Dawg Days

Dawg DaysSophomore Presentation

Welcome to Midland High Schools Dawg Days Sophomore presentation!

We are so glad to have you and would appreciate your attention for the next few minutes as we give you some information about the MHS Counseling Center.

At the end of this presentation, you will be able to ask questions before you proceed to the rest of Dawg Days. You will be able to get a preview of your students schedule and ask questions of your students counselor when you visit the counselors table.1Counseling Center StaffAcademic Counselors

Kerry Hoover689-1114kerry.hoover@midlandisd.net

Molly Marcum689-1112molly.marcum@midlandisd.net

Megan Medina689-1113megan.medina@midlandisd.net

Staci Duncan689-1109staci.duncan@midlandisd.net

Teresa Renteria689-1150teresa.renteria@midlandisd.net

A D

E H

I M

N R

S Z

Our academic counselors are divided by letters of the alphabet.

If your last name starts with A D you will be with Kerry Hoover, E H is with Molly Marcum, I M is with Megan Medina, N R is with Staci Duncan and S Z is with Teresa Renteria.

Most students will belong to one of these alpha counselors, but we do have specialized counselors that work with specific groups of students.2Counseling Center StaffCollegiate CoachNora Taylor Counseling Center689-5196nora.taylor@midlandisd.netSpecial Populations CounselorSherri Heiting Junior Office689-1121sherri.heiting@midlandisd.net

College ConnectAdvise Texas AdvisorRebecca Gonzalez Senior Office- In the Senior Office689-1125- Will support students with rebecca.gonzalez@midlandisd.netany aspect of the college admissions process

Our specialized counselors are as follows:

Our Collegiate Coach is Nora Taylor. Ms. Taylor works with specifically with those students who are behind in credits for graduation. She works with older students as well, but if you come from Midland Freshman having less than 6 credits then Ms. Taylor will be your counselor. Ms. Taylor is located in the counseling center.

A new member of our counseling staff is Sherri Heiting. Mrs. Heiting takes care of our English Language Learners as well as our Special Education students. If you have either of those designations she will be your counselor. Mrs. Heiting is located in the Junior Office

We also have personnel specifically designed to help you with college questions. Our College Connect person is Rebecca Gonzalez. Mrs. Gonzalez can help you with getting information about dual credit courses, the ApplyTexas process or other college questions. We will also have an advisor from the Advise Texas program that will be here to support students with any aspect of the college admissions process. Both Mrs. Gonzalez and our Advise Texas advisor will be located in the Senior Office.3Getting Your ScheduleSchedules will be picked up in your advisory class on the first day of school

Look for your assigned advisory class on the rosters that will be posted throughout the building

You will be able to preview your schedule today, but you will obtain your official schedule on the first day of school. On that day, alphabetized rosters will be located around the building that will tell you where you will be for your advisory period. You will receive your schedule and other useful information from your advisory teacher before starting the rest of your classes.4How do you get to see your counselor?Counselor hours 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Always sign-in on the clipboard

During and in-between classes students must have a teacher pass to account for attendance

Fill out request to see counselor form

If you need to see your counselor, there are some guidelines we need you to follow. The counseling center hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. If you come before or after those times, your counselor may not be there to assist you.

Anytime you come into the counseling center, please be sure and sign the clipboard so we can verify your presence in case there is a question about attendance during the time you are in our office. We also keep of record of everyone we see in the counseling center, so please sign in when you arrive.

During and in-between classes you will need to have a pass from your teacher giving you permission to come to the counseling center. Our counselors clerk cannot write you a pass to excuse you for being late if you come during passing periods without permission from your teacher.

If your counselor cannot see you when you get to the counseling center you can fill out a request to see your counselor and you will be called down as soon as your counselor is available.5

When you fill out one of these requests, it is important that you give us as much information as you can so that we can have what you need when we call you back down to the office. We do our best to minimize your time out of the instructional setting and the more information we have beforehand the easier it is to make that happen.

Notice that if you have a college inquiry your request will go to the college counselors in the Senior Office and if you need a transcript you will need to see the Registrar in the front office.

Please be aware that if there is an emergency situation that involves potential harm to yourself or someone else that you need to remain in the counseling center and someone will see you immediately. If you yourself or someone you know is in any kind of critical situation we need to know immediately so we can take care of it as quickly as possible.6How can parents contact counselors?Call the Counseling Center at 689-1103 and set up an appointment with our counselors clerk, Alma Garcia

E-mails provided on MHS Counseling Center website (This is the best way to contact counselors)

Counselors will respond to your request within 24 business hours

For our parents there are several options available for you if you need to contact your students counselor.

You may call the counseling center at 689-1103 and speak to our clerk Alma Garcia to make an appointment.

Counselors direct phone numbers and email addresses are available on the MHS Counseling Center website. You can always call and leave a message, but email is the very best way to contact your students counselor.

We ask that you allow 24 business hours for the counselor to respond to your request. Please, know that we are happy to see you at anytime, but be aware that if we are not expecting you and we are in the middle of a crisis situation, with a new student or with another appointment, that you may have to wait for an extended period of time before you can be seen.7ExtracurricularAdd/drops must be approved by coach/sponsor/director

Forms can be picked up in the counseling center

Form must be complete before counselor can honor request

As counselors we encourage involvement in extracurricular activities on campus. However, we cannot add or drop you from a sport or organization without the consent of the coach, sponsor or director. You will need to use the following form to complete this process.8

This form will be available in the counseling center and must be filled out completely before we can honor your request to add or drop an extracurricular activity. Attached to this form will be a list of names, numbers and email addresses for the coach, sponsor or director that you will need to contact to get the appropriate signatures.9Useful linkswww.midlandisd.net

Midland High School Counseling CenterGo to MHS websiteUnder Quicklinks choose Guidance & Counseling

www.collegeboard.org

www.actstudent.org

Finally, we would like to give you some links that you may find useful.

The first link is www.midlandisd.net. From there, you can access any and all MISD information.

To get to the MHS Counseling Center website, go to the Midland High page from the district website. On the left side of the screen under quicklinks there is a link to the counseling center site. There you will find contact information for all our counselors, scholarship information, testing information and other things that may be useful at different times of the year.

For SAT testing information as well as AP testing information you can go to www.collegeboard.org.

For ACT testing information you can go to www.actstudent.org.10If you have any questions about this or any other information, please call or email your counselor and we will be happy to assist you.

WELCOME TO MHS!

We thank you for your attention to this presentation. We will be answering questions now, but please be aware that for specific questions regarding your individual student, you will need to speak to your students counselor when you visit the counselors table. We have also made available business cards for all of our counselors so that you may take one for your counselor on the way out of the room. At this time, we will take any questions that you might have about the presentation.11