ Upcoming Opportunities (All)
• 📖 Counseling Curriculum (All)
• 💲 FAFSA Graduation Requirement (12th)
• 🎓 College Rep Visits to NNHS (10th - 12th)
• 🧰 TCD Explore Day (10th - 11th)
• 🧭 NCompass
• 💻 SchooLinks Parent/Guardian Accounts

We are ramping up our social media presence this school year! Follow us on Instagram or Twitter/X at @NNHSPARC to be up-to-date on the latest information in personal branding (#MarketMeMonday), non-traditional postsecondary options (#BeyondTheDesk), hot careers requiring a bachelor's degree (#WednesdayWork), the amazing opportunities at College of DuPage (#ThriveAtCOD), and hidden gem colleges & universities (#FridayFinds).

On Thursday, November 5, all NNHS students will participate in our 3rd Annual Career Takeover! Students had three weeks to explore a lineup of more than 120 speakers representing a wide variety of career pathways and select two sessions that best aligned with their interests. Students who did not submit selections were randomly assigned to speakers or panels.

Career Takeover is designed to give students real-world exposure to careers that interest them and help them connect those possibilities to the courses they will begin selecting for the 2027–2028 school year this November.

We hope all Huskies embrace this incredible opportunity to explore new possibilities, discover potential career paths, and make meaningful connections between their interests and their futures!

For the 2026-27 School Year, the Counseling Department will be offering joint evening programs with Naperville Central Counselors, tailored for students & families. We invite you to view our calendar of events and save the dates to join us! We will send additional reminders about upcoming events via email, Apptegy, and in each monthly newsletter.

For the month of November, we invite our Freshmen, Sophomore & Juniors families to join us for two back-to-back webinars on the same night: Plan Your Path (11/19: 6:00-6:30p) and Understanding and Preparing for College Costs (11/19: 6:00-7:00p). More information will be sent to Freshmen, Sophomore, and Junior families as we get closer to these events.

Each month we will highlight job, volunteer, and informational opportunities shared with Student Services. The job & volunteer opportunities are also listed in the SchooLinks Opportunity Board that all students can access:

• On-going: Little Friends Respite
• 1) Complete the volunteer application & waivers
• 2) Sign-up for specific dates
• 3) Complete mandatory orientation training
• 4) Attend your first-day facility tour
  
  
• Nov. 3: Student Election Night Judge (temporary work opportunity)

On October 13th, Freshmen received a self-paced Counseling Curriculum Lesson on Career Cluster Exploration. Students were presented these slides.

On October 20th & 27th, Sophomores participated in a Counseling Curriculum Lesson on Career Exploration & Goal Setting. Students were presented these slides.

On October 20th, Freshmen, Sophomores & Juniors watched our Career Pathways & Endorsements Options informational video. This is in preparation of course selection, which will start in November.

Public Act 101-180 requires all public high school students in the state of Illinois to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or, as eligible, the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid, as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma. A waiver provision allows a parent, guardian, or the student (if 18 years of age) to opt out for any reason.*

The federal government will open the FAFSA on October 1, 2026. However, there is an important initial step all families can do now so that when FAFSA is open, you will be able to get started.

Whether you're a student or parent, you'll need to create your own Federal Student Aid account.

Create Federal Student Aid (FSA) IDs for each "contributor," FAFSA's term for anyone who is required to provide information on a student's FAFSA form, including the student, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent's spouse. Contributors will need their Social Security number and phone number or email address to create an account. Use this tool to determine which parent(s) should participate in a student's FAFSA form.

Click here to create an FSA ID account.

*If a student is not eligible to file a FAFSA or a family chooses not to complete the FAFSA, an opt-out form must be completed to satisfy the graduation requirement.

College of DuPage is offering FAFSA completion workshops and has provided this video to help students and families with a walkthrough on how to create an FSA ID.

College rep visits have concluded for the Fall Semester. We will have a limited run of visits in the Spring, and will share out that information in January.

The Technology Center of DuPage (TCD) offers DuPage County area high school juniors and seniors 17 career and technical education programs (CTE) as part of their high school curriculum. You can learn more about TCD from their promotional video.

If your student is interested in visiting TCD on December 4, they need to pick up a field trip form from The PARC and return it back to The PARC by November 6! If your students have questions, please have them reach out to their School Counselor or the PARC.

NCompass is Naperville 203's Postsecondary Planning Guide. We encourage you to utilize this tool to research and explore postsecondary options. We highly recommend checking out the checklists by grade level.

SchooLinks is Naperville 203's college & career planning platform. Students began using this platform in junior high and continue to use it in high school.

Parents and guardians can create a SchooLinks Guardian account to take advantage of all of the wonderful tools that SchooLinks has to offer. Guardians can view their child's progress on SchooLinks, see assessment results, view favorited careers and colleges, and much more. We encourage all guardians to have an account. To create a SchooLinks Guardian account, please follow the directions in this document.