1. Welcome to High School:
Meeting the
Changes and Challenges

2. •
High school counseling
•
Changes and challenges
•
Grade-level information
•
How can I help my child transition
to high school?

3. What is the role of the high
school counselor...
“Secondary school counselors are
professional educators with a mental
health perspective who understand and
respond to the challenges presented by
today’s diverse student population.”
- from the website of ASCA (American School Counselor
Association)

4. ...helping students feel successful
about themselves and chool
• social and emotional well-being
• academic goals
• college and career goals

5. Counselors help
students...
• build self-esteem, identity, and
autonomy
• learn strategies and skills to make
good choices (academic, social,
emotional, college/career)
• create and maintain healthy
relationships

6. How do we do this?
• Guidance Curriculum: delivered to students in grade-
level meetings, Flex classes, individual or family meetings
(as needed)
• Individual Student Planning: help students develop
personal and academic goals, and future plans
• Responsive Services: meeting individual student needs
that require counseling, referral, information, or
intervention
• Systems Support: support from administration and
teachers (team approach)

7. Challenges and Changes
• “Perhaps the only thing more
difficult than being a teenager is
parenting one”
• A time of great development:
physically, socially, emotionally,
cognitively

8. Social Development
• Trying to understand who they are or who
they are trying to be
• Peer group is the strongest influence
• Increased pressure from peers regarding
risky behaviors: alcohol, drugs, sex
• Exploration of boundaries in relationships
and behavior

9. Emotional Development
• ‘Roller Coaster Ride’ of hormones and
mood swings. Often one heartbeat
away from laughter or tears.
• Students are evaluating themselves and
trying to understand who they are.
• With change comes uncertainty.

10. Cognitive Development
• In tune with technology (digital natives)
• Respond well to cooperative learning,
academic variety
• Increase in cognitive and reasoning
ability
• Critical thinking and writing skills are
emphasized across the HS curriculum

11. How can I help with the transition
to high school?
• Listen to what your child has to say and offer
your support.
• Stay connected and communicate. Spend time
together.
• Establish (together with your child) clear rules,
specific expectations, and consequences. This
sets a tone of respect, trust, and fairness. Review
them regularly.
• Respect your teen’s privacy – e.g., knock before
entering his/her room!

12. More advice on helping your teen
• Understand your child is transitioning from
childhood (needy, dependent) to adulthood
(freedom, trust, responsibility)
• Be a parent first, not a pal. Boundaries are
important -- model them.
• Stay in touch with teachers. Be aware of and
engaged in what is going on at school. Follow
the HS Blog and HS Counselors’ blog.
• Help monitor sleep (average of 9 hours), diet,
and exercise, laptop use.

13. Teenagers are just people trying to
learn how to make it among the
adults in the world, who are
probably not so sure themselves.

14. Congratulations…

15. In six months, you will be the
parent of a high school
student!

16. First, some vocabulary:
Freshmen Grade 9
Sophomores Grade 10
Juniors Grade 11
Seniors Grade 12

17. Day A Day B
(1A, 2A, 3A, 4A) (1B, 2B, 3B, 4B)
What
Homeroom: Homeroom:
8:05 – 8:20 8:05 – 8:20
does
Block – 80 minutes Block – 80 minutes
a Break - 20 minutes Break - 20 minutes
Block – 80 minutes Block – 80 minutes
HS
Block – 80 minutes Block – 80 minutes
day Lunch – 55 minutes Lunch – 55 minutes
Block – 80 minutes Block – 80 minutes
look
like?

18. SAS High School
Graduation Requirements
Subject Credit
English 4
Math 3
Science 3
Social Studies 3
Foreign 2
Language
PE/Health 2
Fine/ 2
Performing
Electives
Arts 5
TOTAL 24

19. Required subjects for
grade 9
• English 9
• Lab Science
• Asian History 9
• Math: per 8th grade teacher
recommendation and placement test
• Physical Education/Health 9

20. Foreign Languages:
French – per 8th grade teacher
recommendation
Spanish – per 8th grade teacher
recommendation
Chinese – per 8th grade teacher
recommendation
EAL – per testing and MS EAL teacher
recommendation

21. Fine/Performing Arts Electives:
• Art Foundations
• Introduction to Drama
• Band Intermediate/Advanced
• Orchestra Intermediate/Advanced
• Choir Intermediate/Advanced
• Dance

22. Students have 7 academic
blocks -- the 8th block is FLEX
• counselor meetings/Naviance
• time to meet with teachers
• MAP Assessments
• Supervised Study Flex
• EAL Flex
• productive study time

23. What can YOU do now?
1. Ask your child for the course selection sheet he/
she will receive on March 4.
2. Check out the course description catalog at the
high school blog at http://teachers.saschina.org/
hspudong/
3. Contact your child’s current teacher if you have
questions about a specific subject area.
4. Tell us about your child! Naviance parent survey.
5. Discuss fine arts choices with your child.
6. Submit the selection sheet by March 9 to student’s
advisory teacher.

24. Keep up on high school news by
checking the Dr. Borden’s high
school blog at:
http://teachers.saschina.org/hspudong

25. What next?
• meeting with HS counselors and teachers
on Monday, March 4 about course
selection
• grade 9 students will talk to grade 8
students about course selection during
advisory on Friday, March 8th
• A Day in the Life of a High School Student:
Nuts and Bolts held on Friday, May 31st, for
students.