Fall 2014

News from the High School Counseling Office

For Parents and Lake Shore Senior High Students

LS

Scholarship Information

With hundreds of scholarships available, it is never too early to get started on

applying for one or more. Try some of the following websites:

Scholarships4Students.com

Scholarships.com

Fastweb.com

Meritaid.com

On the Lakeshore website under Counseling Center is a tab for Scholarships.

Listed is a variety of scholarships including some from the WNY Community

that students can access at any time. It is updated often so please keep check-

ing!

We encourage our students to apply for as many as they can. You never know.

Contact Information

9th grade 10th grade

Mrs. Vanessa Manney Mr. Greg Tomasik

VManney@lakeshorecsd.org GTomasik@lakeshorecsd.org

926-2326 926-2325

11th grade 12th grade

Ms. Heather Boncore Mr. Steve Brown

HBoncore@lakeshorecsd.org SBrown@lakeshorecsd.org

926-2324 926-2322

At Risk: Mr. Brian Kelley

BKelley@lakeshorecsd.org / 926-2323

focus

• 5 minutes late every day adds up to 3 days lost a year

• 10 minutes adds up to 6 days lost

• 15 minutes adds up to 10 days lost

• 20 minutes adds up to 13 days lost

• 30 minutes adds up to 19 days lost

The ASVAB

By: Greg Tomasik, School Counselor (10th grade)

How Can the ASVAB Career Exploration Program Benefit Your Child?

Your son or daughter’s decision to enter college, technical or vocational school, military service or the civilian world of work after high school is an important one. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program can help. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program includes eight individual tests covering verbal and math skills, mechanical knowledge, electronics, and several other areas. It also produces three Career Exploration Scores for Verbal Skills, Math Skills, and Science and Technical Skills. These three scores serve as one of several pieces of information about your child that can aid in the exploration of a wide variety of career options. The ASVAB is offered at no cost and no obligation to all grade 10 high school students on December 10

th. Your teen will use the ASVAB results to explore

the ASVAB Career Exploration Program in one of two ways. Your child can navigate the Program using Exploring Careers: The ASVAB Career Exploration Guide or www.asvabprogram.com. Every student who takes the ASVAB receives a copy of the Guide and an individual access code that serves as an all-access pass to the tools available online. Your child can choose the route that works best. Both avenues contain an interest inventory, the FYI, which will help your child identify their work-related interests. The Guide and the Program website also include career information on 400+ occupations available in the OCCU-Find. After the test, students take the FYI and using their ASVAB scores along with their interest codes they can explore the variety of occupations presented in the OCCU-Find in order to consider whether their skills and interests match the demands of occupations that appeal to them. Research has shown that students who participate in the ASVAB Program experience less career indecision, enjoy greater confidence in making career decisions, and consider more thoughtfully their options than do students who do not participate in the ASVAB Program. What is the relationship between the ASVAB and the Military? ASVAB participants are not under any obligation to the Military as a result of taking the test and scores from the test taken prior to grade 11 cannot be used by the military. If your child is interested in the Military, they will need to take the ASVAB again in either 11

th or 12

th grade.

Step 1 In Actively Planning for College – Taking the SAT and/or ACT

By: Heather Boncore, School Counselor (11th grade)

SAT: the SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that lets you show colleges what you know and how well you can apply that

knowledge. It tests your knowledge of reading, writing and math. Most students take the SAT during their junior year of high school, and

almost all colleges and universities require the SAT to make admission decisions. Taking the SAT is the first step in finding the right college for

you.

How to Register:

Set up and account (remember your username and password) at www.collegeboard.org

Select a testing date. I would recommend the first testing date be after January 1st.

Make your payment - payments must be made on line. If you receive free or reduced lunch you are eligible for one SAT testing fee waiver.

How to prepare for the SAT:

Check your e-mail for the SAT question of the day. This will be sent automatically after you set up your account on Collegeboard.org.

Review old test questions on - line at Collegeboard.org

Purchase the official SAT Study Guide with DVD through collegeboard or at any book store.

Use your PSAT results to help identify areas of strengths and weaknesses.

ACT: is also used in determining admission into most colleges and universities. Students now have a choice between taking the SAT or

ACT. I recommend they take both.

What is the difference between the ACT and SAT? The ACT is an achievement test, measuring what a student has learned in school. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities. The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. The SAT has only 3 components: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and a required Writing Test. The SAT penalizes you for wrong answers, so guessing is discouraged. The ACT is scored based on the number of correct answers with no penalty for guessing.

How to Register:

Set up an account (remember your username and password) at www.act.org

Select a testing date. I would recommend the first testing date be after January 1st.

Make payment - payments must be made on-line. If you receive free or reduced lunch you are eligible for one ACT testing fee waiver.

