Building from the Ground Up

Under the leadership of Danny Ainge, Celtic fans have grown accustom to the explanation that the team's record is reflective of the team rebuilding process. Similar to the Celtics, the 6-12 Guidance Department is in the middle of a rebuilding exercise. Unlike the Celtics, parents already benefit from the effects of our rebuilding process.

This year, the Canton Guidance Department (CGD) implemented coffees with counselors at both CHS and GMS.
These coffees, once per term, give parents an additional opportunity to attend workshops on various topics.  CHS evolved the former junior parent night into college admissions night, open to all high school parents, taking place on January 28th.  A brand new college fair for special interest groups kicks off the evening before the new college admissions panel discussion.

During district wide guidance department meetings, the middle school counselors team up with the high school counselors to write a comprehensive 6-12 guidance curriculum based on ASCA (American School Counseling Association) standards.  The curriculum focuses on three main units: social/emotional, academic, and college and career. The entire curriculum is written in UBD (Understanding by Design), and all three units reflect the overarching theme reflective of the Growth Mindset.  This curriculum will go live in front of students in the fall of 2016.

Many more initiatives are in the works, and as we have the details finalized, we will share them with you. As always, we welcome feedback, and thank you for entrusting us with your children. Being in their lives is the greatest gift, and why we love coming to work everyday.

Coffee with Counselors

Families come in all different forms and so do their schedules and responsibilities. The Guidance Department within the Canton Public School Community strives to provide opportunities for families to come together and receive support in various forms on a breadth of topics. In addition to evening events, the middle and high school guidance departments will now offer a "Coffee with Counselors" once a term. These coffees aim to provide information on a relevant topic, but also to provide a time for families to come together. We often learn so much from the questions of others and the insights of our peers. We sincerely hope this advance notice will give you time to attend one of our programs.

Galvin Middle School: 7:30-8:30 am in the library

                  January 7th: Parent Support for Homework Habits and Successful Study Skills
                  March 4th: Coping Skills for the High School Transition and Course Selection
                  May 4th: Productive Summer Activities for Middle School Students    

Canton High School: 7:30-8:30 am in the library

                  December 18th: Reading Your Child's new PSAT results & SAT/ACT Preparation
                  February 4th: Naviance Tutorial (Bring Your Own Device if Able)
                  May 20th: Time Management, Stress Reduction, and Anxiety



                  

When I was in High School.....

Have you ever noticed how teenagers' eyes roll when an adult starts a sentence with, "When I went to high school....." They cannot picture how any adult in their world could possibly understand or relate to what they are going through.  To some degree, they couldn't be more right.  Even students one generation older did not have the constant barrage of information today's teenager faces. Previous generations prepped themselves for seven hours of school, paying close attention to hair and clothes, making sure to act and talk in a way deemed appropriate by their peers. But, it ended with the school day.  Students came home and let go.  Their need to impress those around them ended. Students went home, put on comfy sweats, did some homework, ran around outside unsupervised, ate dinner as a family, and watched television.  Students did not have Facebook or Instagram, and cell phones were used only to talk. Families could tune out the outside world and tune in to one another.

That is not the life of today's teenager.  The cell phone beeps constantly, with texts, with Instagram updates, providing students with an insatiable demand for their attention.  What if they don't respond to the text? What if they don't triple check social media to make sure nothing is being said about them? What if a friend needs help on a problem for the math test tomorrow? For some teenagers, they can walk away and say, enough is enough; it will be there tomorrow.  For others, fear paralyzes their ability to tune the world out.

As the adults in their world, we need to teach them boundaries with technology.  We need to help them separate from their devices. We need them to not feed into the anxiety of the unknown. Require phones and other devices to be charged and stored in the kitchen at night. You can also take the battery out of the phone every night and give it back every morning. Keep the phone with you while your student studies for a test or finish up their homework. Most importantly, model these limitations so they see you practicing what you preach.


Save the Date

Tuesday, December 1st, 6:30 pm, Stonehill College Financial Aid Seminar
Wednesday, December 2nd, CHS, 8th Grade Parent Night for an Introduction to Canton High School

Attention! Attention! Attention!

We have all been in situations where our attention is being requested, but our ability to stay on task is challenged. The discussion topic fails to peak our interest, the room is hot, the lighting is bad, the chair is uncomfortable....We have reasons why sometimes we feel unable to attend to the task at hand.  For some, this is a constant challenge; for others, it is rarity. This applies to both children and adults.

