Cougar Connection
Oakton HS Student Services Newsletter: November 2020
Celebrating World Kindness Day on November 13, kindness has played a major theme in our work this month. We challenged our school community to a week of kindness activities and our grade level SEL lessons focused on aspects of kindness including reflection, postivity, and creating a vision.
We hope you were able to take some time off to savor time with family this Thanksgiving holiday break. December is upon us and the next three weeks tend to go very quickly. Hang in there Cougars; we can make it to winter break!
Student Services Highlights
Counselor Weekly Advisory Lessons
Our lessons in December include:
December 1 - Freshmen: First Quarter Reflection Your Study Skills Part 2
December 8 - Juniors & Seniors: Post-secondary Planning Session
December 15 - Sophomores: Stress Management
Yoga on Mondays
More dates to follow.
World Kindness Day
A big thank you to leadership students who came out to support seniors on November 16 as they came by Oakton for an ice cream dessert. Check out leadership's kindness video that features both teachers and students here.
Additionally, counselors created treat bags for faculty that included several little goodies to help de-stress after first quarter. We appreciate all of our teachers and staff who have been working incredibly hard.
OHS Pantry and PTSA Collaboration for Thanksgiving Meals and Holiday Assistance
Lunch & Connect
Parent Resources
The Parent Resource Center
Recent topics include:
*How to get your child or adolescent to open up to you
*Into adulthood: the journey from dependence to independence
*From chaos to calm: 10 ways to stop power struggles
In December, topics such as encouraging positive behaviors at home and coping strategies for anxious kids will be offered. Registration is available here.
Additional Financial Aid Workshops presented by NOVA
Click on the dates below to register for the zoom sessions.
Mental Health Moment
School Psychologist Spotlight
Ms. Liz Vater
Hello Cougars! I am so glad to be joining the OHS staff this year. This is my eighth year as a school psychologist and I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in a variety of settings with elementary, middle, and high school students since beginning my career in FCPS. I love that as a school psychologist my role involves wearing many “hats” and that I have the chance to work directly with students and collaborate with school staff, families, and community providers to help support students’ social-emotional wellbeing and foster academic success. One of the areas I am particularly passionate about is trauma informed practices and I enjoy being part of a clinical team who provides training on this topic to schools and departments in FCPS.
Prior to working as a school psychologist, I attended Miami University where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and then attended graduate school at James Madison University for my Master of Arts and Educational Specialist degrees in School Psychology. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and am an avid sports fan. When not at work, you can likely find me on the tennis court playing a match as this is one of my favorite self-care activities. As with so many events that needed to be altered as a result of COVID, my fiancé, Mike, and I decided to postpone our wedding that was originally scheduled for this past summer, and our new date is set for July 2021. I am truly looking forward to getting to know everyone. I am at OHS part-time and my days are Monday PM, Tuesday, and Friday. Have a great day everyone!