School counselors are trained to provide guidance and counseling
services to help students develop academically, personally, and
socially.
The middle school counselor:
- Assists parents and teachers in helping children
- Conducts classroom guidance activities
- Provides individual and small group counseling
- Coordinates school-wide guidance activities
- Consults with outside agencies
A child may see the counselor for:
- Study skills
- Academic planning and career exploration
- Issues with friends
- New situations
- Difficult decisions
- Success & Accomplishments
- Family Concerns
- Happy occasions
- Dealing with grief, loss, or illness
- Any other area of concern
How can a student see the counselor?
- Student support team referral
- Teacher referral
- Administrative referral
- Parental referral
- Self-Referral
The school counselor is NOT:
- A Disciplinarian
- An Administrator
- A Social Worker
- A Therapist
HOMEWORK MATTERS!
If there is one thing your child will learn in middle school, it is
that homework completion is extremely important and that it also has a
major impact on their grades. If your son or daughter’s progress report
wasn’t quite what you had hoped for, the first step to take is to find
out if they have been turning in their homework assignments. A simple
phone call or e-mail to the teacher will give you this information. If
this seems to be the problem, keep reading.
Middle school aged
kids often want more freedom from their parents and say that they don’t
need or want your supervision over their school work. Our response to
this is that this freedom must be earned. Until your child shows that
they will complete and turn in their homework on a regular basis, they
need a parent’s supervision. Here are a few steps to take to help your
child learn responsible homework habits:
- Check their
assignment book daily. Remember that you can call the homework hotline
to make sure they have written down all of their assignments.
- Make
sure your child has a quiet place to study without distractions.
Contrary to what they may tell you, they really don’t learn best in
front of the television.
- Provide encouragement and assistance if
needed, but don’t do the assignment for them. Your student needs
practice using problem-solving skills. It’s okay to give hints, but they
need to figure the answers out for themselves.
- Look over their assignments and ask questions about what they are studying. Show an interest in what they are learning.
- Take
a look at their binder each night and make sure they have organized
their papers by subject. Their binder should have a separate section for
each class. Make sure that they also put their homework assignments in
the proper section. You would be surprised how many students complete
their assignment, but can’t find it by the time they are supposed to
turn it in.
- Encourage students to study a little each night for
upcoming tests. They will be much more likely to remember the
information than if they wait until the night before the test.
- Praise
your child for working hard and completing assignments. Try to stay
positive and give constructive advice rather than criticizing.
- Keep in touch with your child’s teachers and contact their counselor if you need more help.
This
information and more is available in the U.S. Department of Education
publication, Helping Your Child With Homework (7/18/02), available
online at http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/hyc.html. Also,
check out the U.S. Department of Education website. They have excellent
information geared toward parents on a wide range of education/child
development topics.
Mental Health Association
The link in the heading above will connect you to the website for the
Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri. The site is dedicated to
promoting mental health and wellness, preventing mental disorders and
achieving victory over mental illness through advocacy, education and
service.
School-based Counseling Services
The
Mehlville School District is partnering with Lutheran and Family
Children Services (LFCS) to provide school based counseling services to
our students. The school based counselor is a mental health position
funded though the St Louis County Keeping Kids First Fund. The services
are free of cost to students, parents, and schools and supplement the
existing guidance counselor services provided by the school district so
that students can receive increased services.
Terri Garbo,
M.Ed., LPC, LCSW is the LFCS School-based Counselor at Margaret Buerkle
Middle School. Mrs. Garbo can provide an array of services, such as
consultations with parents, and / or school staff; presentations for
staff or parents; crisis intervention; individual counseling with a
student; family consultation; skills groups for students on topics such
as social skills, friendships, anger management, communication skills,
grief / loss; and more.
A student can be referred for
counseling by a parent, teacher, school guidance counselor or
administrator, or self-referral. If a student is referred for individual
or group counseling, Mrs. Garbo will contact the parent or guardian to
obtain consent and schedule a meeting with the parent or guardian to
gather additional information and further explain the services offered.
If
you have any questions or would like additional information about
available services please contact Mrs. Garbo at (314) 467-6800.