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Counselors Karen Dalton-Thomas, Department Head Jane Bruce Aimee Cairney Elizabeth Finocchi Randy Garry Alison Gilroy/Meira Kruskal Sharon Greenholt Matthew Strother Brittany Hanna –Career Counselor

Natick High School Guidance Department Monthly Bulletin

November, 2016

The month of November is famous for many historical reasons, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving, and,

this year, the Presidential election! Yet, November is also the time to catch a great movie, as releases are primed for the upcoming Oscar Nominations. What you might not have known is that some of the best tunes also happen to be about November! If you want to spruce up your playlist, consider the stirring “8th of November”. Without missing a beat, Term 1 concludes on November 4th, and the “November Boogie” continues with Term 2!

Welcome to a remarkable month, full of activity. We begin with MCAS Re-Tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students scheduled for these tests have already been notified by the Guidance Department. Please check the Natick High School calendar for exact dates. Term 2 is the start of Freshman Guidance Seminar. All freshmen should check their iStudent accounts and locate their Seminar class during one Common Directed Study period. Freshmen will be in class with their own Guidance Counselor. We look forward to learning more about the Class of 2020, and continuing their acclimation process! Each year, we reflect on November 11th, to acknowledge Veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. We also like to recognize our international students, who may be observing Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other parts of the world, commemorating the anniversary of notable hostilities.

Many seniors have submitted their college applications for Early Action or Early Decision deadlines. Be assured, plenty more students will apply Regular and/or Rolling Decision. Seniors who are applying for January 1 deadlines should hand their Transcript Request Form to their Guidance Counselor no later than December 2nd, due to the December Holidays. We conclude the month with Spirit Week, a rousing Pep Rally, the Fall Musical, Into the Woods - November 25 & 26, December 2 & 3, and a well-earned Thanksgiving break!

The Guidance Department would like to thank parents, caregivers, students and faculty for your patience when calling our offices, sending email or scheduling appointments. With students popping in and out all day, running seminars, attending meetings regarding term grades, we may be unable to respond to all of our emails and voicemails each day. As you know, we do our best to reply within 48 hours of your communication with us. Please also reach out to our fabulous administrative assistants, Donna Slattery and Sue DiRienzo, who can address many of your questions, when we might not be available at the time of your inquiry.

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Just a few days remain until the end of first term, which will be this Friday, November 4th. Freshmen will be able to view their first Natick High report card the following week: first term grades are set to be posted on the afternoon of Thursday, November 10th. Students should check their grades via their iStudent account, and parents/guardians can access using iParent. Second term begins on Monday, November 7th, and with the new term comes a small but important change in freshman schedules: Guidance Seminar! On their second term schedules, freshmen will see one of their CDS blocks has been replaced with Freshman Guidance Seminar, a course that will meet every four days for all of second term. All students have their own guidance counselor as their “Guidance Sem” teacher, and we’re looking forward to seeing our freshmen more regularly! Topics covered will range from time management and organization, to grades and eligibility for extracurricular clubs and sports. Prior to the start of term 2, students can see where Guidance Seminar will be in their schedule by changing their schedule view option to term 2 in iStudent. Ninth graders will not receive new printed schedules, but all freshmen are sent an email notice of this schedule change prior to the start of the new term.

Some details included in the email: The application process will consist of writing an essay, “In 1-2 pages (max), please describe the most rewarding and challenging aspect of being a leader in your school and community.” The essay should be submitted to

Beginning in the middle of November, Signs of Suicide (SOS) sessions will be conducted for all 9th and 11th grade

students. During these sessions, an SOS video will be shown, and staff from Wellesley College will be speaking

to students about recognizing symptoms of depression in themselves and in their peers, about reaching out to

trusted adults at the school should they have any concerns, and about possibilities for appropriate treatment. If you

have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact Dr. Tracy Gladstone at Wellesley College

(tgladsto@wellesley.edu), or your guidance counselor.

All sophomores took the Kaplan PSAT on October 19th. Congratulations on your hard work! These tests were self-scored on the same day. To self-score, students visited www.kaptest.com/test and entered their specific Enrollment ID to record their answers. Students can sign into their accounts at any time in the next year in order to view their scores, watch a video on how to interpret their scores, and complete the optional essay. Kaplan does not send these scores to colleges. This test is for practice only and is not an official test.

