Guidance Newsletter September 2021 | Smore Newsletters for Education

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A Note From the Guidance Department

It's good to be back! We have enjoyed catching up with students and seeing parents at the Open-House. Below you will find information regarding items for Seniors, ProgressBook, tutoring opportunities, and more. Check out the Parking Lot Painting pictures! You can also join us in welcoming our new staff members at the high school. We are excited to have so many wonderful people join our Shawnee family. We appreciate all communication, please continue to reach out to us so we can work together to best support our students. Go Indians!

7th Annual Homecoming Parade

The parade is at 4pm on September 26th. People who are setting up a float will meet at the youth soccer fields parking lot. The path will be East on Zurmehly, turn South on Beeler, turn West on Inwood, turn North on Yoakam and then again East on Zurmehly until they get back to the parking lot. All schools and clubs are able to make a float. All sports teams are able to make a float. The float will be led by the Fire Department, Police Department and our Homecoming Court. Join us for this great community event!

Parking Spot Painting

If you've been to the school, we are sure you've noticed the beautiful parking spots that are painted! Our student government took a hit budget wise without dances last year, so they planned this wonderful fundraiser, and it turned out to be a huge success! Students paid $20 each to own their spot then had three days to come paint their spot. There were almost 70 participants and a little more than $1,000 was raised! This money will be used towards various activities/projects at the school. Awesome job Shawnee students! Click here to check out some pictures.

Google Classroom

Students, if you have not joined your Google Classroom for your grade level, please do so ASAP. The guidance department will be posting information and updates in your grade level classrooms throughout the school year.

Class of 2022 code: g4fveym

Class of 2023 code: g3uvy7n

Class of 2024 code: 4maw57v

Class of 2025 code: ilbhj45

Connections

We would like to recognize one of our seniors, Cara DeBrosse, for designing the Connections logo. Awesome job!

September 1st kicked off our first successful day of Connections! This program pairs a cohort of students with a faculty member to meet weekly on Wednesdays for 25 minutes between period 4 and period 5A.

The month of September in Connections will focus on Goal Setting, Stress Management, Time Management, and Healthy Coping Skills throughout grades 9-12.

Upcoming lessons in Connections will focus on Responsibility, Safety, Resilience, Empathy, and Career Exploration.

Shawnee High School Alumni

A new scholarship has been created to benefit our seniors, starting with the Class of 2022: The Lima Shawnee Alumni-Legacy Scholarship Fund. If you are interested in donating to the fund, please click here and follow them on Facebook at Lima Shawnee Scholarship Fund for updates and more information. We appreciate all efforts to pay it forward to our seniors. Thank you for leaving your legacy on our community.

Senior Checklist

Take the ACT at least one more time.
Research careers, programs, and colleges that align with your interests and future goals.
Meet with your school counselor for a credit check and discuss senior profile.
Learn about FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Begin applying to colleges through their online applications. Many schools us the Common Application OR individual applications on their website.
Request letters of recommendation from staff members for college applications and scholarships.
Begin scholarship search. Check the guidance website for a list of local scholarships.
Are you an athlete? Are you interested in playing sports at the collegiate level? You need to register for NCAA Eligibility Center and send transcripts. Click here for more information.

College/Career/Military Visit Request Form

Shawnee High School permits students two days each year for college visitations, career experiences or military recruitment procedures. For an approved school absence in relation to college/military/career visits, students should complete this form at least two days prior to the date of the requested visitation. Students are expected to confer with teachers prior to the visitation in order to arrange for make up work. Students are not permitted to take college visitations after the first week in May.

Students must take the following steps in order to make a college/career/military visitation on school days:

1. Arrange the visit with the college
2. Complete this form.
3. Wait for confirmation/approval from guidance (through school email).
4. Confer with each teacher prior to the visit in order to arrange for make up work.
5. Bring/scan or send through email confirmation of visit from college (blue signature form from guidance office/agenda/signature from college) to school counselor.

Advice for Seniors

Keep your grades up. Strong grades/GPA during the first semester is critical.
Be mindful of deadlines.
Plan ahead to get the best recommendation letter.
If you need a recommendation from a teacher for college, scholarship, or a job, your first step is to ask the teacher if he/she is able to write you a recommendation letter.
Make sure to tell the teacher the deadline and give the teacher AT LEAST two weeks to write the letter.
You also need to let the teacher know how to submit the letter (common app, sent to guidance to be mailed with transcript, etc.).
Make as many memories as you can! This year will fly by.

