Counselor's Corner

4th and 5th grade guidance

Our 4th and 5th grade students are such a wonderful group of young people! Parents are to be applauded for sending students to school with such a solid academic foundation.As I spend time in classes working with students I am amazed at their preparedness and willingness to participate in classroom discussions. They have very well thought out ideas and they are able to express themselves in an extremely clear way.

Fourth grade students are enjoying learning about relationships. We have studied the importance of having healthy friendships and strategies for improving self esteem. Our lesson this week focuses on positive peer pressure which seems to be a new concept for them. They understand negative peer pressure quite well, but have never considered that they could be the source of influencing their friends in positive ways. We discussed ways to influence others by our healthy attitudes and behaviors. We trust that practicing healthy attitudes and habits will have a positive influence on their ability to learn and their academic achievement.

Fifth graders are very interested in learning the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We are discussing the attitudes and behaviors that help kids to become more successful in school and more responsible family members. We have learned: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first and think win win. Not only is it helpful for them to understand these concepts but it is important for them to practice these strategies in the classroom and at home. Our rising 6th graders can take these best practices with them to middle school and become students of excellence from the very first day. As always our goal is to prepare them to be life long learners.

4th and 5th grade guidance

Greetings to all! Our fourth grade students are such a great group of kids and such eager learners! We have been focusing on healthy relationships with friends. We are trying to understand how to treat friends with respect and how to ask for the respect that we deserve to have ourselves. Using words of kindness, giving compliments and helping others are all ways that communicate value for ourselves and others. This week we are going to be talking about self esteem and some strategies to use to increase self esteem. The students are very eager to learn about the idea of friendship being a choice.

The fifth graders continue to study the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens". We have learned about being proactive, beginning with the end in mind and putting first things first. This week we will focus on having a Win/Win attitude. It is exciting to see how they are embracing these new ideas and how they are implementing them in their personal lives and at school. I am hoping that these strategies will help them be better students now and in middle school.

Fourth and Fifth Grade Guidance

Dear Parents, I received the loveliest and sweetest cards for Valentines Day from your children. I brought them home to share with my family because they were were so special. Their art work, poems and kind words were very touching. You need to be very proud of your children because they took their time and energy to encourage me as their counselor.

Fourth grade guidance is continuing to focus on the theme of healthy relationships and healthy attitudes with peers at school. During our classes this month we have learned that friendship is a choice. We can choose a person with positive character traits to be our friend and we don't have to let someone with negative character traits be our close friend. If someone is unkind and disrespectful to us, then they are not a good person to become our close friend. We also discussed that we have a choice to believe  the positive things others say to us and we can disregard the unkind things others say to us. Our next class will focus on self esteem, where it comes from and strategies to improve how we see ourselves.

The fifth graders are enjoying studying the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. We have studied Habit #1, Be Proactive and Habit #2, Begin With the End in Mind. This week we will focus on Habit #3, Put First Things First. We discussed what these ideas mean and then students were asked to consider how the particular habit applied to their lives now and how they will apply these new habits in the future. Students are learning that these habits, when used in school and at home, bring positive results. Our goal is to address the barriers to learning in order to improve student achievement.

4th and 5th grade guidance

Dear Nicholson parents, Many of your children were very tired on Monday. They shared what a great time they had on Sunday enjoying the Super Bowl with the family.(I was tired too) The fifth graders are learning about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We have studied Habit #1, Be Proactive. At present we are studying Habit #2, Begin With the End in Mind. Students are aware that practicing positive, proactive habits and behaviors leads to positive results in school, at home and with friends. I hope that you will see some of these "can do" attitudes and behaviors at home.

Parents, please be aware that on March 6th @ 6:00, the McCleskey administrators and counselors will meet with you in the Nicholson cafeteria. The purpose of this brief meeting is to discuss your student's transition to middle school. This is an important visit and we encourage you to attend this brief meeting.

Our 4th grade students are so animated as we discuss personal relationships. They are learning that they can choose the peers they want to have as friends. Although they need to treat each person with respect, they are understanding that some acquaintances may not be appropriate for them. I asked them to consider their friendships and to make certain that their friends treated them with respect. If not, then they should not make that person a close friend. Your student learned that the friends that they surround themselves with will often reflect how they feel about themselves. They seemed very interested in this new concept of having a choice regarding friendship. I am enjoying teaching them and their active participation in our lively discussions.

4th/5th grade guidance

Dear Parents, it is hard to believe that the first month of this term is almost gone! I have enjoyed the opportunity to visit with parents during conference week. I am so impressed with teacher preparation, parent participation and student achievement. Classroom guidance activities are focusing on personal/social skills for the fourth graders. We are learning that respect for self, family and others is an important foundation for  healthy relationships We are talking about the character qualities and behaviors that a friend should have in order to be a close friend. Student s are beginning to understand that they have a choice when it comes to selecting others to be friends.

