Nipmuc School Counseling Center News - March

Course registration for the 2016-2017 school year is underway, so we’ve been doing a lot of future planning with juniors.  It’s a great time to consider what comes after high school.  Will your child go to college?  Start working?  Join the military?  Learn a trade?  The opportunities are plenty, but planning ahead will be important.  There’s no time like the present to start thinking about and planning for the future!

Coming up in March…

March 2: Counselors will meet with freshmen in groups to talk about graduation requirements, transcripts, and the course registration process.

March 4: 21st Century Learning Conference: This full day conference for students will run just like the half-day one last November. Students will be able to sign up through Sched.org next week for a variety of sessions created to foster development of professional college and career-related skills. Workshops will be run by professionals from the field as well as Nipmuc faculty.

March 4: Deadline to register for the April ACT: www.actstudent.org

March 5: SAT: Good luck to those students taking the test! Upcoming test dates are in May and June. Visit www.collegeboard.org to register.

March 9: Counselors will begin individual meetings with sophomores for course registration. Sophomores should take a look at the Program of Studies and the course selection sheet before meeting with their counselors. Both documents are available on our School Counseling blog. Individual meetings will also include starting a Wellness Plan.

March 23: Counselors will begin individual meetings with freshmen for course registration. Freshmen should take a look at the Program of Studies and the course selection sheet before meeting with their counselors. Both documents are available on our School Counseling blog.  Individual meetings will also include starting a Wellness Plan.

March 28 - April 1: Spring Wellness Week: The School Counseling Center and Student Health Office have been hard at work planning this year’s second Wellness Week.  This Wellness Week will kick-off with a “no homework weekend” on Thursday, March 24th (no school on Friday, March 25th.).  In addition to activities during two advisory days, there will be a Wellness Fair during lunches on Monday and therapy dogs in throughout the week! Visit www.nipmucwellness.weebly.com for more information.

Reminder to seniors and parents of seniors: All scholarship opportunities are posted in Naviance. More are posted each day and deadlines are starting to come up. Please submit your applications to Mrs. Hefez by the Naviance deadlines!

March Wellness Week Update

Before we leave for February break, the School Counseling Center and Student Health Services wanted to give a quick update on the March Wellness Week!

The second Wellness Week of the year will be taking place from March 28-April 1, with advisory schedules happening on Wednesday, March 30 and Friday, April 1 for wellness activities!

 

We are excited to bring back some of our most popular activities such as therapy dogs, yoga, and singing your heart out. After taking some student and teacher feedback into consideration, we will also be offering some new wellness activities that include more games, snacks, and crafts. Keep an eye out for an e-mail about sign ups in March...students don't want to miss out on these wellness events! There will also be another "No Homework Day" on Thursday, March 24. This means that students will not have any homework due, tests, or quizzes to study for on Monday, March 28. Planning this day for the Thursday before Easter will give students an opportunity to spend time with their family and friends during the long weekend. It will be a great way to kick off the week!

We want Wellness Week to be fun and relaxing, but it is important to remember why we do it. Taking time to focus on building skills to regulate emotions, learning how to practice self care, and managing stress improves student performance in the classroom and overall well-being. If a student is feeling stressed or overwhelmed with emotions, they will not be able to focus on learning. Having a tool box of coping strategies, knowing how to stay healthy, and participating in enjoyable activities is the key to being well!