The Latest

Connect With the Counselor

May  1, 2024
6:30-7:15

Join me as I have another Zoom for parents of MS students!  Here's what's on deck:

As usual, you aren't expected to stay for the whole time and you don't have to have your video on!  Drop in when you can.  A recording will be made available afterwards.

Join Zoom Meeting:   https://lcds-org.zoom.us/j/87521971891

Connect With the Counselor
November 29, 2023
6:30-7:15

Coming up later in this first trimester is a 45-minute "Connect with the Counselor" Zoom meeting with Jacqueline Smith.   Topics covered will be:

Couldn't attend?  Connect with the Counselor Recording
Email smithja@lancastercountryday.org for the passcode.

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)
October 17, 2023 (8th)

November 9, 2023 (10th, 12th)

Between October 17 and November 18, students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 will take the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS).  Pays is administered once every two years throughout the entire state and has been taken by over 2 million students in Pennsylvania.  The information is anonymous and helps identify what types of prevention programs should be implemented based on students' needs. 

While students are not required to take this, it's strongly encouraged so that programs and initiatives are actually relevant to the type of situations and issues students are encountering.  Students who take the survey will not miss any instructional time.

Please let me know if you'd prefer that your child not take this survey: smithja@lancastercountryday.org.  There's no judgment about your child not taking the survey.  If you'd like, you can include your rationale so that the information can be provided to the state regarding the survey.

One page flyer for parents about PAYS
Letter for parents
YouTube video that students will see prior to the survey


**Update 11/10-23 - After some additional consideration, we decided that it would be best for the 6th graders to not take the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) this year. If you have questions about this, please reach out and I'd be glad to hear from you.

**Update 11/29-23 - Preliminary PAYS data should be available mid-December.  Once I have a chance to review it, I'll update parents.

Teen Hope Screening
Tuesday, October 2, 2023

For the second year, seventh and eighth grade students will take part in a screening for anxiety, depression, and risk of suicide.  More information can be found on the Samaritan Counseling Center/TeenHope.  They use both the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7.

TeenHope is a teen mental health program that screens for depression and suicide risk of students in Lancaster County middle and high schools. The program’s goal is to identify at-risk students who are flying below the radar before a crisis situation occurs.