Freshman and Sophomore Planning Guide 2016-2017

Freshman and Sophomore Planning Guide 2016-2017

2320 Huntington Turnpike

Trumbull, CT 06611

School CEEB Code: 070797

College and Guidance Counseling Department

Phone: 203-378-9378

Fax: 203-375-7922

This book belongs to: ______

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

College and Guidance Counseling Staff

Karrie Sullivan, Director- ext. 317

Jack Nogueira, Counselor- ext.315

Megan Baird, Counselor- ext. 316

Cristin Clark, Counselor- ext. 318

Justin Cirisoli, Registar- ext. 353

Portal Plus Username:

Portal Plus Password:

Naviance Username:

Naviance Password:

eBackpack Username:

eBackpack Password:

Other important usernames and passwords

Table of Contents

Freshman Checklist4

Study Skills and Organization Skills5

Time Management Skills6

Test Taking Skills6

Note Taking Skills6

Stress Management Skills7

Sophomore Checklist8

ACT 9

Standardized Testing10

Visiting Colleges11

Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide11

Naviance12

Portal Plus13

eBackpack14

NHS requirements14

SJHS Sample Transcript15

SJHS Grading Scale16

Record of Co-curricular Activities17

Sample Resume18

Co-curricular Clubs and Activities19

Sports Teams20

Freshman Checklist

___ Meet with your guidance counselor at least six to eight times throughout the year to discuss your transition to high school, grades, GPA, course selection, PSAT planning,how you can start planning for college etc.

___ Meet with your guidance counselor to register for Naviance

___ Build strong academic, language, mathematics, and critical thinking skills by taking challenging courses; consider taking AP and/or UConn ECE courses

___ Take the PSAT (offered at SJHS)

___ Get Involved!!SJHS offers over 43 Clubs and 24 Athletic Teams

___ Take the “Career Interest Profiler” on Naviance Family Connection and begin exploring colleges and careers

___ Attend events such as Shadow Day, SJHS college fair, and SJHS Jesuit fair

___ Keep graded papers and a record of co-curricular activities

___ Know NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) requirements if you want to play sports in college

Study Skills

Find your own quiet place at home to study where you can concentrate and do better on your homework. Use the same location daily.
When studying, sit in a comfortable chair but not one that is TOO comfortable.
Don’t do homework in front of the TV – it is too distracting. While you’re at it, try to ignore the phone (texting, Twitter, Facebook) – your friends can leave a message!
Quiet background music might help you stay focused while you are studying.
Study with a friend or a group of friends. Compare notes and ask each other questions.
Know what your learning style is, and study in a way that best matches your own learning style.
Take short, but frequent breaks, like a five minute break after twenty-five minutes of studying.
Try to relate what you are studying to things you already know to remember information more easily.
Start with the most difficult tasks or assignments, and then move on to the easier ones to focus maximum brain power on the hardest tasks.
The quality of your study time is much more important than the quantity of your study time.
Get into the habit of studying every day. (e.g. review class notes each night, get ahead on work)
Try to determine your best study time and plan on studying at that time every day.
Think of homework as practice, not work. You know that you don’t get better at things like sports or music or cheerleading unless you practice. School is the same.
Plan on a fun activity for yourself as a reward for when you are DONE with your studying.
After each study session, try to recall the main points and as many details as possible.
If you are not sure about something, ask a teacher, parent or friend for help. Asking questions is one of the most effective ways we learn!
Plan to spend MORE time (not less time) on the subjects that are harder for you.
Be familiar with the Media Center.

Organizational Skills

Use things like outlines, charts, flashcards, or IPAD apps to help you organize and learn new material. You’ll be reviewing the material while you are making these tools, and you’ll have them to use later when it’s time to study for tests.
Use a planner to keep track of homework assignments, tests and projects. Write in your planner, or IPAD calendar every single day so that it becomes a habit! Make note of your Edline and Turnitin username and password in your planner.
Keep a notebook or folder for all your notes and homework assignments. You might need one for each subject to make things easier or you can use your IPAD to take notes.
Keep a "To Do" list. Write down things you need to do, then decide what needs to be done right away and what can wait until later.
Keep all tests and quizzes for study guide use.
Organize your locker for “before lunch”/”after lunch” classes.
Use a wall calendar for long-range planning.
Use ring binders. Color code binders and textbooks.

Time Management Skills

For each study period, decide what you want to accomplish and how long you will spend on each subject or assignment. If possible, study the material from the class before.
Break your workload down into manageable chunks and take your homework one step at a time.
Be aware of things that distract you or waste your time, and keep them to a minimum.
Check Edline DAILY!

