A Resource for Success

SGMHS COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
San Gabriel Mission High School is a Catholic college-preparatory values which helps prepare our students for college and their future careers.  We are guided by our Integral Student Outcome (ISO’s) to develop programs that support our students social-emotional well-being, as well as their academic, college and career success.   The counseling department is made up of one full-time credentialed counselor with additional academic excellence support from our Vice-Principal.

Parents, faculty, staff, and alumni are a valued part of the support system for our students.  Informational parent meetings are offered regarding academic success, the college application process, and college financial aid workshops.  Faculty and staff integrate standardized test preparation, and college and career preparation within their curriculum.  

Student Activities and student leadership provide many opportunities which support the social and emotional well-being of our students.  Alumni come back to SGMHS to share their life experience with our students with class visits or assembly presentations on topics such as college life, vocations, or social-emotional well-being.

PERSONAL COUNSELING:  STUDENTS EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
Educating and supporting students goes beyond the academic level.  The counselor is available throughout the school day to provide personal counseling to our students.  This is short term counseling intervention. If a student requires more on going therapy a referral will be made to her parents/guardian.  Counseling takes with the understanding of confidentiality. We uphold the guidelines and Laws of Confidentiality to ensure the health or safety of the student or others involved.

Student activities and the counseling department provide various presentations and activities to address the well-being of our students. Assemblies have covered topics such as mental health awareness, breast cancer awareness, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, healthy relationships, and bully prevention.  Students enjoy the stress relief activities during finals week, kindness awareness week, and the weekly pet-therapy dog visit on campus. 

CAREER COUNSELING
All students will utilize Naviance as a tool to explore careers and career opportunities.  SGMHS annually holds a Career Day event. Our students hear professionals, some of whom are alumni, share their story regarding the path they took to be in their current profession.  Many faculty highlight career opportunities in the courses they teach. Students will also discuss their career goals when they have their academic advisement meeting for course registration.  This conversation helps guide students regarding their college searches.  

Our Business Etiquette Enrichment Course provides many helpful tools to our students such as resume writing, interview techniques, and proper etiquette in the workforce.

ACADEMIC ADVISING

Academic counseling provides ongoing services to help each student understand their individual strengths, to set goals, and to assist them in planning an appropriate plan of study.  

SGMHS ensures all students meet college admission course requirements by offering a rigorous academic schedule.  Students must complete all UC a-g courses as part of our graduation requirement.

- Students meet at least once with the counselor or Vice-Principal for academic advisement in the spring semester.  

-  Students review their transcripts during these advisement meetings to ensure their academic plan and course selections are rigorous and meet a-g course requirements.  

-  Students are encouraged to challenge themselves academically in fields of interest with the various honor and AP courses offered.

- Students calculate their Total GPA, and UC/Cal State GPA during advisements meetings which provides guidance with college searches and college admission requirements.

- Continued academic advising is provided throughout the school year during Advisement as well as individually and as needed by the student.

NAVIANCE
Naviance is a comprehensive database tool utilized for college and career preparedness. All SGMHS students receive a Naviance account freshmen year and utilize this tool throughout all four years in high school.  

The following are some of the Naviance tasks students use:

Interest inventory:  Students complete the Do What You Are program which matches their interests to possible future major and career choices.

Resume building:  Beginning freshmen year students build their resume by recording their awards, community service, work experience, and leadership roles.  This information is valuable when they complete their college applications senior year.

College lists:  Beginning freshmen year students start building their college interest lists through Naviance.  By the end of junior year this list should include at least two safety, two targets, and two reach colleges.  Senior year students record their colleges they are applying to in Naviance and link their Common App to their account.

College applications:  Letters of recommendation, transcripts, and counselor recommendations are all processed through the student Naviance accounts.  

Scholarships:  Naviance provides a scholarship database for our students to explore.

COLLEGE ADMISSION REPRESENTATIVE VISITS
SGMHS believes in providing our students with the opportunity to explore colleges and their programs by hosting college admission representative visits and presentations on campus. All students were welcomed to meet them to explore what opportunities these campuses provide and learn about their application process.

Fall semester:  All juniors and seniors hear a presentation from our Cal State Los Angeles representative   Students learned about all 23 Cal State campuses and their admission standards. A presentation for seniors from a Cal State University admission representative regarding the opportunities available for them through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP).  

Spring semester:  An admission representative from the University of California (UC) system meets with our seniors to provide them with guidance on the college commit decision making process once.

STANDARDIZED TESTING PREPARATION
PSAT exam:  All freshmen, sophomores and juniors take the PSAT exam.  Informational meetings are provided for students and parents to help them understand the format of the test, test scores, and how to utilize the test results for SAT preparation.

FREE SAT prep through Khan Academy:  All students have access to customized test preparation through Khan academy once they take their PSAT exam.  This is a great tool all students can access at any time, and work at their own pace to strengthen their SAT score.

Mock ACT & Mock SAT with essay exams:  These free exams are offered in the fall and spring semester at SGMHS.  These practice exams help students gauge if they test stronger on the SAT or ACT.  Students find the feedback from the results, particularly regarding the essay, extremely valuable.

Math SAT preparation:  SGMHS offers a SAT Math Enrichment Course which meets one day each week.

English SAT preparation:  Our English department incorporates English SAT preparation as part of their curriculum.

COLLEGE TOURS
College tour opportunities are provided for all students in the fall and spring semester.  These are great opportunities for students to see various types of college campuses. Over the years SGMHS has offered the following overnight or week college tours based on student interest.