COUNSEL ING CONNECTION A Publication of the Paramus Schools Counseling Department January, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 5 Andrea Saladino District Supervisor of School Counseling Elementary Schools Laurie Corizzo Memorial, Ridge Ranch, East Brook Middle Schools Dana Folcarelli East Brook Middle School Leslie Lapotasky Midland, Parkway, Stony Lane, West Brook Vanessa De Jesus West Brook Middle School Christopher Nutland East Brook Middle School Lourdes Hyland West Brook Middle School High School Joseph Gencarelli Darlene Hill Shannon Moran Ashwini Reddy Daura Schucker Sandra Vanderzee Joseph Traina Student Assistance Counselor
"The goal of Heroes & Cool Kids is to promote pro-social behavior in students and to create a caring and disciplined school climate" West Brook was delighted to welcome Mr. Bruce Harper, former New York Jets player (1977-1985). He is co-founding Director of Heroes & Cools Kids Mentoring Program. Mr. Harper greeted the students and introduced the program. Heroes & Cool Kids is a mentoring program throughout high schools in New Jersey where former professional athletes train high school leaders (Heroes) to mentor middle school students (Cool Kids) in their district. On Friday, January 16, 2015, the (Heroes) traveled to West Brook Middle School where they received a warm reception from seventh and eighth grade students (Cool Kids). WB students were eager to learn about the mentoring program and interact with the PHS student leaders. During the first visit, the Heroes began to build relationships with the Cool Kids. A total of twenty-six students from both seventh and eighth joined the new program. The mentoring program will continue with two more visits to West Brook. The student leaders will mentor them on topics such as Positive Messages and Good Choices, Bullying Prevention and Sportsmanship, and Substance Abuse Prevention. Heroes and Cool Kids came to East Brook on January 19 th. East Brook seventh and eighth grade students welcomed the Paramus High School Heroes as well as Heroes and Cool Kids trainer Keith Elias. Keith Elias is a former National Football League player for the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts as well as a graduate of Princeton University. The Heroes and Mr. Elias had a successful first visit and looks forward to the follow up visits to East Brook. 6 th grade students continue to see Mrs. Folcarelli in their Extended Learning Classes. Mrs. Folcarelli is discussing healthy ways to cope when difficulties come their way. The high school students will visit the middle schools and elementary schools three times this year to work on conflict resolution and positive lifestyle choices. Mr. Traina, the Student Assistance Counselor is in charge of the initiative and has several high school students serving as leaders in the program. The feedback from the younger students has been very positive.
ENTIRELY ELEMENTARY Things have been busy since coming back from Winter break. In Stony Lane, Mrs. Lapotasky has worked with the 2nd and 3rd graders on conquering stress and nervousness and in Kindergarten discussed the difference between tattling and telling. At Midland the Circle of Friends group has started and on the 26th they will be having a character education assembly by the NED show. The Student Success groups in Parkway will be starting at the end of the month as well as Circle of Friends. The Student Council put on an amazing assembly for this month s theme of Failure is the Key to Success. In addition, they raised over $400 for the Wounded Warriors project through their Pajama day fundraiser. Way to go Parkway! The New Year brought new lessons and groups to Memorial and Ridge Ranch. Mrs. Corizzo s monthly lessons in Ridge Ranch centered upon teaching the children assertive expressions using I Messages. In Memorial, the monthly lesson was all about the differences between Tattling and Telling. During the last week in January, both schools will participate in the Great Kindness Challenge whereby the children are being challenged to perform at least twenty five random acts of kindness during the week. In addition, after school social skills groups will be starting up in Ridge Ranch. Our topic this month will be, Joining a Group. MATTERS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS WEST BROOK LUNCH BUNCH GROUPS Lunch Bunch and/or Social Skills Group is a fun way for your student to eat lunch in a quiet environment and enjoy the companionship of others. A student does not have to have a major concern in order to participate in Lunch Bunch. Most students benefit from being in the group learning skills that they can use at various times in their daily life. Most students who sign up for Lunch Bunch/Social Skills find the small group setting beneficial for friendship issues and finding new strategies for life skills. Lunch Bunch/Social Skills groups meet during your child's lunch period. Usually there are 6 students from the same grade in a group. They meet with Mrs. Hyland for about 40-45 minutes. Small group activities are fun and effective. Each week a theme coordinates the topic for discussion. We discuss feelings, friendship, being a responsible student, respect, anger management, and coping strategies for daily living. Most students contact Mrs. Hyland and refer themselves because they have enjoyed group so much! Other students are encouraged to attend by their friends.