Test Taking Skills

Be well rested before taking tests.
It is okay to spend extra time studying the night before a big test, but don’t try to learn EVERYTHING that night.
Meet with your teacher a day or two before your exam to review your notes and ask any questions.
Try to find out what type of test you will be taking (essay, multiple choice, True/ False, matching, etc.). It’s likely that test questions will be similar to homework you have done, because homework is "practice."
DON’T PANIC. Just tackle one question at a time. If a question is too hard, skip it and come back to it later.
Skim the test before writing anything and before final submission.
Don’t leave blanks, hope for partial credit.

Note Taking Skills

Don’t try to write down everything the teacher says. Focus on the main ideas.
When you are taking notes, use your own words/shorthand.
Keep your notes organized. They will be as important as the text book. Write the date at the top of each page.
Don’t put your pen down or your brain may shut down as well.
Use color to highlight the important information.
Each night, review the notes you took that day. This will make things easier to remember when it comes time to study for the test.

Stress Management Skills

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Try to prioritize your activities, and focus on the most important ones.
Work off stress through some kind of physical activity. Exercise is a great stress reliever because it takes your mind off of things that are bothering you.
See your counselor or the school social worker to help with stress.
Listen to music, keep a journal or try breathing exercises.
Don’t cram for tests or quizzes. Plan a study schedule ahead of time.

Sophomore Checklist

___ Meet with your counselor at least six to eight times throughout the year to discuss college planning, grades, GPA, PSAT, SAT/ACT, AP and UConn ECE classes etc.

___ Take the PSAT (offered at SJHS)

___ Stay involved in extracurricular activities

___ Attend a College Fair (St. Joe’s/Local/National)

___ Start researching colleges on Naviance and College Board

___ Do something productive with your summer (get a job, volunteer, attend a summer program, visit/tour colleges)

ACT

Students and parents should be aware of changes to the ACT year to year. Changes to the ACT can be found on Students are responsible for being adequately prepared for the exam prior to taking it.

Students can come to the Guidance office for a brochure on the ACT or other exams at any time

Standardized Testing

The Basics

Sophomores will take the PSAT in the fall
Students are registered for thisexam through the school and do not need to do anything additional
SAT and ACT will be taken in the spring of junior year

PSAT/NMSQT

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a program co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). It's a standardized test that provides first-hand practice for the SAT®. It also gives you a chance to enter NMSC scholarship programs and gain access to college and career planning tools. Beginning in October 2016 students will take a redesigned PSAT that is aligned with the redesigned SAT and focuses on the skills and knowledge that are essential for college success.

The PSAT/NMSQT measures:

Critical reading skills
Math problem-solving skills
Writing skills

You have developed these skills over many years, both in and out of school. This test doesn't require you to recall specific facts from your classes.

The most common reasons for taking the PSAT/NMSQT are to:

Receive feedback on your strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college study. You can then focus your preparation on those areas that could most benefit from additional study or practice. Use “My College Quickstart” for personalized feedback, practice, and college planning based on PSAT results.
See how your performance on an admissions test might compare with that of others applying to college.
Enter the competition for scholarships from NMSC (grade 11).
Help prepare for the SAT. You can become familiar with the kinds of questions and the exact directions you will see on the SAT.
Receive information from colleges when you check "yes" to Student Search Service.

How are PSAT’s scored?

Each section of the PSAT is reported with a score from 20-80.
When translating that to what a student would have gotten on the SAT, simply add a “0” to the end of the score and this would be the equivalent. Ex. 56 on the Critical Reading section of the PSAT would be a 560 for the SAT Critical Reading section.

Visiting CollegesIt is important that you visit a variety of different colleges/universities in a variety of campus settings. This will help you recognize which college/university best suits you.

Questions To Ask Your Tour Guide

What is your average class size?
Are students required to have a laptop/printer on campus?
When do you have to declare a major? What are the most popular majors at your school?
Are some dorms better than others? What makes them unique?
Do many students life off campus? If yes, why and when do they move off campus?
How accessible are your professors?
Are tutors available if needed?
What percentage of students studies abroad?
What impact do fraternities and sororities have here? Athletics?
Describe what are weekends like on campus?
What do you like best about your experience here?
Which areas of the United States do students usually come from?
Why did you choose this school?

Naviance

Family Connection from Naviance is a web-based service designed especially for students and parents. Family Connection is a comprehensive website that you and your parents/guardians can use to help in making decisions about colleges and careers. Family Connection is linked with Counselor’s Office, a service that we use in our office to track and analyze data about college and career plans, so it provides up-to-date information that’s specific to our school.

