Gaithersburg High School - Counseling Services

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS TO GAITHERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL!!

NEW STUDENT ENROLLMENTS:
Summer Enrollment appointments with our Counselors will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Counseling Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Please call Ms. Bortnick at 301-840-4727 for an appointment.

The following documents are needed for the appointment:

Parent photo ID (government issued)
Lease or Property Tax Bill
Students' immunizations
Previous school records

2008-2009 COUNSELING CALENDAR

Our series of career and college planning guides - Getting Set, Getting Started, and Getting Ready - are now posted on the MCPS web site in Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean as well as in English. These planning guides can be found at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/planningguides/ [POSTED MAY 8]

Dr. James Distler , Director of School Counseling Services
Ms. Marlis Carter, Counselor	Ms. Jessica Pollard, 9th Grade Counselor
Mr. Andrew Eppeldauer, Counselor	Mr. Dwayne Thomas, 9th Grade Counselor
Ms. Maria Garcia, ESOL Counselor	Ms. Carolyn West-Gipson, Counselor
Ms. Paula Marple, Counselor	Ms. Brenda Wilkins Brown, Counselor
Ms. Ivette Moss, Counselor
Ms. Rhona Bortnick, Counseling Secretary Ms. Melissa Chase, Registrar Brenda Deluca, Assistant Registrar

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CONSIDERING A MEDICAL OR FIRE FIGHTER CAREER.
CLICK HERE to apply to the Fire Science Academy Cadet Program!

Counseling Services
School counselors help students make appropriate personal, career, and educational decisions. In either individual or in group sessions, the counselors:

help students to achieve increased self-awareness and feeling of self-worth
provide opportunities for students to discuss personal and/or social problems that may affect learning, motivation, and personal development
assist students in acquiring decision-making skills to make appropriate educational, career, and personal decisions
provide testing and test interpretation to help students analyze their interests, abilities and values with respect to career awareness.
meet annually with each student to plan an educational program consistent with his/her needs (Four-Year Plan).
provide information to students and parents about colleges, careers, and vocational schools
take an active role in working with the administration to inform students and parents of guidance programs.
act as student advocates in any reasonable cause.
collect and interpret information needed for student conferences, e.g., Educational Management Team (EMT) meetings.
work with teachers and parents to help students achieve their potential in school

Counseling Services Secretary
The Counseling Services Secretary is the receptionist for all counseling services. He or she makes all the appointments for counseling conferences, contacts teachers for homework when a student is ill, and assists the home instruction teachers. Students who have changes of address or phone number should notify the Counseling Office.

ALPHABET	COUNSELOR
A to CRAWFORD	Ms. Marlis Carter
CREAMER to HERRON	Mr. Andrew Eppeldauer
HERTZBERG to MEIRA	Ms. Brenda Wilkins-Brown
MEJIA to RUSS	Ms. Ivette Moss
RUSSELLl to Z	Ms. Paula Marple
9th Grade Academy	Ms. Jessica Pollard
9th Grade Academy	Mr. Dwayne Thomas
ESOL	Ms. Maria Garcia
ESOL, Levels 1, 2 & 3	Dr. James Distler
9th Grade Academic Success Management Team	TO BE DETERMINED

Procedures To See Your Counselor

Although the above assignments are made for administrative purposes, an "open door" policy exists. Students may make an appointment to see a counselor of their preference. Counselors are available to see students on a drop-in basis before school, during lunch, and after school.
To make an appointment for another time, the student should come before school, during lunch, or after school and fill out the white REQUEST TO SEE A GUIDANCE COUNSELOR form. Leave this form with Ms. Bortnick, the Counseling Department secretary. As soon as possible, the counselor will send a pass to the student's class.

Parents: In order to see your child's counselor, please call 01-840-4727 make an appointment. Counselors are more likely to be able to meet with you by calling ahead.

Course & Schedule Changes
Dropping A Course / Schedule Changes
Because staff members spend a great deal of time and energy developing an individual student's schedule during the registration and scheduling processes, they expect students to stay with their assigned schedules. Students requesting a change from AP or Honors to Regular class, MUST complete the appropriate form. Forms are obtained in the Counseling Services Department. Changes will only be made with approval from administration, counselor, teachers, and parents.

College Institute
The College Institute is an innovative partnership between Montgomery College and Wootton and Gaithersburg high schools. The institute provides an opportunity for identified high-achieving seniors to earn college credits on a high school campus during a regular school day. The Montgomery College courses enhance and supplement the high school's current advanced placement courses. Students in College Institute will gain college success skills by attending weekly seminars dealing with important academic and social issues involved in the transition to college.

Who is eligible to participate?
Any student who by the end of the junior year has:

Completed primarily all high school graduation requirements;
Achieved a minimum verbal score of 550 and a minimum math score of 550 on the SAT;
Earned a minimum weighted grade point average of 3.5; and
Received the recommendation of the high school counselor.

