Counseling Today - October 2025

October 8, 2025

Happy October! We 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. Please note, counselor assignments have changed some for the 25-26 school year.

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 805 visits over the end of August and month of September! For more descriptive data, please check out the end of this article.

The Peer Tutoring program is now 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 on the website or using the QR code found in each counselor’s Google Classrooms. See Mr. Brewer with any questions.

Mid-trimester grades will be due from teachers on October 9. If you have any concerns about grades, please feel free to reach out to your student’s teachers and/or counselor. 

Counselors are also available at parent/teacher conferences. Conferences will be held in person on a drop-in basis on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2:30-5pm and 6-8pm and online on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2-6pm. 

Class schedules for the rest of the year will come out after mid-tri. No teacher change requests will be honored. However, if there is a schedule error, level change needed, or other inquiries, students should reach out to Ms. Carroll before the beginning of trimester 2. 

9th Grade and Transfer Students

School counselors are currently working through 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 now 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 now available on the website or in their counselor’s Google Classroom.

AP Students

AP registration for year long and 1st-2nd Trimesters only classes is coming up 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 does not want to take the exam, they must see Peggy Mansur or Katie Shead in counseling, as well as have written or verbal parent permission by November 7.

College Counseling

9th and 10th Grade Students

9th and 10th grade students will take the PreACT on All School Testing Day (October 15th). The PreACT is a grade-level appropriate practice exam for the ACT. Please note, the 10th grade students do take a 10th grade version, different from the one they took as 9th grade students. This is a great opportunity for students to experience a standardized test prior to taking future exams such as the ACT and AP exams. Students must bring their own calculator and sharpened #2 pencils (non-mechanical). These will not be provided for students.

Junior Students

Juniors will be taking either the PSAT or a practice ACT on All School Testing Day (October 15). 

• The PSAT is a practice test for the SAT and is also a qualifying exam for students to become National Merit Scholars. Students must have pre-registered to take the PSAT (registration is now closed). Students taking the PSAT will do so on their iPad and must bring it to school charged. Students should also bring a writing utensil if they’d like to use scratch paper. No calculator is necessary.

• All other juniors will be taking the practice ACT. This is an opportunity to take an ACT exam as a practice exam for the real ACT that will occur in school in March. Students must bring their own calculator and sharpened #2 pencils (non-mechanical). These will not be provided for students.

• Please note, ALL juniors will be automatically registered by CDH to take the ACT on March 24, during the school day. No registration by parents or students is necessary.

Juniors and Seniors

We are currently hosting in-person visits from college admissions officers. These visits provide an opportunity for junior and senior students to get personal attention and up to date information on schools that interest them. It also gets students connected to the colleges’ mailing lists for updates and information. Students can register for visits in Naviance or see Mrs. Mansur, the counseling assistant. CDH teachers give final approval for missing a class period. Check Naviance, the counseling website, or our Instagram account for the college visit schedule. Making an individual connection with the admissions officer is an important step to show interest in the school and to get individual questions answered. 

Seniors

October is FREE APPLICATION month for Minnesota state colleges and universities. If you are planning to apply to any of these schools, take advantage of a $0 application fee and submit your applications this month.

The November 1 priority deadline for college admissions and scholarships is coming up. Seniors who have a November 1 deadline should be sure to have their CDH Application Contract (aka the Purple Sheet) to the office by Tuesday, October 14 at the latest. This will allow us to send your CDH materials (transcript and letter(s) of recommendation) on time.

All School Testing Day is on October 15. Seniors have the day off. This is a great time to work on college applications. Ms. Nelson and Mr. Reynolds will be available to answer application questions that day in the LLC from 9am to 12pm. This is also a great opportunity to tour a college on a weekday to see it in action!

Chemical Health Counseling

All Students - Chemical Free Corner

Relapse Is Common, It Doesn’t Discriminate, And It Is Not Inevitable.

Lately I have been thinking about relapse. Recovery is not always a straight line. There may be bumps in the road and a retreat to old habits. I have worked with students who have made great strides in their chemical journey and then returned to use. I want to promote a no shame atmosphere around this. I have seen a “get back on the horse when you are ready” approach to be effective. Here are some other thoughts around relapse:

• Since addiction is a chronic brain disease, relapse is considered part of recovery. It does not mean that a person has failed; many people have success in long-term recovery after a relapse.

• 40-60% of people who have been treated for addiction relapse within a year.

• Some people may look at those numbers and ask, "Why bother with treatment or sobriety if nearly half of people in recovery will relapse at some point?" But that philosophy toward treatment and recovery completely misses the mark. The other half of people who don't relapse have found long-term sobriety and the health and happiness that come with it. While people can relapse at any time, the chances of doing so decrease the more time you spend sober. This is because the brain has a remarkable ability to adapt and heal, and begins doing so when you remove substances.

Why do people relapse?

Using drugs and alcohol releases dopamine in the reward pathway of the brain; dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, as well as emotional responses. This can affect those who are addicted to the point where their brains re-prioritize what’s most important.

A study in the journal Addiction found that people who did not receive help for their substance use disorder were less likely to be sober at three years. Other factors that predicted relapse at three years were not believing you could succeed and avoiding dealing with problems.

This is why recovery is not simply the absence of substances; it is the lifelong process of physical, emotional, and psychological healing from addiction.

Next month I will highlight the warning signs of an impending relapse and what may help.

Laura Esping

Chemical Health Counselor

Cretin-Derham Hall

Important Dates

Sep 9 - Oct 31: Many college admissions rep visits are already scheduled. Click here to see the full schedule. The schedule is also available on Naviance and will be shared weekly on Instagram.

Oct 8: National College Fair: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Oct 9: Mid-trimester grades will be due. Contact your student’s school counselor if you have any concerns

Oct 14-15: Parent/teacher conferences. Counselors will be available in their offices on the 14th and virtually on the 15th

Oct 15: All School Testing Day. See the College Counseling section above for further information

Oct 16-17: No school - MEA Break

Nov 1: Priority deadline for many colleges and scholarships

Nov 7: Deadline to opt out of taking an AP exam for year long and Trimester 1/2 only classes

Counseling Data

Here is some data from the beginning of the school year through the end of September. As you can see, the seniors have been busy in our office as it’s the time of year for college applications! Schedule changes are also very popular at the beginning of each new school year.