Counseling Corner

Empathy is when someone is able to understand and share how someone else feels and thinks. It is something that is a work in progress throughout a young person's life and requires practice and experience. While these skills unfold overtime, it is important to remember that "empathy is caught, not taught" (Mary Gordon and the Roots of Empathy).

However, there are several things to encourage empathy to grow in a child (adapted from Harvard Graduate School of Education):

1. Model empathy-Children notice if we treat a mail carrier or restaurant server differently so make sure we acknowledge those around us in a positive and empathetic way

2. Make caring for others a priority-Set the tone and instead of saying, "the most important thing is to be happy" say, "the most important thing is to be happy and to be KIND to others"

3. Provide opportunities to practice empathy-Try having a family meeting and make listening and intentionally responding to others a part of the routine

4. Expand your child's circle of concern- Start exposing children to areas in their community that are in need of might look different than their world at home

5. Help children learn to self-regulate themselves-Have children identify their feelings and learn coping skills to put in their "toolbox"

The Elm Street School counseling team is aware of the growing concerns about the SNAP benefit funding expiration. If your family will be affected by this shut down, please reach out to one of us and we will direct you to the assistance needed.

Additionally, because of wonderful community support, we are offering help with winter gear (coats, hats, mittens, gloves, boots, snow pants) and Holiday meals and gifts. If your family is in need of assistance due to financial hardship, please reach out to someone on the team. We will need the following information: Ages and gender identity/expression of anyone living in the home under the age of 18, coat sizes, and the total number of people living in the home.

Please know this information will be kept confidential.

Counseling Team:

Shannon Songin- ssongin@walpole.k12.ma.us

Tori Dore- vwintersdore@walpole.k12.ma.us

Or you can reach out directly to Mrs. Buller:

Jen Buller- jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us

We’re excited to share a wonderful community resource for families here in Walpole. The Walpole Council on Aging hosts a warm and welcoming Grandparents Raising Grandchildren support group on the second Wednesday of every month from 11:30 AM–1:30 PM at the Council on Aging on South Street. A warm, welcoming space where grandparents caring for grandchildren can connect, share stories, and feel supported.. Lunch is provided, and anyone interested can register by calling 508-668-3330 or emailing jnauman@walpole-ma.gov

The next meeting is December 10th

Please see the flyers below for more information

As part of our general education social-emotional support, ALL students will receive either weekly or biweekly social-emotional "SOAR" lessons. Kindergarten lessons are taught weekly and grades 1-5 are taught bi-weekly.

These lessons are based on the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) competencies. Some topics we cover include feeling identification and strategies, problem solving and conflict resolution, friendship and bullying, goal setting, exploring differences, and decision making. Each month, we will provide an updated newsletter which previews our lessons for the month ahead.

Ms. Dore will be teaching lessons and working directly with students in 1st, 2nd and 5th grade. Ms. Songin will be teaching lessons and working directly with students in Kindergarten, 3rd, and 4th grade.

• We will talk about handling disappointment and finding healthy ways to cope when things don’t go the way we want.
• We’ll learn about “hidden rules” how some behaviors are expected in certain places and unexpected in others.

• We will introduce the concepts of expected and unexpected behaviors
• At the end of the month they will begin to think about what it means to be a flexible thinker

• Students will conclude the unit on the Zones of Regulation by learning about Yellow and Red Zones
• We will focus on developing coping strategies for these zones

• We will learning about cooperative behavior and how to balance our own wants with the needs of a group.
• How to give and receive feedback in a kind and helpful way. We’ll practice how to offer compliments (glows) and constructive suggestions (grows) to support teamwork and personal growth.

• We will continue discussing conflict resolution, making helpful vs hurtful Choices and the difference between intent vs impact.
• We will focusing on impulse control learning how to pause, think, and choose helpful actions. Students will practice strategies for stopping and thinking before reacting.

• Students will complete the second lesson on Gossip, Rumors, and Cliques.
  
• We will then learn about Peer Pressure and how to handle being in situations that make us feel uncomfortable

Kindergarten:

• You Get What You Get by Julie Gassman
• Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

1st grade:

• A Perfectly Messed Up Story by Patrick McDonnell
  
  

2nd grade

• “A Little Spot of Anxiety” by Diane Adler
• “A Little Spot of Anger” by Diane Adler

3rd grade:

• Social Thinking and Me
• Teamwork Isn't My Thing and I Don't Like to Share by Julia Cook

4th grade:

At this time, no books will be used in this month's lessons.

5th grade:

At this time, no books will be used in this month's lessons.

Mrs. Tori Dore (grades 1, 2, and 5)

Email: vwintersdore@walpole.k12.ma.us

Phone: 508-660-7374, ext. 5615

Ms. Shannon Songin (grades K, 3, and 4)

Email: ssongin@walpole.k12.ma.us

Phone: 508-660-7374, ext. 5615