Sometimes, children are so hyperactive, it seems they never sit still. Sometimes, children are so excited about life they jump too quickly from one topic to another and find it hard to stay on task. Sometimes, they act before they think, and their inhibition reflex fails to kick. Sometimes, all of these factors result in the perfect formula for success.

There are endless resources to help support our children who struggle with some form of ADHD both online and in book form. The following links may be of use to you:

Managing ADHD behavior in the home environment:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/adhd-and-your-child/adhd-behavior-management-strategies/

Study Strategies for ADHD students:

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/academic_support_students/attention_deficit_disorder_handbook/index.html

Discussion about the relationship between diet and ADHD:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Diet-and-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder

We have a choice to view ADHD in a positive or negative light.  We have a choice to play to the strengths of ADHD, and utilize the differences as keys to success. After all, Justin Timberlake, Howie Mandel, Michael Jordan, Jim Carrey, and Will Smith (all who have ADHD) found a way to make it work, just to name a few.....

Upcoming Important Dates:

Registration Deadline for the December 12th ACT: Friday, November 6th

On the Spot Decision Days (students receive immediate application decision): 

Massasoit: 11/12 at 12 pm

Johnson and Wales: 11/24 at 11 am

Sign Up in guidance with Anne Murray at least 3 days prior

The Race to November 1st

As we look to turn the clock backs in just over a week, we also look to the looming early action and early decision deadline for many schools: November 1st. Counselors are putting finishing touches on letters of recommendation, teachers are uploading Common Application forms, and students are tweaking their essays one last time.  However, it is very important to not wait until the last minute.  Millions of applications are submitted every year through the Common Application website.  It is not uncommon for students to incur issues with the Common Application the last couple of days before a major deadline. As a parent, it is an excellent idea to set an earlier deadline for your young adult, no later than the 30th of October.

Here's why: Saturday is Halloween. Yes, many teenagers have outgrown trick or treating, but some like to hang on for one last time. Even if your senior is not trick or treating, it usually provides the perfect excuse to hang out with friends and do something fun. Then, Sunday smacks you in the face and the deadline is here.  Along with millions of other teenagers who also slept until noon, your senior attempts to go on the Common Application website and cannot get through.  You spend your Sunday afternoon desperately trying to help, but there is no phone number to call and email requests are not responded to for 72 hours.  Hence, the deadline has passed. So instead of spending your Sunday watching football, adjusting to turning the clocks back, and preparing for your work week, you are trying to help but there is nothing you can do.  Savor that Sunday, finish the applications ahead of time, and let your entire family enjoy the weekend.

What We Put In Is What We Get Out

We often tell students the effort you put into an assignment will be reflected in the knowledge retained. We tell athletes what you put into practice and training will be reflected during game play. We tell musicians, dancers, and actors the commitment made during rehearsals will be reflected in the performance.

Yet, we do not typically talk about how what we put into our bodies will be reflected in how we are able to function on a daily basis. The American Psychiatric Association offered numerous workshops at their annual conference this year on how nutrition needs to be considered when treating mood disorders..

How we fuel our body impacts student learning. A search on the New York Times website produces article upon article about the role of nutrition and brain function, overall health, and relationship to disease. As parents and role models for our students, it is important that we take on the challenge and encourage positive eating habits and reduce processed food. According to the Mind Body Green website, what we eat literally effects our genes.  Tom Brady was interviewed this week and provided a brief, educated summary on the challenges facing the American food industry and our children.

As busy parents with too busy children, we want the meals that we share together to be enjoyable, to be a time when we bond together and catch up on what is going on in each other's lives. Yet, we need to offer our children whole, real foods, and provide them with the nutrients they need to give 110% in their overly busy lives.

Fall, Football, and Fairs

As we transition from summer to fall, we welcome the cooler temperatures, hold on to the last minutes of daylight, watch football on Sundays, and settle into the routine of the new school year.  For the guidance department, the sixth graders are deep into the middle school study skill survival curriculum, seventh graders are rewriting their personal and academic goals, and eighth graders are preparing for what it means to be a high school student.  Having spent the last few weeks teaching a seminar for each of those grades, it is amazing the commitment and thoughtful reflection the students show for the group seminars.  They are invested; they are interested; they are thirsting to learn more.

