Counselor Connection

Welcome back to IHS! The counselors are excited to see all of our new and returning students! We hope you all had a relaxing summer, and took some time to get out in the sunshine! As a reminder from the Summer Newsletter, Mrs. (Herne) Ingalls, will be on leave in the Fall. Her Leave Replacement is Mr. Vince DiGiacomo who brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience! In addition, there has been a slight adjustment to our caseloads in the Fall affecting the students from Ms. Laraby's caseload. Please also note that some students are assigned to a counselor out of alpha split based on special programming.

Here are some other important people to know in the Counseling Center:

LaVon Bucciarelli - College and Career Center

Jeremy Carrier - School Social Worker

Nicole Corcimiglia - Substance Abuse and Prevention Counselor

Annelise Goldman - School Psychologist

Teisha Maldonado - School Social Worker

Lindsey Long - School Social Worker

Julie Wolf - Speech-Language Pathologist

Jess Wollschleger - School Psychologist

Counseling Center Clerical:

Lesia Blyszczak

Jessy Cook (College and Career Center)

Donna Hefner

We will be updating our Newsletters throughout the year to provide you with important information, upcoming dates/events, and multiple resources that may be helpful. As always, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions as we start the 2026-2027 school year!

The IHS Counseling Team

Schedules for the 2026-2027 school year will be available in the Infinite Campus Student Portal mid- to late-August. School Counselors will be available to answer schedule questions closer to the start of the school year. Given the later start to the year, Counselors will be available periodically between the weeks of 8/24 and 8/31.

School Counselors have individual course registration meetings with students every year. These thoughtful planning conversations lead to schedules being created. As a result, schedule changes after the school year begins may be limited due to class sizes and other scheduling constraints.

REMINDERS:

• Schedules are subject to change leading up to the school year, so please continue to review your schedule in Infinite Campus prior to the start of the year.
• Counselors cannot accommodate requests for schedule changes based on individual teacher preference, lunch, or peer groups.
• If you have a change request or question about your schedule you may reach out to your student's Counselor via email or phone prior to the first day of school.
• Students will be required to stay in their schedules once the first day of school starts for four (4) school days before making a change (exceptions: your schedule does not reflect your course requests or there is an error).
• If a student would like to add a course and there is room in the schedule, you may reach out to your counselor to request the additional course anytime within the first two (2) weeks of school.
• If dropping a course, students must maintain the required minimum course load of 5.5 credits, and are encouraged to take a full schedule and advantage of our comprehensive course offerings.
• Students will not be able to drop a course after the first Quarter.
• Once the add/drop period opens on September 14th, students will be directed to complete an electronic form for any schedule change requests. This will be available in their Class Schoology page as well as emailed to them upon request.

Here is the IHS Course Catalog 26-27 to view the extensive list of comprehensive offerings available to students! See page 8 which also reflects the IHS Academic Policies shown above.

Welcome to your Senior year, Class of 2027! This is a year that can be fun and exciting while also challenging and stressful. Your School Counselor is here to help you navigate the year and continue our work to ensure you have a plan for after graduation! If you didn't already, please see the Senior S'more Newsletter which contains a lot of helpful information related to this very important time!

Students will receive an email/calendar invitation for an appointment with their School Counselor starting mid-September. Counselors will meet individually with students to review their graduation requirements and discuss post high school planning. We will review the necessary steps for the college application process and answer any questions students may have! Given their success last school year, we will once again be offering school day Common App Workshops for students to get additional support with their applications. Be on the lookout for more information once the school year begins!

Some things to be doing Senior year:

• Utilize Naviance to continue your post high school planning/college research
• Log in through the Clever App on your IHS intranet home page
• Ensure you are meeting individual college application deadlines (be mindful of Early Action and Early Decision deadlines)
• Register for the SAT and/or ACT if you have not taken it yet or wish to re-take (see below for more information)
• Continue to work hard in your classes! Senior year grades do get reported to colleges upon request
• Check your Class of 2027 Schoology page for important updates and information regarding senior activities and events throughout the year

Resources for the college application process will be available in Schoology and posted in the next newsletter. Please don't hesitate to reach out to your School Counselor as we go through the school year!

Attention Seniors! Below are the Fall SAT and ACT* test dates. Please keep in mind your college application deadlines when registering for your exams. Click on the pictures to below to register!

Please note, IHS is not currently a test site for these exams but students can select to take the exam at other Testing Centers!

Attention Juniors:

The PSAT/NMSQT is a Practice SAT exam that will give students the opportunity to experience what sitting for the SAT will be like and what types of questions you will be asked. In other words, it is a great way to prepare before taking the SATs. This exam is also used as a qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) competition, which provides college scholarships to students who earn high scores on the exam.

For students who will be in 11th grade (and some who are in 10th grade) during the 2026-2027 school year, the test will be offered on Saturday, October 17th from 7:30am - 11:30am (for standard time test takers). In order to sign up for the test, please fill out this electronic form: PSAT/NMSQT Sign-Up 2026-2027 – Fill out form.

Please note, that by filling out the form, you are committing to paying the $28 fee for the exam (unless your family qualifies for Free/Reduced Lunch - see application link above in "Fee Waiver Reminder") regardless of whether or not your student shows up to the exam. More information about the test will be sent home in September 2026.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Meghan Ferriter at meghan_ferriter@westiron.monroe.edu.

The deadline to register is October 1, 2026.

FREE SAT PRACTICE ON KHAN ACADEMY

Once you receive your scores you will have access to Official SAT Practice through Khan Academy. This is the best way to prepare for the SAT’s and will individualize your review based on how you did on the PSAT’s.