Counseling Today - September 2025

September 9, 2025

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! This is the CDH Counseling Department newsletter, where all your important counseling information for the next month is kept. 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, Catholic 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

Your student may have a new school counselor this year. Please be sure to look at our contact page or your student’s Infinite Campus account to see who their counselor is. We have had some shifting of case load assignments, as well as some personnel changes. If you have any questions or concerns about a counselor change, please contact Katie Shead, lead counselor.

The last day for Trimester 1 change requests was September 5. Level changes with counselor and teacher approval will still be allowed. Please note, schedules for Trimesters 2 and 3 are still subject to change.

The Peer Tutoring program will become available in October. 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. Services are offered during flex, before, and after school. Sign-up will become available on the website next week.

There will be an Activities Fair on September 17 during lunch/flex. This is a great time for students to learn about more ways to get involved and to meet other students with similar interests. We highly recommend students take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the clubs and activities available to them!

All School Testing Day is coming up on October 15.

• 9th grade will take the PreACT 8/9
• 10th grade will take the PreACT 10
• 11th grade will take either a practice ACT or the PSAT

Please note - students who want to take the PSAT must have parents email Ms. Shead indicating so by Wednesday, September 17. All other juniors will be automatically signed up for the practice ACT. Please see below for further information.

9th Grade, 10th Grade, and Transfer Students

9th graders, 10th graders, and transfer students of any grade will soon be able to 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! Meetings will begin the week of October 6. Watch for announcements in the coming weeks regarding when sign-ups become available on the website. In the meantime, students will be able to get more information at the Activities Fair during Flex on September 17.

Juniors

All School Testing Day is Wednesday, October 15. On this day, Juniors will take the practice ACT exam unless they opt-in to take the PSAT/NMSQT (the Preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) instead. Please consider the following information when making the best decision with your student about which exam to take:

Practice ACT

• Provides students the opportunity to practice the ACT exam in a testing environment, before taking the actual ACT in March. (All Juniors will take the ACT on March 24, during the school day. Students will be automatically registered by CDH for that ACT.)

• Most students should consider this option.

PSAT

• Provides students the opportunity to practice for the SAT exam (which is not provided at CDH).

• Used to qualify a limited number of high-achieving students from across the nation for the National Merit Scholarship. Typically the top 3-4% of testers qualify for the college scholarship.

• This option is available to any student, though students with a 4.10 weighted GPA or higher and/or those who are historically very strong standardized test takers should consider this option. 

Students who would like to opt-in to the PSAT must have parents do so via email to Ms. Shead by Wednesday, September 17. All students who do not opt-in to the PSAT will be automatically signed up to take the practice ACT. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Shead.

AP Students

AP registration for year long and 1st and 2nd Trimester only classes is coming up on November 7. 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

College counselors spent time this summer helping 118 seniors get a head start on their college applications during College Bootcamp.

Juniors and Seniors

We will once again be 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. 

The National College Fair will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center October 7 and 8. Colleges and universities from all across the nation will be there to answer your questions! Please make an effort to attend the evening session on Tuesday to avoid being absent during the school day.

Seniors

On August 27, college counselors presented to 145 senior parents/guardians about the college application process. If you could not attend, information is still available for students to pick up in the counseling office.

Seniors who have yet to pick up their CDH College Application Contract (aka "The Purple Sheet"), should get one from the Counseling office as soon as possible. Seniors are also welcome to schedule a fall check-in appointment if help is needed with post-secondary planning.

Chemical Health Counseling

All Students - Chemical Free Corner

Meet the Chemical Health Counselor!

Laura Esping, our chemical health counselor, is available for all students. 

Reasons students may want or need to see Ms. Esping:

• They are concerned about a friend’s drug or alcohol use.

• They are concerned about a family member’s drug or alcohol use.

• They are concerned about their own drug or alcohol use.

• They are required by school to see her due to a chemical violation.

• They have questions about addiction, drugs, alcohol, or other related topics.

Parents are also welcome to call, email, or meet with Ms. Esping to consult as needed.

Ms. Esping is in charge of our chemical health programming at CDH, which includes guest speakers for each grade level every spring. 

Finally, Ms. Esping will be providing monthly articles in this newsletter regarding various topics. Some examples of past topics include nicotine pouches, how dopamine affects the brain, and understanding how isolation and addiction can go hand in hand.

Important Dates

Sep 5: Was the last day to change Trimester 1 classes

Sep 10 - Oct 29: Many college admissions rep visits are already scheduled. Check out Instagram, to see the full schedule. The schedule is also available on Naviance and will be shared weekly on Instagram.

Sep 12: Registration deadline for the national October 18 ACT. Register here. Please note, the only ACT exam offered on campus at CDH is during the school day, in March, for 11th grade only. Juniors will be automatically signed up for that ACT. 

Sep 17: Last day for Juniors to opt-in to taking the PSAT instead of the practice ACT

Sep 17: Activities Fair for students during lunch/flex time

Oct 6: Peer mentors (PFP) will begin meeting with their 9th, 10th, and transfer student mentees

Oct 7: National College Fair: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and again from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

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

Oct 15: All School Testing Day

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