Counseling

6th Grade Counselor: Hannah Serck

7th Grade Counselor: Briana Nelsen

8th Grade Counselor: Chelsea Timm

Social Worker: Allison Reuland

Counseling Secretary: Michaela Waters

**Click the counselor's name and you'll be directed to their email address**

Contact Us at 605-367-8443

No School:

Tuesday, November 11th

Wednesday, November 26th

Thursday, November 27th

Friday, November 28th

JA Inspire- 8th Graders Only

Tuesday, November 18th from 1-1:40 at the Convention Center

Second Step Middle School is a research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program designed to improve students’ social-emotional skills, such as emotion management, impulse control, problem solving, and empathy. This month our focus is Unit 1: Mindsets & Goals

All PHMS students will be taught these SEL lessons in protimes or DS each week (see dates below).

November 3rd: Lesson 14

November 10th: Lesson 15

November 17th: Lesson 16

6th Grade

Lesson 14 (What Emotions Tell You)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to recognize the kind of information their emotions can give them in different situations and how that information can be useful.

Question: Ask your child what type of emotions they felt today. Tell them the emotions you felt. What information did they get from those emotions? What did your emotions tell you?

Lesson 15 (Emotions and Your Brain)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how different parts of their brains play a part in managing their strong emotions.

Question: Ask your child to teach you about some of the different parts of the brain and how they manage emotions. Look up a picture or video of the brain and learn some more!

Lesson 16 (How Emotions Affect Your Decisions)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will analyze how strong emotions can influence their decision-making abilities, as well as how those decisions can affect their relationships.

Question: Ask your child what sorts of things trigger strong emotions in them. Ask them how you can show support when those things happen.

7th Grade

Lesson 14 (Emotions Matter)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how their brain handles strong emotions and brainstorm positive and negative decisions they might make when they feel a strong emotion.

Question: Ask your child about a negative decision they recently made because they were feeling a strong emotion. Help them think about how they can turn that negative decision into a positive one if they feel that emotion again.

Lesson 15 (Feel, Think, Do)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will distinguish thoughts from emotions. They will also analyze how emotions affect their thoughts, and how their thoughts can influence the decisions they make.

Question: Ask your child to explain the difference between an emotion and a thought. Take turns expressing sentiments aloud and having the other person identify if the sentiments are thoughts or emotions. (For example, Emotion: “I’m so mad at the coach for not putting me in the game.” Thought: “That’s it—I quit!”)

Lesson 16 (Unhelpful Thoughts)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will distinguish between helpful thoughts, which are thoughts that can help them make good decisions, and unhelpful thoughts, which are thoughts that can lead to negative decisions.

Question: Tell your child about a helpful thought you recently had and the decision you made because of it. Ask them to share a helpful thought they had as well. If they can’t think of anything, point out something positive they did recently and help them identify the thought that went along with it.

8th Grade

Lesson 14 (Understanding Stress and Anxiety)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will examine how they feel, what thoughts they have, and how their body responds when they’re stressed.

Question: Ask your child what they do or feel when they’re stressed. These signs will help you notice when your child is stressed, so you can ask them how to help or support them.

Lesson 15 (Where Does Stress Come From?)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn where stress comes from, identify stressors in their life, and examine which stressors they can control.

Question: Ask your child if they have any stressors they can’t control. Discuss what they do have control over.

Lesson 16 (Can Stress Help You Grow?)

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn to reframe stressful situations as opportunities for growth.

Question: Tell your child about a stressful situation you were recently in and how you were able to use that stress to improve yourself or the situation. Ask your child if they have any stressors in their life that they need help with.

It's a difficult topic, but one we can't afford to ignore. School District professionals and experts from Avera teach warning signs, prevention, resources already in place, how students can help each other, and much more.