Guidance & Counseling

Hello Families,
As the school counselor, I have the opportunity to work with our students in a variety of ways. One way is through individual or small group counseling as needed. Our teachers do a wonderful job of getting to know their students well. They work hard to meet their students' academic needs, as well as their social-emotional and behavioral needs. However, at times, challenges arise that require further assistance. In this case, I am happy to sit down with individual students, or in some cases small groups of students, and work with them on reaching solutions to the challenges they are facing.

The second way I work with our students is through classroom-based counseling. Through classroom counseling, the goal is to address common challenges or issues that affect our students both at school and at home in a group setting. This can be particularly useful because students are able to learn from each other, as well as learn that their peers are often dealing with some of the same challenges as they are. The topics addressed are typically those that are not necessarily addressed through our regular classroom academic curriculums. Such topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Anger management and attitude
• Bullying
• Coping skills
• Emotions/feelings
• Goal setting
• Relationships - friends, family, and dating
• Self-esteem and self-advocacy
• Social media/internet safety
• Stress
• And more

I communicate frequently with the classroom teachers and am happy to address other topics as they come up throughout the school year. If you have a concern or question, feel free to contact me anytime.

Thank you, Justin Hamilton