The freshmen have begun to share more in seminars, talking about how they are handling the demands of high school and working on time management outside of school. The seniors are continuing to keep their eye on the prize - graduation- completing college applications, applying for internships, and job searching. The sophomores and juniors are looking forward to the PSAT. The Guidance Department wants ALL sophomores and juniors to sit for this exam on Wednesday, October 14th.  The test occurs during the school day and the cost is 30.00, which can be paid through school bucks or by check.

Here are the upcoming events for the next ten days:

Saturday, October 3rd: SAT at Canton High School: 8 am
Tuesday, October 6th: TEC College Fair at Waltham High School: 6:30 pm
http://7-themes.com/data_images/out/43/6918458-fall-tree.jpg
Thursday, October 8th: MEFA Financial Aid Night: Canton High School Cafeteria: 6:30 pm
                                      Standardized Test Prep Night: Canton High School Library: 7:30 pm
                                      (Overview of the new PSAT/SAT/Updated ACT)
Wednesday, October 14th: PSAT: Canton High School: 8 am

Try to take time to look at the trees in their last minutes of glory, to enjoy the sounds and smells that represent everything fall: pumpkins, apple picking, cider donuts, and Halloween. As busy and challenging as these years are, we never get them back, so it is worth acknowledging them.

A New Beginning

Middle school life is beginning for sixth graders.  Middle school life is ending for eighth graders. High school life is beginning for freshmen. High school life is ending for seniors.  The Canton 6-12 Guidance Department is experiencing both an end and a beginning.  The success and advancement of the guidance services under Mr. Dan Rubin is ending, but his accomplishments over the last eight years established the foundation for the new and exciting programs we are unveiling this year and in future years.

Our vision centers around the idea that the guidance services from sixth to twelfth grade will follow a cohesive curriculum, building in complexity and detail, as the student matures through the middle and high school. Our initiatives include this blog, Twitter updates, a revamped webpage (which is already in the works), parent coffees at both schools, night events, bus tours of colleges, after school SAT and ACT prep, lunchtime workshops, and our own YouTube Channel.

We hope you will join us as we embrace this exciting time in the Canton Guidance Department. We aim to reach the needs of ALL our students, at all ages, and hope you will help us in achieving this goal. To that end, we ask that if you need something, pick up the phone, send an email, share your thoughts. We are here to HELP.

Lean On Us

A new school year is challenging. Families, students, parents, faculty, and administrators are all adjusting to the feel of the new year, embarking on new initiatives, and striving to improve with each passing day. Unfortunately, this year, we aren't just beginning the 2015-2016 academic year. We are grieving the loss of one of our students. Grief is complicated; people experience it differently. On account of this, we need to respect one another's process and lean on each other as we need it. The Guidance Department of Canton High School is here for you as a resource. Pick up the phone, have students stop by our offices, or send us an email. We will help you grieve, we will help you process, we will help you in any way you can. Lean On Us. 

First Day of School Jitters

How many of you were up later than normal last night? Like students, we educators frequently experience first day jitters too. However, the parental experience of the first day of a new school year often gets overlooked. Parents are the ones lining the lines of Target, purchasing new outfits for children, buying, yet again, a new pair of shoes since their feet grow fast and furious. Yet, it is so much more than organizing a backpack, triple checking the school start time, and understanding the absence procedures. It's the silent well wishes sent to the universe, begging for a good first day. It's the triple checking of the clock to make sure the alarm wasn't missed. It's the incredibly slow passing of time until school gets out so a phone call can be made to see how it went.

All of this excitement and anticipation sometimes results in one word answers to questions which desire paragraphs of detail. How was your day? Did it go okay? Try to transform these questions into prompts which will require more detail to answer. Tell me about your day. Share the low point and the high point. What experiences are you feeling about tomorrow? How can I help?

If your child struggles to open up, do an activity together so it is easier to open up and eye contact can be avoided.  Go for a drive. Take a walk.  Eat dinner around the table and share the same information about your day that you are asking about. You might not get all the information, but be persistent, because at the end of the day, we all love talking about ourselves.

