Program Offerings
The School Counseling team provides students and families with the following programs, presentations, services, and events each year: College Seminar Series, Parent / Guardian Nights, Coffee with Counselors, College Rep Visits, Be Well @ SJ, and access to Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services.
College Seminar Series
During the spring of Junior Year and the fall of Senior Year, students attend a College Seminar led by the School Counselors. The curriculum of the College Seminars includes the following topics: Researching colleges, majors, and careers, applying for admission, financial aid, and scholarships, and strategizing standardized testing, college essays, and interviews, college athletics, and more. The College Seminar Series allows for more productive individual meetings with students where we can focus on the specific goals of individual students. Parent meetings with School Counselors are also a welcome component of the college placement process.
Parent / Guardian Nights
Throughout the academic year, the Counseling staff hosts a number of informational presentations for parents and guardians of students in particular grades and stages of their Saint John’s careers. These include Senior College Parent Night, College Financial Aid Night, Junior College Parent Night, and Early College Parent Night. The presentations are designed to share information with parents about the School and College Counseling curriculum delivered to students.
Coffee with Counselors
Each quarter during the academic year, the Counseling staff hosts informal morning events for parents and guardians. A general theme is addressed and there is an opportunity to meet and engage with school counselors over a cup of coffee and pastry.
College Rep Visits
Each fall over one hundred college and university admission representatives visit Saint John’s to meet with students to share information about their institution and answer questions about the college admissions process.
Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services
Our partnership with Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services (SYFS) expands our support of the social and emotional development of our students. SYFS services include crisis management, referral to, and communication with, outside professional support services, and assistance with problem-solving in areas that involve mental health and substance use. Many students and families have benefited from our partnership with SYFS and we encourage you to consider contacting a school counselor if you have social/emotional concerns that we may be able to address with the help of SYSF. To learn more about SYFS you can find their webpage here.
Be Well @ SJ
The Be Well program is designed to help and support Saint John’s students with concerns or questions about mental health, substance use, social media, and adolescent issues. Through Be Well, Saint John’s students can seek help for themselves, a family member, or a friend.
To access the program students will fill out a referral form and they can expect to be contacted within one school day by a member of the Be Well Team during regular school hours. Be Well is not a 24-hour hotline.
Students can make a referral to Be Well in several ways:
- Scan the QR code on the back of their student ID
- Access the School Life Wellness page on the Saint John’s website or the Counseling Office Group in the school portal
- Scan the QR Code on posters throughout the Saint John’s Campus
For further information or questions about Be Well, please feel free to reach out to Matthew Zaterka, mzaterka@stjohnshigh.org or Brenda Hayden, brendahayden@stjohnshigh.org.
Saint John's High School
Saint John’s High School has educated young men under the sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers since 1898. Through the Saint John’s strong college preparatory curriculum, over 900 students in grades seven through twelve pursue personal and intellectual growth in an environment that is committed to the development of the whole person and recognizes a moral dimension of life through service to God and to others.