December Updates From the AHS Counseling Department

It's cold outside!  We are now in December and into holiday season.  We hope all families enjoy their respective holidays and take the time to spend it with people they love whether it be family, friends, and/or significant others.  Spend some time being appreciative and thankful for those things that you are grateful for in your life. We tend to fixate too much on things that are going wrong, when we should spend more of our time, energy and thoughts thinking about and appreciating those things that are going right!

The days are getting shorter every day, but once we get to December 21st not only will we be just a few days away from a nice long break, our days will start getting longer again (with long days being one of the best parts of summertime!). We only have 17 school days left until the Winter Break.  Make sure you are making these days as productive as possible.  Do your best work and you will be pleased with your learning going into the break, and get to really enjoy a well-deserved break.  

Here are some updates from the AHS Counseling Department!

* We continue to add options for students for X-Block.  Make sure you sign up early!  You do NOT need to wait until the week of to add yourself to any of these programs... they are already in FlexTime Manager for you to add yourself.  Here is what we have coming up:

Wednesday 12/1 - University of Maine
Thursday 12/2 - Emmanuel College
Friday 12/3 - Rivier University
Monday 12/6 - Career Exploration: Marine Corps
Tuesday 12/7 - Salve Regina University
Thursday 12/9 - University of Rhode Island
Friday 12/10 - University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Monday 12/13 - Career Exploration: US Army
Tuesday 12/14 - Bennington College
Thursday 12/16 - University of Hartford
Friday 12/17 - Clark University
Monday 12/20 - Career Exploration: Coast Guard
Tuesday 12/21 - Westfield State University
Tuesday 1/4 - Westfield State University
Thursday 1/6 - Framingham State University
Friday 1/7 - Binghamton University
Monday 1/31 - Career Exploration: Business Management


* SENIORS, this is the time of year where those of you who applied early to colleges start getting your acceptance letters.  Please bring them in so we can post them on the Wall of Acceptance!  We love to celebrate your successes!  And, for those of you who are pursuing other, non-college plans, we want to celebrate your successes too!  Come in and see your counselor or Mr. McGann to talk about what you are doing after graduation so that we can recognize you!  Starting your career right away, attending a trade or tech school, taking a gap year, enlisting in the military to serve our country - all should be commended and recognized!

* SENIORS several of you are intending on applying regular decision to colleges over the break, particularly those with January 1st deadlines.  Please make sure you submit your Transcript Request Form well in advance so that counselors have time to send your transcripts and letters of recommendations to those colleges prior to the deadline.  The office is closed for break and counselors will not be working or responding to e-mail.  We want to enjoy time with our families too!  Best practice is to submit the Transcript Request Form ten school days prior to the deadline.  So, if you are applying to a school with a January 1st deadline, the Transcript Request Form should be submitted by Friday, December 10th.  The Transcript Request Form can be found here: https://forms.gle/Gi7DQvtspoDWsks7A

* SENIORS, many of you are intending on going to college, need money to help pay for college, but still haven't completed and submitted your FAFSA.  The FAFSA is a free application that you send to all of the colleges to request financial aid (note that some colleges also require the CSS Profile; typically these are private, more expensive colleges... check your college's Financial Aid website to see if they require this form in addition to the FAFSA).  Get your FAFSA submitted as soon as possible!  Some colleges have specific deadlines in which the FAFSA needs to be submitted.  You do not want to miss out on that money!  Access the FAFSA here: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

* SENIORS, remember that local scholarships continue to get added into your Naviance account.  Don't miss out on free money for college!  Log in to your Naviance account, go to "Colleges" then "Scholarships and Money" then "Scholarship List" then "Local & Regional Scholarships."  There are six scholarships in there right now, but this list will grow as the year goes on, especially when we get into primetime scholarship season in March and April.  Develop a habit of checking for scholarships now!  Some other excellent (and free) scholarship sites are:

https://www.fastweb.com/
https://www.cappex.com/
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search

* SOPHOMORES and JUNIORS, the PSAT scores will be released either December 6th or December 7th.  You should receive an e-mail from the College Board with a link and a code to create your College Board account if you have not done so already and access your scores.  If you don't receive it and you took the test, check your spam folder, it might go in there.  Your counselor will be reviewing how to interpret PSAT scores as well as discussing the SAT's and ACT's, tips and tricks, and how to use standardized tests to your advantage when applying to colleges.

* JUNIORS, you can register NOW for either the SAT or the ACT!  Registration is available for either test for all dates this year.  Links below:

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html

* FRESHMEN, we enjoyed meeting with all of you in small groups to have productive discussions around respect and empathy.  What it means, why it is important, and - most importantly - how you can display it!  School culture is incredibly important, and our culture here at AHS has always aimed to be kind, supportive, hard-working, and FUN!  As we continue to get back to normal (or, maybe a new normal), lets all work together to demonstrate kindness, have respect and empathy for others, and create a culture that is enjoyable for all!


As always, we hope this has been helpful information!  Have a great December, and a wonderful holiday season!

- The AHS Counseling Team (Mrs. Chase, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. McGann, Mrs. McMahon, Ms. Shiels and HUXLEY




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