As we welcome a new, if slightly odd, year, we also welcome a new team member!

Welcome to Mr. Kevin Burke. Mr. Burke comes to us most recently from Riverside with 10 years of high school counseling experience. We are excited to welcome him to the Pride and look forward to you getting to meet him, if only virtually for now.

Your Heritage School Counseling Department and Unified Mental Health Team are ready to support you through 2020-2021. We've watched as you all have faced newness and challenges with resilience and flexibility. We recognize that there will be more adjustments to be made this year, but there will also be great opportunity for growth. If we keep focused on these growth opportunities and stick together, we may just all come out of this a little stronger, and even more Prideful.

ROAR PRIDE!

Even though you can't knock on our office doors, your School Counseling Department and Unified Mental Health Team is very much still here and ready to support you!

So how can you reach us?

• Email is Best - Email contact information is linked above as well as under 'Meet the Staff' on our Heritage School Counseling website. From there, a GoogleMeet can be arranged for a more 'Face to Face' experience if you would like.
• Computer-based Phones and Extensions (Coming Soon!) - We are excited to have computer-based phone extensions and voicemail for our use this year! Once we establish our department extensions, we will publish these numbers to be used instead of the ones associated with our corded office phones.
  
• Monthly Office Hours for Parent and Student Q&A in English and Spanish - Your School Counseling Department and Unified Mental Health Team will hold monthly 'Open Office Hours' for Q&A based on grade or topic. These will be held in both English and Spanish. Dates, times and links will be sent via Remind/Twitter/Insta as they near.
  
• Request for an Appointment Survey (New!) - Students can now fill out a Google Survey to request to see a member of the School Counseling Team or the Unified Mental Health Team. See below for details!

Reaching us just got a little easier!

We are launching or new 'Request for an Appointment Survey' for Heritage students.

This Google Survey allows you to request an appointment with any of the following members of the School Counseling Department or Unified Mental Health Team (UMHT) during school hours.

This includes: School Counselors, School Social Worker, School Psychologist, Student Assistance Specialist, Career Center Specialist, Testing Coordinator and Director of School Counseling.

If you're not sure who these people are, see above to put faces with names!

Your class time is important to us! Please know that when at all possible, we will try to meet with you on Mondays or during your study hall to help you avoid missing instruction. Members of the School Counseling Department and UMHT strive to respond to your requests in a timely manner.

It is important that you are aware that this form is NOT monitored 24/7 and should NOT be used as a means to receive immediate mental health support outside of school hours.

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY DIAL 911 AND COMMUNICATE WITH A TRUSTED ADULT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

A goal of ours this year is to be in clear and consistent communication with our Pride Community. This is important always, but especially in our virtual environment when we don't have the luxury of seeing many of your faces on a regular basis. Below are some of the ways you can expect to hear from us this year.

• Monthly Newsletter - This is the first of our monthly newsletters which we will be sending out to highlight important information and upcoming events from the School Counseling Department and Unified Mental Health Team.

• Follow Us on Social Media! - We will use the following three platforms to share important updates and helpful resources throughout the school year.

Counseling Remind - @hhspridesc (use the Remind App or text 81010 to join)

Counseling Instagram - @heritageschoolcounseling

Counseling Twitter - @HHSPrideCounsel

• Schoology - Your School Counselors and Unified Mental Health Team members will deliver whole-school, grade-level-specific, and topic-specific lessons and presentations through our Schoology Course. Current Heritage students will be automatically added to the course. We hope to streamline your 'classroom' environments!

• Counseling Website - Check out our School Counseling Website for information and resources that will partner with what you find in Schoology.

• Emails - We will utilize email to make you aware of upcoming events or important information.

• NEEDS ASSESSMENTS (Please Complete by September 1) - As a Comprehensive School Counseling Program, we evaluate data to form our goals for the school year and to help us ensure that our interventions are having an impact. We want to hear from you! Please complete your Needs Assessment Survey by September 1st so we can gather your input and be sure we are meeting your needs!

