Phew! What a week of student orientation last week. Teachers and students were working furiously to manage the “next normal” of mostly remote classes for BHS students. Counselors were working feverishly with curriculum coordinators to correct as many student scheduling errors as they could… and will continue to do this work for errors only.
The two week freeze now starts tomorrow (Monday 9/21) for students to remain in their current schedule UNLESS A COURSE IS MISSING OR WAS NOT REQUESTED (IN MARCH 2020) from Monday 9/21 to Wednesday 9/30. If a student still desires a “change of mind” schedule change by 9/30, the student should be talking with their parent-guardian and current teacher about a possible change, then contacting their assigned counselor to see if a change is possible when working with curriculum coordinators and deans.
If a student has questions/concerns/or just wants to say hello to their counselor, please see if the counselor has posted their weekly office hours on CANVAS or email the counselor. Please note that counselors are still working through needed schedule corrections and may be slow to respond for the next few days. But we’re still here and ready to support EVERY BHS student! “See” you in ZOOM!
The two week freeze now starts tomorrow (Monday 9/21) for students to remain in their current schedule UNLESS A COURSE IS MISSING OR WAS NOT REQUESTED (IN MARCH 2020) from Monday 9/21 to Wednesday 9/30. If a student still desires a “change of mind” schedule change by 9/30, the student should be talking with their parent-guardian and current teacher about a possible change, then contacting their assigned counselor to see if a change is possible when working with curriculum coordinators and deans.
If a student has questions/concerns/or just wants to say hello to their counselor, please see if the counselor has posted their weekly office hours on CANVAS or email the counselor. Please note that counselors are still working through needed schedule corrections and may be slow to respond for the next few days. But we’re still here and ready to support EVERY BHS student! “See” you in ZOOM!
ALL STUDENTS
Not sure who to contact?
Please see the attached “Who To Call When” FAQ and BHS Student Support Staff list – attached
FALL BHS SPORTS - BHS sports are back! HS sports seasons are: Fall 1: Sept. 18 - Nov. 20; Winter: Nov. 30 - Feb. 21; Fall 2 (floating season): Feb. 22 - April 25; & Spring: April 26 - July 3.
During "Fall 1," BHS will offer: Cross Country (boys & girls), Field Hockey, Golf (boys), Soccer (boys & girls), Swimming & Diving (girls). Please register here by Mon. Sept. 21st.
Need Student Tech Support? Check out this PSB link -
https://sites.google.com/psbma.org/studenttech/home
Hungry? Please check out-
- USDA announces free lunches for any person in Brookline up to age 18 year through December 31st - Free breakfast and lunch will be available to ALL STUDENTS 18 years and younger, regardless of meal eligibility – go to https://publicschoolsofbrooklineschoolnutrition.com/
Ready to give back to your community by serving others? Take a look at the attached BHS Community Service flyer. If you’re interested in getting BHS credit, please read the details on the flyer and be ready to complete needed forms. Contact the BHS Community Service coordinator – lisa_gaffney@psbma.org
- Check student CANVAS pages for updated information about Brookline area community service opportunities to give back to your community.
- Anna Lin from BHS is starting a music-community service organization called Virtuosi @ Brookline, under the organization Virtuosi Music Mentorship. We are a group of high school musicians that provides free, virtual music mentorship sessions to K-8 students.
Once a student signs up, we match them with a high school mentor, and the mentee can contact the mentor directly about scheduling. Usually the mentorship sessions are only 30min long. You can view our website for more details: https://musicarementor.org/ We have 50+ mentors covering 8 towns, 14 instruments, with over 150+ families participating from across 10 states, 18 cities and 5 countries.
If you would like to become a mentor, please sign up using this form (NOT the one the one on the website) - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScx5Jrb_gEQndbtADhdWMwaEk6D83f8A8hRK0VSOtPH5E2bow/viewform?usp=sf_link
Leadership Academy for Black Identifying Young Women – Apply to have a Black Harvard Woman as your mentor for Grades 9-12 - Association of Black Harvard Women AVS Leadership Academy Mentor program extended their application deadline to Thurs 9/24. - see attached
What does the BHS GPA look like this year and why? Please see the attached overview for more information. The ongoing BHS GPA determination for future classes is in progress.