How to prepare for the ACT:

ACT.org offers review questions and answers on-line.

Purchase an ACT review book on the official ACT website or at any book store.

We are well underway into the 2014-2015 school year and your

son or daughter has successfully made the transition from the mid-

dle school to the high school! I would like to give some helpful

tips to assist with the coming weeks, months and years.

Your children need you to be interested and involved in their ac-

ademic progress. Your children, however, must be responsible

for their own grades, attendance and behavior.

Be interested. Make it clear to your child that their academics are important to you. Do not hesitate to

call if you have any concerns. Your involvement will be helpful. Utilize the Parent Portal to keep a

check on their progress. When students know you are watching they tend to perform.

Discuss classes and set goals. Take some time to discuss with your child how they like their classes.

Which is a favorite and why? Which is their least favorite and why? High school students typically do

not share details when asked about school but if you ask more often they just might surprise you and start

to. Help your son/daughter set goals. Discuss where they would like to see their grades. When students

set reasonable goals they will feel the sense of accomplishment when they meet that goal. One great goal

is for them to always strive to “beat their best.” For example, if they earned an 82% this quarter then

they should strive to get at least an 83% next quarter.

Offer to help. Be careful not to give more help than is needed. It is your child’s responsibility to be or-

ganized, to get homework done and to prepare for tests. If they ask for you to study with them please do

so if possible. They will remember it more if they see it written, hear it spoken and if they have to explain

it to you – teaching it can reinforce their understanding of the topic.

Avoid these “don’ts”

Don’t nag about school or grades. Your child will tune you out.

Don’t allow your child to miss school unless he/she is really ill. You are sending the message that

school is not important.

Don’t criticize a teacher in front of your child. He/she will only lose respect for that teacher.

Work with us. Your child’s teachers, counselor, and administration all want your son/daughter to be suc-

cessful. If you have a question or concern regarding a specific class, please call or email the teacher.

They are best suited to answer specific questions. For any other questions or concerns please call your

child’s counselor.

Helpful Tips for Parents

Vanessa Manney, School Counselor (9th grade)

The Role of the School Counselor

Professional school counselors serve a vital role in maximizing student success (Lapan, Gysbers, & Kayson, 2007;

Stone & Dahir, 2006). Through leadership, advocacy and collaboration, professional school counselors promote

equity and access to rigorous educational experiences for all students. Professional school counselors support a safe

learning environment and work to safeguard the human rights of all members of the school community (Sandhu,

2000) and address the needs of all students through culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs that

are a part of a comprehensive school counseling program (Lee, 2001).

Professional school counselors have a minimum of a master’s degree in school counseling, meet the state

certification/licensure standards and abide by the laws of the states in which they are employed. They uphold the

ethical and professional standards of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and other applicable

professional counseling associations and promote the development of the school counseling program based on the

following areas of the ASCA National Model: foundation, delivery, management and accountability.

Student Standards guide the development of effective school counseling programs around three domains: academic,

career and personal/social development. Standards for School Counselors specify the principles of ethical behavior

necessary to maintain the highest standard of integrity, leadership and professionalism. They guide school

counselors’ decision-making and help to standardize professional practice in order to protect both students and

school counselors.

School counselors coordinate ongoing systemic activities designed to assist students in establishing personal goals

and developing future plans. Responsive services may include counseling in individual or small-group settings or

crisis response. Indirect services are provided on behalf of students as a result of the school counselors’ interactions

with others including referrals for additional assistance, consultation and collaboration with parents, teachers, other

educators and community organizations.

References Lapan, R. T., Gysbers, N. C., & Kayson, M. A. (2007).

Missouri school counselors benefit all students.

Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Lee, C. (2001). Culturally responsive school counselors and programs: Addressing the needs of all students.

Professional School Counseling, 4, 163-171.

Sandhu, D. S. (2000). Alienated students: Counseling strategies to curb school violence.

Professional School Counseling, 4, 81-85.

Stone, C. B. & Dahir, C. A. (2006).

The transformed school counselor.

Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. American School Counselor Association

Transcripts

Seniors needing their transcripts sent to a college can do so by:

visiting the LS website and completing the

online request

stop in the Counseling Center and see Mrs.

Himes for a transcript request form

Through their Parchment account

SAT Test Dates and Registration Deadlines

Test Dates Regular Deadline Late Deadline (paper) Late Deadline (online/phone)

January 24, 25 December 29 January 9 January 13

March 14, 15 February 13 February 27 March 3

May 2, 3 April 6 April 17 April 21

June 6, 7 May 8 May 22 May 27

Sunday test dates except for October (which has been moved to avoid conflict with a religious holiday) immediately follow

each Saturday date.

“Education is the most powerful weapon

which you can use to change the world”

-Nelson Mandela