Welcoming Mr. Daryl Beck as our new AP of Guidance & Curriculum

The Guidance Department has had a couple of changes this month! We have congratulated our former Assistant Principal of Guidance & Curriculum, Ms. Janine Salanitro, as she accepted a position as Principal at a school in Los Angeles County. We are excited for Ms. Salanitro to pursue this next chapter in her life as a Principal, a position she has worked hard towards for several years! She will also be closer to home - yay! We are so grateful for her time guiding our department over the past few years.

Some of you may know Mr. Daryl Beck as he has been a member of our Mustang family for a while now. He has transitioned into the role of AP of Guidance & Curriculum after formerly being the AP of Athletics and Supervision (M-Z). We look forward to working with Mr. Beck as our new leader and are excited to see what this next chapter brings!

Registration With Our Guidance Techs

It is Spring registration time for our students! 10th-12th grade students will be meeting with their Guidance Technicians (aka Student Services Technicians) through their history course to select classes for the Spring 2023 semester.

Freshmen will not be sitting down with their Technicians as their classes are all year-long and will not change. If they are in Health or Freshman Focus, the next semester will automatically switch. If you wish to level down, please contact your Guidance Technician directly and be ready to provide parent permission. They are available by email or for students to visit during break or lunch.

If your student is wanting to meet A-G Requirements for UC's and Cal State College requirements (and generally any 4-year college), please make sure your student is aware of the classes they need to take. As a reminder, here is a link to the A-G Requirements. Some main points to take away: they need to earn C's or higher to be A-G eligible, they need to take two years of a Language Other Than English (LOTE) and one year of a Visual and Performing Art (VAPA).

• If your student does not want to be A-G eligible and would prefer to go to community college, workforce, military, etc. then they do not need to complete the specific LOTE and VAPA course requirements; only graduation requirements.

As a reminder, your Guidance Technician is assigned to you by your last name. They are responsible for your course selection and registration. See below for the Guidance Technician breakdown:

• A-El: Mrs. McCann

• Em-Le: Mrs. Murphy

• Li-Ri: Mrs. Ahearn

• Ro-Z: Ms. Torres

McDermott Scholars Program at UT Dallas: Application Opening Soon!

The Eugene McDermott Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Dallas is recruiting a new class! Your students with outstanding grades* and a proven passion for leadership and service might find their fit with us.

This full-ride scholarship includes tuition, stipends and enrichment resources, including study abroad funding. While a generous merit award, it is a serious commitment requiring students to excel academically and demonstrably contribute through leadership and service on campus and beyond.

Within our top-ranked public university, McDermott Scholars find community and dynamic peers, and a landscape of personal and professional growth opportunities.

Deadlines

• Dec. 1: Due date for UT Dallas Application (with supplemental documentation) and CV Academic Honors Program application.

• Early 2023: Application to McDermott Scholars Program due.

For more information, visit the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program website.

*The Eugene McDermott Scholars Program application does not consider standardized test scores.

Vietnamese Student Union's 39th Annual High School Conference

When: November 20, 2022, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Where: University of California, Los-Angeles

Who: High school students 9th-12th grade and their parents

Hosted by: UCLA's Vietnamese Student Union

Though our target is to serve the Vietnamese community, we welcome anyone and everyone of all communities. This application is specifically for the parent component of our program. We welcome parents to apply to learn about the college application process and why higher education is important and explore what college life is like to best support their children in their journey to college. We will have workshops on college life, the college process, and financial aid, and we offer tours to explore different aspects of college. The entire event is free! To learn more information, please visit this link!

AP Exam Ordering

AP exam ordering has begun and has been promoted on our THHS Website, THHS Bulletin, and in our Mustang Morning News! AP Exams can be ordered on Total Registration. Each exam costs $105.00. After November 13^th, College Board charges a late fee of $40.00 for each exam ordered.

• Click HERE to Order

Register for ROP Courses

Are you interested in taking a course through Coastline Regional Occupational Program (ROP)? Registration is open!

Take a class in automotive, child development, criminal justice, culinary arts, fire science/emergency medical response, medical/dental, retail sales, information technologies, and more! Check out this link to view all the courses offered by ROP that you can take in the Spring of 2023. Please be sure to note the dates, times, and locations of these classes as some are only offered at schools in outside districts such as Tustin or Newport-Mesa. You are welcome to take the courses elsewhere as long as you have transportation to that location. View the flyer below for more information.

Register deadlines:

• 9th/10th graders register Friday, November 18th

• 11th graders register Wednesday, November 16th

• 12th graders register Monday, November 14th

HelpNow - Online Tutoring Resource

The HelpNow service is provided by the California State Library system for all K-12 students (and family members) to help with various subjects including math, english, science, and history. Our local resource is provided by the Mission Viejo Public Library and has live online tutors available now. HelpNow also includes a writing lab where tutors review various forms of writing like research reports and college essays. You can visit the website and view the wide range of study tools available as well as the collaboration section where you can schedule sessions with friends in their private virtual study room. This is a great resource to utilize at home when your student is feeling stuck!

The Transformational Power of Gratitude:

Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier (Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School)

Harvard Health Publishing shares, "Each holiday season comes with high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year. However, for many this time of year is tinged with sadness, anxiety, or depression. Certainly, major depression or a severe anxiety disorder benefits most from professional help. But what about those who just feel lost or overwhelmed or down at this time of year? Research (and common sense) suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirits, and it's built right into the holiday — being grateful.

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships..."

• Read the entire article on how "Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier" by Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School

Per the article published by Harvard Medical School, here are some ways to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis:

• Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter or email expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person's impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.

• Thank someone mentally. No time to write? It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.

• Keep a gratitude journal. Make it a habit to write down or share with a loved one thoughts about the gifts you've received each day.

• Count your blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number — such as three to five things — that you will identify each week. As you write, be specific and think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.

• Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as "peace"), it is also possible to focus on what you're grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more... It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Gratitude makes things right. Say thank you, until you mean it." –Melody Beattie

Thoughtful Thursdays (Demerit Recovery)

Starting December 1st - Every Thursday at Lunch*

Starting on Thursday, December 1st, we are bringing back Thoughtful Thursdays! Mental Wellness Counselors from the District Office collaborate with THHS School Counselors to bring students an opportunity to learn more about their mental health, coping mechanisms, stress relief, self-care and so much more. These lunchtime sessions are offered as a way to help serve our student's social and emotional needs based on data that they have provided in our recent Panorama survey. Additionally, this is an alternative way to clear demerits. Students who attend one entire session (and sign in) will be able to clear one demerit. Please see flyer below for more info!

• When: Thursdays at Lunch* (Starting December 1st)

  • *Thoughtful Thursday facilitation is subject to change based on school events, non-student days, and staff/facility availability. Communications will be provided if there are any changes to the regular schedule.

• Where: "The Meadow" (Room 129 - aka the "Old" College & Career Center)

• What: Quick lessons regarding student mental health and related subjects. Additionally, a new opportunity for students to clear demerits (1 per 1 Thoughtful Thursday).