Family Connection will allow students:

Get involved in the planning and advising process – Build a resume, complete on-line surveys, and manage timelines and deadlines for making decisions about colleges and careers
Research colleges – Compare GPA, standardized test scores, and other statistics to actual historical data from our school for students who have applied and been admitted in the past
Sign up for college visits – Find out which colleges are visiting our school and sign up to attend those sessions during Senior Year

Family Connection also allows us to share information students about up-coming meetings and events, local scholarship opportunities, and other web resources for college and career information. In addition, the site includes a link that your child can use to send us an e-mail message. To visit our school’s Family Connection site, use your web browser to connect to:

Visit the “Document Library” in Family Connection to access more information regarding college visits, questions to ask tour guides, SAT dates, as well as a number of other necessary tools for the college search. The Document Library is a wonderful resource as you begin the process.

Portal Plus

Q: What is PlusPortals?

A: PlusPortals is a cloud-based application integrated with the SJHS student information system. This application provides access to student class pages where you will be able to see grades, progress reports, schedules, attendance and disciplinerecords along with teacher contact information.
It also makes available school-wide information such as event dates and school announcements.

Q: How do I access PlusPortals?

A: SJHS will send parents an email message with login instructions. It will include alink to activate their Portal account which uses your email address as your User ID. You will then be prompted to create a password requiring at least a total of 8 characters, one being a capital letter, a number and a symbol. Parents will be able to view all of their children’s date with one login.

Students will use their school google email address as their username (@students.sjcadets.org)

Q: What information is available on the parent and student dashboard?

A: The dashboard below is what will be displayed.

Q: What is the difference between report card grades and scores?

A: Final quarter grades are shown at the end of each quarter. Scores are shown when a teacher completes grading an assignment and enters it into their Gradebook. Scores are real-time, meaning they can be viewed by parent as soon as the teacher posts the grade for that assignment.

Q: How do I contact my student’s teacher?

A: You can email your student’s teacher via the “email & messages” tab located on your home page in the Portal.

Q: How do I print a Progress Report as a parent or as a student?

A: There is a print and download button at the top of the Progress Reports window.

Q: Who do I contact with questions?

A: If your questions are PlusPortals specific, please refer to the link here for an interactive guide to using PlusPortals.

If your questions are class/grade specific, please contact your student’s teacher. If your question is about activating your PlusPortal account, please contact the Registrar’s office. 203 378 9378 x302

eBackpack

eBackpack allows for teachers and students to safely and securely store files online. eBackpack integrates with Google Apps for Education (Google Drive) and Dropbox making it easy for students and teachers to access their existing materials. eBackpack also allows for teachers to set up classes and groups so they can easily assign, share, collaborate, collect, and review assignments across any internet-connected device. eBackpack uses cloud storage for simple and fast classroom workflow of assignments which can be viewed online, graded, marked up with notes and annotations on top of the document, and returned to the students within the eBackpack application from the iPad app or the website.

National Honor Society

Eligibility for the NHS is open to any 11th or 12th grade student who has a scholastic weighted career average of 90 and has been enrolled in the school for at least one semester. Other evaluated criteria for membership are leadership, service, and character. Once accepted into the Society, it is expected that all criteria for membership be maintained throughout the student’s high school career. Details of the selection process are available from the NHS advisor

Sample SJHS Transcript

Grading Scale

ST. JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL GRADING SCALE

A / 4.0 / 95-100
A- / 3.5 / 90-94
B / 3.0 / 85-89
B- / 2.5 / 80-84
C / 2.0 / 75-79
C- / 1.5 / 70-74
D / 1.0 / 65-69
F / 0.0 / Below 65

St. Joseph High School does not calculate GPA on a 4.0 scale.

We use a 100 point scale.

RECORD OF CO-CURRICULAR AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITES

Name______Class of ______Counselor ______

SCHOOL CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS 9 10 11 12 POSITION HELD AND/OR AWARDS

SCHOOL SPORTS9 10 11 12

STUDENT GOVERNMENT9 10 11 12POSITION HELD AND/OR AWARDS

HONORS/AWARDS9 10 11 12 (SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY)

EMPLOYMENT (INDICATE DATES OF EMPLOYMENT)

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES (INDICATE DATES OF VOLUNTEERISM)

OTHER: (HOBBIES, SPECIAL INTERESTS, ETC.)

Sample Resume

Co-curricular Activities

Amaranth (Literary Magazine)

American Red Cross Chapter