Peak to Peak Counseling News and Announcements

NEW: Autism Awareness Month - Week 3 – Visual Thinking

Many people with autism think in picture, not words. The individual with autism may translate experiences into pictures in his or her head, This type of visual thinking is a language in and of itself and thus requires visual strategies such as visual schedules or checklists so that the person with autism can understand the demands coming from their environment. When creating visual strategies for students, it is important to first determine the appropriate level of representation, or which type of visual representation holds meaning for the particular student. At the most basic level, visual representations start with the physical concrete object itself. The next level could include stick figures, drawings, or photographs. As a student matures, the representations could become a combination of words and pictures and perhaps eventually words alone.

Something to read:

• Let Me Hear Your Voice (Catherine Maurice)
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon)

Something to watch:

• The Boy Who Could Fly
• Autism: The Musical

Resources:

http://www.autismboulder.org/connect/support-groups

http://www.aspireautism.org/

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9^th/10^th/11^th Grade: College Field Trips Follow Up

Thanks to all of our students and parents/guardians who attended last week’s college field trips around Colorado and Wyoming.

We wanted to encourage all students and parents/guardians to talk about the college field trips they experienced. The more you can share your experiences, reflections, feelings, and values about higher education, the easier the 12^th grade year and transition to college can be. Know that your counselors are ready to follow up with any questions or concerns you have about these impactful events.

Lastly, please know that Peak to Peak counseling staff put many, many hours into planning and coordinating these events, and we hope that all students participate in all college field trips and events. It's an important part of our college counseling curriculum, so skipping these events makes it much more difficult for us to provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in the college search process and beyond.

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NEW 11^th Grade Junior Days Wrap Up

Junors will attend class the first half of the block day this Wed/Thur during study halls. This week and the 25th are the last Junior Days classes.

This week, juniors will hear from seniors in a panel format in which they will offer their wisdom regarding the college search and application process gained from personal experience, and students will have time to work on their college research for the mini "Two-College Presentation" the last week of class. Attached is the rubric for the required two college presentation that will be discussed this week.

ALL JUNIORS’ Resumes for counselors need to be complete by Sunday night, the 23rd (Sat. night, the 22nd for juniors who work with Ms. Gannett, as she is leaving on a trip), so that counselors have time on the 24th to review resume work and determine if it is complete before Junior Days class on the 25th. Students are welcome to stay for the last 1/2 of block day next week in order to work on theResume.

Resumes not complete when counselors review it Monday morning (the 24th), will result in those juniors needing to stay after the Early Release on Thursday, 4/27, in order to finish it.

Parents/Guardians: Please remember your homework: writing the Parent Brag Sheet in Naviance! If you'd rather craft a letter to your student (as other parents have done in the past), feel free to send that via email to me. I have the ability to upload that into Naviance. I ask that parents finish the Brag sheet/letter by June 1 (although earlier is better!). Attached, you will find a sample of the 'letter to child' format, as well as the instructions and questions to the Naviance Brag Sheet. The instructions for that are included here, as well:

Log into Naviance. Go to the ‘about me’ tab. Under ‘surveys to take’ on the left, find the ‘New Parent Brag Sheet’ and complete all 9 questions.

This document, when completely and fully answered, is of great help in writing your child's letter of rec next fall!

If you have any questions, please email your counselor.

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UPCOMING COLLEGE EVENTS

U.S. Service Academy Information Day – Saturday, April 22^nd

This event will offer information about the nomination and application processes for service academies, and it is free and open to the public.

Saturday, April 22 in Denver at 1pm at Denver South High School, 1700 E Louisiana Ave. in Denver. The session will provide students and parents the opportunity to meet representatives from the following institutions:

· U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

· U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY

· U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

· U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY

· U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT

https://www.bennet.senate.gov/?p=release&id=3851

Quest University Canada Visit – Wednesday, May 10^th at 1:30pm at P2P Counseling Center

Notre Dame, Emory, Johns Hopkins, University of Virginia, & Washington University in St. Louis Admissions Program – Sunday, May 14^th at 5pm at Regis Jesuit HS - http://thenuwhetour.org/

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COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES – Saturday, April 22^nd – Lafayette Library

The Friends of the Lafayette Library, a non-profit organization is offering community service hours on Saturday, April 22 starting at 10:00 AM. We will be moving boxes of donated books, from the Lafayette Library to a storage facility. Volunteers will load boxes into vans or small trucks and then unload them into the storage facility which is located just across the street from the library. In the past this has taken approximately one to 1 1/2 hours.

If you volunteer for this project, more community service hours will be available when we have a big book sale in September. For this sale, volunteers will have an opportunity to earn from one to 15 hours of community service.

Please contact Ginger McKay at writeginger@aol.com for information or to sign up.

And NEW Ongoing Service Opportunity at Lafayette Art Night Out Events

ARTS!Lafayette is looking for some High School student volunteers to help with the setup and cleanup at the monthly Art Night Out events this summer. This is an evening of art, live music, food and fun located at Festival Plaza in downtown Lafayette. It is outdoor, city wide celebration held monthly throughout the summer. We need lots of volunteers to make it successful. This is a terrific way for students to earn community service hours in a fun outdoor setting, truly supporting a Lafayette community event.

Shifts times are variable between 2:00 pm and 11:00 pm on the Friday event dates. We need volunteers for the following dates:

May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, and September 8

Responsibilities include:

Setting up and taking down tables, tents, temporary fencing, booths, trash/recycling stations and more.

Please contact: Rachel Hanson (Rachel.hanson@cityoflafayette.com) for additional information and to sign up.

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UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY – Mental Health First Aid Training Opportunity - Friday, April 28th

Mental Health Partners, our community based mental health center, is offering an 8-hour Mental Health First Aid course on Friday, April 28, 8AM-5PM at their Lafayette location, 1455 Dixon Avenue. Mental Health First Aid is a ground-breaking, internationally recognized, prevention program. The course teaches participants the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges, empowering individuals to identify, understand and respond to those in mental health and substance abuse crises. The course reduces stigma, enhances behavioral health literacy and improves participants’ behavioral health. Cost is $35, free for MHP clients. Community members can register through the MHP website, scroll through the classes by date. Questions, contact Mental Health Partners at 303-443-8500. 
http://www.mhfaco.org/findclass/ or https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/take-a-course/find-a-course/

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AP TEST PREP – Princeton Review AP Test Online Cram Courses

https://www.princetonreview.com/college/ap-test-prep

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