School Counselor

Elementary school is a time when students develop attitudes concerning school, self, peers, social groups, and family. During this time, they are also developing decision-making and communication skills as well as life training skills and character values.

Our counseling program at St. John Bosco is based on prevention, with a focus on early identification and intervention of emotional or social challenges that could interfere with learning.

A school counselor is an educator trained in counseling who provides counseling, instruction, and mentoring for students who are having challenges with:

  1. Understanding self and others
  2. Coping strategies
  3. Peer relationships and social skills
  4. Communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution
  5. Regulating emotions
  6. Self-image and self-esteem
  7. Personal adjustment
  8. Family issues
  9. Study skills and academic development

Our full-time counselor meets with students individually, in groups, and in the classroom to lead discussions with students. Students understand that the counselor’s office is a place where students share feelings, solve problems, and learn to be their best selves.

Here at St. John Bosco, our counselor, teachers, and parents work together as a team to help our students develop the awareness, skills, and emotional resources they will need to become positive and productive members of society.

Programs offered

  1. Smart Squad - Smart Squad Club is a supportive academic club designed for 4th to 8th-grade students who need extra help with their schoolwork or struggle with turning in assignments.
  2. Banana Splits Club - Banana Splits Club is a supportive group for kindergarten through 8th-grade students experiencing family changes due to divorce or separation. Led by the school counselor, this club provides a safe and welcoming space where students can express their feelings, connect with peers facing similar experiences, and learn healthy coping strategies.
  3. Friendship Circle - Friendship Circle is a club designed to help kindergarten through 8th-grade students learn how to make and maintain healthy friendships.

Events

  1. Mix It Up - Mix It Up is a school-wide event held several times a year at lunch to encourage students to step outside their usual social circles and connect with new classmates. The goal is to promote inclusion, kindness, and respect for differences in a fun and welcoming environment.
  1. PAWS - PAWS (Peers Actively Welcoming Students) is a school-wide program designed to help new students adjust, make friends, and feel a part of our school community.

Topics include the following

Subject to change

Kindergarten

  1. Ground it down
  2. Shake out the yuck
  3. Belly Breathing
  4. Chillax in my head
  5. Push the clouds
  6. Smell the roses
  7. Turn the dial
  8. Feel it together
  9. Be a kind helper

1st grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Dignity
  3. Belly breathing
  4. Shake out the yuck
  5. Ground it down
  6. Chillax in my head
  7. Feel it together
  8. In My Heart: A Book of Feelings (book)

2nd grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Dignity
  3. The Invisible Boy (Book)
  4. Kindness
  5. Sorry by Trudy Ludwig (Book)
  6. Coping skills
  7. Awesome ends with me (Self-gratitude)
  8. Happiness and Joy

3rd grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Technology
  3. Dignity
  4. Self-gratitude
  5. Kindness (How random acts of kindness can light up someone else’s day)
  6. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
  7. Adapt attitudes and build resilience
  8. Lesson on Kindness - lighting up someone else’s day

4th grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Self-gratitude
  3. Coping Skills
  4. Technology
  5. Dignity
  6. Lesson on Kindness - Lighting up someone else’s day
  7. Same, Same, Different (Finding Common Ground)
  8. Exploring values

5th grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Technology
  3. Self-gratitude
  4. Coping Skills
  5. Dignity
  6. Lesson on Kindness - Lighting up someone else’s day
  7. My Contributions
  8. Bring it to the BBQ

6th grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Technology
  3. Embracing individual qualities
  4. Anxiety
  5. Coping skills
  6. Dignity
  7. Empathy
  8. Toothpaste lesson on rumors and gossip

7th grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Technology
  3. Kintsugi
  4. Anxiety
  5. Peer Pressure
  6. Coping Skills
  7. Dignity
  8. Empathy

8th grade

  1. Boundaries and conflict resolution
  2. Technology
  3. Kintsugi
  4. Anxiety
  5. Peer pressure
  6. Coping skills
  7. Dignity
  8. Empathy