Middle School Counseling News: September 2022

MIDDLE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHOOL COUNSELING COUNSELING NEWS NEWS SEPTEMBER 2022

WELCOME TO THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR! “There is a miracle in every new beginning.” Herman Hesse (German-Swiss Poet) My name is Ashley Giljum, and I am your daughter’s Middle School Counselor. The most important part of my job is being available to your daughter. This is done through one-on-one meetings, small group meetings, and classroom lessons. I am here to help with her academic progress, social/emotional development, and overall wellbeing.

Communication between home and school is vital! Please call or email me if you have any concerns about your daughter. I also will communicate with you through emails, upcoming presentations, and this monthly newsletter (emailed on the first day of each month).

I look forward to partnering with you and your daughter this year!

STUDY SKILLS, GIRL TALK, & OWNING UP In addition to individual and small group counseling, students participate in various classroom guidance lessons.

Our sixth graders take part in a study skills course (1st quarter) which focuses on the transition into middle school – including tips on organization, study skills, and test-taking strategies. The sixth grade also will participate in the Girl Talk program monthly during the school day. Girl Talk is a peer mentoring program that utilizes our Upper School girls as mentors. Quarterly counseling lessons also will take place with the sixth graders focusing on topics such as using school resources, stress and coping strategies, friendship and conflict resolution, and selfesteem.

Our seventh and eighth graders will participate in the Owning Up curriculum to help them with topics such as healthy friendships, conflict resolution, empathy, body image, eating disorders, and the media’s portrayal of females in our society. All seventh graders will begin Owning Up in October.

Half of the eighth graders will have Owning Up during first semester and the other half will have it during second semester.

PEER-2-PEER TUTORING Peer-2-Peer tutoring is now available for all Viz Middle and Upper School students! This program aims to provide a productive and positive learning experience in which one girl is the tutor, and the other is the student. Tutors gain leadership skills while using their academic knowledge in a subject area to support a fellow student. Students in this program will gain one-on-one attention and positive reinforcement from their peer tutor. Students in Grade 6 through Grade 12 may apply to be tutors or sign up to receive tutoring.

Students can access more information by logging into the Viz Portal, clicking on the Resources tab, and then clicking on either the Middle School News or Counseling Resources tile. This site allows students to select from a list of tutors based on grade level, subject matter, and availability.

If you have questions or want more details, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

MS PARENT RESOURCE NIGHT Please mark your calendar for Thursday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m. for our annual MS Parent Resource Night in DeChantal Hall. All Middle School parents are welcome, but we encourage all new Middle School parents (all sixth, new seventh/eighth) to attend this informative evening with me, Ashley Giljum, Middle School Counselor. Information regarding classroom lessons, transitions, resources, and support during academic and social challenges will be addressed. Please see the survey information below.

Study Skills Club (optional for interested seventh graders and new eighth graders) will begin on September 7 from 3:00-3:45 p.m. Please have your daughter reach out to me directly if interested. This club will continue on Wednesdays after school during September and October.

SURVEY INFORMATION FOR MS PARENT RESOURCE NIGHT Do you ever wonder what is going on in the mind of your middle schooler? Are you curious about the habits of our Viz students – around media usage, stress, and sleeping patterns? To gather data about these Middle School student habits, I have created surveys – for both students and parents. The links to parent surveys are listed below, and student surveys will be emailed directly to the students. This survey will only take a few moments of your time. Once data is gathered from all the surveys, I will include the findings in the upcoming MS Resource Night presentation on September 22.

Please complete your respective grade-level survey(s) below by Friday, September 16.

Sixth-Grade Parent Survey https://forms.office.com/r/9zymmFAadc Seventh-Grade Parent Survey https://forms.office.com/r/2ev6X5KypC Eighth-Grade Parent Survey https://forms.office.com/r/ZUkctEua7Y

UPCOMING DATES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS Optional Study Skills Club for Grade 7/NEW Grade 8 Students – September 7, 14, 21, and 28 and October 5, 19, and 26 (3:00-3:45 p.m.)

Girl Talk (Sixth Grade) – begins in September MS Parent Resource Night – September 22 (6:30 p.m.)

Owning Up (Seventh Grade) – begins in October Owning Up (Eighth Grade) – begins in September

ERB Standardized Testing (Middle School) – October 11-13 (various times) (Note: Early dismissal at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12 – No lunch or extended day offered. Additional details to come. We ask that your daughter please be present these days.)

Cotillion (Eighth Grade) – October 4, 11, 18, and 25 and November 1 (3:30-5:00 p.m.)

(Note: Formal dinner/dance will be held off campus on Thursday, November 3.)

CHECK IT OUT - RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES Podcast – “Ask Lisa – The Psychology of Parenting” https://drlisadamour.com/resources/podcast/ Article – “Five Ways Parents Can Help their Kids Transition Smoothly to Middle School” (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/08/27/five-ways-parentscan-help-their-kids-transition-smoothly-middle-school/ Article – “Tips for Parent on a Successful Transition to Middle School” (Goodtherapy.org) https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/tips-for-parents-on-a-successful-transition-to-middleschool-0902155

MRS. ASHLEY GILJUM, MSW Middle School Counselor Grades 6-8 agiljum@visitationacademy.org visitationacademy.org

(314) 625-9225