School Counselor News
We know that success in school is about more than just academics. It’s also about building confidence, managing feelings, and getting along with others. During our Caring School Community morning time, we use the Second Step ® program. This research-based program will help your child learn important skills for school and life. Our lessons will cover how to manage emotions, practice empathy, and become great at problem-solving. Please see the attached letter for more information.
We want your child to be successful in school, and that means supporting and encouraging their whole development. While excelling in academic classes is important, children also need to learn how to take on challenges, make good decisions, manage strong emotions, and get along with others.
This week, we began Second Step Elementary, a research- based program designed to improve these skills and help children both in and out of school. Four units will be covered:
Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting: Children learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives.
Emotion Management: Children learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotional management strategies- including stress management for older students-to calm strong feelings.
Empathy & Kindness: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others, and take others’ perspectives, while recognizing kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships.
Problem-Solving: Children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process:
S: Say the problem
T: Think of solutions
E: Explore the outcomes
P: Pick a solution
You’ll receive weekly communications from your child’s teacher to help you reinforce Second Step language, skills, and goals at home. If you have any questions about Second Step Elementary, please don’t hesitate to contact me or your child’s teacher for more information. We appreciate your support as we work to build a safe and supportive school community.