Mental Health Monthly
May 2023
Updates from Manning's Mental Health Team.
What's Been Going On?
Digital Citizenship Lessons
Below are the PowerPoint presentations from those lessons.
What's Coming Up?
Naviance Parent Access Training
This training will be recorded for future reference and for anyone unable to attend during that particular time. Naviance is the platform/website Jeffco Public Schools uses to complete student's ICAP. ICAP stands for Individual Career and Academic Plan. A portion of this plan is completed every year until graduation and helps students explore their strengths, interests, possible career pathways and helps with college applications and scholarships.
Final Classroom Lessons from the Mental Health Team.
Grief Supports
Has your student experienced a loss and would benefit from participating in a group to help them navigate through the stages of grief?
Upcoming NJHS Events
NJHS 7th grade inductees will have a meeting in the library after school May 2nd to discuss next year’s NJHS meetings, community service hours and how to log your community service hours. The meeting is from 3:30 to 4:00.
All community service hours for current 8th grade NJHS students need to be turned into Ms. Shulsinger by May 3rd in preparation for 8th Grade Continuation.
National Junior Honors Society (NJHS)
Students who earn a cumulative GPA of 3.65 by the end of the first semester of 7th grade may apply to the Manning Chapter of National Junior Honor Society. If all criteria are met, those students will participate in the NJHS Induction Ceremony in March of that year.
Students must continue to meet the criteria for NJHS after the Induction Ceremony. Students not meeting the criteria after their Induction will be placed on Academic probation for 9 weeks. If after 9 weeks the criteria have not been reached, students will be removed from NJHS.
Meeting notes, slides and more information can be found at this link on the Manning website.
Community Resources
Hazel Health
Jeffco Public Schools has a new resource for mental health support!
Hazel Health is a new telehealth service in support of student mental and physical health. With family permission, students will be able to connect with a licensed therapist for virtual therapy sessions to help students dealing with depression, anxiety, loneliness, personal relationships, anger, academic stress, motivation, and more.
Check out the fliers below for more information!
Suicide & Crisis Hotline
Colorado Crisis Services
IMatter Counseling
Meet Manning's Mental Health Team!
Britney Derhak
This is my 8th year as a school counselor, 7 of those years at the middle school level. I graduated with a Masters in Arts in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2014.
I became a school counselor because of my passion for sports and the influence my coaches had in my life. I wanted to "coach" youth on how to be good students and eventually good people in society.
In my free time I like to spend time with my dog Sawyer and be outside in nature. I also play professional Women's Tackle Football for the Denver Bandits in the Women's National Football Conference.
Email: Britney.Derhak@jeffco.k12.co.us
Phone: (303) 982-0452
Jill Shulsinger-Wall
Hello, my name is Jill Shulsinger-Wall. I have lived in Colorado most of my life and love walking, hiking and biking. I love animals and usually have one or two special needs animals running around my house. I am married and my husband, Steve and I have 3 wonderful daughters.
I started off my career working for the City and County of Denver and then a consultant as an Industrial and Organizational Psychologist. I started working in education in the middle of my career as an Assessment Coordinator for Denver Public Schools. Although the Assessment Coordinator job was not the job for me, I discovered that I loved working in education. After DPS, I worked as a tutor in the AVID program in Littleton and knew that school counseling was the path for me. I continued to work in AVID programs at various schools in Englewood and Cherry Creek school while working on my School Counseling degree. For the past 6 years, I have worked as a school counselor in Douglas County at the middle school level.
Kari Gray
Kari is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) and the Social Emotional Learning Specialist (SEL) at Manning. While she wears many hats, her primary focus in the SEL role is to support Manning’s healthy climate and culture.
Prior to doing SEL work in Jeffco she graduated from the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver with a Masters in Social Work (MSW), school social work certificate, and a focus on family systems. Additionally, she received her Master’s in Education and taught in Chicago Public Schools; through work in residential settings and schools, she has been involved with people across the lifespan. Middle school is a great match for her passions, education, work history, and quirky personality.
When not at Manning, Kari enjoys bouldering, skiing, hiking, making art, spending time with her dog, friends and family. If you talk with her long enough, eventually she’ll recommend a podcast or 12.
You can follow her on Instagram @sel_by_gray
Email: Kari.Gray@jeffco.k12.co.us
Phone: (303) 982-1514
Mental Health Information
What Do Middle School Counselors Do?
What Counselors can help Parents/guardians with:
Provide information for a variety of social, emotional, career and academic needs.
Support in child’s academic and career planning.
Better understand the social and psychological aspects of child development.
Work with the school to plan their child’s education.
Learn more about school programs.
Become aware of community resources available to them and their children.
AND MUCH MORE!
What Counselors can help Students with:
Academic and career planning.
Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP).
Provide information for a variety of social, emotional, career and academic needs.
Crisis intervention and prevention.
Teach a variety of skills individually and in groups.
Establish and maintain cooperative relationships.
AND MUCH MORE!
How and Why to Contact a Counselor?
Concerns over student achievement
Family health problems
New school registration and orientation
Test interpretation
Discussing special needs of their child
Early discussion of potential crises
Family difficulties or concerns
Additional things Counselors Do:
Individual Counseling
Small Groups
Career Exploration
Academic Support
Collaboration
Crisis Response
Behavior Intervention
Referrals to Community Resources
Teaching Classroom Lessons such as ICAP
Parent Consultations
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance to us. We believe that each student and their families deserve to be treated with the deepest respect and discretion. We will guard your privacy as much as permitted by law.
Limits to confidentiality when:
- the student poses a danger to self or others
- there is a court-ordered disclosure
- consulting with other professionals, such as colleagues, supervisors, treatment teams and other support personnel, in support of the student
- privileged communication is not granted by state laws and local guidelines (e.g., school board policies)
- the student participates in group counseling
- substance use and treatment are concerns
If you have any questions regarding confidentiality, please feel free to contact a team member.