College Expo in Newton This Weekend!

 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Boston Marriott Newton

10am-1pm

Event is free to attend and there is free parking!

PSAT Registration for October 14

Click here to register now for the PSAT!

On October 14, we will be administering the redesigned PSAT/NMSQT for sophomores and juniors.  You can access the practice test at http://collegeboard.org/psatpractice, where you will also find accessible versions of the test and a complete set of answers and explanations.

The redesigned PSAT/NMSQT, which is representative of the actual exam in content, scope, and design, will help students taking the SATs feel confident and prepared.

This preparation will increase students' chances of receiving scholarship money through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and their visibility to the over $180 million inscholarships offered by partners.

Students can access Khan Academy’s personalized instruction built in collaboration with the College Board for the redesigned SAT.  Because of the tight alignment between the redesigned SAT and the redesigned PSAT/NMSQT, practice on Khan Academy will help students successfully prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT this October and the SAT in the spring.

Students can register for the PSAT/NMSQT in the School Counseling Center with Mrs. Grady, or online. Click here to register now! The cost is $20. The deadline is October 9^th.  

Please contact Mrs. Larracey at klarracey@mursd.org if you have any questions.

School Counselor Summer Adventures!

After a busy first week, the school counselors are starting to get into our regular routines.  We have already met with many new students and gotten reacquainted with some upperclassmen, but there are still a lot of students we haven’t yet had the chance to catch up with.  For those of you who haven’t met your counselor or haven't seen her yet this year, I thought I’d do some quick introductions by way of recapping our summers.  

 

 

I’ll start with Mrs. Towne, who most of you knew last year as Ms. McNamara.  Yup, you guessed it - Mrs. Towne got married in June!  After school ended, she went on her honeymoon with her husband.  They went to Jamaica for a week where they enjoyed lots of sunshine and white sandy beaches.  Mrs. Towne also spent time with her two-year-old niece, and went to a couple of Red Sox games with her family.  She is relaxed and excited for a new school year!

Ms. Larracey also did some traveling this summer.  She was pretty much all over the Southeastern US with the baptism of her 7th granddaughter in Atlanta, the 4th of July in Williamsburg, and a trip to Tennessee.  In Chattanooga Ms. Larracey explored an underground waterfall at Lookout Mountain.  Back in New England, Ms. Larracey went to Maine with her family where they stayed in a cottage on Great Pond and did a lot of swimming, boating, kayaking, canoeing, and hiking.

 

 

Ms. Fagan started her summer off with some professional development by taking an awesome course in Positive Psychology.  She also spent a lot of time out in the wilderness hiking.  Ms. Fagan climbed three 4,000ft peaks in the White Mountains and went remote camping at Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire.  There was lovely weather and beautiful sunsets throughout her camping trip, but the best part was the technology-free quality time she spent with her family.  

 

 

 

 

We have a new face in the School Counseling Center this year and that is Ms. Pittsley.  Ms. Pittsley is our School Adjustment Counseling Intern this year as she begins her Masters program at Simmons.  After her graduation from Emmanuel College in May, Ms. Pittsley went on some great vacations.  She went to Florida twice this summer, once to visit family in Boynton Beach and once to go to Disney World.  In August, Ms. Pittlsey went on a 10 day, 16 state road trip.  Her favorite cities were Chicago and Washington DC. Later in August, she went on a camping trip in North Conway, NH where the resident bear took a walk through her campsite one night, leaving some gigantic tracks right next to her tent!  She is excited to start her year with us at Nipmuc!

I guess summer really is the time to travel because, like my fellow counselors, I did some traveling of my own!  My husband graduated from business school in July and to celebrate, we went on a trip to Iceland and Ireland.  In Iceland we had great food, saw lots of waterfalls, got sprayed by a huge geyser, and swam in a natural hot spring called the Blue Lagoon.  In Ireland we drove along the southern coast and stopped in cities like Kilkenny, Kinsale, Cork, Killarney, and Dingle before heading back to Dublin for a night.  All that driving on the “wrong” side of the road made for quite the adventure!  For the rest of the summer I spent a lot of time with family and friends, did some home improvement projects, and relaxed, relaxed, relaxed!

 

We're all well-rested and ready for a great year with you.  Please feel free to come see your counselor in the SCC whenever you’d like!  Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter @NipmucSCC for important School Counseling Center information and updates!

 

 

Welcome Back!

 

"So, how was your summer?" was a frequent greeting as school staff returned to school over the last several days.  Answers ranged from "Great!", "Good!", "Too short!", "Relaxing!" ... you get the picture.  At the start of summer, a two month break from the hectic school year schedule, the ability to sleep a bit later, and spend more time on leisure and relaxing activities feels amazing! 

 

Personally, I always plan to accomplish a million tasks around my home and I usually only get to a small fraction of what I actually plan! When we leave school for the summer at the end of June, the first day of the next school year seems light years away!

 

Yet, here we are. As I hear my colleagues talk about their summers, the next comment is often, "It's good to be back!"  It seems as much as we enjoy the down time of summer, we welcome the structure and routine of the school year and the opportunity to get to know new students and new colleagues.  There's an excitement in the air, a sense of anticipation... and yes, some amount of nerves as well.  It kind of goes with the territory!  As students and staff adjust to the new routine and schedule, the nerves settle down a bit and we get down to the business of learning.  It's the start of an exciting and wonderful journey for all of us, and today we take our first step together. 

 

Welcome back from the Nipmuc School Counseling Center!  We're looking forward to a great year!