Stuck in the Middle

About once a decade College Board decides to revamp the SAT test, and change the way they do things. As the first two administrations of the new SAT have passed, College Board released concordance tables, comparing the new SAT to the old SAT, and the new SAT to the current ACT. Like Winnie the Pooh (pictured above), the current junior class is stuck in the middle of vast standardized test changes which no one completely understands the ramifications of yet. Colleges and universities across the country are trying to figure out what they are going to do with the essay and whether or not they even care about it. If parents utilize Naviance and look at the past data, it no longer holds relevant. So, how can one make sense of it all?

Let the guidance department help you get unstuck.  There are concordance tables comparing the old SAT to the new. The link is below.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/concordance

 In general, it is important to note that new SAT scores are inflated in comparison to the old SAT scores. In other words, a higher score on the new SAT translates into a lower score on the old SAT. Understand that high scores on the new SAT actually reflect a lower percentage standing in comparison to years past. This translates into SAT averages for accepted students at colleges and universities to rise substantially next year. This rise fails to represent increased competitiveness for admission; it simply reflects the change in scoring by College Board.

Further, College Board failed to communicate with ACT when producing these concordance charts. Hence, do NOT use the concordance table to compare an ACT score with a new SAT score. Rather, use the ACT score and compare it to the profile of the average admitted student at the college of interest.

It is of utmost important that you reach out to your child's guidance counselor if you are having trouble figuring this all out.  That is normal! Guidance counselors spend fourth term meeting with juniors individually to follow up on the group seminar work completed in term three. With so many changes, getting help makes sense.

With the Common Application already live for next year's senior class, students can get started on filling out the basic information. By being proactive, students can spend the summer months focused on essay writing. In addition, the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success released their version of the Common Application.  See the website for details.

http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/


Below are some important dates coming up.

Friday, May 20th: CHS Guidance Coffee at 7:30 am: Anxiety and Depression Awareness
Sunday, May 22nd: 2-5 pm and Monday, May 23rd: 8:30-12:30 pm NACAC College Fair in Boston, see NACAC website for details
Wednesday, June 22nd: Bus field trips to colleges for rising seniors and juniors: more information to come. Cost 10 dollars per student plus money for lunch.

Spirituality in Schools

Thirteen years ago, at a MASCA conference, I co-presented with a professor from my masters program on Spirituality in Schools. In sharing the topic with others, people questioned how one can talk about spirituality in schools. Most people make a quick correlation between spirituality and religion, as if one word serves as a synonym for the other.  However, this faulty assumption often translates into the avoidance of talking about spirituality and our inner spirits completely.

During the second year of my career as a guidance counselor, I felt this overwhelming need to address the challenges of sophomore students. Sophomores are no longer the new kids on the block (much like seventh graders) , yet they are also one year short of being an upperclassmen (or eighth graders) and planning the next chapters of their lives. To bond with these students, I formed groups of students based on common study periods. During the first meeting, I required all students, in all six groups, to write down questions they wanted to talk about as a group. These questions were anonymous with no parameters. I took those questions and compiled them into a word document (pre-Google times).

Can you guess what the number one question was asked over and over again? What do you believe religiously? Can you be spiritual but not religious? Why do you believe what you do? Do you think it matters what your religion is? During the next meeting, I gave all students copies of the questions and sat back and let them wrestle with these questions.  Without failure, these were the questions the students gravitated towards and debated at length.

Those conversations are forever etched in memory.  The conversations, in group after group, centered around spirituality, where they find peace, what makes them feel better, how they wish they all just looked out for each other, how they wished school spirit could translate into spiritual goodness. The spirituality in all of us, the spirit inside of all humans which causes us to depend on one another, to rely on one another, to pull each other through challenging times, that is what the students defined spirituality as. Their need to want to connect with each other, their willingness to find a commonality, their interest in what each other had to say, demonstrated the very good in humanity we seldom celebrate on the news.

Last night I watched Deepak Chopra's talk on  http://www.supersoul.tv/supersoul-sessions/supersoul-sessions-series-2-experience-it-live-saturday-april-9.  It serves as a powerful reminder of what connects us all.

News and Notes
GMS Middle School Parent Coffee moved to Friday, April 29th at 7:30 am
AP Exams begin Monday, May 2nd
SAT at CHS on Saturday May 7th

What Do You See?

Try to remember the last time your child sat back and thoughtfully looked in the mirror. This is not meant to be a literal exercise; in other words, search not for the last time your child put on make-up, straightened hair, or double checked the collar on a shirt. Think back to the last time the two of you conversed about what your child really wants in life, what makes your child smile, what brings your child to tears from uncontrollable laughter, what could fulfill your child in college, in a career, in a lifetime.

So much of the college process and the course selection process centers around the existential question of life: What do I want?  The real question behind these four words demands a thoughtful response. How can your child pick classes, pick a career, pick a college, make a big decision, if your child has not spent any time reflecting, analyzing, and thinking about what makes him/her really happy, fulfilled, and satisfied with life. With your prompting, the conversation can begin, thoughtful choices can be made, and finding the right fit for post-secondary education can be found.

