May is Mental

Health
Awareness
Month!

May 2015

Counseling Department Newsletter

Kenwood Academy High School

What is Mental Health?

Inside
- Guide to Mental Health
- Stress Management
- Shining Star
- Upcoming Events
- Junior College Checklist
- Summer Employment
- Credit Recovery
- Community Resources

Mental health includes your social, emotional, and

psychological wellbeing. It affects how you think, feel,
act, and interact with other people. Mentally healthy
people feel good about themselves, are comfortable
with other people, and can meet lifes demands.
Why is it important?
Your mental health affects how you function in the
world. It affects your relationships with other people. It
affects how well you do in school. It affects how you
feel about yourself. Positive mental health can help
you be a better friend, sibling, daughter or brother.
Positive mental health helps you
deal with stress like
schoolwork, applying for
Did you know?
college, part time jobs, and
1 in 4 people
problems with family and
have a mental
friends.
illness

Counseling Department Newsletter

May 2015

Your
Guide
to
Mental
Health
Half of all mental health disorders show first signs
before the age of 14
How to Stay Mentally Healthy

Warning Signs of Mental Health Problems

Connect with family and friends

Stay positive
Be physically active
Help others
Sleep
Get professional help, if necessary
Learn coping skills
o Your school counselors can
help with this!

Catching mental health problems early

can help avoid more serious problems
later. Some signs to look out for:
Problems eating or sleeping
Pulling away from people and
enjoyable activities
Low or no energy
Aches and pains you cant explain
Feeling helpless or hopeless

Stress Management
Finals are approaching and everyone is stressed! Its a natural reaction!
Too much stress can lead to things such as anxiety, depression,
irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbance, or the use of
tobacco, drugs, and alcohol to cope. These things are not healthy or
helpful to get students or their families through the stress that comes
with the end of the scholastic year. So, being able to better cope with
stress will lead to healthier and happier students and families. Who
wouldnt want that, especially right before summer vacation?
Continue to the next page for
stress management tips

May 2015

Counseling Department Newsletter

Shining Star

Stress
Management
Tips
The basic things to keep in
mind are:

Eat healthily
Get enough sleep
Exercise regularly
Make time for things
you enjoy (aside from
studying & schoolwork)
Talk about your
feelings and emotions
with someone you trust

Stress management
techniques can take many
forms such as relaxed
breathing which invokes the
slowing down of breathing
to allow the body to feel
safe and therefore less
stressed, and progressive
muscle relaxation which
involves slowly relaxing the
muscles of the body that
may alleviate stress

Our shining star for this months

newsletter is School Counselor, Ms. Mary Drzewiecki.
Mary has worked in the Counseling Department at
Kenwood Academy for the past five years and she
has been a school counselor for six years. She earned
her Master of Arts in Counseling from Northeastern
Illinois University. Ms. Drzewiecki is also the junior varsity
girls tennis coach as well as
a member of the Climate &
Culture Team. In her free
time, Mary enjoys traveling,
cooking, attending
concerts, bicycling,
gardening, and of course,
playing tennis.
Contact Mary:
Email: mfdrzewiecki@cps.edu
Phone : 773-535-1370

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, April 29 Friday, May 1 Partnership for

Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
8th grade

Monday, May 4 Friday, May, 15 Advanced Placement

(AP) Testing

Tuesday, May 12 5:00pm-6:00pm Canter Transition Meeting

(Kenwood Academy Library)

Tuesday, May 12 7:00pm-8:00pm Local School Counseling

Meeting (The LSC Meeting is held on the 1 st floor of the Lee
Towns Media Center)

Monday, May 18 Friday, May 22 AP Testing Makeup

PARCC Testing

Thursday, May 21 6:30pm-7:30pm Kenwood Academy

Concert Choir Parents Monthly Meeting (Room 126)

