Columbia Counselor Corner
December 2025
Our Smore will provide counseling updates from both Elementary buildings.
Lower Elementary Updates: Ashley Phelps
Happy Holiday's Eagle Families!
As we enter into the busy season of holiday gatherings, traditions and fun remember to leave room for downtime. Just as adults, children need time to reset now and then. Sometimes the holiday's can become overwhelming, as resilient as they are, children need us as the adults to help protect their boundaries and show understanding when things becoming to stimulating. Give you, and your family grace and build in those reset days as a family, and even one on one time with your little ones.
Click for helpful tips during the holiday season:
December brings lots of fun things here at school. School wide we will be having holiday spirit dress up days, a sing-along, holiday parties, and student of the month celebrations. Watch your student(s) class rooms app & CES Facebook pages for important updates of all the fun to come!
K-Kids Peer Mentoring
2nd grade K-Kids came together for an initial meeting and practiced peer mentoring skills. In December we will have our first mentoring session with Kindergarten students! K-Kids are excited to get started supporting their younger peers.
Character Strong - Purposeful People
This month our Character Trait focus is: Empathy.
Understanding and connecting to other peoples feelings.
- We look forward to celebrating students chosen for the trait of Empathy at our December Student of the Month on December 16th.
Safer, Smarter, Kids
All students who opted in for Safer, Smarter Kids lessons participated in our first two lessons in November. We look forward to our next lessons in January. Students did a great job with the lessons and articulating all the safety tips practiced!
Small Groups
In December I will be starting multiple Counseling groups to support students. Teachers have made recommendations based on needs and if you have opted in for this option. If you have any questions or feel your student could benefit from a social, worry, self-control, coping skills group please reach out.
You can reach me by email: ashley.phelps@myeagles.org or by calling 517-769-8557, feel free to leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I am available.
Family Connection
Upper Elementary Updates: Krista Schatzle
Hello Winter!!!
CUES Updates
Hello!
We have exciting things happening at CUES:
- November was a month of gratitude. Each class had two students tell of two things they are grateful for on our morning announcements. The students really looked forward to hearing them each morning. The classes also did activities related to our Character Strong word throughout the month.
- The Character Strong word of the month of December is EMPATHY. We will be doing different lessons and activities to emphasize the word. We also have family activities that parents can do with their child. Teachers will be sending these in their newsletters.
- The Student of the Month ceremony is December 19th. More information will be sent individually for this event.
- One teacher from each grade level will be piloting an SEL curriculum this year, which is free through a grant from the state of Michigan. Those teachers will use a hybrid SEL curriculum of Character Strong and Navigate 360. The teachers had their training and will begin the pilot program in January.
- Conferences went well this last month. We appreciated the opportunity to talk to parents in a face to face setting. If you were unable to attend conferences, feel free to reach out to set up a time to talk to your child's teacher.
- We are working on a Peer to Peer program here at CUES. At our level there is some training involved for both staff and students so it is taking some time to get it up and running. Our hope is to have it in place by February.
- I will be teaching Conflict Resolution Guidance Lessons to each grade, 3-5, in January. I will be teaching tolerance and how we are more alike than different to the 6th grade.
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns-
krista.schatzle@myeagles.org or 592-2181.
Mindfulness Moment
Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you......
Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you.....
Acknowledge THREE things you can hear.....
Acknowledge TWO things you can smell.....
Acknlowledge ONE thing you can taste.....
It causes the person to focus on their immediate surroundings rather than what they are anxious about.
Character Strong
Mental Health and Crisis Intervention Resource List
Mental Health Resource List
The following document provides a list of different mental health resources available in our surrounding area. If immediate danger is suspected please call 911. For additional guidance and support, our district counselors are available through school email.
Ashley Phelps, CES Counselor, ashley.phelps@myeagles.org
Krista Schatzle, CUES Counselor, krista.schatzle@myeagles.org
Jessica White-School JR/SR High Counselor, jessica.white@myeagles.org
Wendy Diefenthaler JR/SR High Counselor, wendy.diefenthaler@myeagles.org
Will Bower, 504 Coordinator/BTAM Coordinator, will.bower@myeagles.org
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Dial 2-1-1 for immediate access to over 2,000 services available to Jackson County Residents. When you call you are connected to a trained Information and Referral Specialist who can discuss your needs and give you the information and/or referrals you need to find what you are looking for. There is an online directory of available resources as well on the website listed above.
Okay2Say
A student safety program that allows students to confidentially report potential harm or criminal activity directed at school students, school staff and schools. Tips can be submitted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students can submit tips through phone, email, text message, mobile app or Okay2Say website.
Community Action Agency Jackson, Lenawee & Hillsdale Counties
1214 Greenwood Ave. Jackson, MI. 49203
400 W. South St. Adrian, MI. 49221
55 Barnard St. Hillsdale, MI. 49242
517-784-4800
517-263-7861
517-437-3346
Services: Education, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Housing, Health & Nutrition, and Community Development.
LifeWays CMH
1200 North West Ave. Jackson, MI. 49202
25 Care Drive Hillsdale, MI. 49242
517-789-1200
517-439-2641
Behavioral Health Services in areas such as severe mental issues, intellectual/developmental disability, substance use disorder, and co-occurring disorders.
Family Service & Children's Aid
330 W. Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI. 49201
517-787-7920
Lenawee County Community Mental Health
517-263-8905
Behavioral Health Services in areas such as severe mental issues, intellectual/developmental disability, substance use disorder, and co-occurring disorders.
LJ Gallagher PsyD and Associates PLLC
451 Marshall Street
Brooklyn, MI 49230
(517) 414-0697
A Healing Place, LLC
207/209 First St. Jackson, MI. 49201
1218 Greenwood Ave. Jackson, MI. 49201
517-998-4673
Waves of Change, LLC
517-581-4886
2017 4th St, Jackson, MI 49203-4572
https://www.wavesofchangellc.com
Jackson Healing Clinic
734-219-3314
126 Seymour Ave, Jackson, MI 49202
https://jacksonhealingclinic.com/
Counseling Services LLC - Doug McComas
(There are other therapists in the office also)
(517)788-8330
2575 Spring Arbor Rd Suite 300
Jackson, MI. 49203