For additional details on the College Institute Program, click here.

Honors / Advanced Placement Program
The Honors/Advanced Placement (H/AP) program at GHS offers courses in English, foreign language, math, science, social studies, computer science, art and statistics. All students are encouraged to register for a challenging academic program. Parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators identify and encourage students to enroll in H/AP. Students area also encouraged to nominate themselves. Participation in AP classes gives students a sample of college-level work while they are still in high school. Students who score high grades on AP exams may receive college credit from the colleges they decide to attend.

Students who receive a grade of B or above in Honors/AP class get an extra quality point when their weighted GPA's are calculated.

2008 AP Exam Schedule
Gaithersburg High School AP Exam Coordinator: Ms. Wilkins-Brown, Counseling Services

Montgomery College (formerly MCPS) SAT Prep Course Registration Information - Effective July 1, 2006 the SAT Preparation Program that has been administered by the Montgomery County Public Schools Adult Education Office for the past 25 years will transition to Montgomery College. It will be administered by the Workforce Development & Continuing Education office. The curriculum and design of the program will continue as before. Montgomery College will maintain current course locations in various MCPS high schools.

College Testing Online Support:

MY SAT ONLINE SCORE REPORT. SAT scores Simplified. Demystified. Customized. Designed to give students a wealth of personalized, practical information about their SAT results, helping them to:

Understand specifics about how the test is structured and scored, including the writing section and the essay
Get detailed insights into how they performed on each section of the test, including responses by question type and difficulty
See how their scores compare to the scores of students in their school, state, and nationally
Search for the right colleges, majors and careers based on their scores
Improve their scores on a future test through targeted preparation

My Online Score Report is available free to all students who take the SAT, whether they registered online or by mail; all a student needs is a collegeboard.com account. CLICK HERE to access MY SAT ONLINE SCORE REPORT. [POSTED APRIL 7]

My College QuickStart - NEW for PSAT/NMSQT Test Takers! Do you know that each test taker will have access to My College QuickStart FREE OF CHARGE? My College QuickStart, new in 2006, is an easy-to-use, online,personalized college and career planning kit comprised of four main sections.

My Online Score Report: An enhanced score report that allows students to review each test question, the student's answer, and the correct answer with explanations.
My SAT Study Plan: A customized SAT study plan based on student PSAT/NMSQT test performance, highlighting skills for review and practice.
My College Matches: A starter list of colleges based on the student's state and indicated choice of major.
My Major and Career Matches: Major and career matches that are compatible with the student's general interests and personality type.

My College QuickStart will be available for 2007 test takers in mid-December. Student access codes will be found on their paper score report. Students will have access to My College QuickStart throughout their high school careers. Access this exciting new tool by visiting www.collegeboard.com/psatextra, creating an online account, and entering the access code found on the official paper Score Report Plus. [UPDATED JAN. 9]

The PSAT will be administered on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 all Montgomery County Public Schools. This test is given once a year.

The Student Online Learning (SOL) program in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) provides students with opportunities to obtain high school credits outside the regular school day through Internet-based courses. Just like traditional courses, these online courses are taught by highly-qualified MCPS teachers. To register for an online course, complete the summer school registration form available in your child's guidance office. To view or download the SOL Bulletin, click here.

GATEWAY TO COLLEGE PROGRAM. The Gateway to College© program at Montgomery College serves at-risk youth, 16 to 20 years old, who have stopped attending Montgomery County Public High Schools and for whom high school completion is at risk. The program gives students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma while transitioning to a college campus. Students may simultaneously accumulate high school and college credits, earning their high school diploma while progressing toward an associate degree or certificate. Visit their web site or contact them at 301.610.4052 to sign up for an Information Session or request an application. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/mcmcps/gateway/index.htm

Family Connection Registration Information SENIORS! Check out the Program, a college search engine with a personal touch! Build a resume, complete on-line survey's, and manage timelines and deadline for making decisions about colleges and careers. Research colleges - Compare your GPA, SAT scores, and other statistics to actual admissions data. Sign up for college visits - Find out which colleges are visiting our school and sign up to attend those sessions. Pick up your personal registration code and access information in the Counseling Office. Once in, your parents can also register and access information.

REGISTER ONLINE FOR THE SAT! Visit www.collegeboard.com. Registration dates are also available on the GHS online calendar.

Do you need to pursue a GED? The GED Test is a standardized high school equivalency examination taken for a Maryland high school diploma. The Tests of General Education Development (GED) consists of five tests and requires 7 hours and 5 minutes to complete. The GED Program is now a part of Montgomery College Workforce Development & Continuing Education.
CLICK HERE to visit their web site for more information, including practice tests, where to test & cost. To be eligible to take the GED Tests the candidate must be:

At least 16 years old.
not a high school graduate
a Maryland resident for at least 3 months at the time of testing
officially withdrawn from high school for at least three months