Counseling Update

REMINDER - COURSE SELECTION FOR NEXT YEAR

At this time you should have input all your classes for next year. If you have not PLEASE contact your counselor. Class schedules are put together through an IC program based on the courses you have input through the course request portal on IC. After IC builds the schedules counselors review them. If you input the wrong level or class, the computer will still put the request in your schedule. Counselors review schedule constantly but issues can be missed and IC sometimes has issues even after schedules are throughly reviewed. Please make sure YOU review your schedule carefully when they are released. If you have any questions, are missing a class, or are unsure if something should be in your schedule PLEASE contact your counselor.

West Point - Summer Leaders Experience

The United States Military Academy at West Point is excited to offer your rising seniors (current juniors) the Summer Leaders Experience (SLE)—a rigorous five-day, overnight immersion led entirely by current West Point cadets.

SLE offers an authentic look at cadet life and challenges students academically, militarily, physically, and socially. Participants will experience:

Hands-on academic workshops: Choose from 17 sessions taught by West Point faculty.
Physical and military training: Army PT workouts, obstacle courses (indoor and outdoor), the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA), and more.
Leadership and character development: Team-building exercises, the Leader Reaction Course, ethics discussions, and cadet-led activities.

Check out the SLE 2025 VIDEO to learn more about the experience.

Students can choose between three SLE sessions:

Session 1: May 30 – June 3
Session 2: June 5 – June 9
Session 3: June 11 – June 15

Applications for SLE open on February 15, and selections will be made on a rolling basis starting March 15. When high school students submit this application, it also completes the first part of the West Point application process. Ideal candidates will demonstrate academic excellence, leadership within their community, and a readiness to take on physical challenges.

West Point provides scholarships to cover the $495 SLE fee and travel expenses for students with documented financial need.

Learn more here: West Point Summer Leaders Experience

Apply to SLE: SLE Application

Please share this opportunity widely with rising seniors and their families—early applications are strongly encouraged. Thank you for helping connect exceptional young leaders with this transformative experience.

APPLICATION

Career Week for GIRLs

3 Weeks in June that can change a lifetime!

The HOYA Foundation started Career Week for GIRLs to encourage more young women to pursue careers in transportation and construction. Why? Because only 11% of the construction workforce is women. That fact carries economic implications and substantial opportunities.

Over one week, girls – ranging from 13 to 23 years old – make five stops to engage with women, ask questions and tour work sites. Each company puts together a day long insight into their company and into the industry.

Five Days Can Change a Life

There are three weeks in June: June 1-5, June 8-12 or June 22-26

There is no cost to those girls that are selected.

The application is open online

Colorado Talent Pipeline Report | Colorado Workforce Development Council

The CWDC released the 2025 Talent Pipeline Report on Dec. 16, 2025. This twelfth iteration of the Talent Pipeline Report analyzes and explains labor market information, highlights talent development strategies, and provides data-informed opportunities to enhance the talent pipeline in Colorado.

cwdc.colorado.gov

Living Wage Calculator - Living Wage Calculation for Colorado

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. The tables below provide living wage estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In households with two working adults, all hourly values reflect what one working adult requires to earn to meet their families’ basic needs, assuming the other adult also earns the same. The poverty wage and state minimum wage are for reference purposes. Poverty wage estimates come from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Poverty Guidelines for 2025 and have been converted from an annual value to an hourly wage for ease of comparison. The state minimum wage data is sourced from the Labor Law Center and includes the minimum wage in a given state as of January of that year.

livingwage.mit.edu

Service Hours

Assured Senior Living 4 Castle Rock

303-814-2688

Botanical Gardens

720-865-3609

https://www.botanicgardens.org/join-give/volunteer

Cancer League of Colorado

info@cancerleague.org

303-281-9864

Castle Rock Explorer Post

http://crgov.com/1780/Explorer-Post

Students interested in a law enforcement career who are willing to spend 12 to 30 hours per month assisting the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.

