Counselor's Corner ~ Counseling Office Information...

This month our Career Development Facilitator, Lara Schmitz, visited 8th grade classrooms and administered a career interest inventory from the South Carolina Career Information System and students began working on their Individual Graduation Plan (IGP).  An IGP is a road map that guides students toward their education, career, and employment goals.  IGPs include general graduation requirements, coursework and out-of-classroom learning opportunities related to a student’s chosen career cluster of study.  IGPs help students align high school courses with their personal and/or career interests and goals.  Students have an IGP conference each year beginning in the 8th grade, to review and make any changes.    8th Grade students will continue to work on their Individual Graduation Plan presentation during PLT and will present it to their parents, counselors and career development facilitator.  You should receive the appointment information for your 8th graders IGP conference a few weeks before the scheduled appointment.  We will begin these conferences during the latter part of January and they will run through March.  

PSAT scores are in.  If your 8th grade student took the PSAT in October, the score results are in.  Please visit collegeboard.org and create an account for your student in order to access their scores.  

In January, school counselors will be in the classrooms to talk to students about goal setting, study skills, and academic success.  The development of strong study skills is important to achieving academic success in school.  This foundation will ultimately carry on later in life.  Skills such as eliminating distractions at home while studying, having all the tools needed to stay organized, learning to plan out projects or assignments, paying attention, understanding directions , and learning how to study, can build a firm academic foundation.  

A wonderful quote by Bruce Lee is “Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.”.  We want to congratulate our November Character of the Month students who were nominated by their teachers for displaying outstanding character:  Katharine Daugherty, Danaih Jones, Anthony King, Amaria Lanier, Claudia Matthews, James McGee, Pamelya McGill, Preston McKee, Elli Nels, Caroline Powell, Morgan Simon, and Elijah White.  

We are looking forward to our next Character Recognition Celebration on January 27.  

Last, but not least, please take a few moments this month to do something that you enjoy doing.  Here are a few self-care activities that you can engage in:  Write down 3 nice things about yourself, Step outside for some fresh air, do a short mindfulness breathing exercise or listen to a song that makes you smile.  You have to first take care of yourself in order to take care of others.