Monday, May 25 Memorial Day Holiday

Tuesday, May 26 Thursday, May 28 Senior Final Exams
Saturday, May 30 Senior Prom

Counseling Department Newsletter

May 2015

Planning Ahead
Junior College Checklist
Applications may not get mailed out until the fall, but
its never too early for current juniors to start the college
application process. This spring and summer, give
yourself a head start on applying to college by
reviewing the following checklist:
1

Meet with your counselor

Take a minute to discuss what classes you plan on
taking next year as well as any credit shortages you
may have. Plan to take courses that keep you
challenged throughout senior year to show colleges
youre serious about keeping up all the good work you
did in Junior year.
Learn about financial aid options
College is expensive, but the right financial aid
package can make paying for school all the more
manageable. Check to see what financial aid options
may be offered at schools youre interested in, search
online for scholarship opportunities, and be sure to
complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA)
Start thinking about letters of recommendation
Give your teachers plenty of time to write the glowing
letters of recommendation youve earned. The more
advanced notice you give, the more time your
teachers will have to write you the best possible
recommendation. Be sure to carefully consider whom
youd like to ask for recommendations, as many
colleges will look for input from specific subjects.
Visit!
This is the fun part. If possible, find some time to
schedule campus visits to schools youre interested in.
Campus visits are your opportunity to see firsthand
what a particular school is like. Youre going to be
spending a good amount of time there for the next
couple of years, so finding a school that feels like a
good fit is crucial to your success and happiness.

Summer
Employment
Looking for a summer job?
Be sure to check out
onesummerchicago.org!
Students between the
ages of 14 and 24 can
apply to a wide variety of
summer jobs and
internship opportunities
through the sites online
application.
The deadline to apply for
consideration is May 15th
and candidates will be
notified by June if they
have been selected for
an interview. Over 24,000
internships and jobs are
available, and with
employers ranging from
the Chicago Park District
to After School Matters,
there is sure to be
something to match your
interests.

May 2015

Counseling Department Newsletter

Credit Recovery
No one ever wants to find himself or herself off-track, but falling behind on credits does
not have to derail your students high school career. CPS provides a number of
opportunities for credit recovery during the school year and in the summer.
As the school year comes to a close, remember to check GradeBook regularly and talk to
your child about creating a realistic and achievable credit recovery plan for any courses
he or she has failed to complete. Summer courses are offered at schools throughout the
city in a variety of subjects at the cost of $25 per class.
Registration information for CPS Summer Credit Recovery classes is available online
starting May 4, 2015, and summer classes begin on June 29, 2015.
To enroll students will need a copy of their most recent transcript and a signed referral
form, both of which can be found online, along with information on all of CPS credit
recovery options at https://chooseyourfuture.cps.edu/high-school-college-career/highschool-planning/credit-recovery/
Additional questions or concerns about credit recovery may also be addressed to Claire
Empfield, CPS Credit Recovery and Summer Acceleration Coordinator, at
cmnewton@cps.edu

Community Resources
Gilead Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
http://www.gileadheals.com/index.html
- Individual, group, and family therapy, Spiritual counseling and psychological testing
University Chicago Psychiatry
http://www.uchicagokidshospital.org/specialties/psychiatry/
- Inpatient and Outpatient treatment services available, Psychiatrists, Cognitive
behavioral therapy, Family therapy, Psychotherapy, Coordinated treatment of
psychiatric illnesses associated with complex medical problems, such as brain injury
and seizure disorders
Christian Community Health Center
http://www.cchc-online.org
- Medical/Health Care: Dental and Oral Health Care, Primary Health Care (family
practice, internal medicine), OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Mobile Health Van, On-site
Pharmacy, On-site Laboratory Services
Chicago Youth Center-Youth-Family
http://www.chicagoyouthcenters.org
- Teen Leadership Development Clubs, Clubs for adolescents, ages 1318, have the
opportunity for learning and personal development by meeting their needs and
interests. Focusing on core components of: leadership development, skill
development, service learning, extended learning, mentoring, and college and
career readiness.
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