  

Oh Canada, Oh Canada

When parents come in to meet with guidance counselors and their high school students, a discussion about post-secondary plans is sure to take place. In order to draw some parameters around the college search process, families usually pick some geographic boundaries.  Some put restrictions on flying, some put restrictions on the type of school, some put limitations on how far they are willing to drive. Oftentimes, we hear parents come up with a six hour drive limitation, or as far as Philadelphia.

If families are willing to drive as far south as Philadelphia, it would make sense to also look to our neighboring country in the North. Canada offers some of the strongest institutes of higher education at a fraction of the cost. Luckily, a Canadian College Fair is basically coming to your doorstep at the Newton Marriott in September. Take the time to think outside of the box; it may be the key to uncovering your child's dream school.

More details can be found at the following link:

http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=159166

The Life Changing Greeting Card

Do you ever shop at Trader Joe's? Have you ever taken the time to glance through the greeting card section?  Not only are the cards fabulous, but they are all 99 cents. About two years ago, there was a greeting card with a picture of a pickup truck with a surf board sticking out of the bed of the truck. The caption read, When is the last time you did something for the first time? I bought every single one of those cards. Every person I sent it to always took the time to either text, call, or email about how much they loved that card.  It made me realize that not only did it have a life altering impact on me, but on everyone who encountered it.

When I think about the start of the school year, I think about this card.  It will be the first time I have a first day in the Canton Public Schools. For thousands of Canton middle school and high school students, it will be the first time they meet their teachers, the first time they became an upperclassman, a high school student, or a seventh grade student. Some will drive for the first time this year, apply to college for the first time, join a sports team for the first time, and play an instrument for the first time.  Our students are constantly doing things for the first time every day of their lives. With that in mind, it is important we support them and take the time to acknowledge them for their bravery. If we recognize and praise them for these accomplishments, it will not only boost their self-esteem, it will remind them of how truly resilient and flexible they are.

Remembering Goodnight Moon

Can you remember when your children were young? Maybe you can recall reading Goodnight Moon or their favorite bedtime story. With two young boys, I am quite familiar with the nighttime routine that children crave: dinner, bath, books, bed. Every now and then we can alter the routine and make an exception for a special circumstance.  Yet, if it is done too often, the result is grouchy children and grouchy parents.  As children grow older, the routine seems less mandatory, less important.  Summer is a time for fun, enjoying those additional hours of daylight, and letting your children stay up late.  This is normal and actually quite wonderful.

However when we make the switch and start school without a transitional period, the result is undesirable.  Middle school and high school students hit snooze on their alarms time and time again. Parents get frustrated because they can't rouse their sleepy students and get to work on time. They come to school not quite feeling like themselves and may struggle to learn that first block of the day.  It doesn't have to be this way though.  Take these next two weeks and slowly encourage your children to wind down earlier, go to bed earlier, and wake earlier.  Set an evening routine and every three days make it fifteen minutes earlier. It seems like a silly thing to do, but isn't it often that the littlest things make the biggest differences?

Essay Questions Anyone?

Writing assignments for school take time. However, over the years, students slowly learn shortcuts, effective pre-writing strategies, and how to really edit a paper. Although these skills are essential to master, writing an essay for college differs from writing a research paper for history class. It must be genuine; it must be personal; it must inform the admissions representative about who you are. Yet, try not to stress out. Each person is unique and because of that each person is inherently interesting. Breathe and take time to think. Reach out to the guidance department, garner feedback, and then begin.  It will get done.  It always gets done; but, it should get done purposefully, thoroughly, and thoughtfully.




Below is the list of essay options for the Common Application this year. 


1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
 
2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
 
3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
 
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
 
5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Common Application 2015-2016 Ready for Completion

Attention Seniors! The Common Application has been updated and is now available for you to complete on the website www.commonapp.org. You will first be prompted to create a login and password.  We strongly suggest you save your login and password on your cell phone or in your assignment notebook. Even though you may think you will never forget it, sometimes it can get confused with your information for your SAT or ACT accounts.  The essay question options have been revised for this year, so make sure you take a sneak peak at those. Senior year can be a very busy time; take advantage of these last weeks of summer and complete the Common Application!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Canton Guidance Blog! Here, you will find the latest news related to guidance at both Galvin Middle School and Canton High School! We are very excited you have come to visit and we hope you will take advantage of the ability to follow the blog and receive emails when we update it! As we populate the blog with information, please do not hesitate to reach out if you wish there was something here that isn't!