Counseling Corner Feb/Mar 2012

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The Counseling Corner The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School The Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School

February 2012 Shevat 5772 The Juda and Maria Diener Elementary School The Henrietta Scheck Middle School

From the College Counseling Office

Dear Grade 9-12 Parents,

We are pleased to present the February/March issue of The Counseling Corner. This month’s newsletter includes information regarding college acceptances, an insightful article about the revamping of the Common Application, a thoughtful article discussing the stages of adolescence, and much more. It is with great pleasure that we share our most updated list of college acceptances. We are extremely proud of our Senior Class and look forward to more acceptances later this spring.

College Acceptances as of 3/13/12

Albright College Arizona State University Averett University Babson College Bentley University Binghamton University Bowling Green State University Bradley University California State University, Northridge Drexel University Emerson College Endicott College Florida Gulf Coast University Florida International University Florida State University Georgia Institute of Technology Indiana State University

Indiana University Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis Kent State University Northeastern University Nova Southeastern University Pennsylvania State University University Park Pratt Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rutgers - School of Visual Arts St. Thomas University Syracuse University Temple University The University of Alabama Tulane University University of Central Florida University of Florida

University of Hartford University of Maryland University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Miami University of Michigan University of Missouri Columbia (School of Journalism) University of North Florida University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of South Florida University of Toledo University of Wisconsin Vanderbilt University Washington University Yeshiva University


College Readiness Course Embarks on Second Semester The second half of Hillel’s College Readiness course began January 23 and we are excited to be working with the junior class on their college application process. The new course is providing all students the opportunity to complement their individual college counseling meetings with a writing-intensive course that develops and enhances personal narrative writing skills and research techniques, and allows them to learn from one another in an informative, structured environment. The book and curriculum of This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women has been chosen to help our students connect with their own beliefs and experiences. This I Believe was first created in the early 1950s by Edward R. Murrow and was redeveloped for National Public Radio in 2005. It asks people, both famous and unknown, to express their core principles that guide their lives in just a few hundred words. We are asking our students to read some of these essays and work closely with a curriculum that prompts them to work both individually and in groups to explore and define their own personal credo. It is our goal that by the completion of this semester, our students will not only create their own This I Believe essay but also have their college essay inspired by that same story. We encourage other students and family members to learn more about this book and program by visiting the website thisibelieve.org.

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Common App 4.0 The Common App, the all-purpose form accepted by hundreds of colleges and universities, is getting a digital makeover, down to the most fundamental swatches of code, with the end result intended to be a smoother, faster, more intuitive application. (The application itself will still be a rigorous exercise, complete with 250- to 500word essays.) The new electronic form is scheduled to make its debut in 2013. For applicants who have struggled with the quirks of the form — like when the short essay answers or key details are inadvertently cut off during submission — such changes may seem long overdue. In the application season beginning to wind down this month, an estimated 750,000 students will have submitted three million online applications. That represents an increase of about 25 percent in only the last year. Meanwhile, teachers, counselors and school administrators are expected to submit 10 million transcripts, recommendations and other school forms through the Common Application’s electronic pipeline this year. In Common App 4.0, one likely change is that only one question at a time (or at most a handful) will be visible, and the particular answers to each will determine which subsequent questions will be asked. Another change being contemplated: within the application, students could pose a substantive question (opposed to a technical one, which is possible now) to a rotating team of college counselors. And then there’s the issue in which information that appears on the screen is cut off in the PDF an admissions officer will see. Now a box appears to warn applicants to preview their work before filing. Acknowledging the millions of tablets now in use, a new incarnation might also make it easier for students to use their iPads. The number of applications filed through the Common Application portal by the end of this decade could exceed 10 million — and the number of schools accepting it could grow to 1,000 or more. For more information visit the New York Times education blog nytimes.com/thechoice.

Vanessa Donaher

Director of College Counseling 305-931-2831 x132 donaher@ehillel.org

Dana Ponsky

College Counselor 305-931-2831 x151 ponsky@ehillel.org

The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School | The Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School

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From the School Counseling Office Parenting Through Adolescent Development Written by: Whitney Fisch, Counselor, Grades 6-7

The developmental stages of adolescence (ages 11 – 14) can be some of the toughest stages of development not only for the parent but also for the child going through these stages. If you take a look back into your own adolescence, can you remember what you were like? Maybe you were the cool kid who sailed through your early teenage years with no problems or maybe you struggled a bit with wanting more freedom than your parents were willing to give you? Regardless of what your own experience was like, your children will be (or might already have been) going through this phase of development. We offer the following look inside this stage via three ‘typical’ characteristics of this developmental stage so that your child will have a strong system of support to help them navigate this time in their lives in the healthiest manner possible.

Your Child’s Experience

1. Strictly Short Term - The brain undergoes remarkable development during young adolescence. The prefrontal cortex (the front of the brain that handles executive functions including planning, reasoning, anticipating consequences, sustaining attention, and making decisions) is not fully developed in young adolescents. This explains why it is often very difficult for a child of this age group to truly relate to parental/teacher reasoning regarding the long-term consequences of negative grades and behaviors

2. The Quest for Independence – This is the time when young adolescents seek their own sense of individuality and uniqueness. They are searching for an adult identity as well as adult acceptance, while striving to maintain peer approval at any cost. This duality of need in approval oftentimes results in a battle of conflicting emotions in youth of this age, which are showcased through intense mood swings, restlessness and erratic behavior. 3. Jumping to Conclusions - Adolescents, even with their newfound capacities for logical thinking, sometimes jump to startling conclusions. However, an adolescent may be taking a risk in staking out a position verbally, and what may seem brash may actually be bravado to cover his or her anxiety

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What Can Parents Do 1. Listen – Parents have the opportunity to build trust by being a good listener. Allow your child the option to save face by not correcting or arguing with faulty logic at every turn. Try to find what is realistically positive in what is being said and reinforce that; you may someday find yourself enjoying the opportunity for the development of critical thinking. 2. Provide Options – Because long-term reasoning is a challenge for this age group, parents can be useful in helping their children weigh their options when making a decision. Rather than making the decision for your children as you used to do when they were younger, this is a perfect time to help your child critically analyze all options before making a decision.

3. Listen - It can’t be said enough. Adolescents need to feel as though they are being heard and that their issues are valid. Modeling good listening skills for you children will also be a positive way to reinforce communication skill development. If you have any questions, my door is always open.

Contact Us Upper School

Whitney Fisch Counselor, Grades 6-7 305-931-2831 x142 fisch@ehillel.org

Lois Perlman Counselor, Grades 10-11 305-931-2831 x152 perlman@ehillel.org

Linda Feigenbaum Counselor, Grades 8-9 305-931-2831 x221 feigenbaum@ehillel.org

Rita Jacobson Registrar 305-931-2831 x108 jacobson@ehillel.org

Lower School

Dr. Nancy Gould Counselor, Grades K-5 305-931-2831 x140 gould@ehillel.org

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