Counselor's Corner
RSI Counselors Quarterly Update
Welcome!
Hello from our counseling office! We wanted to share ways that our RSI staff are supporting our students and their social emotional health at RSI. We have enjoyed getting to know your children better and look forward to getting to know them more throughout the year!
1st Quarter- Fall 2019
Community Circles
Each classroom at RSI has a community circle each day. What are community circles? Community circles allow for meaningful conversation, enhancing communication skills and building relationships for students and teachers. The benefits of community circles include building relationships, fostering a sense of belonging, providing an extension of curricular learning, and establishing proactive solutions to conflict. A community circle provides a safe, respectful place for students to share their thoughts and feelings. We have enjoyed visiting each 5th and 6th grade classroom and participating in community circles and will continue to visit throughout the school year!
Social and Emotional Learning Pilot
Some of our 5th and 6th grade classrooms are currently participating in a social and emotional learning pilot. Next school year, all HSE K-8 classrooms will receive social emotional learning instruction. This year’s social and emotional learning curriculum is through the Second Step and Mind Up programs. Second Step lessons focus on skills for learning (focusing attention, listening carefully, and being assertive when asking for help with schoolwork), empathy, emotion management, and problem solving. Mind Up lessons focus on knowing how the parts of your brain work and ways to calm the brain in times of stress. We are excited to see these programs being taught in our pilot classrooms!
Pilot Teachers Include:
5th Grade
Mr. Marc Dashiell
Mrs. Becky Floetker
Mrs. Kristen Faghih
Mrs. Sarah Speidel
Mrs. Alyson Elder
Miss Ina Pruzinskis
Mr. Aaron Pickett
Mr. Chris Conway
Mrs. Shelley Brown
Mrs. Shannon Herring
Miss DeKruiff
6th Grade
Mr. Dave Bradley
Mrs. Katie Thurston
Mrs. Heather Morrison
Mrs. Emily Stout
Mrs. Brie Saxhaugh-Toste
Mr. Aaron Gutwein
Mrs. Karyn Havens
Mrs. Kelly Mason
Mrs. Deneice Mathias Jarrett
Mrs. Laura LaCross
You may see Homelinks shared with you throughout the school year based on these programs. The Homelinks further the communication at home about what is being taught. Your child will not be required to complete Homelinks and turn them in. Any activities sent home via Homelinks are purely voluntary.
See more details in the websites below:
Social and Emotional Learning
Mind Up
College Go Week
We had daily activities the week of 9/23 for College Go Week, which is a yearly Indiana Department of Education initative. College Go Week is an opportunity for students to think about their future and goals to set to achieve the future they want. During this week students looked at the cost of college, learned about college myths, discussed future career interests, discussed how they can make an impact in their community, and discussed how school prepares you for your future. Students also each received a Learn More magazine that provided students with more information about career interests and setting goals. It is never too early to begin thinking about possible future careers and interests!
For more information visit: https://learnmoreindiana.org/
-Coming Soon!-
Counseling Canvas Page
You will see a Counseling course added to the Canvas page in the near future. We will be adding resources as an intermediate counseling team to support you and your students!
Please have patience with us as it will be new and a work in progress. It may take some time to upload our documents, but we are hoping this will be a great tool for you to access. We will highlight some of the features in our next newsletter.
If you have any suggestions or requests- please let us know!
Thank you!
Contact Us:
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have to help address your child’s academic, social, and/or emotional needs.
5th Grade
Ms. Nancy Logue
(317)594-4320
6th Grade
Mrs. Rachel Underwood
(317)594-4320