M.I.L.A. Counseling Corner
Middle School Counseling Newsletter
October News
Important Dates and Events
October is National Bullying Prevention Month
- National Bullying Prevention Month’s goal is to encourage communities to work together to stop bullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on all children of all ages. Here are some steps that MILA takes to address bullying:
- Students are instructed to immediately tell an adult should they experience bullying & harassment.
- Students have been directed to complete a Referral Form in order to meet with the counselor should they have any kind of concern. Referral Forms are available outside the counselor's office as well as on Ms. Hughes' webpage as a link. To preserve trust and confidentiality parents are generally not contacted should a child fill out a Referral. However, students are encouraged to share with their parent as the situation is addressed in alignment with MILA practices. Please contact your School Counselor if you have any questions regarding this process.
- Parents should make any reports of bullying/harassment concerns directly to their student's grade level administrator.
National Red Ribbon Week
- This year’s theme is YOLO – You Only Live Once, Be Drug Free!
- Throughout the week, students will hear and see statements that promote a drug free and healthy lifestyle. They will also receive mementos reminding them to be drug free. Please partner with us and discuss this message at home.
- To go along with Red Ribbon Week, The Children's Theater will be here November 10th performing "The Liars" for our 8th graders. The Liars is an alcohol and substance abuse prevention program made possible by generous support from Mecklenburg County ABC Board.
Coffee with the Counselor
An opportunity to talk with your child's school counselor over coffee and pastries throughout the year to discuss specific topics. More information coming soon.
Needs Assessments
Parents you are invited and encouraged to complete a needs assessment/survey for the Mountain Island Lake Academy School Counseling program. Please use this survey as an opportunity to express your needs for your child(ren).
Please follow this link to take our quick needs assessment survey- https://goo.gl/forms/KykaE324B3DBrujR2
Important Information to Share
Child Abuse/Neglect Awareness
- Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child or children by a parent or caregiver.
- Everyone in North Carolina is a mandated reporter, which means you are legally required to ensure a report is made when abuse is observed or suspected.
- The person making the report does not need to determine if abuse or neglect occurred, merely having the suspicion is enough to make a report.
- Please contact 704-336-CARE (2273) if you have any suspicion of abuse or neglect.
Homework and study tips
Most students will possibly have about an hour of homework Monday – Thursday.
If they say they don’t have any homework try this:
- Have them open their interactive notebook and tell you about what they learned today. You should see notes or hand outs in the notebook.
- Check their agenda/planner to ensure that they hare writing down assignments and important dates.
- They can study their vocab words for various subjects. Have them make flash cards or take 10 minutes to quiz them.
- Have them read a newspaper or magazine article and then tell you what the article was about.
- Remember quality can be better than quantity.
- Have them study or do their homework in a common area of the house so you can monitor.
- No phones.
- Monitor use of electronics and music. Multi-tasking is not something teenagers do well. Studies show the human brain cannot perform two tasks that require high-level brain function at once.
- Chunk the time - Set the timer for 25 minutes then have them do whatever they want for 10. Work 25, break for 10, and so on.
Quarter 1 will be ending on October 28th. Only 3 more quarters to go!
Do you know your child’s grades?
- Powerschool Parent Portal is a great resource for you to see how your child is doing in all their classes.
Contact me
Middle School Counselor
Mountain Island Lake Academy
Email: jessical.hughes@cms.k12.nc.us
Website: http://jessicahughesschoolcounselor.weebly.com/
Phone: 980-343-6948