All sophomores were emailed information regarding the HOBY (Hugh O'Bryant Leadership Conference) nomination process that is currently being held. Natick High has participated in this conference for a number of years.

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Mr. Garry or Ms. Greenholt in the Guidance Department or your Guidance Counselor by 2:30 p.m. on Thursday (Red 2), November 3rd 2016. More information on the HOBY program can be found here: HOBY

All juniors took the PSAT on October 19th. Congratulations on your hard work! PSAT scores and detailed score reports will be given back in late December to all students who took the test.

The MEFA Financial Aid Seminar took place on Monday, October 19th from 7 - 9 PM in the high

school Auditorium. If you were not able to attend you can view the MEFA 2016-2017 Financial Aid

Presentation, and the MEFA Financial Aid Timeline. For more information please visit http://www.mefa.org/

Practice Tests

Chyten will host a FREE SAT/ACT Practice Test on November 6th 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Natick High Library. To register, go to: http://www.chyten.com/partners/natick.html Kaplan will host a FREE SAT/ACT Practice Test on November 19th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. See below for additional information regarding this event: https://www.kaptest.com/sat/enroll?zip=01760&tab=events

MCAS: The MCAS Re-Tests will take place on November 2nd, 3rd and 4th for English Language Arts and November 9th & 10th for Mathematics. Students will have to take the test if:

you are a student (grade 11-12) who transferred to Natick High School from out-of-state you are a student (grade 11-12) who transferred to Natick High School from a private school you were absent during last year’s administration of the Math or ELA MCAS you failed the Math or ELA MCAS as a sophomore

Students who fall under any of the above categories were already notified, and will be sent more information regarding where testing will take place. Testing for students will begin at 8:15 (following CDS). Students will be excused from classes on the days they are testing, and will be responsible for making up work. Teachers will be notified and asked to provide flexibility, as students make up outstanding work. Students are encouraged to bring a bag lunch on the days they are testing.

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FIRST TERM GRADE SUBMISSIONS FOR SENIORS:

For those students who have applied or are in the process of applying to schools, please note that the Guidance Office will automatically send your first term grades. Please do not be alarmed if your colleges are asking for first term grades – this is often an automated email or letter from the college just as a reminder. Once grades are verified (and incomplete grades resolved), approximately 10 days after term 1 ends, report cards will be sent to colleges. Our goal is to send all first term grades out prior to the Thanksgiving holiday break. Please note that it can typically take 4-5 weeks for colleges’ admissions offices to record all application items as received on their end.

SAT AND ACT DEADLINES

Nov. 3rd - Registration deadline for December 3rd SAT (NOT at NHS) Nov. 4th - Registration deadline for December 10th ACT (NOT at NHS Nov. 5th - SATs are at Natick High School

While we understand this is an exciting time for many of our seniors, as they

consider their futures and all the related college and career planning details,

this should not be the focus of every conversation. Some seniors are

experiencing a great deal of stress about the pressures of this year and have

expressed these feelings to all of us. We ask you to help allay this stress,

especially as families gather together for the Holidays. Please do not talk

“college/future” with your child every day! Please let us know if you have any

questions or concerns.

Senior Guidance Seminars are wrapping up this week. We have enjoyed having your senior in class each week to guide them through the post high school planning process. Students should schedule meetings with their counselors with remaining questions and for support.

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The MEFA Financial Aid Seminar took place on Monday, October 19th from 7 - 9 PM in the

high school Auditorium. If you were not able to attend you can view the MEFA 2016-2017 Financial Aid

Presentation, and the MEFA Financial Aid Timeline. For more information please visit http://www.mefa.org/

Scholarship Information The Guidance Department maintains an updated database of independent scholarships. To download a list of independent scholarships please CLICK HERE.

A list of local scholarships along with an application will be mailed home to all Natick High School seniors on Friday, January 20, 2017. If you have any questions please see your Guidance Counselor or Mrs. Slattery in the Guidance Department.

Find $$$ For College

The following websites offer free scholarship searches: www.fastweb.com www.scholarships.com www.StudentScholarships.org www.collegescholarships.org www.scholarshipguidance.com www.scholarshipexperts.com https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/scholarships-grants http://www.fastaid.com/ http://www.tuitionfundingsources.com/ http://www.universitytutor.com/scholarship-contest http://www.goodcall.com/scholarships/search For more information on scholarship opportunities please visit the NHS Guidance Department website.

