Gateway School Counseling
November 2021 Family Newsletter
Welcome!
About Us
Small Groups
Our small groups are research informed so we use techniques that have been successful in other small group settings. Our small groups are also data supported. We find our small group participants using data such as teacher surveys, attendance records, and behavior referrals, among other sources. Our small groups are also experience guided. We select the participants for our small groups by first deciding a topic, then finding students who want to participate and will work well with the other group members.
The purpose of our small groups is to develop competencies, enhance skills, and explore different issues. Some topics that we have been considering this year are stress management, friendship development, and kindness/anti-bullying.
We coordinate with the students' teachers to plan the best time to pull the participants out of class in order to avoid any key parts of instruction. We typically run four to five small group meetings including one introductory meeting where we review confidentiality expectations and a concluding meeting where we wrap up by setting a goal for moving forward with the new skills. After our small groups are complete, we share the data that we collected with stakeholders like teachers, administration, and families.
If you have any questions about what small groups we are currently running or how we facilitate them, please reach out to either Ali McGovern or Kelsey Buglewicz-Miller. You can find our contact information below!
This Month at Gateway
Bullying Prevention Month Continued
During this month at Gateway, we are continuing to focus our classroom guidance lessons on bullying prevention. We have been discussing empathy, kindness, how to identify bullying behavior, how to report bullying behavior, and how to be an Upstander against bullying! In November, our students will demonstrate their new skills by completing various projects including designing Upstander comic strips, creating bullying prevention posters, and recording various videos to be shown during our morning announcements (among other projects).
Continue to have conversations with your students about bullying and our anti-bullying projects at Gateway. If your student is being bullied or bullying others, check out our October newsletter for additional information and tips!
Help at Home
Parent Involvement
"National Parental Involvement Day, November 18th, 2021, celebrates public education and honors parents who make a difference in ensuring that every student receives a quality education. National Parental Involvement Day, provides a yearly opportunity for schools and families to honor and highlight the powerful contributions parents and caregivers provide at school and home to support student success. However, parental involvement shouldn’t be confined to just one day – it should be emphasized all year long. Getting involved in your child’s education has been shown to dramatically increase the chances of academic success. This annual day of recognition serves as not only a celebration of currently involved parents, but also a reminder to seek out ways to make a difference. Check with your student’s teacher or the office in their school to see how you can help. National Parental Involvement Day reminds students and parents that learning doesn’t only happen in a classroom. Help children seek out opportunities to experience new places, people and ideas, whether that’s going to a museum or spending time talking to a community leader. Finding a passion and a mentor can open a child’s world." - Project Appleseed
November is also National Picture Book Month. This month is a celebration of adults spending precious time with their children away from technology. Picture books can be used to widen children's imaginations or teach them about important topics. In our counseling department, we use picture books to teach our students about topics like feelings, coping skills, building friendships, and many more. To celebrate National Picture Book Month, find a picture book at a library near you or even have your student check one out and bring it home to read!
Thanksgiving and Holiday Resources
Winter Clothing Support
Panera Bread Program
Resources
Nebraska Family Helpline
1-888-866-8660
Safe 2 Help
531-299-SAFE (7233)
Your Life Your Voice
Call: 1-800-448-3000
Text: "VOICE" to 20121
Chat: yourlifeyourvoice.org
Email: YLYV@boystown.org
Download the "My Life My Voice" app!
Contact Us
Ms. Ali McGovern
Email: alison.mcgovern@ops.org
Phone: (531)299-9529
Mrs. Kelsey Buglewicz-Miller
Email: kelsey.buglewiczmiller@ops.org
Phone: (531)299-6939