August Newsletter

BHS Counseling Dept.

Welcome Parents and Guardians to the 2025-2026 School Year

Welcome to the BHS Counseling Newsletter! This monthly update is designed to keep you informed and engaged with everything happening in the world of counseling at BHS. Our goal is to provide helpful, timely information to support both you and your student throughout the school year.

Each issue will include updates on our counseling curriculum, important reminders, relevant news articles, and highlights from around the building. We'll also use this space to introduce our counseling team and the many supports available to students here at BHS.

In addition to this newsletter, we maintain a Counseling Google Classroom for your students tailored to each grade level. This digital space serves as a hub for students—sharing announcements, resources, curriculum content, and other essential updates they need to stay informed and prepared.

We’re excited to partner with you and support your student’s journey this year. Thank you for being part of the BHS community!

Warm regards,
The BHS Counseling Team

your counselors...

*You can locate your students assigned counselor on their schedule in Infinite Campus.

Mr. Hilton

630-679-3437

Mrs. Quiles

630-679-3568

Mrs. Prill

630-679-3717

Mrs. Geesey

630-679-3432

Ms. Ross

630-679-3434

Mr Noel

630-679-3439

Mrs. Clift

630-679-3430

Mr. Larivee

630-679-3479

Mr. Soderstrom

630-679-3433

Ms. Domenico

630-679-3429

Mrs. Heffron

630-679-3440

Ms. Wheeler

630-679-3435

Mrs. Gammicchia

630-679-3431

Mrs. Judy

630-679-3436

Mrs. Farmer

630-679-3455

Here are your additional student support personnel...

*Click on an image for Contact Links

Keeping Track of Grades, Assignments, Fees, Etc...

Infinite Campus

You can add the Infinite Campus app to your IPhone or Android smart phone. This is an easy way to keep track of grades, assignments, etc... You will see two apps in your app store a "P" for the parent app and "S" for the student app so you can both keep track. As parent you can go into your students account and see any missing assignments that were due that day. This is a great way to keep that conversation going with your student about academics and keeping up with assignments.

The Campus Portal allows parents the opportunity to be engaged in their children’s education through direct access to grades, assignments, and teachers. Through Campus Portal, parents and students may:

View attendance, schedules, grades, and assignment details online
Receive direct notices and messages from the District, school, and teachers
See a snapshot of assignment due dates, past due status across all classes
All grades are live and accurate reflections of the teacher’s gradebooks
If you need help setting up this account call or email your students counselor.

SchooLinks - College/Career readiness platform

SchooLinks is a comprehensive college and career readiness platform designed to help students, parents, and educators navigate the educational journey from middle school through college and into careers. Here are the key features and benefits of SchooLinks:

Academic Preparation Career Reserch and Selection

College Research and Selection College Applications Manager

Financial Planning Scholarship Search

Personal Assessments and more...

Clubs, Sports, and Activities...

Being involved starts from day one. Its is also shown that students who are involved in their school community perform better in their academics. Combined with that fact, colleges and universities look for three things in their perspective students; grades and grade point average, school/campus involvement, and community involvement. These categories are also sections on a college application which students are asked to fill out when applying to colleges. Please read the article below that outlines how it all comes together.

Extracurriculars Matter — To You and To Colleges...

As reported by BigFuture on the CollegeBoard website. Click here for web article

Athletics

Sports and Coaches Click Here

Clubs & activities

Sponsors and Details listed under "Activities" - Click Here

Joining any activity or sport starts here...

You can register your student through our Snap account. Click here to register.

Academic Supports

There is no question that one of the biggest jumps in a students academic career comes between Middle School and High School. At BHS we work to support every student. Below are some ways your student can find the extra help they may need.

Tutoring within our building...

Before/During/after school we got you covered...

There are tutoring opportunities during homeroom periods, before school, and after school. Have your student reach out to their teacher or counselor to see what's available.

National Honors Society Peer Tutoring

You can email Ms. Muehring, sponsor of our NHS Program, for availability of individual tutoring in all subjects. Click Here.

Tutoring outside of BHS...

Free Online Tutoring Service

A nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Click Here.

Connect for Success Tutoring Program

Every Monday from 2:30-4:00pm, the computer lab will be open, and tutors will be available to help students with homework and exams. A healthy snack and transportation will be provided. Click Here.

Schedule Change Policy

Changing your classes

Changing classes can only happen under very specific circumstances and within the first 10 days of the school year. Please review our Schedule Change Policy linked here.

Whats Happening this month...

Auditorium Presentations:

Our Principal, Dr. Pascavage, will be meeting with each grade level between August 18th and 19th in our auditorium to welcome them to BHS. They will discuss high school expectations, meet the staff, and hopefully walk away with the knowledge they need to help them be successful here at BHS.

Individual meetings:

We will start meeting with our Seniors students individually to ensure they know what they need to be doing while applying for their post-secondary schools. We start with our Seniors but we will meet with every student in each grade level throughout the year.

adjusting to BHS:

We will also be busy helping any new students acclimate to BHS. If your student feels lost or discouraged please have them reach out to us, our biggest hope is that no one feels alone as they start their school year.

Meet our Furriest Raider Staff MEmber...

Goldie - BHS Facility Dog

Goldie is the only 4-legged member of our staff! While at BHS, she works as a facility dog, supporting students in the Deans and Counseling Offices.

We wanted to take a minute to introduce you to her.

See her on Instagram! @goldiethegolden_bhs

College and Career corner

BHS College & Career Center

Here we will be posting all sorts of information as it relates to Colleges and Careers. Throughout the year we host many events and breakout sessions for your students. You will find some of the following opportunities for you and your students listed here. We hope many students will take advantage of these throughout the school year.

College Representatives will come to BHS and meet with Juniors and Seniors
We will hold various workshops on topics such as...
- College Essays
- College Search
- Career Search
- Scholarships
- and more...
Military Recruiter Meetings
Trade Career Presentations
College and Career Night for families

Seniors - Common App is open

Common App opened August 1st

Click here to go to Common App and "Create an Account"

Seniors make sure you do not drag your feet on college applications, many of the Early Action deadlines are on November 1st. We discussed how many of the schools scholarships are tied to this deadline so get your applications in early!

Interesting Reads...

Dear Mom of High School Freshman

It says Mom but it's great advice for anyone raising a 9th grader...

Finally, freshman year is a year of our kids finding their feet as a high schooler and us finding our feet as the parents of one. It seems almost inconceivable that we could have a child this old, as our own high school days seem not so far removed. Click here for the article from grownandflown.com

Tips for Going to College With ADHD

College is an exciting time! You’re surrounded by new friends and new opportunities and have more independence than ever before. However, college life also presents unique challenges to a student with ADHD. Managing classes, a social life, and extra-curricular activities without day-to-day support from parents and a structured school schedule isn’t easy. But there are plenty of things you can do to set yourself up for success. These top ten tips are a great place to start. Click here for this article from the Child Mind Institute

High School Sophomore Timeline and Checklist

The countdown to college has begun. The primary focuses of your sophomore year should be: keeping your grade point average up (What is a GPA?), getting involved in extracurricular activities and preparing to take standardized tests like the SAT or the ACT. Click here for this article on campusexplorer.com

PREPARING FOR COLLEGE: JUNIOR year CHECKLIST

Here is an article with some helpful steps on preparing for college Click here for the article from NACAC.com

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