Counselor's Corner

Our classroom lessons this month will focus on problem solving skills!

KINDERGARTEN: Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students will learn how to apply their emotion management skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. With adult support, students will be able to discern a big from small problem in a given scenario.

FIRST GRADE: Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students will learn how to apply their emotion management skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. With adult support, students will be able to state a problem respectfully in a given scenario.

SECOND GRADE: Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students learn how to apply their emotion management, communication, and empathy skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. Goals of our lessons include being able to state the problem clearly and without blame in a given scenario, generate multiple solutions to solve a given problem, and identify which solutions work better than others for a given problem.

THIRD GRADE: Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students learn how to apply their emotion management, communication, and empathy skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. Students will be able to recall the STEP process they can use to solve problems.

FOURTH GRADE:Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students learn how to apply their emotion management, communication, and perspective-taking skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. Students will be able to explain what they can do to be a better problem solver.

FIFTH GRADE: Big problems vs. small problems and how to solve them

Students learn how to apply their emotion management, communication, and perspective-taking skills to solve interpersonal problems and demonstrate strategies for effectively dealing with interpersonal conflict. Students will be able to explain how to begin the STEP process in order to be good problem solvers.

April Classroom Lessons

Our classroom lessons next month will focus on Erin's Law curriculum:

Erin’s Law

Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 288, "Erin's Law," in January 2023, requiring school districts to implement curriculum for child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention from grades K-12 starting in the 2023-2024 school year. The law mandates developmentally appropriate instruction for students in grades K-6.

Starting in late April to May, our elementary school counselors will teach two lessons in your child’s classroom using the Child Protection Unit within our Second Step curriculum. This was selected for its age-appropriate content and approval by the Department of Education and Workforce. These lessons aim to increase awareness of warning signs in relationships and to prevent abuse. Our school counselors will present the curriculum in a safe and age-appropriate manner during their regularly scheduled classroom counseling lessons.

Concepts in Grades K-3 include understanding stranger danger, creating boundaries, knowing who trusted adults are, and knowing that safe touches help you feel cared for and unsafe touches hurt your body/feelings. Concepts in Grades 4-5 include being responsible for your own safety, discussing ways to stay safe, creating boundaries, and understanding your body belongs to you.

Parents/guardians can opt-out their child from the child protection curriculum by signing a permission form and returning it to their child's teacher. If the form is not returned, your child will participate in the counselor's lessons.

Please return the K-3 opt-out permission form and/or the 4-5 opt-out permission form to your child’s teacher prior to March 24th.

Home links are fun activities that encourage interaction between your child and adults at home. The activities provide students with a chance to practice Second Step skills outside of school and help families learn about the skills so that they are able to utilize them at home.

We have been focusing on empathy, identifying their own and others' feelings, noticing and respecting same and different feelings, and showing you care about how someone else is feeling. This leads into our diversity and inclusion lessons this month. When students can understand and respond in a caring way to how someone else is feeling, it creates a positive school climate.

Please click the links below which teach specifically about empathy and why it is important. These links also include fun activities to do with your child at home to help them identify feelings and practice empathy and compassion.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Meghan Medlock

Email: mmedlock@scsmustangs.org
Location: 19091 Waterford Pkwy, Strongsville, OH 44149, USA
Phone: 440.268.5445