October Counseling Newsletter

Posted Date: 10/04/24 (03:10 PM)

Counseling Newsletter

🍁 Happy October 🍁

This Month in Social/Emotional News

This month at Old Mill we will be starting our Peaceful Playground Coaches program! This program gives 4th and 5th graders the opportunity to help students in the lower grade levels with conflict resolution. I will be going into all 4th and 5th grade classrooms in the following weeks to give the students more information. Please keep an eye out for a permission form to participate if your child is interested!

Reminder that on October 15th Blake Brandes will be hosting a Growth Mindset Parent Education Night from 6:00-7:00pm in the MPR.

Latin Heritage Month is Sep 15, 2024 - Tue, Oct 15, 2024

October is LGBTQ History Month

10/9 is Indigenous Peoples Day

Toolbox

Toolbox is a research-based social-emotional learning curriculum. It teaches critical social competencies necessary for academic and life success such as: resiliency, self-management, and responsible decision-making skills.

Every month Old Mill highlights one or two tools from Toolbox. Each tool has an icon, hand gesture and tagline that goes along with it.

This month the students will focus on the breathing tool and quiet/safe place tool.

Learn more about Toolbox here!

Listening Tool

Listening with one's heart is key to strong relationships and conflict resolution, leading us to empathy and deeper understanding. When we listen with our hearts we have the opportunity to go deeper.

Hand gesture - Tap your heart with two fingers (as if tapping a wall to find a stud) to remind students to not only listen with their eyes and ears but also their heart.

Tagline - I listen with our eyes, ears, and heart.

Empathy Tool

Empathy is noticing how another person is feeling and being able to understand what that must be like for them. Empathy is caring about someone else. Empathy is the root of tolerance, kindness, and forgiveness. Turned inward, this becomes care and understanding for oneself.

Hand gesture - Place hands in front of you palms up as if holding an imaginary level and slowly raise one hand then the other. This gesture helps us remember to consider both sides in a situation.

Tagline - I care for myself, I care for others.

Listening tool at home activity

Empathy tool at home activity

Social/Emotional Learning books

Books offer so many benefits for student and personal growth and development! They help to enhance self-awareness and self-reflection, develop empathy and understanding, improve communication and relationship skills, promote resilience and emotional regulation.

Each month I will be highlighting books on relevant tools or topics. Click a topic to explore more resources!