Editorials

Sharing My Experience
By Nancy Schubb, Counselor
Los Cerros Middle School
San Ramon Valley Unified School District
CASC Central California Area Representative
& Membership Chair
February 10, 2007

Just wanted to share. Here is the power point I'm using with my 7th /8th graders.

View: Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt file, 110KB)

We are using 2 periods of core. I pre test and post test (1. what is your STAR score; 2. how many credits do you need to graduate from high school; 3. what does CAHSEE stand for...). After the power point we play a game to reinforce important information (and keep them engaged). Then I spend 2-3 minutes with each student and their pre made "portfolio" consisting of: discipline record; attendance record; STAR scores; graduation vs, UC vs. State requirements; a list of career/career tech websites; general information on "beyond high school"; a letter to the parents; an activity log (to start keeping track of volunteer, extracurricular etc); and finally an NCR form which indicates we've met the requirements (with student/counselor signature). This is the format that my colleagues will be sharing at the Northern California CASC Conference.

I am fortunate to get an additional THREE days in May with 7 th /8 th grade students to work with the high school guide.

The feedback is EXCELLENT!! It really hits home when some kids see they have THREE pages of discipline, or when they start thinking about what they could put on their activity log. The intention is for them to keep this in a safe place throughout high school to use for college apps. They will also add any skills/interest inventories we do in May.