The Role of the Secondary School counsellor

Our Secondary School counsellor supports students in grades 6 and up. The counseling program is modeled after the International School Counseling Model and covers three main integrated areas: personal and social development, university and career guidance, and academic advising.

ISCA Model

Mission

Our Upper School Counseling department works in partnership with students, parents and staff to provide a Comprehensive School Counseling program that aligns with the CIS Mission. We seek to create a community atmosphere in which all members feel safe, valued, supported, and encouraged to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. It is our mission to provide proactive and responsive services to meet the needs of the CIS community. The Counseling Program continually evolves to assist students in the areas of academic achievement, personal/social development, and college/career awareness in a globalized society.

Counselling Services

Academic counselling covers the following areas:

  • Advocating for students
  • Schedule classes and advise on course selection
  • Mediate between students, teachers and parents
  • Analyze data from student achievement results, student surveys, and other various assessments
  • Liaising with teachers to discuss student concerns
  • Refer students for student support services
  • Support academic skill building through systemic planning and implementation

Personal and social development counselling consists of:

  • Providing individual and small group counseling services to students
  • Deliver Social/Emotional lessons to students in the classroom
  • Liaising with teachers to discuss student concerns
  • Help administration identify and resolve student issues
  • Crisis Response
  • Refer students for outside services
  • Monitor student behavior interventions
  • Advisory Program planning and implementation

For older students, our counselling team can offer advice on the next steps in the students career, including:

  • Organizing parent and student meetings for university planning
  • Coordinating university visits to campus
  • Interpreting the standardized test scores with students and parents
  • Supporting students through the university application process
  • Classroom Guidance: My Life Plan

Curriculum – My Life Plan:

9th Grade

9.1: Self Awareness

9.2: Self Monitoring

9.3: Self Advocacy

9.4: Transition to High School

10th Grade

10.1: Introduction to Careers

10.2: Exploring Careers

10.3: Considering Career Fields and Post-Secondary

10.4: Career Research and Resumes

11th Grade1x / month
11.1Introduction – Post-secondary language and terms by region & Standardized Assessments
11.2Best Fit pt. 1: Academic Fit
11.3Best Fit pt. 2: Financial & Social Fit
11.4Researching Universities
11.5Building your University Application List
11.6University Application Essays
11.7Letters of Recommendation
11.8Finalizing your University List
WorkshopsApplication by regionRequests from Parents/StudentsTopics identified through Needs Assessments
12th Grade1:1 time
Senior week
Individual Meetings with Family
Advisory LessonsTransition to University

Dear College/University Representatives, All college visits to CIS will be held virtually for the 2020-2021 school year. Interested universities should contact annie.cadwell@cisp.edu.kh should they be interested in setting up a virtual visit with our community. 

Types of Visits: Virtual university visits can be in the form of Town Hall information sessions, Q&A’s, admission workshops, or any creative combination of these. We also welcome coordinated efforts for multiple universities to speak with our students at the same time. 

Meeting Times: Given the various time zones, meeting times can be arranged on a case by case basis. When you provide us with your availability and we confirm the visit with you, we will then announce this time to the community. We have several ways to announce college visits to students and will require them to register to attend the session in advance. Due to the nature of online meetings and various time commitments, the number of students and family members in attendance could vary.

In addition to the above, our secondary student counsellor provides the following services:

  • Administering admission assessments
  • Reviewing admission files and make recommendations regarding academic fit and planning
  • Assisting students with transitions into and out of the school (new students, ES to MS, MS, to HS, and HS to Post-secondary)
  • Providing educational sessions for parents to support with adolescent development and issues 

Contact

Students are able to make an appointment with the Counsellor by email, Google Chat, or through talking to the counsellor directly. At times the Counsellor might make a personal appointment with a student directly and discreetly. Parents are able to make contact in the same way as the students at annie.cadwell@cisp.edu.kh