The fifth grade classes are learning Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This week we studied Habit # 1 which is Be Proactive. Proactive means having a can-do attitude and behaviors. Being proactive is a skill that will be helpful academically, personally and in a future career. Proactive active people have positive language, take responsibility, respond based on values and influence others in a positive way. Ask you student to explain what being proactive means and how they can implement this attitude and behavior at home. I love to hear about some positive changes at home. Please keep me posted.

Guidance

I hope your family enjoyed the snowy days as much as your child did! What a simple pleasure to enjoy! I am enjoying watching your student grow and mature and being able to engage in meaningful classroom guidance discussions. During the school year guidance topics have a academic, personal/social and career focus. The number one goal of course is to improve your student's academic achievement by addressing some of the potential barriers to learning. During the Fall term our focus was on the importance of school in preparing us for life as productive workers, responsible citizens and lifelong learners. This term 4th grade lessons will focus on a healthy relationship with oneself (self esteem) and with others. It is important for students to have the necessary tools to make healthy personal and social choices as they mature. The 5th grade classes are going to learn the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". These researched based strategies will help your student finish 5th grade strong, and enable him/her to build on them during the middle school and high school years. Hopefully learning about good habits that lead to positive consequences will enhance your student's attitude and behavior now and in middle school. Students will be learning Habit #1 this week. Be certain to ask them to tell you about it and how they can use it at home and in the family. 

Guidance

Happy New year to each of you,your precious children and extended family! Beginning this month, Jean Hill and I will post blogs separtely in order to give you more specific information regarding the particular grade level your student is in. During the first term of school the focus of guidance was on the importance of academic excellence. Commitment to school and lifelong learning was the topic of many of our weekly discussions. This term fourth grade guidance will focus on more personal developmental issues: seeking positive relationships; making healthy friendships; positive peer pressure; positive leadership skills and positive self esteem. In April we will spend some time talking about  preparing for the CRCT and making the transition to 5th grade.

The 5th grade classes will embark on a series of lessons based on "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens". We will focus on learning and hopefully acquiring some positive attitudes and behaviors which research says many successful people possess. In April we will talk about preparing for the CRCT. In May a program called Healthwise is made available to 5th grade students to help them better understand the physical changes that take place as they approach adolescence. Details will be sent out in April for parental review and then you must give permission for your student to attend the 2 hour program.

Please not the following dates.

On Thursday evening January 17th Dr. Patti Agatston from the Prevention/Intervention Center will be in the cafeteria at 6:30 to make a presentation on cybersafty and cyberbullying. This is open to all Nicholson parents.

On Thursday evening February 21st, the counselors will discuss how to assist your student in using the online CRCT preparation program that is on the Nicholson website. We are planning to meet in the cafeteria at 6:30. This is open to all Nicholson parents. 

March 6th representatives from McClesky Middle School will be at Nicholson to talk to 5th grade parents about registration for middle school. They will also answer questions you may have regarding transition. At present we are planning on 6:00 in the cafeteria

Happy New year to each of you,your precious children and extended family! Beginning this month, Jean Hill and I will post blogs separtely in order to give you more specific information regarding the particular grade level your student is in. During the first term of school the focus of guidance was on the importance of academic excellence. Commitment to school and lifelong learning was the topic of many of our weekly discussions. This term fourth grade guidance will focus on more personal developmental issues: seeking positive relationships; making healthy friendships; positive peer pressure; positive leadership skills and positive self esteem. In April we will spend some time talking about  preparing for the CRCT and making the transition to 5th grade.

The 5th grade classes will embark on a series of lessons based on "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens". We will focus on learning and hopefully acquiring some positive attitudes and behaviors which research says many successful people possess. In April we will talk about preparing for the CRCT. In May a program called Healthwise is made available to 5th grade students to help them better understand the physical changes that take place as they approach adolescence. Details will be sent out in April for parental review and then you must give permission for your student to attend the 2 hour program.

Please not the following dates.

On Thursday evening January 17th Dr. Patti Agatston from the Prevention/Intervention Center will be in the cafeteria at 6:30 to make a presentation on cybersafty and cyberbullying. This is open to all Nicholson parents.

On Thursday evening February 21st, the counselors will discuss how to assist your student in using the online CRCT preparation program that is on the Nicholson website. We are planning to meet in the cafeteria at 6:30. This is open to all Nicholson parents. 

March 6th representatives from McClesky Middle School will be at Nicholson to talk to 5th grade parents about registration for middle school. They will also answer questions you may have regarding transition. At present we are planning on 6:00 in the cafeteria