Senior - January 1st College Deadlines

Please note that if you have a January 1 deadline, you MUST submit your

Transcript Request Forms to your counselor (handed to them) no later than

December 2. Please note that the Guidance Office will be closed during both

the Thanksgiving and December vacations.

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******NOTE that this will be sent to colleges as it is will be on your term 1 report card. Seniors are urged to hand in their community service forms by the end of the term, Nov. 4th, to ensure that the report card will indicate “P for Pass” and not “I for Incomplete”.

Community Service and Senior report cards: Students must complete 30 hours of community service by April 1, 2017 to graduate. A Community Service status update appears on this report card in one of the following ways:

1) COMM SERV with a grade of P means completed this year; 2) COM SERV UPD with a P means completed in a previous year; 3) COM SERV UPD with an I means Incomplete.

MCAS: The MCAS Re-Tests will take place on November 2nd, 3rd and 4th for English Language Arts and November 9th & 10th for Mathematics. Students will have to take the test if:

you are a student (grade 11-12) who transferred to Natick High School from out-of-state you are a student (grade 11-12) who transferred to Natick High School from a private school you were absent during last year’s administration of the Math or ELA MCAS you failed the Math or ELA MCAS as a sophomore

Students who fall under any of the above categories were already notified, and will be sent more information regarding where testing will take place. Testing for students will begin at 8:15 (following CDS). Students will be excused from classes on the days they are testing, and will be responsible for making up work. Teachers will be notified and asked to provide flexibility, as students make up outstanding work. Students are encouraged to bring a bag lunch on the days they are testing.

Mass Bay Community College Field Trip: Tuesday, November 15

If you're interested in touring and applying to Mass Bay Community College, this is your chance! The trip will be on Tuesday, November 15, from 9:45am - 2:00pm. During the visit, all students will have the opportunity to apply for free for admission to Mass Bay. This trip has filled up in the past, so students should sign up as soon as possible. Permission forms are available from Mr. Garry in Guidance.

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SAVE THE DATE Senior Internship Meeting

When: Wednesday, November 16th during CDS (7:30am) Where: Natick High School Auditorium

Who: Mandatory For ALL Seniors interested in the internship program Attention: All Students On Thursday, November 3rd, there will be a Job Fair from 11pm-1pm in the lobby of the dining hall! There will be multiple employers on-site with applications and materials as they look to fill open positions. Please stop by and see what there is to offer. If you are planning to fill out applications, please dress neat and appropriately. If you have extra copies of your resume, bring them with you. Please see this flyer for more information! Highlighted Community Service Opportunity of the Month: After School Program Assistant - Natick, MA

Build Our Kids Success is a before school physical activity program run in select Natick schools; Volunteers are needed to be active and participate with the kids and motivate them to stay active

Highlighted Employment Opportunity of the Month: Children's Center Assistant - Bright Beginnings Children's Center - Natick, MA

Bright Beginnings Children's Center is a preschool with children ages 2-years-old through 5-years-old Looking for someone to assist the teacher with activities for the children, including supervising

children to ensure safety and helping with clean-up of various areas of the center (including both indoor and outdoor areas)

Please check out all of the jobs & community service opportunities that are updated regularly! The CCR bulletin board is located between the gymnasium and cafeteria. Or access the CCR website here: NHS College and Career Readiness Website

Bright Outlook Occupation of the Month Nutritionist

Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.

Skills o Reading Comprehension o Active Listening o Critical Thinking o Monitoring o Speaking

Sample Job Requirements o Getting Information and communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates o Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals. o Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers. o Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.

HANNA’S CORNER College and Career Readiness Center

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Guidance Events for November

November

2-4 MCAS Retest ELA

3 Registration Deadline For Dec. 3rd SAT’s

4 Registration Deadline For Dec. 10th ACT's

4 End of Term 1

5 SAT’s @ NHS

8 Technology Day/School Closed

9-10 MCAS Retest Math

11 Veteran’s Day /School Closed

14 MCAS Retest Makeup

15 Late Registration deadline for Dec. 3rd SAT's

18 Late Registration deadline for Dec. 10th ACT's

23 Release Day

24-25 Thanksgiving/School Closed