Counselor's Corner

We celebrated our 2nd annual College week last week. We learned about some local colleges and learned some of the language around going to college like dorms, professors and scholarships.

In April we are going to be continuing to looking at what careers we think would be worth exploring further and what kind of training we might need to have the skills needed for that career.

By the end of April we will also be exploring skills like cooperation and teamwork that will help us be successful no matter what career path students decide to pursue.

Character Counts

In April we will continue with the trait of Citizenship.

Citizenship is represented by the color purple.

• Cooperate
• Ge involved in community affairs
• Stay informed;vote
• Be a good neighbor
• Obey laws and rules
• Respect authorities
• Protect the environment

Do your share to make your school and community better!

During the month of April students in grades 3-5 will be taking state assessments to show us what they know! Some students will breeze right through these weeks without any concern. Others may find themselves feeling more anxious and stressed. In each 3rd,4th and 5th grade class we talked about what test anxiety is and what coping skills they might be able to use to help them feel and be their best.

Some tips for students:

• Take deep breathes
• Get a drink of cool water
• Dispute the negative thoughts and remind yourself of the positives
• Remember the test is only one measure of what you know

Some tips for parents:

• Discuss the test openly and in a positive way.
• Have realistic expectations of your child's performance while encouraging his/her best efforts.
• Emphasize that the test is only one measure of academic performance.
• Emphasize that test scores do not determine a person's worth.
• Encourage your child to get adequate rest and eat healthy meals and snacks.
  

If your child seems to be struggling with test anxiety here are a couple of resources to consider discussing together or feel free to reach out to me.

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

The Whatifs

Email: khight@tps501.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/tps501.org/mrshight/home
Phone: 438-4377