May 8, 2018

Reminders:

• Thursday, May 10 is the Show Your Voice Movement during both seminars. Attendance is optional for students. 
• Sunday, May 13
• Happy Mother's Day Mary, Sheri, & Mary Kaye (and all moms!)
• Senior Prom Friday, May 18
• Senior BBQ Monday, May 21
• Tuesday, May 22 Graduation Assembly and Res-Punzel
• May 23-25 Final Exams *see schedule below
• If one of your students is absent from your final exam, please give a copy of the exam and answer key to Kristine Owens
• Thursday, May 24 12:00pm Faculty luncheon
• May 29-31 are work days, as needed, for faculty
• May 29 Senior breakfast, graduation practice, and exam make-up day. Senior grades are due by 9:00am this day, as well. 
• Freshmen-Junior grade verification due by 9:00am on May 30
• Joe is exploring digital options for verification, and will let everyone know if they need to come in that day
• May 31 Graduation at Holy Name Cathedral 

The following is the schedule for semester exams:

Wednesday, May 23

8:30-9:30 period 1

9:45-10:45 period 3

Thursday, May 24

8:30-9:30 period 2

9:45-10:45 period 4

11:00-12:00 period 6

Friday, May 25

8:30-9:30 period 5

9:45-10:45 period 7

Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful year! I'm grateful to work with such an excellent Student Services team. 

Also, a huge thank you to Mary Bridich for all of her very hard work and friendship during her years at Res. We have all learned so much from you. We're so excited for you to be able to be home with your babies, but will miss you and hope you come around next year!

Practicum:

• Trauma Day at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital was a great experience. Enjoy some photos from the trip:

Academic Support:

• Sign up's for final exam alternate test sites will be posted this Thursday. Bri & Sam will get names of the students signed up to teachers by next Wednesday afternoon. 
• Bri & Sam are finishing up transition meetings for incoming freshmen at their grade schools. We have received great feedback from the grade schools and families regarding this process. 
• Bri & Sam are proposing an Understanding and Experiencing Disabilities club for next year. The club is meant to provide students the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of learning, physical and developmental disabilities. The students in the club will acquire skills of communication, respect, and understanding for people with a range of abilities.

College Counseling:

• Thank you to everyone for your help & support on signing day! It was so much fun to see the girls in their shirts and celebrate their commitment to school. Check out the pictures on the Res Facebook.
• Sophomore College 101 has ended.
• Melanie Zuniga was just awarded with The HEAR Foundation Scholarship, a scholarship worth $20,000, based on academic achievement and commitment to community! Congratulations, Melanie!
• The seniors have been awarded over 17 million dollars in scholarships and grants!
• Save the Date: Sept. 11, 2018 will be our annual College Fair with Notre Dame

Half of the group that went to Northwestern for a college visit. It was a great experience for the girls to see the campus and learn about Northwestern's academic programs. 

General Counseling:

• Sheri attended Ellysa's Mission at Regina HS to learn more about how the program works for next year. This program will run at Resurrection first semester.'
• Sheri and Mary have completed the Junior check ins! The Juniors seem prepared and excited to start to college search!
• AP testing is underway. All counselors are assisting with the proctoring. 
• The Lunch Bunch/social skills group is almost done. With two sessions left, they have covered such topics as social cues, body language, first impressions, self confidence, and much more. Sheri and Mary will be taking the group members to Dairy Queen to practice the skills they have learned.
• Summer school advisement and end of the year transfers are underway. 

STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

Emma Wood '19

Emma Wood at the Family Birthplace with her mentor. 

Q: Why did you decide to take Practicum? 

A: I decided to take Practicum based on the positive experiences I had heard about from girls who had previously taken the course. I thought the experiences sounded unique and interesting and that this would be a great opportunity. I also took Practicum because I was undecided about potential educational and career paths that I might be interested in pursuing. I figured this would be a great way to find out what I like and get some cool experiences.

Q: Which careers are you shadowing this semester? 