PARENTS OF 8 TH GRADE STUDENTS It is that exciting time of year where Paramus School Counselors for grades 8-11 begin discussing and inputting class placements for the following academic year! Eighth grade School Counselors, Mrs. De Jesus at West Brook, and Mrs. Folcarelli at East Book, will be meeting with their students to discuss the scheduling process and inform 8 th graders of the exciting classes and electives Paramus High School has to offer! Paramus High School Counselors and Student Ambassadors will also be visiting East Brook and West Brook 8 th grade students to present an overview of the high school program. There will be an 8 th grade parent orientation on Wednesday, January 28 th at 7:00 pm in the Paramus High School auditorium. At this meeting parents will be informed of Paramus High School s thrilling curriculum and exciting electives offered to students. A mailing has already been mailed to parents of 8 th grade students inviting them to the 8 th grade parent orientation, as well as to discuss 9 th grade courses with their child s future high school counselor. The mailing also entails other important dates in the scheduling process. Mrs. De Jesus and Mrs. Folcarelli, along with the rest of the Counseling Department, are looking forward to seeing all parents of 8 th grade students at these upcoming events! CogAT Testing GRADES 5 & 7 The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) measures students reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school; verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. The CogAT will be administered on January 27, 28 and 29, 2015. Parents can play an important part in helping create the most favorable situations for testtaking by making sure that your child is well rested and allaying any undue concerns expressed by your child. Regular attendance is of paramount importance during these test periods. While we will be able to provide some makeup time for students who are ill, research shows the overall test performance of a student is higher when taking the test with his or her own class group. HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS 2015 2016 COURSE SELECTION During the week of January 12 th, the School Counselors visited all World History and US History classes to discuss upcoming course selection meetings. Students were informed of the new courses that will be introduced next school year as well as a review of many of the other electives offered at PHS. Additionally, graduation requirements were covered and other grade specific information was disseminated to students. Course selection appointments: Grade 11 February 2 February 20 Grade 10 February 23 March 6 Grade 9 March 13 March 20
FINANCIAL AID NIGHT The School Counseling Department hosted Financial Aid Night on Thursday, January 8 th at 7:00 pm in the High School Auditorium. A representative from the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESSA) gave a presentation on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the different levels of aid (i.e., Federal, State & Institutional). The 2015 2016 FAFSA has been available since January 1, 2015. Please Note: Colleges have their own Financial Aid deadlines it is suggested that families fill out the FAFSA as early as possible. FAFSA CSS PROFILE SCHOLARSHIPS Helpful Links fafsa.ed.gov profileonline.collegeboard.com connection.naviance.com/paramus Junior Parent Night February 4, 2015 at 7:00 pm College Panel March 18, 2015 at 7:00 pm College Fair April 23, 2015 at 7:00 pm On January 6 th and 7 th, 2015 the School Counseling Department hosted the 5 th Annual Alumni Panel. Over 30 PHS alumni presented to the Class of 2015 during 10 panels which were facilitated by Ms. Reddy & Ms. Vanderzee who spearhead the successful program every year. PHS Alumni Pictured Above: Julia Castronovo, Lindsay Diamond, Julia Gerogiannis, Zoe Gnecco, Courtney Smallze, Nicole Herrmann and Eric Sawyer. The transition to college can be a difficult one. In order to prepare our present seniors and help them to better understand what lies ahead, the alumni shared their own college experiences and offered invaluable advice. The topics that were discussed during each panel included: dorm life, majors/minors, activities/athletics, workload, time management, financial issues, accessing assistance, and school policies.
Coffee with the Counselors A K-12 District Initiative WEST SIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS February 26, 2015 - Midland School at 1:00 pm. Midland, Parkway & Stony Lane parents are welcome. The topic of discussion will be Helping Children Deal with Test Anxiety EAST SIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS February 26, 2015 Ridge Ranch School at 9:00 am. Ridge Ranch & Memorial parents are welcome. The topics of discussion will be Beat the Test, Stress and PARCC EAST BROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL March 4, 2015 - East Brook Middle School at 10:00 am. The topic of discussion will be Put it to the Test: A Discussion About Upcoming Standardized Testing and its Impact on Our Children s Futures. PARAMUS HIGH SCHOOL March 27, 2015 - Paramus High School at 9:00 am. Topics of discussion will be College Fair, College-Career Readiness and Counseling Groups. WEST BROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL April 23, 2015 - West Brook Middle School at 9:00 am. The topic of discussion will be Balancing Act: Homework, School Activities, Sports and More