SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK/COUNSELING SERVICES
To make this more fun, Mr. Arthur will be dressing up as a TURKEY and walking around the track with all students who bring in money to walk. The suggested donation amount is $1 per lap and students will be walking 2 laps with Mr. Arthur, our turkey!
Please consider donating to this very worthy cause. Last year Western Primary School raised over $3000 and were able to help so many students. We hope to be able to help even more students this year!
Thank you!
So, have you filled a bucket today? Here are some ideas for how you can fill your child's bucket:
- Ask your child about the best thing they did at school today
- Say "great job!"
- Give hugs
- Set and enforce rules
- Tuck your child into bed every night
- Read to your child or let them read to you
- Eat dinner together
- Make sure your child has breakfast
- Check over homework
- Say "I love you"
- Say "I'm proud of you"
- Say "I'm glad you are my child"
- Play games together
- Make sure your child gets 9-10 hours of sleep EACH night--YES they really do need that much sleep
As you fill your child's bucket, a magical thing will happen for you...you will also fill YOUR bucket! Better yet, your child will learn how to fill buckets!
Happy Bucket Filling!
- Stay in a group—bullies are less likely to bully a group
- Avoid, walk away from, and ignore bullies
- Tell an adult—tell for yourself or for a friend who is being bullied
- Tell the bully to stop: “I don’t like it when you ______. Please stop.”
- Try to be kind; you never know, the bully may just turn into a friend!
Please visit my page titled Character Education for more information! At the top of this page, you should see a row of "tabs". Click on the one that says "pages" and you will find the Character Education Page!
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. As you drive through Howard County you will likely see blue ribbons and signs advertising that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Prevent Child Abuse Organization of Howard County provides blue pencils for every student in Howard County to help raise awareness of child abuse.
I will talk with the students one day during lunch about why they will receive pencils. I keep this explanation very simple: "You are getting blue pencils because kids are special people." Some of the students even ask why the teachers wear blue ribbons and I tell them the same answer.
A School Social Worker must obtain a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) and have knowledge of various elementary school programs, curriculm, and intervention processes.
- Provide guidance services to ALL students
- Teach monthly classroom guidance lessons in all 27 classrooms about the monthly character education topic
- Provide individual and group counseling for students
- Assist students to develop positive relationships with others
- Assist students to develop positive social skills and friendship skills
- Assist students to develop positive coping skills to deal with problems
- Assist students to develop a positive and healthy sense of self-esteem
- Assist students to deal with school-related problems, friendship issues, bullying issues, personal concerns, and other issues that may interfere with learning
- Assist students to deal with family concerns such as divorce, new marriage, loss of a family member, or moving
- Assist students to develop a positive attitude toward school and learning
- Assist students who struggle with attending school
- Be a liasion for parents, teachers, and students
- Be a resource for parents and teachers
How are students referred to see me?
- student request
- teacher request
- parent request
- principal request
- special services referral
If you would like for me to work with your student, please contact me at 883-5528, ext. 1040 so we can discuss your student's specific needs.
Elementary school is an important step in a child's school journey. For some children, it is the first time they have been separated from their family for the length of a school day. Most children adapt quickly to attending school but some need some help to adjust to this major change!
A child's school journey consists of academic, interpersonal, and self-awareness components. To best meet these needs, the guidance and counseling program takes a developmental approach which includes all students. All students participate in classroom based guidance lessons to gain knowledge of basic positive character traits. Some students need more personalized help than what is provided in classroom guidance lessons. For these students, individual or group counseling can provide the support needed to help the student obtain academic, social, or personal success. Meeting with the School Social Worker can be a positive, beneficial experience that enhances the personal, social, and emotional development of students.