Children’s Hospital - CO South Campus

1811 Plaza Dr, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

https://www.childrenscolorado.org/locations/south-campus-highlands-ranch/

Children’s Museum

https://www.mychildsmuseum.org/get-involved/volunteer

Denver Rescue Mission

303-297-1815

https://denverrescuemission.org/volunteer/

Dumb Friends League

The Buddy Center

303-751-5772

www.ddfl.org

Castle Rock Police Department

Fleece Tie Blankets for Victim Assistance

Debbie Binks: DBinks@crgov.com

K. Project Freedom

504 2nd St. #201

Castle Rock CO 80104

www.kprojectfreedom.com

Kalena@kprojectfreedom.com

303-944-0121

The Gathering Place

Shelter for homeless - must be 18+

https://tgpdenver.org/volunteer/individual-volunteers.html

Make a Wish Foundation

https://wish.org/volunteer

Praying Hands Ranch

Working with grounds, horse care, and helping students learn to ride and manage horses.

https://www.affinityranch.org/volunteer

Spark the Change Colorado

https://www.sparkthechangecolorado.org/volunteer

Warren Village-Day Care

For homeless children

https://warrenvillage.org/volunteer/

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado

https://www.voc.org/community-service

303-715-1010 ext. 116

Volunteering in the Meadows

https://www.meadowslink.com/view/volunteering-in-the-meadows_2.aspx

Vitalant Blood Donation

541 W Highlands Ranch Pkwy, Highlands Ranch

www.vitalant.org

✭Great websites on Community Service Organizations✭

https://www.dosomething.org/us

VolunteerMatch.org

Volunteer in Castle Rock: CRGOV.com

Volunteer in Douglas County: https://douglasvolunteers.com/

Colorado Nonprofit- coloradononprofits.org

JustServe.org

Other Options to Consider

Special Olympics - Colorado

Special Olympics Colorado

Buffalo Ridge Elementary

303-387-5575

Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce

303-688-4597

Castle Rock Parks

303-814-7456

Colorado Easterseals Society

https://www.easterseals.com/co/get-involved/volunteer/

CSU 4-H Clubs of Douglas County

720-733-6940

CSU Cooperative Extension

970-491-6281

Douglas County Master Gardeners Castle Rock and Parker

720-733-6930

Food Bank of the Rockies

https://www.foodbankrockies.org/get-involved/volunteer/

Habitat for Humanity

https://www.habitat.org/volunteer

Highlands Ranch Metro District

720-240-4908

https://www.highlandsranch.org/resources/volunteer

Julia Temple Healthcare Center

303-761-0075

Landsharks Running Club

https://www.landsharksrunningclub.com

719-623-5314

Douglas County Libraries

https://www.dcl.org/volunteer/

Sunday Salmon

“Operation Christmas Child” Samaritan’s Purse

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/ways-to-volunteer/

Parker Chamber of Commerce

303-841-4268

Parker Public Works

303-840-9546

Porter Adventist Hospital

303-778-1955

Red Cross (Blood Donation)

444 Sherman St, Denver, CO 80203

(303) 722-7474

Roxborough State Park

303-973-3959

Silver Heights Skilled Nursing

303-688-3174

Student Tutoring at Bear Canyon

303-387-6475

“The Christmas Store” Mile High Ministries

303-839-5198

Help and Hope Center

https://www.helpandhopecenter.org/

Aspen Effect

https://theaspeneffect.org/teen-service-crew

SAT Support

Most schools don’t struggle with wanting higher scores. They struggle with:

Finding space in an already packed calendar
Staffing limitations
Budget timing
Making implementation simple

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In a short demo, we’ll show you:

How to implement the course efficiently
Exactly where it fits into your testing calendar
A simple rollout plan

What 600+ partner schools are seeing in results, typically 1–3 point average increases.

This is designed to work inside the constraints you’re already managing.

Would you be open to a quick demo this month Click Here? Want to join our webinar? Register Here

Let’s make this the year your SAT® data moves.

P.S. Want to see the quality for yourself? Join our FREE Live! Online help here: OTC's Live! Online Help for the ACT® and SAT® Tests

Joni Mason

OnToCollege Account Manager

402-917-5730

Introduce a Girl to Engineering

Introduce a Girl to Engineering is SWE’s biggest outreach event of the year! It is a day-long event that introduces girls to all the possibilities of the engineering field. The date for IAGE 2025 is April 11, 2026. Registration is OPEN in January! Click link below to register. Any questions or concerns? Email iage.swe.colostate@gmail.com

Click here for registration: HERE