Hello Wolves! Welcome to the third edition of the School Counseling Newsletter for the 2021-22 school year. November and December are busy months and seem to go by super quickly; we can't believe we are already done with half of our school year!

We hope this winter break you find time to rest and connect with your loved ones. We wish you all a safe, healthy and joyful Holiday Season. See you in 2022!

In this issue you will find:

• Second Step: Community Rebuilding Unit
• Career Exploration
• The IB Grading System
• Wellness During the Holiday Season
• Save the Date(s)!
• Community Resources
• Contact Information

Second Step is the social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum we use in our school to promote a positive, safe and welcoming school environment for our students, staff and families. Using this curriculum, we teach our students the importance of recognizing and managing feelings, showing empathy to others to build positive relationships, and use peaceful conflict resolution strategies. During the first semester of this school year, your school counseling team facilitated over 150 classroom lessons to grades TK-5 utilizing the Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit and Resilience Activities!

Community Rebuilding and Resilience Activities

The Community Rebuilding Unit focuses on helping students rebuild connections with each other. After last years' school closures and different reopening models, we knew it would be very important to support our students in developing positive relationships, connections and a sense of belonging to our school community. Students learned the definition of community and participated in different activities to get to know each other better.

In addition, we allowed students to express their feelings surrounding the changes brought by the pandemic and taught them coping skills to manage uncomfortable feelings like worry and stress emphasizing the importance of seeking help from a trusted adult. Our students know that if there is anything in their mind causing them discomfort, they can always talk to their counseling team for support and guidance.

If you would like to learn more about the lessons taught this semester, please click on the following links and talk to your students about it!

Second Step: Community Rebuilding Unit K-1

Second Step: Community Rebuilding Unit 2-3

Second Step: Community Rebuilding Unit 4-5

Second Step: Resilience Activities

My Future: Career Exploration Classroom Lessons for MYP

A key component of LMA's school counseling program is supporting students in thinking about their future, exploring their strengths and interests, and connecting these to possible careers. During the month of November, MYP students participated in classroom lessons focused on career exploration using the Japanese concept of Ikigai.

Finding Your Ikigai

Ikigai is the Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose or reason for living. When a person feels ikigai it usually means that they feel accomplishment and fulfillment after following their own true passions. At LMA, we want students to start thinking and connecting their interest, strengths and values to the world of work and future opportunities for higher education.

6th and 7th graders were able to complete an interest profiler using the California Career Zone website. After completing this survey, they were able to connect their interests to potential careers. 8th graders were prompted to think about the lifestyle they want as adults and the importance of budgeting, then they explored the connection between income and education.

We encourage you to have conversations with your students about their future and dreams. If you would like to explore the tools we used on these lessons, please click on the following links:

CA Career Zone Interest Profiler

CA Career Zone Making Money Choices

Future Center: SuperStrong Inventory

SMUSD Students also have access to the Future Center Website. In this website they can explore many different tools to continue their career exploration. One of these tools is the SuperStrong Inventory. This is a comprehensive interest profiler that can help them further connect their interest to potential occupations and career pathways. Most students will use these resources in high school, but they are welcome to explore them on their own during their middle school years as well.

For more information please click on the links from the flyer below.

Progress reports for MYP students were uploaded to ParentVUE during the month of November. It is very important for families to review these reports with their students to get an idea of how your student is progressing in school both academically and behaviorally. Since we are an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, our grades look very different than other traditional middle schools. Please watch the video below to gain a better understanding of our grading system and your students' progress report grades.

We will be hosting two MYP Grading Meetings after winter break. Please join us! It is especially important for you and your student to attend these meetings if your student has 2 or more at risk of failing grades. If you have any questions about these meetings, please do not hesitate in reaching out to Mrs. Amador after the winter break.

The Holiday Season is usually a joyful and happy time, however this time of the year can be difficult and/or stressful for many people. This is particularly true for those that are impacted by health issues, family problems, grief or other challenges, which have also been aggravated by the uncertainty of the pandemic.

We wanted to share resources with you on these particular topics. As always, if your believe your student is being impacted by these or any other challenges and would like additional support, please contact your school counseling team.

• The Holidays and Mental Health
• Holidays During the Pandemic
• Handling the Holidays After Death in the Family
• Divorce and Holidays: How to Help Kids

Please click on the following links for a comprehensive list of resources:

• Student Wellness
• Mental Health and Counseling Resources
• Emergency Psych Evaluation Centers
• Community Resources (Housing, Food, Etc.)
• Technology Resources and Support
• North San Diego County Food Resources

Email: marthaanahi.amador@smusd.org
Website: https://lamiradaacademy.smusd.org/
Location: Room A-128
Phone: (760) 290-2006

Email: gloria.ortiz@smusd.org
Website: https://lamiradaacademy.smusd.org/
Location: Room A-127
Phone: (760) 290-2444