Counselor Connections

The Counseling Department's quarterly newsletters have information related to academics, college and career readiness, and personal/social wellbeing. We hope you find the information in this newsletter helpful as you or your student navigate high school & beyond!

An Academic Letter is awarded to students who achieve a 3.7 GPA on a weighted 4.0 scale at the semester. If a student acquires a 3.7 GPA during any semester thereafter, he/she will receive a pin for their academic letter.

This month our current sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be recognized with an Academic Letter or Pin based on their 2nd semester grades from last school year. Students will receive their Academic Letter or Pin during RTI on the following days:

• Tuesday, October 13th = sophomores
• Thursday, October 15th = juniors
• Friday, October 16th = seniors

As always, thank you to Ms. Marengo, Ms. Carter, and Mr. Aasen for coordinating the Academic Letter & Pin awards on our campus.

To graduate, the state of Arizona requires students to take and pass the Civics Test. As set by the state, a score of 70% or higher is required starting with the graduating class of 2026.

The state of Arizona offers the following test preparation resources on their website:

• https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf
• https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/study-for-the-test

This semester, our seniors will be the focus for RTI sessions. During the second semester, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen may be scheduled for an RTI session to test.

If you have any questions about the Civics Test, please reach out to Mr. Aasen, Assistant Principal, at jaasen@aguafria.org.

The Tri-University field trips are designed to give juniors exposure to the three public universities in Arizona. We took our first field trip to Flagstaff to visit Northern Arizona University (NAU) on Thursday, September 24th. We anticipate our trip to the University of Arizona (U of A) in Tucson will be in January and our trip to Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe will be in March. See Mrs. Smith in the Career Center for more information.

The year is off to a busy start for Mrs. Smith, our College & Career Specialist. She has attended a variety of workshops and information sessions to gather information for you as well as hosted a number of college and military representatives on our campus already this year. In addition, Mrs. Smith coordinated our first few College & Career events with the Arizona College Consortium visit in August, the district's College & Career Night in September, and our FAFSA Night on October 1st.

Whether you are considering college, trade or technical programs, military service, or entering the workforce after high school, early preparation will help you feel confident about your next steps.

Keep looking in your cohort's Google Classroom for more opportunities to help you explore and prepare for your life after high school!

Remember you can always reach out to Mrs. Smith directly by stopping by the College & Career Center, making an appointment (link is in your cohort's Google Classroom) or sending her an email, csmith@aguafria.org.

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College Depot is a free college access center located at the Burton Barr Central Library (Phoenix Public Library system). They offer workshops and one-on-one appointments to help students with the college application process, scholarships, and financial aid. Learn more at https://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/collegedepot.

The Georgia T. Lord Library in Goodyear is part of the Maricopa County Library District. Recently, they shared the attached flyer that outlines various college preparatory events they are hosting. To register for an event, go to mcldaz.org or call 602-652-3000.

We move, we change phone numbers, and sometimes we forget to update the school. If you haven't reviewed it recently, please log in to ParentVue and review the information in the "My Account" and "Student Info" tabs. If you need to update a phone number, home address, email address, or other information, please contact the Student Services Office at 623-932-7400 ext. 4027 or 4009; they will be able to help you with the change process.

Before you know it, we will start the process of selecting courses for next school year. Spend some time thinking about how your current classes are going, are the level of the courses a good fit for you, look through the 2026-27 Course Description Book (until the 2027-28 CDB becomes available), talk with your teachers/parents about courses you would like to take and get their input, etc. Be actively engaged and be informed when selecting your courses.

While you know that the 2027-28 school year will bring a change to a 4x4 alternating day schedule (8 periods total), there are a number of changes still being processed so be sure to watch for communication from our district office and from Mr. Lees/VHS throughout the year.

Updates on the course selection process will be posted in your cohort's Google Classroom.

For those students that had Mr. Pratt as your counselor, your administrator, Mr. Aasen, is stepping in to field any questions you have. You can also utilize Mrs. Smith, our College & Career Specialist, if you have questions related to life after high school, such as college admission requirements.

Each student and parent/guardian contributing information on the FAFSA will need their own FSA account or log in. Create your account and begin your application here: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch?continueTo=fafsa.

You can also get help with the FAFSA on Wednesdays from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. in the VHS College & Career Center! If Wednesdays don't work, contact Mrs. Smith, College & Career Specialist, to book a different time.

Are you concerned about a grade you (or your student) have in a class? Or, with something going on in a class? Be sure to talk with your teacher as they are the most familiar with the class dynamics, work that is past due and work that is coming up, resources to help you, and more! Not sure when you can talk with your teacher without other students around, try starting with an email. You can find teacher email addresses in StudentVue (and ParentVue). Parents are encouraged to reach out to teachers as well if you have questions or concerns.

