St.

Damian School
School Newsletter

Pat Tobias
School Counselor
Hrs: Tues. & Wed.
708-687-4230

What does a School

Counselor do?
We have a very
dynamic role within
the school and
some of these
responsibilities
include: A Note To Our St. Damian Families
Academic
Support We hope that 2017 is off to a great start for you and your loved ones. The
Goal Setting & purpose of this newsletter is to provide you with current information
Decision Making regarding the school counseling program at St. Damian. We hope that this
Career
newsletter can help you to better communicate with our counseling
Awareness,
Exploration & department to best suit the needs of your child.
Planning
Promoting and In this edition, we outline the often stressful process of high school
educating on selection. With the recent conclusion of the HSPT, we want to provide our
healthy peer
school community with the highest level of understanding and
relations
Educating on preparation for the next phase of your students educational career.
problem-solving
and conflict Weve included an outline of how to understand your childs score on the
resolution placement test, a list of helpful tips for choosing the right school, and a
few preparative strategies for what can be a challenging transition ahead.
It is our goal to make this transition as smooth as possible for your family.
School Counselors
Can Change the
World! As always, please feel free to reach out to our department with any
questions regarding this issue and we look forward to serving you and
your student in the upcoming months!
1
 February 2, 2017

Understanding High School Placement Test & Scores

To be considered for admission into an Archdiocese of

Chicago high school, you will need to take the Catholic
High School Placement Test (HSPT). Each School has In Case
different requirements for admissions. In addition to You
standardized test scores on the HSPT, schools will often Missed
consider other test scores, report cards, classroom and It!
homework assignments, essays, and teacher
recommendations.
q This year the test took
place on January 14th.
Scores you will see on your HSPT score q If you missed the test
report include: date contact your
schools of interest!
q Cognitive Skills: this includes scores on the Verbal
Many offer make-up
and Quantitative subtests, as well as the total score dates.
for these two tests combined. The combined score is q Cost of the test is $25,
referred to as the CSQ (cognitive skills quotient), cash or check on the
which replaces a traditional IQ score. day of the test.
q Basic Skills: this includes scores on the Reading, q Search for Catholic
Mathematics, and Language subtests. These three Schools in your
area:https://schools.arc
subtest scores are combined for a total basic skills
hchicago.org/high-
score. school-search
q Composite Score: this include a total score for all 5
subtests. This score can only be calculated once all 5
subtests have been completed.

Other Scores On Your HSPT Report

q National Percentile (NP) Rank: the percentile-rank scale ranges from 1-99 and compares the
performance of the individual student with that of other students in the same grade level.
q Local Percentile (LP) Rank: this is similar to the National Percentile Rank, except that the
comparison is between the student and other local students.
q Grade Equivalents (GE): grade equivalents compare the performance of an individual student
with the average performance of students at other grade levels (for example, an 8th grader
earning a GE of 10.4 in math can do eighth- grade math as well as a tenth- grade student can do
eighth- grade math).
q Standard Scores (SS): because a new edition of the HSPT is published annually, normative scores
are redeveloped each year to reflect the most recent edition of the test. Standard Scores are
related to the version of the test that the student has taken.
 February 2, 2017

Getting Ready For High School!

q Determine Your Priorities.
q List everything that is important to your high
school experience, and then arrange these
items in order of importance.
q Visit the Schools You are Interested In
q Catholic schools often offer freshman for a
day programs, open houses, high school Anne
High informational nights, and other special events
School for interested students.
Doorhy
Talk to Admissions Representatives School
Checklist q
Counselor Intern
q Ask about admission requirements. If you are
interested in the school, make sure you Hrs: Tues, Wed.
submit all required admissions materials and & Thurs.
meet all application deadlines. 708-687-4230

Wed like to
What is most important to you in your High School give a warm
Experience? welcome to our
new School
q Advance Placement, q Fine Arts Counseling
International q STEM courses Intern.
Baccalaureate, or Athletic program Is This
Dual Credit course q Counseling services She joined the
offerings q Volunteer and School St. Damian
q Graduation rates
College placement
service
opportunities
Right For family this
q
January and
statistics q Climate and culture Me? will be with us
q Class sizes of the school through June.

Anne Doorhy
currently has a
Featured High School: Carl Sandburg degree in
counseling and
Carl Sandburg High School is a four year public high is currently
school serving Orland Park, Palos Park, Tinley Park, pursuing her
and Oak Forest students. Their enrollment currently Masters in
is 3,084 students with 216 certified staff. The school
graduation rate is 93% with 85% enrolling into college counseling at
after graduation. Carl Sandburg houses 28 sports and Chicago State
in the past five years has had six state champions. In University.
addition to sports, there are 65 extra curricular clubs.
School
q Americas Most Challenging High School by Washington Counselors
Post
q Top 20 Public High Schools in Cook County, Illinois by Can Change
Chicago Magazine the World!
q Best Public High Schools by Niche.com
q Accredited by the State of Illinois