Counseling Today - November 2025
November 12, 2025
It’s November, which means we’ve nearly reached the end of the first trimester! Read further for more information about what’s coming up this month. We also encourage you to follow us on Instagram for more regular reminders and updates.
We are proud to say that our counseling department is a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP), with CDH having earned RAMP status during the summer, 2023. We are the only private high school in Minnesota to have this designation. Feel free to read more about this great honor, what it took to earn, and what it means for our students!
If you need to contact us, please take a look at our contact page on the school website to determine the best person to help address your needs.
School Counseling
All CDH Students
Did you know the counseling office has a check-in system for when students come see us? This helps us with attendance as well as collecting data. The counseling office had at least 624 visits over the month of October! There was a strong trend of seniors coming down for assistance with their college applications, as many college deadlines were November 1. For more descriptive data, including figures, please check out the end of this article.
First trimester finals are coming up on November 24 and 25. If you have any concerns about grades, please feel free to reach out to your student’s teachers and/or counselor.
It’s almost the end of the first trimester. Here are some resources to help with studying and doing well on finals!
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CDH Peer Tutoring
Peer Tutoring is available. Peer tutoring is run by students from the CDH NHS Chapter, ensuring the community receives the best student tutors. With the assistance of the counseling department, peer tutoring is a student-led group, offering more approachable perspectives of lessons and concepts. Tutoring is available in counseling during lunch/flex, before, and after school, every day besides Thursdays. Tutors can help with any subject! Sign-up is available in counseling. See Mr. Brewer with any questions.
9th Grade
School counselors have been meeting with groups of 9th grade students this month to provide them a lesson about GPA, credits, and transcripts. It is important for students to understand the graduation requirements at CDH as well as the importance of grades, how GPA is calculated, and why it’s important.
9th Grade and Transfer Students
School counselors are currently finishing up their one-on-one meetings. All 9th grade and transfer students will have a one-on-one meeting with their designated school counselor during the first trimester. These short meet-and-greet appointments are an opportunity for students to meet their counselor and share anything they may want their counselor to know about them right away. It also allows counselors to get to know a little about their new students and ensure students know when, how, and for what reasons they can come see their counselor.
9th Grade, 10th Grade, and Transfer Students
9th grade, 10th grade, and transfer students of any grade can sign up to have a “PFP” mentor. PFP stands for People Finding People and is a mentorship class that 16 seniors were selected to be a part of. Students who sign up for a PFP will match with one of the 16 seniors and have weekly to bi-weekly, one-on-one meetings. From significant struggles to everyday life, students have the opportunity to talk to their mentor about anything they’d like! Mentor biographies and sign-up is available on the website or in their counselor’s Google Classroom.
AP Students
AP registration for year long and 1st and 2nd Trimester only classes passed on November 7th. When in an AP class, students are automatically signed up to take the exam when they use the Join Code provided to them by their AP teacher. Students who want to take the exam do not need to do anything outside of using the Join Code. If your student did not want to take the exam, they should have seen Peggy Mansur or Katie Shead in counseling, as well as have written or verbal parent permission by November 7th. An exam can still be dropped or added between now and March 4th, but for an additional $40 fee. AP classes that start in the 2nd Trimester have a registration/drop deadline of March 4 without an additional fee.
College Counseling
9th and 10th Grade Students
9th and 10th grade students took the PreACT on All School Testing Day (October 15). Students will be notified through Google Classroom when hard copy results are available in counseling, sometime in December. Please email Mr. Brewer with any questions.
Junior Students
Juniors who took the PSAT on All School Testing Day (October 15). The results are available now. If the student included their phone number on the PSAT, they can look at their scores online at the College Board website. If not, please email Ms. Shead in the counseling office to receive scores.
Juniors who took the practice ACT on All School Testing Day (October 15). The results are available now. Students and parents should have received an email from testing@flyingcolorsprep.com with results attached. Please check your spam folder if you did not receive this email. If you still don’t have it, you may email Ms. Shead in the counseling office to receive scores.
There will be a Post High School Planning meeting for Juniors and their parents/guardians to go over what services the college counselors offer and what to expect for the next year in terms of planning for post-graduation. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 3rd in the Commons. Please note there are two sessions (5pm - 6pm and 6:30 - 7:30pm), but both will have the same information. Please choose only one session to attend.
Seniors
All School Testing Day was on October 15th. Seniors had the day off. Ms. Nelson and Mr. Reynolds were available to answer application questions that day in the LLC. Approximately 35 students came in for assistance.
A reminder to seniors that your CDH College Application Contract (the purple sheet) is due to the Counseling Office no later than Friday, December 5th in order for your CDH supporting materials to be sent to your colleges prior to the Christmas break. Remember that the Counseling staff will also be on break, so we must receive your requests for any January 1st deadlines by December 5th. Please see your counselor if you need assistance.
Chemical Health Counseling
All Students - Chemical Free Corner
Last month I highlighted relapse. I included why it may happen, that relapse is common, and that we need not carry shame about this. Here are some warning signs and what may help to prevent a relapse.
What are the warning signs of a relapse?
Those who are in greatest danger of relapse will notice some or many of the following behavioral changes:
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Changing priorities, where recovery becomes unimportant
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Compulsive behaviors
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Magical thinking (when it causes distress and affects daily life)
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Isolating
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Destabilized emotions
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Withdrawal from support groups
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Restlessness
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Irritability
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General discontent
Ways to Prevent Relapse
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Join a support group.
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Surround yourself with positive people. This may mean letting some friends go.
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Mind your HALT. This acronym means not getting too hungry, angry, lonely or tired, any of which can lead to a relapse.
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Learn new ways to cope. Easier said than done but doable! This is the key! Some people in recovery experience a “pink cloud” during the first weeks or months of abstinence, a euphoric feeling of well-being. That can wear off and the person must do the hard work of learning how to deal with life’s ups and downs.
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Remain vigilant. Remember that time in sobriety doesn’t exempt you from relapse. Anyone can relapse at any point in time.
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If you relapse, reach out. Some may feel devastated if they slip. Rather than self-medicating, reach out to someone in your network and go to a support group and/or counselor and talk about what happened.
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Believe you can stay sober.
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Face and work through problems with the help of a counselor and trusted friends and family.
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Work to rebuild your self esteem.
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Do service. Helping others creates a sense of purpose and boosts well being!
Next month I will highlight difficult feelings that may lead to relapse and what may help.
Until then,
Chemical Health Counselor
Cretin-Derham Hall
Important Dates
Nov 1
Was the priority deadline for many colleges and scholarships
Nov 7
Was the deadline to opt out of taking an AP exam for year long and Trimester 1/2 only classes
Nov 17
Academic Support time during the school day - a great opportunity to prep for finals!
Nov 24
Finals periods 1-4 (12:45 early dismissal)
Nov 26
Finals periods 5-7 (11:35 early dismissal)
Nov 26 - Nov 28
No school - Thanksgiving break
Dec 1
First day of Trimester 2
Dec 3
Post High School Planning meeting for Juniors and their parents/guardians
Dec 5
Deadline for seniors to turn in their CDH College Application Contract (the purple sheet) for January 1st college application deadlines
Counseling Data
Here is the October data. With November 1st as a major college application deadline, the seniors were busy in our office again and appointments became more popular than they were the previous month. Schedule/class change meetings also saw a rise in popularity, as year-long schedules were released to students this month.
