Guidance Department

Welcome to the McQuaid Guidance Department

In partnership with parents and teachers, we are here to serve the personal and academic (Cura Personalis) needs of our students. We are committed to the Catholic identity and Jesuit tradition which distinguish McQuaid as a premier educational institution.

Nearly ninety-nine percent of our students are admitted to colleges and universities as they complete their senior year. In support of their goals, we offer a number of services in keeping with their personal and academic development. This development includes individual counseling on personal and interpersonal matters as well as individual and group counseling on academic and career concerns. Much of the group work is done once a cycle in the classroom where students deal with issues most relevant for them. For the early grades, these issues are mainly school related; for older students, the issues relate to health issues and college admissions.

  Program

Middle School

The counselor for the middle school is close at hand to help seventh and eighth graders adjust to their new educational and social environment. In consort with both parents and teachers, the counselor enables students to

• Negotiate new schedule and classroom demands  
  

• Assess study, note and test-taking habits.  
  

• Handle course placement  
  

• Relate to peers  
  

• Learn responsibility  

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Ninth Grade

Individual Guidance

• Building Rapport – affirming students.

• Personal, academic, religious and social growth.

• Future planning – “Person for Others”.

Group Guidance

First Semester

• Outline of guidance program on the high school level. Suggestions for beginning high school.

• Preparation for fall standardized testing.

• Success as a student and as a person: Handbook Staying on Top of Things Before It’s Too Late (3-4 sessions.

Second Semester

• Open book “test” on Staying on Top…

• Work on Sophomore Schedules (Course Description Booklet) 2 sessions.

• Substance abuse (Inmate’s letters – video interview – Exorcist).

• McQuaid’s achievements of excellence – Jesuit tradition.
  {McQuaid “scrapbook” and movies: The Blackrobe, The Mission}

• Career Development (Booklet: Find a Career You Like and You Will Never Have to Work a Day in Your Life. Career Interest Profile and Explorer Survey).

• Initiation of a resume. Academic and personal qualities examined in a Letter of Recommendation. Students write out their own recommendations.

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Tenth Grade

The counselor for Grade 10 will build on the student’s previous experience by

• continuing to work on areas helpful to school success such as academic reviews, communication skills, study plans and test taking strategies, including strategies useful for the PSAT and SAT exams.

• extending thought on drug use and other teen behaviors.

• continuing to build the resume.

• exploring college application requirements.

• exploring summer programs.

• assisting in choosing courses appropriate for the students’ capabilities and goals during the course selection process.

• assisting with the personal needs of the student.

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Eleventh Grade

The counselor for eleventh grade will direct students in a practical manner with regard to college choices and career goals, utilizing individual and group meetings. To those ends, the counselor will

• acquaint students with ACT Discover, a comprehensive online college and career development program complete with an interest inventory.

• familiarize students with the contents and function of standardized testing, including PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, SAT II (subject tests), and ACT.

• aid the students in formulating their own personal criteria for college and career by employing research techniques, interest inventories, personal statistical data and analysis of current trends relative to his choices by using several informational resources.

• supervise the students as they further develop their personal resume.

• develop a rapport with students that is conducive to personal, social, and academic development.

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Twelfth Grade

Counselors for twelfth grade will focus on completing the process of selecting colleges and discerning career choices. In that process the counselors will

• Continue ongoing personal guidance with regard to the students' standardized testing results  
  

• Discuss athletic guidelines for NCAA play  
  

• Review students' academic progress and their college career prospects.        
  

• Finalize college application process

           •Revise and Complete Resume

           •Individual Conferences (many times with parent) to tailor student college choices

           •Disseminate Scholarship Information

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website: www.ecos.princetonreview.com