The Counselor's Corner

*Within the next few weeks, the staff at WMS will roll out our second year of TRAILS-A Social Emotional Learning Curriculum used in grades 5-12. You can access more information about the scope of the curriculum below.

Dear Westfield Middle School Families and Caregivers,

Thank you for supporting your child’s continuous learning at home! As a reminder, Westfield Public Schools students began learning and practicing strategies to build important social and emotional skills last year (SEL) using TRAILS programming.

7th grade- Unit 1: Self-Awareness-

7th Grade Unit 1, we will focus on developing self-awareness skills. Self-awareness refers to awareness of our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and how they’re related. It also refers to understanding our strengths and areas for growth. At this age, self-awareness means students can recognize their thoughts and feelings, understand how they’re connected, and use that understanding to manage strong emotions and make helpful choices.

This Unit’s Focus

• Mindfulness means paying attention on purpose to what is happening right now. Students will learn how to focus their attention using breathing exercises and their senses.

• Connecting thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When we experience something, we have thoughts about it. Our thoughts lead to feelings which affect our behaviors (or actions). Students learn about this using the Think-Feel-Do Cycle (or CBT model).

• Emotions (feelings like anger, sadness, and joy) happen in our minds and bodies. Students will learn the physical signs and purposes of different emotions.

• Thoughts are the words we say to ourselves in our minds. Students will learn to name their thoughts and determine if they are helpful or unhelpful. If they’re unhelpful, they’ll practice challenging them to support healthy choices.

8th grade- Unit 3: Social Awareness-

Your students have been practicing their self-awareness and self-management skills in the classroom and school. So far, we’ve noticed our strong thoughts and feelings and used tools like relaxation and getting active to manage them and make healthy choices.

8th grade- Unit 3-We’ll learn social awareness skills, which help us to more fully understand the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others so that we can treat everyone with empathy and respect. At this age, social awareness means recognizing who you can ask for help in difficult situations, celebrating perspectives that are different from your own, and using empathy to build connections rather than judgments.

This Unit’s Focus

• We’ll discuss what makes a good support person and identify supports in our lives. When we’re faced with a difficult situation, a supportive person can help us to think about things differently, feel better, and make healthy decisions.

• Empathy is the effort we make to understand a situation from someone else’s position. Practicing mindfulness and non-judgement can help us show kindness and respect to others even when we don’t think or feel the same way.

• Diversity is the idea that there are many ways people can look, think, and live. We’ll explore diversity by sharing parts of our identities that others can’t see. Learning about each other’s differences can help us to foster inclusivity and kindness in our classroom and our broader community.

In October, all 8th grade students attended an informational assembly about the Westfield Technical Academy. Mrs.Michalik will send home a message on TalkingPoints, and make an announcement here at school, when applications are available to pick up from her office. 8th graders will also have the opportunity to tour the WTA some time in December. More details to come!

National Stress Awareness Day is on November 5. This day is meant to serve as an important reminder to pay attention to the signs of stress in ourselves and our children. Stress can impact both emotional and physical well-being and may appear in many forms—such as depression or anxiety, anger, irritability, or restlessness. Other signs might include feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused; having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much; experiencing racing thoughts or constant worry; struggling with memory or concentration; or making poor decisions. Recognizing these symptoms early can help us take steps to manage stress in healthy ways and support overall mental health. An article is attached that provides more information on how stress affects our lives and ways to reduce its impact.