These conversations should happen in middle school and high school. Students in this age bracket respond well when they produce something tangible. Go to a discounted art store, department store, or CVS, and buy a poster board.  Make this your vision board for the year. Take pictures off the internet, print decorative words which hold much meaning for you, put a campus picture of your dream college, and create a collage.  Hang it up.  Make it a family affair. Parents, guardians, siblings make vision boards too. Talk about it through the year. Encourage one another. Have it follow the school year calendar, starting with July 1st 2016, and ending July 2017. Each year save the vision board, and see how it changes, grows, and evolves from year to year. 

When You Believe It, You See It.

In the middle of course selection, I am reminded of the incredibly busy lives of our students.  Some aim to play three sports, participate in orchestra, and try to take all honors classes.  Others work long hours to earn their spending money, watch their siblings to help their parents, and struggle to understand the class which challenges them most. Add the college process or unexpected life events, and the cup of life now overfills with responsibilities. No matter what your students' lives look like on a day to day basis, all students are struggling to find the balance.  The middle and high school years are a time of self-discovery, life exploration, and deep friendship formation.  So much is going on for this segment of our population, they are simultaneously attempting to grow up, while unknowingly cherishing the last moments of childhood.  We can help our students, our children, our friends' children, our nieces, our nephews, by teaching them how to be still.  Scientific study highlights the extensive positive benefits of meditation, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Show them what it looks like to self-reflect. Take a moment to breathe. Make them understand what a self-fulling prophecy is. The saying goes, Seeing is Believing.  Reverse it. Believing is Seeing. 

If you need some guidance, Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra are starting a 21 day free meditation experience.  The meditations are short. Registration can be found at https://chopracentermeditation.com/

Saving Some Trees

It is no secret that most companies are going paperless.  Most colleges now process an entire admissions application without printing a single piece of paper. The guidance office no longer prints transcripts for colleges; everything is sent electronically. Parents receive term grades through email.  Student schedules are emailed. The program of studies is posted on the webpage. These efforts not only save time, but they save trees, and they reduce waste.

So often we are trying to get students off their phones, off their tablets, and engaged with the world.  At the same time, we strive to teach these students how to use this same technology to further their education, organize themselves, and manage their time. This year, we take it one step further: electronic course selection for high school students.

This year students can find the program of studies online on the high school webpage under news. Immediately underneath the program of studies, there will be links to the course grade level course offerings.  Students can find their transcripts on Edline if they would like to use it for reference. All of these items will be posted on Monday, February 29th.

Currently, the eighth grade students will continue to do register by paper and pen.  Next year, the eighth grade will join the high school and go paperless.  Listed below are the events to help our families through the course selection process.

For Eighth Grade Parents:
Friday, March 4th, 7:30 am at Galvin Middle School:
                              Coffee with Counselors: Eighth Grade Course Selection Overview
Monday, March 7th, 7:00 pm at Canton High School:
                              Eighth Grade Course Selection Overview
Eighth Grade Parents Need Attend Only One of these Two Events
For High School Parents:
Monday, March 7th, 8 pm at Canton High School:
                              Course Selection for High School Parents

Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

Sometimes it feels like college admissions changes as fast as the speed of light. This year welcomed a new SAT, an overhaul of the ACT Writing section, continued revision of AP Exams, a call to action by Harvard University with the Turning the Tide report, and the upcoming introduction of an alternate application by the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success.

With all of these changes in mind, please remember the guidance department is here to help. Attending the following two events will help you get a jump start on tackling this process.


Tonight: Thursday, January 28th, 6-8:30 pm College Admissions Night

The event starts out with a mini college fair followed by an admissions panel and standardized test prep information. Senior parents will be in the computer labs, receiving assistance with filling out the FAFSA (pre-registration was required for this portion of tonight's activities).

Army
Marines
Beacon College
Massachusetts College of Art
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Tech.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Boston University
Massachusetts Community College
Bridgewater State University
Mitchell College
Cape Cod Community College
New England Institute of Tech
Coast Guard Academy
Olin College of Engineering
Curry College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Emerson College
Salem State University
Emmanuel College
Savannah College of Art & Design
Endicott College
Suffolk University
Hampton University
Wentworth Institute of Tech
Howard University
Westfield State University
Ithaca College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Landmark College
Stonehill College

Thursday, February 4th, 7:30 am Naviance Tutorial 

This coffee with counselors is open to all high school parents.  It is a BYOD event (bring your own device). We will have Google Chrome Books for those who need them. You will need to get your child's Naviance log-in from him/her prior to the event.

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

                 "When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye." Cathy Guisewhite
                       “When life gives you lemons, chunk it right back.” Bill Watterson
                       "When life gives you lemons, you don't make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole                                  orchard." Anton St. Maarten
                        "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

Life continually challenges us.  It brings us down, it presents obstacles, it refuses to relent when we need a break the most. As parents and guardians, we try to shelter children from these hardships and give them the upbringing of our dreams.  Yet, in all of our efforts to shelter the children from the lemons of life, we fail to give them the opportunity to learn how to deal with life. Sometimes, the best teaching occurs when we let them falter, and prove to themselves they can in fact get up. They need to learn that skill, because as adults, we wouldn't survive without it. 

News:
Please join us on Thursday, January 28th from 6-8:15 for College Admissions Night Open to ALL Canton High School Families, Students and Parents Should Attend Together