A: This semester I primarily shadowed a Labor & Delivery nurse and a Special Care nurse. I also shadowed a speech pathologist, a preschool teacher, and I observed in a child care center. This semester, I specifically focused on jobs that are related to working with babies and young children.

Q: What experience/rotation have you enjoyed the most? 

A: The experience that I enjoyed the most was having the pleasure of assisting in the delivery of a baby. Last semester, when I took Exploring Careers, I was fortunate to witness a birth on my very first placement. After that, I was hooked. This semester I had, possibly, a once in a lifetime experience of actually helping to deliver a baby. Since I have spent a lot of time observing in the Family Birthplace at Res, it was an amazing experience to be able to actually help.

Q: What have your learned about yourself and your interests this semester in Practicum? 

A: From this semester in Practicum I learned about my true love for kids and babies and my fascination with the miracle of childbirth. I know some people cannot even think about that without squirming, but for me it was truly the most amazing experience.

Q: What advice do you have for students who participate in the Practicum Program?

A: Some advice I have would be to take full advantage of every opportunity that is offered to you. I think that is what allowed me to have the most rewarding experiences. If I said "no" to something when I was at a placement, I may not have the stories I have now. I think my main suggestion would be to take advantage of every aspect of the class and every opportunity that is presented to you.

Q: Any other comments or insights?

A: Due to this experience, I am now interested in a field of study that I had not previously considered.

April 23, 2018

Reminders:

• April 24 is the final Activity 2
• Students have a noon dismissal on April 25. Faculty will stay for an in service. 
• April 30 is the final Activity 3
• May Crowning Liturgy is May 2 at 8:30am
• AP testing begins the week of May 7
• I will be writing our next blog post Wednesday, May 8. Please send me updates, shout-outs, and/or pictures you have! Please feel free to send them as they happen- I'll hold onto them until I write the next post!

Records:

• The Records Office is still scheduling...(but we did manage to get all signed Registration Forms in!!)

Practicum:

• Field placements are winding down! The last field experience for Practicum students is on Friday, May 4. Students will have the opportunity to make up missed placements until May 18. 
• Students in Exploring Careers will complete their last field placement today! 
• Twenty Practicum students will be attending "Trauma Day" at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital on Friday, May 4. 
• Angie Schuler, Director of Grid Reliability Solutions and Power System Solutions from S&C Electric Company will be speaking to Practicum and Exploring Careers students on Monday, April 30. Angie is excited to share her career journey with Res girls! She will focus on why she chose engineering, the different carer paths/options that are available, and the pros and cons of being an engineer. 

Academic Support:

• Sam's 'Weekly Action Plans' with her sophomores have been successful so far. The students seem to be more aware of their current progress in classes. Beginning next year, these plans will be implemented for all four levels of Rankin Academic Support students. 
• Bri and Sam have been working with Rick, Joe, and Kristine to come up with final RtI plans for students on the F list, as our final month of school quickly approaches. 

College Counseling:

• Seniors have been awarded over 14.6 million dollars in scholarship and grants!
• May 1st is National Decision Day. Seniors will celebrate where they have committed to in the library during their seminar. 
• Meredith will be at a counselor visit program at Miami of Ohio and University of Dayton from Sunday-Tuesday to learn about their academic programs, student life, and admissions trends
• Mother Celine sophomores and juniors have a trip to Northwestern University on Wednesday afternoon 
  

  

  A lunch with the Assistant Director of Admissions at St. Mary's College last Monday. She gave great information to about St. Mary's and what colleges look for in applications to about 28 interested sophomores and juniors. Senior, Julianna La Coco, also spoke about her experience applying to St. Mary's, where she will attend in the fall. 

General Counseling:

• Counselors are finishing up junior second semester meetings and Meredith is meeting with any junior that requests a meeting to get started early on college planning 
• Counselors began the planning for freshman suicide prevention program by Elyssa's Mission to take place in the fall 
• Both Mary and Sheri attended the Illinois School Counselor Association Annual Conference in Rosemont this past Friday - they attended several sessions on counseling topics to utilize in their own counseling practices including: Motivational Interviewing, Igniting Healthy Practices for Students (included online resources and lessons), Promoting Positive School Culture for All Students, and Prevention and Intervention Services for At-Risk Youth.

STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

Kathleen Serrano '18

Senior Kathleen Serrano with her mentor Keri Roberts at Resurrection Medical Center's Emergency Department. 

Why did you decide to take Practicum?

A: Many of my friends that took Practicum last year really liked it because they had the opportunity to see live births, surgeries, and overall to just get an idea of a career they were interested in.

Q: Which careers are you shadowing this semester?

A: I am shadowing a veterinarian, an anesthesiologist, a surgeon, an OR nurse, a physical therapist, and a social worker. I am shadowing careers in the medical field because I will be majoring in pre-nursing next year at Eastern Illinois University.

Q: What experience/rotation have you enjoyed the most?

A: At Lutheran General Hospital, I was able to see a total knee replacement surgery due to arthritis. It was incredible and honestly shocking because of how precise and quick the surgeon and their team completed the knee replacement and helped this patient.

Q: What have you learned about yourself and your interests this semester?

A: I learned that I have a strong will to be able to handle watching live surgeries because as the surgical staff told me, many people can become light headed or faint. Furthering that, I have always known adamantly that I wanted to take on a career where I can help others, and because of Practicum I’ve learned that I will do that as a nurse.

Q: What advice do you have for students who participate in the Practicum Program?

A: My advice would be to really absorb the information that your mentors tell you and to ask as many questions as you can. You will get more out of each field experience, the more effort you put into it. Most importantly though, do not forget to confirm your placements on Schoology!

Q: Any other comments or insights?

A: I hope that Practicum continues at Resurrection because this class is all about the experience and having the chance to find out what you like and do not like when selecting a future career. Practicum has taught me how important it is to pay attention and exude enthusiasm during each field experience, and how much more I appreciate the education I have received at Resurrection.

April 4, 2018

Happy Easter!

Reminders:

• April 12 is an Easter liturgy at 8:30
• Res will be hosting the ACT Test on Saturday, April 14
• Spring Athletic Signing and Spring Pep Rally are on April 16
• Don't forget- Rick needs nominations for teacher and students of the month!
• I will be writing our next blog post Wednesday, April 18. Please send me updates, shout-outs, and/or pictures you have! Please feel free to send them as they happen- I'll hold onto them until I write the next post!

Records:

• The Records Office is still chasing down a few wayward registrations.  
• The actual scheduling process will begin shortly with Joe Lascon at the helm.

Practicum:

• Twenty Practicum students will be attending the 19th annual"Trauma Day" at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge on Friday, May 4. The hospital's Level 1 Trauma Center staff and other health care professional and providers will host the event as part of Trauma Awareness Month. Students will participate in several hands-on activities meant to give students a better understanding of a trauma patient’s journey from the Flight for Life helicopter, through the Emergency Department, operating room and intensive care unit. Students will also meet physicians and a panel of young people who will talk about the residual effects of trauma on their lives. Students from Maine East High School and Barrington High School will also be participating.

• 

  A photo from last year's Trauma Day event at Advocate Lutheran General.

  
  

Academic Support:

• Sam is implementing a new 'Weekly Action Plan' with her sophomores. If it is successful, we will implement it in additional classes next year. 
• Learning Strategies 1 and Learning Strategies 2 will be using an executive functioning/ progress monitoring system on their Chromebooks in lieu of a textbook next year.

College Counseling:

• Seniors have been awarded over $13.7 million dollars in Grants and Scholarships
• The director of admission for Dominican University will be here on Friday during seminar to go over financial aid award information for accepted students
• Saturday, April 7th, is the last ACT Prep class for juniors held at Res
• Monday, April 9th, the Assistant Director of Admission at St. Mary's College will be here during seminar to provide insight into college admissions to Mother Celine Scholars
• Wednesday, April 11th, is College 101 for Sophomores
• May 1st is National Decision Day! Seniors will celebrate their college decisions in the library during seminar A with a special treat, dressed in college apparel or colors, and activities!

