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:
- Understanding self and others
- Coping strategies
- Peer relationships and social skills
- Communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution
- Regulating emotions
- Self-image and self-esteem
- Personal adjustment
- Family issues
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Friendship Circle - Friendship Circle is a club designed to help kindergarten through 8th-grade students learn how to make and maintain healthy friendships.
Events
- 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.
- 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
- Ground it down
- Shake out the yuck
- Belly Breathing
- Chillax in my head
- Push the clouds
- Smell the roses
- Turn the dial
- Feel it together
- Be a kind helper
1st grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Dignity
- Belly breathing
- Shake out the yuck
- Ground it down
- Chillax in my head
- Feel it together
- In My Heart: A Book of Feelings (book)
2nd grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Dignity
- The Invisible Boy (Book)
- Kindness
- Sorry by Trudy Ludwig (Book)
- Coping skills
- Awesome ends with me (Self-gratitude)
- Happiness and Joy
3rd grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Technology
- Dignity
- Self-gratitude
- Kindness (How random acts of kindness can light up someone else’s day)
- The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
- Adapt attitudes and build resilience
- Lesson on Kindness - lighting up someone else’s day
4th grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Self-gratitude
- Coping Skills
- Technology
- Dignity
- Lesson on Kindness - Lighting up someone else’s day
- Same, Same, Different (Finding Common Ground)
- Exploring values
5th grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Technology
- Self-gratitude
- Coping Skills
- Dignity
- Lesson on Kindness - Lighting up someone else’s day
- My Contributions
- Bring it to the BBQ
6th grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Technology
- Embracing individual qualities
- Anxiety
- Coping skills
- Dignity
- Empathy
- Toothpaste lesson on rumors and gossip
7th grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Technology
- Kintsugi
- Anxiety
- Peer Pressure
- Coping Skills
- Dignity
- Empathy
8th grade
- Boundaries and conflict resolution
- Technology
- Kintsugi
- Anxiety
- Peer pressure
- Coping skills
- Dignity
- Empathy