Student Needs Assessment - For Current Heritage Students (All grade levels)

Parent Needs Assessment - For Parents/Guardians of Current Heritage Students

Heritage is excited to be able to welcome the newest members of the PRIDE! Please join us for our virtual New Student Orientation. This is for our ninth graders (Class of 2024) and any student new to Heritage. Welcome!

Virtual New Student Orientation

September 2, 2020

• 9:30 AM-11:30 AM
• A live, interactive tour of the school will be followed by a Question/Answer Session for students and parents.
• The tour will be recorded and will be available, in case you cannot join us on the 2nd.

September 3, 2020

• 9:30 AM-10:30 AM
• Town Hall with School Administration to answer questions of new students or their families

Catch the cameo from our very own Ms. Simpkins and Mr. Burke as they share about our School Counseling and Unified Mental Health Team.

Seniors! You probably didn't expect your senior year to start this way, but it's here and you're ready! We're ready as well to help you navigate the Career Search, the College App Process, Financial Aid, and everything that goes with it. We'll partner with Ms. Fekel in the Career Center to be sure you're ready for whatever comes next.

• Transcripts/GPA/Rank (linked in StudentVUE) - Your unofficial transcript is linked in StudentVUE under the Documents Tab. On the bottom left side of your transcript is your Cumulative GPA and Current Class Rank. Remember, GPA is WEIGHTED and Rank is UNWEIGHTED.
• Individual Senior Post-Secondary Advising Appointments with your Counselor - Check your LCPS email for more info on your School Counselor. You will be hearing from them before school starts!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

• Thursday, September 3rd (2-4pm) College App Bootcamp (For SENIOR STUDENTS): Join us as we step you through matching your Common App on Naviance and the Heritage College Application Process Steps. Follow-up Pop-In Q&A sessions will be held on 9/9 & 9/10 during lunch from 12-1pm.

  
  

• Monday, September 14th (11am-12:30pm) Senior College Planning Presentation (For SENIOR STUDENTS) - Seniors - Log on to the GoogleMeet (linked above) as your School Counseling Team steps you through considerations and information related to planning for college, applying to college, and what to consider as you take this next step with COVID in the background. Follow-up Pop-In Q&A sessions will be held on 9/22 & 9/24 during lunch from 12-1pm. *Links to be sent through Schoology Classroom following the presentation.

Let us know you are coming! Student Registration Link Here.

• Tuesday, September 15th (6-8pm) Parent College Planning Presentation (For Senior PARENTS/GUARDIANS) - Parents/Guardians of Seniors - Log on to your GoogleMeet (linked above) as your School Counseling Team steps you through considerations and information related to planning for college, applying to college, and what to consider as you take this next step with COVID in the background. This presentation is specifically geared toward Parents/Guardians.

Let us know you are coming! Parent Registration Link Here.

Ms. Fekel welcomes you all back to a new school year! Check out her greetings in the video linked here.

Check here for your monthly Career Center updates. We look forward to sharing the following with you throughout the year and much more!

• College Representative Visits
• Career Representative Visits
• Military Recruiter Visits
• Employment Rep Visits
• Scholarship Assistance
• FAFSA Assistance

It is especially important in times of crisis or change to look for and identify what is WITHIN our control and what is OUTSIDE of our control. Our attitude and the mindset that we take with us as we face challenges and navigate different and sometimes difficult paths is something that is always WITHIN our control. Ms. Tannuzzo shares some tips and reminders on building a positive mindset for the 2020-2021 school year.

NEEDS ASSESSMENTS (Please Complete by September 1) - As a Comprehensive School Counseling Program, we evaluate data to form our goals for the school year and to help us ensure that our interventions are having an impact. We want to hear from you! Please complete your Needs Assessment Survey by September 1st so we can gather your input and be sure we are meeting your needs!

Student Needs Assessment - For Current Heritage Students (All grade levels)

Parent Needs Assessment - For Parents/Guardians of Current Heritage Students (All grade levels)