General Counseling:

• Counselors are starting the planning for next year's suicide prevention program through Elyssa's Mission. This is a not for profit organization that provides resources to support at-risk teens and prevents suicide.We plan to run the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program. Sheri touched on this at the professional development before spring break.
• The Junior 2nd semester check in is underway. Mary and Sheri have met with almost all the Sophomores and Freshman for their 2nd semester check in's.
• The Lunch Bunch group began the week before break and will continue for the coming weeks.

STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

Sarah Herbert '19

Mr. Piwowarski received the following unsolicited email regarding Sarah and her great service work:

Allow me this moment to introduce myself. I am Eileen Gorski, site captain & co-coordinator at Euclid UMC located in Oak Park.
We are the single Sunday night Emergency Homeless Shelter in the PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) program for the past 25 years
And our season runs mid-September thru mid-May. We service 43 guests.

Sarah has been volunteering at Euclid throughout this entire season one Sunday evening a month loyally and faithfully.
She has been a tremendous asset by taking on any task that has been asked of her.
She has served countless dinners, beverages & desserts. When asked to sit with a family of 4 kids with their mom and help them eat, she sat right in and took care of them..keeping calm in the midst of folks who are hungry, tired and cold from being on the street.
Sarah stands at the ready when guests ask her for extra blankets, or tooth brushes or whatever they need..I never have to worry about her taking care of requests. If she can’t find something in one spot-she’ll search out other locations to find it!
She is a young, confident woman who is a joy to work with, and always leaves the site in better atmosphere,
as the clientele can be challenging, as you can imagine.

 

Sarah provided the following commentary about her experience:

I've been working with PADS for about 3 years now and every time I go it's a different experience and I feel that is why I enjoy it so much. Coming from a family that has struggled in the past, I choose to help people who are going through what I once had to go through. I will continue to help for as long as I can.

March 14, 2017

Reminders:

• The month of March is Women's History month
• Irish apparel day on Friday, March 16
• Student Progress Conferences Thursday, March 22
• Friday, March 23- No classes for students. Factuly Institute Day.
• Easter break March 26- April 2
• Tuesday, April 3 is the rescheduled 7th grade shadow day.
• Students will follow a Pink Day schedule on Wednesday, April 4
• Don't forget- Rick needs nominations for teacher and students of the month!
• I will be writing our next blog post Wednesday, April 4. Please send me updates, shout-outs, and/or pictures you have! Please feel free to send them as they happen- I'll hold onto them until I write the next post!

Records:

• Registration is in full swing in the Records Office!  Still chasing down over 50 students who have not turned in their form

Practicum:

• Students are in the thick of their shadowing experiences! 
• Amanda has partnered with several new placement sites this semester: 

Dominican University, Emily Radlowski Phd, RDN, LDN

Fitness Formula Clubs (FFC) Park Ridge, Sarah Ashenden 

Wright Way Rescue, Cindy Ritter, Operations Manager 

Pearl Boutique 

Norwood Life Society Thrift Shop 

St. Juliana School 

St. Eugene School 

Academic Support:

• Bri and Sam are in the process of planning transition meetings for incoming freshmen
• We will host a session during the March 23 faculty institute on student anxiety

College Counseling:

• College 101 for juniors is in it's 7th and last week 
• College 101 for sophomores starts this week
• Seniors have received 12.8 Million Dollars in scholarships and grants. More financial aid award information keeps coming in every day!
• Seniors have been accepted to over 400 colleges
• A few exciting things to share: We have one Pullman Scholarship Semi-Finalist for a chance of a $10,000 Scholarship, a student with a full-tuition academic scholarship to DePaul and one of our seniors has been awarded $580,00 in scholarships and grants over 4 years!  

General Counseling:

• Registration has turned a corner and the majority have been passed back; however, we still have several outstanding forms.
• Sheri and Mary are meeting with current Sophomores for their 2nd semester check in.  These have been going really well overall.
• Mary attended the Archdiocesan Counselors meeting at Regina.  There was a great presenter from Alexian Brothers who address anxiety among teens.   
• The counselors are working towards a suicide prevention program from the start of next year.