SENIORS
BHS will be offering a SENIOR ONLY IN-SCHOOL SAT on Wednesday, October 14. This is an opportunity for any senior who wants to take the SAT and has not yet been scheduled or taken this college admissions test. Please see the attached flyer for specific online registration information. The deadline to register is Oct 7.
Thank you to all 200 parents – caregivers who attended the 9/17/20 Senior Parent PTO meeting on Post High School Planning with Lisa Redding, Kate Kennedy (BHS Career Counselor), Lenny Libenzon (BHS College Counselor) and Darby Neff-Verre (Coordinator of Guid/Coun Dept)! The recording of this event is available here (and please note passcode to view) - https://brooklinema.zoomgov.com/rec/share/vNxJM5f22UxOT6PP61r_RYsQI6j7aaa8hiYdr_Venx2Jq5HmsxjVhzEj-9cBw2Dn Passcode: z!7V=Say
Virtual College Representative visits at BHS will start tomorrow, Monday 9/21 – Seniors can attend any and all college sessions of schools they plan to or are interested in attending. The schedule and REQUIRED zoom link registration can be found on your Naviance homepage. This is a wonderful way to learn more about colleges, ask important questions, and show demonstrated interest!
PTO Essay Writing Virtual Workshop on Sunday, October 4 - see attached flyer and QR registration code
- Check in with your counselor or Mr Libenzon (BHS College Counselor) for essay support too!
- We continue to recommend the College Essay Guy website for lots of grea FREE advice for seniors and essay writing suggestions, including if and how to respond to the Common Application COVID essay option - https://www.collegeessayguy.com/
Many college admissions deans across the country have joined the Making Caring Common initiative started by Harvard School of Education. In response to the unprecedented impact of COVID 19 on college admissions, they have shared the document Care Counts in Crisis: College Admissions Deans Respond to COVID 19. You can read this important document too – see attached.
Interested in a Gap Year? Please refer to the Gap Year resources shared in Lenny Libenzon’s powerpoint mentioned above from the 9/17/20 senior parent presentation and also look into https://quakervoluntaryservice.org/
BHS Guidance will be offering a Gap Year virtual presentation in November 2020.
Stay tuned!
Since BHS could not hold our annual College Fair last spring, we are recommending that seniors attend one of the NACAC Fall Virtual Fairs. The virtual fairs are offered on Oct 12, Oct 18, and Nov 8. Please see the attached FAQ for more information and next steps. The BHS counselors have not personally attended these fairs, but wanted to share as many options as possible to our seniors as they are the first to navigate this "next normal" of the college admissions process.
Seniors…. Be sure to meet the BHS Transcript Release (and Coun Recommendation info) Deadlines so we can meet your college application deadlines! See the BHS College Application Procedures Quicklist too – both attached below.
JUNIORS
BHS will be offering the Saturday PSAT on October 17, 2020 at the high school. Online registration and more details will be shared by email to juniors and families later this week.
Stay tuned!
Not sure who to contact?
Please see the attached “Who To Call When” FAQ and BHS Student Support Staff list – attached
FALL BHS SPORTS - BHS sports are back! HS sports seasons are: Fall 1: Sept. 18 - Nov. 20; Winter: Nov. 30 - Feb. 21; Fall 2 (floating season): Feb. 22 - April 25; & Spring: April 26 - July 3.
During "Fall 1," BHS will offer: Cross Country (boys & girls), Field Hockey, Golf (boys), Soccer (boys & girls), Swimming & Diving (girls). Please register here by Mon. Sept. 21st.
Need Student Tech Support? Check out this PSB link -
https://sites.google.com/psbma.org/studenttech/home
Hungry? Please check out-
- Brookline Thrives will start offering a free weekend food program on October 2– see attached for more information
- USDA announces free lunches for any person in Brookline up to age 18 year through December 31st - Free breakfast and lunch will be available to ALL STUDENTS 18 years and younger, regardless of meal eligibility – go to https://publicschoolsofbrooklineschoolnutrition.com/
Ready to give back to your community by serving others? Take a look at the attached BHS Community Service flyer. If you’re interested in getting BHS credit, please read the details on the flyer and be ready to complete needed forms. Contact the BHS Community Service coordinator – lisa_gaffney@psbma.org
- Check student CANVAS pages for updated information about Brookline area community service opportunities to give back to your community.