With October being National Bullying Prevention Month, it's the perfect time to educate ourselves and/or refresh our knowledge about bullying, to understand the impact it can have on individuals, to encourage kindness, and to learn about how to create safe and inclusive spaces and opportunities.

StopBullying.gov is a website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On this site, you can learn more about bullying, cyberbullying, who is at risk, prevention, responding, and getting help. Another resource is the National Bullying Prevention Center; one of their events is Unity Day on October 21st...you can wear orange to send a message of kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to prevent bullying.

It is important for students and parents to keep in mind that there can be differences between graduation requirements, college admission requirements, and/or college athletic requirements. Do your research early so you know the requirements and are not caught with a defiency.

Many social media platforms offer information and resources to help with online safety & security. Below you will find a few links with information. Be sure to check out the safety features of the social media platform you use.

• Instagram
  
• Tik Tok
• You Tube

During the month of October, the School Counselors will be visiting sophomore and junior history classes to do a quick talk about West-MEC. These talks will include the option to sign up for RTI sessions where students can learn more about the West-MEC programs and get help with the application process.

While freshmen cannot apply yet, we will also hold RTI sessions just for freshmen to introduce West-MEC. It can be most helpful for students to understand the program requirements and how the rubric scoring works.

Parents and students can download unofficial copies of their transcript through ParentVue or StudentVue under the Course History tab.

Our district uses Parchment.com for requesting official transcripts. You can request official transcripts be sent to a college/organization for a fee.

If you have any questions about transcripts, please contact Ms. Wilson, our Registrar, at cwilson2@aguafria.org.

2-1-1 Arizona is a resource designed to help you find services and programs in Arizona. You can call 2-1-1 or go to https://211arizona.org/ for assistance.

Mondays

U. S. Army

@ lunches

VHS Cafeteria

Tuesdays

U. S. Navy

@ lunches

VHS Cafeteria

Wednesdays

College/Career Wear Day

all day

Thursdays

U. S. Marines

@ lunches

VHS Cafeteria

October 15, 2026

Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) ACE Application Opens

https://www.estrellamountain.edu/students/ace

Sophomores

October 13, 2026

Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) Nursing

Viper Connect

October 15, 2026

University of Alabama

Viper Connect

October 15, 2026

University of Arizona

Viper Connect

October 22, 2026

PSAT

@ VHS

Juniors & Sophomores who registered to test.

October 29, 2026

Glendale Community College (GCC)

Viper Connect

November 3, 2026

West-MEC Application Workshop

Viper Connect

November 6, 2026

Northern Arizona University (NAU) Application/Next Steps Workshop

Viper Connect

December 10, 2026

GCU Days (Field Trip) - College of Humanities & Social Sciences*

*Pre-Law, Social Work, Counseling, Criminal Justice, Fire Science, Psychology, Forensic Psychology

Open to Juniors & Seniors

See Mrs. Smith in the College & Career Center for a permission slip

Throughout the quarter, try practicing simple, daily acts of mindfulness. Being mindful is about increasing our awareness of the present and what we are directly experiencing. At least once a day, pause and focus on your senses...what do you hear, smell, see, feel, and/or taste? Here are some examples:

• Listen (sound) - music playing, birds chirping, AC unit running, people in the next room
• Smell – freshly baked bread/cookies/cakes, lunch/dinner cooking; popcorn popping, flowers in bloom
• See (sight) – the colors in the room, the sprinklers sprinkling, the sky (clouds, sunset, light/darkness)
• Touch (feel) – wrap yourself in your softest blanket, pet your favorite cat/dog, a breeze on your face
• Taste – a cup of hot chocolate/tea; your favorite meal; a piece of gum/mint

Go to West-MEC's website to learn about their programs and requirements, Open House events, How to Apply video, and more!

Students will apply online at www.west-mec.edu, then print the Application Verification Form (AVF). Once you and your guardian(s) have signed the verification form, you must turn it in to your VHS counselor by the end of the school day on Wednesday, December 16, 2026 for consideration in the initial allocations. Applications received after December 16, 2026, will still be accepted but will typically be placed on a waitlist and considered if an opening becomes available after the initial allocations.

Applicants should know that the 2027-28 West-MEC rubric, used for placement consideration, looks at student attendance/tardies (1st semester of this school year), discipline (1st semester of this school year), GPA (cumulative unweighted), Career Choice (program aligns with student's career plan), and Student Self-Evaluation (part of the student's online application).

Sophomores and/or juniors can apply to attend a West-MEC program; however, completion of an application does not guarantee acceptance into the program.

Be sure to watch for announcements in your grade level GOOGLE CLASSROOM for information and updates between our quarterly Counselor Connections newsletters!