March 1, 2018

Reminders:

• The month of March is Women's History month
• Tomorrow, March 2, is out of uniform hosted by Women's Empowerment Club to benefit The Girl Project Wear Pink!
• Sophomore fashion show during Seminar A tomorrow, March 2
• March 5-10 is World Languages Week
• Students will have a bus evacuation drill during seminars on March 7
• Lenten Reconciliation for all students is during seminar on March 8
• Freshmen meet for a service meeting during seminar on March 12
• March 12 is registration for the Class of 2022
• I will be writing our next blog post Wednesday, March 14. Please send me updates, shout-outs, and/or pictures you have! Please feel free to send them as they happen- I'll hold onto them until I write the next post!

SHOUTOUT:

To Rick for passing his dissertation without revisions! 

Records:

• Making preparations for Freshmen Registration on the 12th!
• Mary Kaye is assisting our current students wherever she can with their registration.

Practicum:

• The Practicum students have officially started their field placements!
• Students in Exploring Careers will have their first field experience next week (March 8). Amanda is currently working on placing students in fields/careers that they've requested but we currently don't have in rotation. 

Academic Support:

• Bri and Sam will begin to plan transition meetings for incoming freshmen
• We are working on choosing new books for next year

College Counseling:

• College 101 for juniors is in it's 5th week
• College 101 for sophomores begins in March
• Scholarships are continually being posted for seniors and lots of applications are being sent!
• Financial Aid Award letters are rolling in for seniors 

General Counseling:

• Sheri and Mary are working on registrations. Students have been good about coming in for help and guidance with their course choices.  Hopefully today all students will have their registrations in and the counselors can complete the reviews.

Practicum student ready for their first day of placements.

February 15, 2018

Reminders:

• Remember to wear red/white apparel tomorrow for a belated Valentine's Day celebration
• No school Monday, February 19! Phew- a much needed break. Happy President's Day. 
• February Kairos leaves after school on Tuesday, February 20. If you want to write letters, you can drop them in the main office.
• The Charity & Truth gala is on February 24.
• February 28 is a noon dismissal
• I will be writing our next blog post Wednesday, February 28. Please send me updates, shout-outs, and/or pictures you have! Please feel free to send them as they happen- I'll hold onto them until I write the next post!

Records:

• The Records Office is gearing up for new Registration procedures.  Students should be receiving their class recommendations next week.

Practicum:

• Students who signed up for surgical services at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital will be attending an orientation session on Thursday, February 22. These students will have opportunities to observe surgeries, shadow a physician assistant and anesthesiologist, and complete rotations in the GI laboratory. 

Academic Support:

• All AP accommodation requests have been submitted for the May testing.
• All juniors who have accommodations have had requests sent in for the April ACT.
• We are continuing to meet with support level teachers to improve the support classes for next year.
• Incoming freshmen Learning Strategies, resource, and support level placements have been finalized. 
• We are testing whether it is feasible to conduct some Tier 2 RtI meetings digitally. We believe this will help the turnaround time speed up so students are receiving interventions faster.  

College Counseling:

• The counseling department went to the freshman religion classes this week to talk about GPAs and get their accounts activated on Naviance. Based on the data we have collected after our lesson, 100% of the surveyed freshman better understand how their grades affect their future and 73% are very likely to take more challenging courses, among other good responses! 
• The College 101 Topic this week was resumes. All juniors participating in the class should have one completed by the end of the week.
• The practice ACT went well last Saturday- 37 girls in attendance despite the snow. Next class is Saturday, Feb. 24th

General Counseling:

• Sheri and Mary will be sending out an invite to all students to participate in a follow up, round table discussion regarding Angst. This meeting will take place Friday, March 2nd. 
• Counselors are prepping for registration. Mary, Sheri, and Mary Kaye will be offering an opportunity for this year's transfer students to join us for a meeting to field any scheduling questions. 
• The two generalist counselors are planning for the social skills group. Please send any referrals to Sheri or Mary