Guidance Counselor

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR NOTES FROM MRS. GILBERT          In September and October, students at Westbrook will work with Mrs. Gilbert to improve their skills in getting along with others.  Our children view short video clips showing children their own age in typical social situations.   In Use Your Words! , kindergartners focus on a common problem shared by many young children, identifying what is causing them to be upset and practicing ways to tell someone how they feel about it.  children may assume that others know how they feel about it.  Children may assume that others know how they are feeling or why they are upset.  Our kindergarten children practice figuring out what the problem was and what they could say to let someone know how they felt.  At home, parents may ask, "What could you say to your friend (brother, sister) to help him/her understand how you feel?"  First graders practice ten ways to cool down when they become angry.  Children at this age are learning how to make good choices in new situations.  They are faced with demands to cooperate with other children, work and play in groups, and control unacceptable behavior.  Angry? Ten Ways to Cool Off  offers helpful ideas.  Ask your child to show you how to:  Freeze and take some deep breaths, Count to Ten pushing fingers together, Walk away from a situation, Ask a question to get more information, Talk about how they feel, Write about how they feel, Talk to themselves or use angry energy to exercise or draw.  Respect was the topic for our second grade children.  At this age, children's understanding of the respect shifts from ideas about being polite to a deeper understanding of the feelings of others.  In Respect Yourself and Others, Too, children are faced with decisions about showing respect for other's belongings, other's feeling's or another's way of doing things.  Discussion focuses on respectful choices.  Our children are encouraged to notice the respectful choices made by their classmates in their classroom settings.  Should I Speak Up?  challenges our third grade students to make decisions about telling the truth in difficult or even dangerous situations.  Children are taught to tell the truth from a very early age.  As they get older, they begin to encounter situations where telling the truth isn't always easy.  Our children have an opportunity to discuss and practice what they could say or do in these difficult situations.     In December and January, students at Westbrook Elementary work with Mrs. Gilbert, our school counselor, to improve their skills in getting along with others. Our students view short video clips showing children their own age in typical social situations.    In the program, Stop Picking On Me!, children practice helpful strategies to keep from becoming a target of teasing. Our kindergarten students focused on the importance of treating others kindly and avoiding teasing and other hurtful behaviors.  Children learn that ignoring the teasing and walking away from the situation or asking the child to stop are effective ways to handle teasing. Our kindergarten students also discussed the importance of being honest, polite and cooperative with each other.   First grade students focus on the importance of acting responsibly, avoiding carelessness and being considerate of others. How Did That Happen? helped our children see that things usually happen for a reason and that nothing happens “by magic.” Children learned that retracing their steps could help locate a lost library book or explain a friend’s hurt feelings. Our first graders also discussed the frustration that may come along with learning a new skill. They practiced useful strategies like taking a deep breath, asking for help or taking a break to overcome frustration.   Getting Better At Getting Along encouraged our second grade students to become good listeners when attempting to solve a problem. Students practice asking questions and talking out difficulties or hurt feelings. They learned that sometimes a compromise can be worked out that is acceptable. Students had the opportunity to practice listening, talking out problems and finding compromises.   Third grade students view I Was Just Kidding, a program that defines harassment as “any behavior that makes someone feel bad or uncomfortable and continues even after the harasser has been asked to stop.” Our children saw how teasing, name-calling and bullying affects others, and students discuss the importance of treating others as they want to be treated. Our students also had the opportunity to look at the role a bystander may play in encouraging teasing or name calling to continue.     Mrs. Gilbert shares her time between the Elementary and Intermediate school buildings.  Her schedule is as follows: Mrs. Gilbert's Schedule   Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday   7:30-11:30 Intermediate Elementary  Intermediate Elementary Intermediate 11:45-3:45 Elementary Intermediate Elementary Intermediate Elementary Elementary - 937-833-6796        |            Intermediate - 937-833-6731 bvjrtgilbert@mdeca.org

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