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SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK/COUNSELING SERVICES
CHARACTER EDUCATION

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Mrs. Kristi Leap - School Social Worker

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SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK/COUNSELING SERVICES

CHARACTER EDUCATION

Welcome to my page!

Thank you for visiting my web page! Here you will find information about the services I provide and how to contact me.

Information for Parents

HAVE YOU FILLED A BUCKET TODAY?

I will be reading the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? to all students during the month of September. The basic premise of this book is that we all have invisible buckets that carry our positive thoughts and feelings. It's great to have full buckets but the only way to get a full bucket is by filling others' buckets! We fill buckets when we show kindness, helpfulness, respect, and caring but we empty buckets when we are unkind, rude, thoughtless, or mean.

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!

NO BULLYING AT WESTERN!!!!

THESE PAWS DON'T BULLY!

From August 31st-October 15th, we will learn about KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP and we will also learn what to do about BULLIES. Students can show kindness and friendship by including everyone, inviting others to play, saying nice things to others, not joining in if others are being mean or teasing someone, and by acting nicely even when they are angry with someone. Conflict is a normal part of life but it is important that students learn to talk out problems they have with others.

Here are some tips to help your child deal with bullies:

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!

TRRFCC PANTHER

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!

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER?

An elementary School Social Worker's role is very similar to that of an elementary School Counselor. A School Social Worker is specially trained to provide support, counseling, and guidance to all students. A school Social Worker works closely with parents, teachers, and staff to assist in the academic, social, and emotional success of all students.

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.

WHAT DOES A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER DO?

A School Social Worker has many roles. Here are some of the things I do at Western:

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

REFERRALS TO THE SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER

How are students referred to see me?

student request
teacher request
parent request
principal request
special services referral

Some students only need to meet with me 1-3 times. Other students need more ongoing support. If I believe your student needs to meet with me on an on-going basis, I will send home a permission form so that you will know that your student has been referred to meet with me.

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.

WHY WOULD A YOUNG STUDENT NEED TO MEET WITH ME?

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.