1. BWHS School Counseling Department
Dave Royhab, Director
Counseling Department Hours
8:15am – 4:15pm
Phone

2. Counselor Freshman Assignments
Susan James: A – Co
Beth Dekenipp: Cr – H
Edna Rivera: I – Mi
Kim Pond: Mo – Sa
Michelle Hoffmann: Sc – Z

3. Guidance Support Staff
Jan Develli, Career Center Assistant
Melissa Pumphrey, Secretary
Corina Lawson, Secretary

4. A high school counselor’s primary job is to help students (and parents
A high school counselor’s primary job is to help students (and parents!) navigate through high school!
Personal and Social Development
Post-Secondary Planning
Academic Advising

5. Schedules Schedules went live on StudentVUE and ParentVUE today
Contact the counseling department with any account access issues
Schedules are still subject to change (rare)
Students will receive a hard-copy schedule on green paper tomorrow
Students will receive an “official” schedule in homeroom on Monday (white paper)

6. First Week Homeroom Sign-Up Sheet
You are signed up for a class you already passed
You are signed up for a class you are taking through Virtual Loudoun
You are signed up for the same class more than once
You are signed up for a class you believe you are missing the prerequisite for
You believe you are missing a core class

7. How students can schedule a meeting with a school counselor
During the first week of school, students can sign-up to see a counselor in homeroom for a qualifying scheduling reason
After the first week, students sign-up to see a counselor by filling out a request form before or after school, or between classes
For urgent situations, students should ask any adult for a hall pass to the counseling department

8. Requests for Schedule Changes
Two types of schedule changes:
Elective Changes
Academic Level Changes

9. Elective Changes
Students who do receive their first choice in electives are not be permitted to change their electives
Students who do not receive their first choice in electives may be permitted to make schedule changes during the second week of school

10. Academic Level Changes
Level changes will be considered on a case-by-case basis
Many factors are considered:
Student input
Parent input
Counselor input
Overall course load
Teacher feedback
Availability of alternate courses
Post-secondary plans
Individual strengths & weaknesses

11. Academic Level Changes
Level change requests may only occur between the third and ninth week of school (end of marking period one)
Level changes are for students who are truly in a class that is too difficult for them
Level changes often create schedule conflicts. Students who change levels may have to give up their elective
Level changes are often not possible depending on class availability

12. Schedule Changes - Summary
First-choice electives: No changes
Second-choice electives: May change within the first two weeks of school (if possible)
Academic Level Changes: Changes may be considered on a case-by- case basis after three week of school, but must occur before the end of the first marking period (if possible; may disrupt scheduled)

13. Coming Events LCPS College Fair – Sep 25 at Briar Woods
PSAT, grades 9, 10, & 11 – Oct 19
Classroom Guidance Presentations for Freshmen will begin MP2

14. Communication Counseling section in the newsletter ConnectEd emails
Counseling related events will be posted on the school calendar and in the newsletter
Feel free to attend events aimed for other grade levels!
Twitter
Counseling webpage on the BWHS website
Counselors’ links
Director’s link
Presentation & Forms pages