Happy New Year and Welcome Back! We hope your winter break was filled with all of the things that bring you happiness and that you are feeling refreshed in the new year. As we embark on the second semester, now is a great time for you and your student to do some self-reflection around the first semester and set some goals for the rest of the year. Setting goals and making small changes can turn into wellness habits that set the stage for joy and resiliency in the new year.
This month's newsletter is jam-packed with important information, so I wanted to highlight a few things, but first…
I wanted to take just a minute to introduce myself and go over my role as the new high school counselor. As a lot of you know, my role at the beginning of the school year was the administrative assistant to Dr. Kupersmith after 9 years of being home with my girls (Evie, 9 and Anya, 7 who attend the Lower School at FBS). My career includes 7 years working as a school counselor at a regional high school (1200 students) doing many things with grades 9-12. As I step into this new role here at FB High School, I want you all to know what my role looks like going forward.
In a nutshell, the goal of the High School Counselor is to assist our students in making academic, personal, and career decisions that will allow them to reach their full potential. Every student is unique and as a counselor, it is my job to:
Help our students recognize their individual strengths and talents.
Work with students, teachers and families to plan an appropriate program of study that will allow the student to challenge his or herself to the best of their ability and explore their individual interests.
Assist our students in finding post-secondary opportunities that will help them reach their goals and become productive members of our society.
I will also assist our students with the daily challenges they face as adolescents. Students are encouraged to make an appointment to discuss any concerns they may have, whether they are of an academic or personal nature. Anything more in depth (mental health concerns) will be encouraged to make an appointment with our school adjustment counselor, Rose Cummings.
The School Counseling Team is a resource for parents as well. Our goal as counselors is to work with you as you navigate your child's educational journey throughout the high school years.
Parent(s)/Caregiver(s) of juniors (and students!) are asked to SAVE THE DATE for our Planning for Life After FBS seminar that will be held on Thursday, February 9th at 6:30pm in the AUX Gym at the JI campus. I will be presenting on topics including communication tools and post-secondary options. The bulk of the presentation will cover college specific planning.
We're getting close to course selection/scheduling for the 2023-2024 school year! Please expect an email from me with more information coming soon on course registration for your student.
Have a great February!
Shannon Roy
High School Counseling