The Counselor Connection

Dear Helotes Families,

It has been so nice seeing all of our students and families back for a brand new year. I have had the opportunity to meet many of our new students already in guidance classes and they are amazing! My hope is for all children to feel supported and cared for, and learn tools they can use to help themselves emotionally and socially.

In this newsletter, you will see some of the curriculum covered so far, as well as the content areas, and programs we use in our Guidance and Counseling program. If you have any questions on how to help your child, feel free to reach out to me!

Sincerely,

Mr. Vasquez,

Helotes School Counselor

Guidance lessons: What are we learning?

I visit your child's class every 6 days. At that time I will share lessons about getting along, friendship, conflict resolution, coping skills, personal health & safety, college & career readiness, goal setting, self-confidence and so much more! I started off the year by introducing myself to each class, where students learned about the role of the school counselor. Students also learned about calming strategies they can use during lockdown drills. Finally, we have been working on a great conflict resolution program called Kelso's choices which allows students to be proactive in their own choices and problem-solving. We've been going over what is a small problem (one that they can solve on their own, one that might make us feel upset or irritated at times) or a big problem (one that we need grown-up help with because it might be unsafe or dangerous). Students also took time to review all 9 choices for resolving the problem peacefully to build healthier friendships and coping skills.

Howdy Lesson Book:

Students learned to celebrate their successes and learn from mistakes.

Safety Lesson:

Learning lockdown drill safety & calming strategies

Kelso's Choices

Students learned ways to solve small problems in a peaceful way!

K-2nd Wheel of Choices

Students learn to use their wheel of choices to help when they have a small problem

3rd-5th Wheel of Choices

Students learn to use Verbal and Nonverbal choices to help with small problems

Kelso & Lilly are ready to share their lessons!

Puppets make everything more fun!

A Look Ahead

Guidance lessons to come...

We will continue working with Kelso's Choices all year long to help students solve problems peacefully.

October Lesson Topics:

Growth Mindset (Fixed vs Growth mindset; The Power of YET!)
Bully Prevention / Being a Kind Friend
We will have a special presentation from Retired Firefighter, Conrad Gonzales for our Kinder 1st & 2nd graders on making safe choices, buckling up, and fire safety..
We will have a special presentation from the O'Connor HS AF JROTC for our 4th & 5th graders on bullying prevention and being respectful and kind.
Personal Health & Safety-We will celebrate Red Ribbon week with fun dress up activities and learning about healthy choices.