Mr. Jaz Bluhm - Assistant Director of Bands

Mr. Bluhm is originally from Sandusky, Ohio. He studied Music Education at Ohio State University and went on to receive a Master of Music degree from Bowling Green State University. He is in his fifth year of teaching, and enjoys spending time with his wife, Samantha, and their three cats, Tiger Lily, Briar Rose, and Mara Jade. Mr. Bluhm has already had a blast working with the Shawnee Band of One this summer, and is excited to make some more music this school year.

Mr. Dylan Dronberger - Assistant Principal

Mr. Dronberger is originally from Kansas and moved to Ohio with his wife and three children. He enjoys history and majored in History at Fort Hays State University, where he also earned his teaching credential and Master of Science in educational leadership. This is his first year at Shawnee High School and his tenth year in education. Mr. Dronberger is excited for this school year and excited to be a part of the great tradition of Shawnee High School.

Mr. Nick Ebbing - Culinary Arts Teacher

Mr. Ebbing grew up in Lima and went to school in Pittsburgh at Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts. He moved to Florida and upon his return to the area, he has been cooking, managing restaurants, and consulting. He has been teaching Culinary Art at Apollo part-time for the last 16 years and also Adult Culinary there. Mr. Ebbing is married to his wife, Amy, who is a teacher at Elida. They are proud parents of two boys, Easton and Hudson. He has 26 years of being in the Culinary field. He loves to cook, travel, and play sports - from soccer to skiing to hunting and more.

Ms. Katherine Hicks - Advanced 8th Grade English/9th Grade English Teacher

Ms. Katherine Hicks graduated from BGSU in 2017 with an Adolescent Young Adult Integrated Language Arts major and a Human Development with Family Studies minor. She is initially from Cincinnati (which makes her a Reds fan by default) and graduated from Turpin High School. Ms. Hicks loves to read, write, craft, draw, and play board games in her spare time, although she rarely finds any spare time! This will be her fifth year teaching so she has learned quite a bit yet believes she still has more to learn. She is eager to help students prepare for the real world!

Mrs. Leigh Kempton - Mental Health Coordinator

Mrs. Kempton completed K-12 at Shawnee and has lived here her whole life. She earned her Bachelors degree and Masters degree in Social Work at Ohio State University. She has an eight year old and one year old boy/girl twins. She's so excited to be back at her alma mater to work alongside the staff and students!

Mrs. Gayle Mulder - Sculpture & Ceramics/Jewelry Art Teacher

Mrs. Mulder (maiden name Trueblood) is a Shawnee alumni of the Class of '95. She graduated from Bowling Green State University and going into her 22nd year as an art educator. Mrs. Mulder currently serves as the President-Elect of the Ohio Art Education Association. Outside her love of all things art, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and fitness.

Ms. Sarah Neff - Intervention Specialist

Ms. Neff has a Bachelors degree in Marketing, but then found her passion in teaching. She went back to school and earned her 4-9 licensure, and started her second career. After seven years of teaching, she found an even greater passion and calling as an intervention specialist. The past two years, she taught at Shawnee in the middle school MD classroom. Ms. Neff is now starting a new adventure as the math intervention specialist at the high school. She's so excited for the new year and to build relationships with the students!

Ms. Kelley Ulis - School Navigator

Ms. Ulis is the new School Navigator with the district from The Family Resource Center. She graduated with a Master of Social Work degree from Ohio State University and also has her LSW. She has four kids and they keep her very busy between basketball, dance, soccer, swim lessons, and other activities! Ms. Ulis is looking forward to working within the district and getting to know everyone better.

A Note From Our Mental Health Coordinator

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Per the CDC, suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death in youth in 2019. Suicide is preventable. Know the signs, provide support, and seek the appropriate help. If you notice a student is struggling, say something. Ask them how they’re doing, if they’re coping well with stress, if they would like some assistance to sort out everything that they have on their plate.

Click here to read about Self-Care Tips for Teens and Young Adults.

I am always available! I am here because I care about these students, their well-being, and their futures.

#bethe1to Ask, Keep Them Safe, Be There, Help Them Connect, and Stay Connected.

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