MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
VOL. 50, NO. 6
February 27, 2015
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
Counselors Expand Dialogue on Mental Health
AP Contract Implementation
Guest speaker focuses on mental health at presentation on parent night
Contracts to be added to all registration packets By Amrith Krishnan Staff Writer Following the example of other local high schools, the administrative board of MSJ has recently decided to implement an AP contract system when registration packets come out in March. These AP contracts are being used in the hopes of decreasing course overload, making students think twice before signing up for rigorous schedules, and subsequently lowering class dropout rates. The AP contracts consist of a single sheet of paper added to all registration packets requesting a list of all the weighted classes that a student is taking during his or her following year in high school. Students and their parents will read through a list of responsibilities they will have once they are enrolled in AP classes, and the challenges that come with any weighted course.
“It’s not just about the contract and about AP’s, but also [about] breaking misconceptions about college…[students] just get more stressed if everyone else is taking four or five weighted classes.”
-Jeff Evans, Assistant Principal
These AP contracts serve as another stop sign on the downhill slope of taking an overloaded schedule. They encourage both students and parents to stop and think about whether they are going to be able to handle their coursework and lead balanced lifestyles with their scheduled number of AP classes. When course schedules become unmanageable, counselors have to deal with large numbers of students attempting to drop their AP classes with no free space in other classes to move these students into. “It’s not just about the contract and about AP’s, but also [about] breaking misconceptions about college…students are compared to their peers, and they just get more stressed if everyone else is taking four or five weighted classes,” Assistant Principal Jeff Evans says. At MSJ, many students take challenging schedules as a result of no limit or cap on the maximum number of AP’s they can take per year. According to Evans, when colleges look at students and compare them to their peers, they see that the relative competitiveness of the school is very high due to the high average number of weighted classes taken.
See AP NEWS Page 2
staff writer apoorva rajanala
Counselors (left photo) and clinical psychologist Helen Hsu (right photo) speak at the freshman parent night.
By Apoorva Rajanala Staff Writer In their efforts to promote mental health at MSJ, counselors invited clinical psychologist Dr. Helen Hsu to speak at the incoming freshmen’s parent night on February 12. With more awareness at school and at home, MSJ students can stay happier and healthier on a regular basis. The counselor team and other professionals believe that early education is key, especially when it comes to mental health. Previously, these nights focused on the academic aspects of the next year, but this year the focus will also emphasize the importance of mental health, particularly that of mental health during the adolescent years. Coming from the City of Fremont Youth & Family Services, Hsu has been working with adolescents for 17 years.
Her office handles child and family counseling, school-based counseling at 19 FUSD schools, services in conjunction with the police department, and intervention for alcohol or drugs. Hsu stated that mental illness is much more common than we would expect. One in four Americans have a close relative that will suffer from mental illness; this statement came as a surprise to most of the parents and attendees. Hsu explained that these illnesses tend to hit people during the most productive years of their lives, 16 to 25 years of age. Because a teenager’s frontal lobe—responsible for judgment, comprehension of consequences, and thinking ahead—develops last, the decisions that teenagers take can be detrimental to their health. However, with the correct education and stigma reduction, students can easily become successful, both mentally and physically.
Almost all health risks that students face are preventable, and the first step in the right direction is raising awareness. The top concerns for parents of teens include: academic performance, bullying, peer pressure, relationships and sexuality, substance use, and mental health. Parents were given a tip sheet that highlighted trigger points and educated parents about when to take immediate action. Hsu went into detail with examples of two young students and the outcomes that varied depending on when and how the teens received the appropriate attention and treatment. The last point that Hsu discussed was communication, mainly between parents and students. She pushed parents to open their ears
See HEALTH NEWS Page 2
MSJ Constitution Changes Proposed Amendments to change school mascot, club fund management policy By Andrew Choi Staff Writer MSJ ASB is proposing two new amendments to the MSJ Constitution regarding the school’s official mascot and regulation processes for inactive clubs. The ASB Cabinet, which includes all the ASB and class officers, unanimously passed the changes on February 8 and ASB Leadership Council voted to pass the amendments on February 11. A two-thirds majority vote was required in both votes for the amendments to go to a school-wide vote, which is scheduled to occur on Thursday, March 12. The amendments were first suggested by the school’s auditor when he noted that the MSJ Constitution does not specify what happens to clubs’ funds once clubs are dissolved or become inactive. ASB President Dustin Chiang said, “Very often, clubs lose interest among the student body and es-
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Students vote on sending the Constitutional amendments to a schoolwide vote.
sentially become inactive, but what happens to the club’s money once it became inactive was extremely vague.” Chiang also noted that the last time amendments were made to the Constitution was in 2005. The auditor recommended that ASB make changes based on the Associated Student Body Accounting Manual, published by the California School Informa-
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tion Services (CSIS). The manual states: “All student club and trust accounts are part of the general ASB, so if a club becomes inactive, the funds should be transferred to the general ASB.” This led to ASB presenting Proposition
See AMEND NEWS Page 2
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