Spring has arrived, the fourth quarter is just beginning, and we are looking towards the close of another school year. Seniors, we wish you all the best as you begin the next phase of your life and pursuit of your goals. Juniors are looking forward to senior year; know we are here to support you as you make plans for beyond high school. Sophomores are anxiously awaiting being considered “upper classmen” and freshmen will be joining us in welcoming the class of 2021 as the new freshmen class. We are all looking forward to the warmer weather—enjoy it!

Important News:

MHS Offers Summer School Courses This summer students will again be able to take advantage of course offerings for enrichment or advancement. Please visit the S.O.A.R. website to register and for more information: SOAR@mtsd.us.

Other Summer Courses Students who take a summer course either online or in a traditional classroom must fill out an Option II form and submit it to the Guidance Department BEFORE registering to be able to gain credit. This includes students who have either failed a course or are taking a course for advancement. The Option II application can be found on the Guidance website of the high school under “Option II/Summer School” and must be submitted by May 19th for courses to be completed during the summer.

News

Seniors It seems early to start saying goodbye,

but the entire Counseling/Guidance

Department would like to take this

opportunity to wish you well as you

pursue your dreams beyond MHS.

Please be sure to let us know your plans

for further education, the workplace or

the military. Be confident, be humble,

and, most of all, be true to yourself.

If a student did not meet the pre-requisite to be placed into an HONORS or AP course for next year, they may apply to waive into that course. Waiver application forms can be obtained in the high school Counseling/Guidance office. The applications must be completed in full, require student and parent signatures, and be submitted to their current subject area teacher by May 8th. Students will be informed of an approval or denial by June 2nd.

NO WAIVER FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER MAY 8th.

All course request changes need to be in to counselors by April 21st - changes will

not be made after this date.

MHS

April 2017 Volume 6 Issue 4

C O R I E G A Y L O R D , D I R E C T O R O F S T U D E N T A C A D E M I C A N D C O U N S E L I N G S E R V I C E S C G A Y L O R D @ M T S D . U S

Montgomery High School

Guidance News

In this issue: Scheduling . . .. . . . . . p. 1 Summer Courses. . . . p. 1 Upcoming events . . . . p. 2 Opportunities . . . . . . p. 2 SAC Corner . . . . . . . p. 2

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein

Summer Assignments: Students, please remember to complete any summer assignments and summer reading for any classes. Do not wait until the end of the summer! Summer assignments can be found on the department websites of the high school web page.

Scheduling for 2017-18

Upcoming Events:

April 19-21: PARCC ELA April 19: “ Welcome to High School” for 8th grade parents April 20: “In the Blink of an Eye” Community Night May 1-12: AP Testing May 15, 16: PARCC Math May 31 & June 1: EOC Biology testing June 1: Student Academic Awards June 8: Senior Scholarship Awards June 21: Graduation!

The “Opportunities” postings, previously on the guidance department website, have been modified. In an effort to increase awareness, the opportunities will be e-mailed to registered students through Naviance. These include programs such as Governor’s School, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and so forth. Opportunities are characterized as programs which are not tuition or fee based. They run the gamut from awards to educational and leadership programs.

The Guidance department is here to support all of our students in the pursuit of life-long learning, careers, and success. A very important part of that is finding the college and/or career path that best suits the individual. With that in mind, throughout the year the Guidance department provides a series of presentations on the college application process and finding the “best fit” college with speakers from a variety of outside sources in addition to our very experienced counseling staff. For upcoming events and information, please access the MHS Guidance website: http://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/mhsguidance. In addition, the counselors grades K-12 are adding to the offerings for parents through our Parent Education Series. To access what has been presented so far this year, please go to the District Counseling Department website: http://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/Domain/1340.

Page 2

Montgomery High School

Teenagers . . . are often as unsettled as their parents by the stormy sea of adolescence. - from Untangled by Lisa Damour

The MHS People Project visited UMS during the month of April. The

People Project shared their personal journeys ranging from the difficulties

of understanding your parents’ divorce, navigating middle school peer

group changes and finding oneself, transferring to a school from another

country several times, and coming to a state of acceptance and

understanding of a learning disorder diagnosis. With the use of video clips

and photos and the power of conversation, the People Project successfully

opened the minds of the audience to the concept of empathy. The end goal

was to provide the students with a better understanding of others’

thoughts, feelings, and actions. Everyone has a story!

The SAC office has partnered with NAMI-NJ (National Alliance on

Mental Illness) in order to promote awareness of mental health issues as

related to adolescents. A spotlight series including young people that have

found support through NAMI-NJ will share their experiences. The

spotlight series will take place after school at 2:15p.m. in the SAC office

at MHS. The next spotlight series is set for May 11th. For more

information, please reach out to Christine Grossmann

cgrossmann@mtsd.us

In The Blink of An Eye – A Conversation About Stress, Anxiety, Alcohol & Drug Use in Our Community When: Thurs., April 20th @ 7:00pm – Doors open to the public at 6:30p.m. Where: Montgomery High School All are invited on 4/20/27 to a free event at MHS. An important panel discussion and open Q & A, including key leaders in our community, including Bert Mandelbaum, MD – School Physician, Tom Wain, Captain MTPD, and Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Faith leaders and treatment providers will be present as well. Doors will open at 6:30pm to offer an opportunity to meet and greet. Appetizers, desserts, and coffee/tea will be served. Please visit the event website for more details: http://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/

Page/16034

Counselor Availability: Counselors will have limited availability to voicemail and e-mail over the summer. They will return e-mails and messages at their earliest convenience upon their return to Montgomery.

Class of 2018: Over the summer, please log in to Naviance and complete the “Student Brag Sheet” and “Activities Resume” which can be found under the “About Me” tab. Also, parents need to complete the “Parent Point of View” in that same location. Until these items are completed school counselors cannot send out materials to colleges in the fall.

Opportunities

Parent education series

SAC CORNERSAC CORNERSAC CORNER