- Anna Lin from BHS is starting a music-community service organization called Virtuosi @ Brookline, under the organization Virtuosi Music Mentorship. We are a group of high school musicians that provides free, virtual music mentorship sessions to K-8 students.
Once a student signs up, we match them with a high school mentor, and the mentee can contact the mentor directly about scheduling. Usually the mentorship sessions are only 30min long. You can view our website for more details: https://musicarementor.org/ We have 50+ mentors covering 8 towns, 14 instruments, with over 150+ families participating from across 10 states, 18 cities and 5 countries.
If you would like to become a mentor, please sign up using this form (NOT the one the one on the website) - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScx5Jrb_gEQndbtADhdWMwaEk6D83f8A8hRK0VSOtPH5E2bow/viewform?usp=sf_link
Leadership Academy for Black Identifying Young Women – Apply to have a Black Harvard Woman as your mentor for Grades 9-12 - Association of Black Harvard Women AVS Leadership Academy Mentor program extended their application deadline to Thurs 9/24. - see attached
What does the BHS GPA look like this year and why? Please see the attached overview for more information. The ongoing BHS GPA determination for future classes is in progress.
SENIORS
BHS will be offering a SENIOR ONLY IN-SCHOOL SAT on Wednesday, October 14. This is an opportunity for any senior who wants to take the SAT and has not yet been scheduled or taken this college admissions test. Please see the attached flyer for specific online registration information. The deadline to register is Oct 7.
Thank you to all 200 parents – caregivers who attended the 9/17/20 Senior Parent PTO meeting on Post High School Planning with Lisa Redding, Kate Kennedy (BHS Career Counselor), Lenny Libenzon (BHS College Counselor) and Darby Neff-Verre (Coordinator of Guid/Coun Dept)! The recording of this event is available here (and please note passcode to view) - https://brooklinema.zoomgov.com/rec/share/vNxJM5f22UxOT6PP61r_RYsQI6j7aaa8hiYdr_Venx2Jq5HmsxjVhzEj-9cBw2Dn Passcode: z!7V=Say
Virtual College Representative visits at BHS will start tomorrow, Monday 9/21 – Seniors can attend any and all college sessions of schools they plan to or are interested in attending. The schedule and REQUIRED zoom link registration can be found on your Naviance homepage. This is a wonderful way to learn more about colleges, ask important questions, and show demonstrated interest!
PTO Essay Writing Virtual Workshop on Sunday, October 4 - see attached flyer and QR registration code
- Check in with your counselor or Mr Libenzon (BHS College Counselor) for essay support too!
- We continue to recommend the College Essay Guy website for lots of grea FREE advice for seniors and essay writing suggestions, including if and how to respond to the Common Application COVID essay option - https://www.collegeessayguy.com/
Many college admissions deans across the country have joined the Making Caring Common initiative started by Harvard School of Education. In response to the unprecedented impact of COVID 19 on college admissions, they have shared the document Care Counts in Crisis: College Admissions Deans Respond to COVID 19. You can read this important document too – see attached.
Interested in a Gap Year? Please refer to the Gap Year resources shared in Lenny Libenzon’s powerpoint mentioned above from the 9/17/20 senior parent presentation and also look into https://quakervoluntaryservice.org/
BHS Guidance will be offering a Gap Year virtual presentation in November 2020.
Stay tuned!
Since BHS could not hold our annual College Fair last spring, we are recommending that seniors attend one of the NACAC Fall Virtual Fairs. The virtual fairs are offered on Oct 12, Oct 18, and Nov 8. Please see the attached FAQ for more information and next steps. The BHS counselors have not personally attended these fairs, but wanted to share as many options as possible to our seniors as they are the first to navigate this "next normal" of the college admissions process.
Seniors…. Be sure to meet the BHS Transcript Release (and Coun Recommendation info) Deadlines so we can meet your college application deadlines! See the BHS College Application Procedures Quicklist too – both attached below.
JUNIORS
BHS will be offering the Saturday PSAT on October 17, 2020 at the high school. Online registration and more details will be shared by email to juniors and families later this week.
Stay tuned!