The Counselors' Connection
August 2024
Welcome to a brand-new school year! The beginning of the year is a wonderful time to set the tone for positive routines, healthy habits, and strong connections that support your child’s learning and well-being.
Here are a few tips to help your family start the year off right:
1. Establish Consistent Routines. Children thrive on predictability. Setting regular times for homework, bedtime, and morning routines can reduce stress and help students feel more confident and prepared each day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021).
2. Encourage a Growth Mindset. Celebrate effort as much as achievement. Reminding your child that mistakes are part of learning helps build resilience and confidence (Dweck, 2016).
3. Stay Connected. Talk daily with your child about school. Even brief check-ins about their favorite part of the day or a challenge they faced build stronger parent–child relationships and give you insight into how they’re doing socially and academically (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2018).
4. Support Social-Emotional Skills. Helping your child practice self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making will set them up for success in school and beyond (CASEL, 2023). Asking your child about their bi-weekly SEL lesson can help in fostering conversation around these skills.
The Elementary School Counseling Department is excited to welcome two new colleagues this year! Ms. Ashley Denton has joined Chestnutwold as the school counselor for grades three through five, and Ms. Caitlyn Stenman has joined Lynnewood as the school counselor for kindergarten through second grade. While they are new to our schools, both bring valuable experience, energy, and care to their roles.
As part of our school communities, counselors play an important role in helping children learn, grow, and thrive. In addition to teaching bi-weekly Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, they connect with students through teacher, parent, or self-referrals. Counselors provide short-term individual and group support to build important developmental skills and address challenges that may affect learning or behavior. Just as importantly, they partner with staff and families to support each child’s mental health, academic success, and social-emotional well-being.
