Letter going home to 4th grade

Dear Families,

I would like to briefly introduce myself, let you know about the counseling services available at Summitt Elementary and outline guidance plans. This will be my 6th year at Summitt (YaHOO!). I am a certified school counselor with a Master’s degree in counseling from Texas State University. I have been a counselor for 12 years, 5 years in Middle School, one year as a Positive Behavior specialist and 6 years in elementary. I am currently part of the AISD counselor leadership team where I support counselors throughout the district.

Counseling services are in 4 categories; Guidance curriculum, Individual Planning, Responsive services and System Support. With the Guidance curriculum, I work with all the students in the classroom and the lessons are designed based on the needs of the grade level. For individual planning, I attend academic meetings and provide support services. Responsive services include individual counseling, group counseling, community outreach and crisis intervention. Finally, System Support includes training staff on how and when to report suspected abuse, teacher/administration consultation and professional development. I also chair No Place For Hate, Red Ribbon Week and No Name Calling Week. I am the coordinator for 504 and the STAAR test. I assist with arrival and I am an expert in tying shoes.

Starting the week of September 24, I will be going into every 4th grade classroom to teach and connect with every student. We will be learning about the brain, executive function skills, learning styles and self-regulation. I will be meeting with them once a week for 6 weeks.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to meet with me, please feel free to call or send an e-mail. I am always happy to connect with families.

Cheers!

Tina Stogdill
Counselor – Summitt Elementary
512-414-4248
Tina.stogdill@austinisd.org

Cyberbullying

We all work hard to raise children who grow into caring, thoughful adults. They make mistakes in the process and hopefully learn along the way. However, the permanence of words and images in cyberspace adds intensity and longevity to the consequences.

The world that we are raising our children is not the same world we grew up with. There were no cell phones (I'm showing my age...) or facebook, no instagram, no text messaging. But this IS the world of our children. Where a picture can get passed around to hundreds of people in a blink of an eye.

Here at Summitt, we are dancing as fast as we can. We are having town hall meetings with students, we are starting in the early grades to give students the words to use to stop bullying. We are reaching out to the community for the resources and access to the latest information. We are involving parents, partnering with them to help to keep our kids safe.

Here are a couple of links:
http://archive.adl.org/education/cyberbullying
http//www.stopbullying.gov/
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ea-brief-a.pdf

If you have information to share on how to keep our kids safe - Please give me a call.

I am getting information from Murchison about transition (YIKES!). Going home today, is information about joining the Orchestra.
If you are planning to go to one of the magnet schools I am happy to help with all of the data you have to submit and those deadlines are fast approaching.
I will post transition info as I get it.

Time sure flies!

We are 9 weeks into the school year and it feels like the first day was yesterday... my how time flies when you are having fun!
I have been working with 1st grade students using Kelso's Choice Conflict Management for Children. 1st graders now know 9 ways to peacefully resolve conflict. Its so exciting seeing children solve their own problems!
Next I have headed to fourth and fifth grade to do bully prevention lessons. More details to come!
I am about 1/2 way through my lunch groups (we meet for 7 weeks and I have 5 lunch group currently going). I love spending time with the kids, they get to get out of the cafeteria, and I get to know them a little better. During lunch group, once everyone is seated, we talk about "one High and one Low", one thing that is going great and one thing they are struggling with. After lunch, we have about 7 minutes and we usually play a cooperative game. The kids seem to enjoy the time and we have become a tight knit little group.

Last week, during group, I looked around and realized that everyone at the table had experienced a loss this fall semester. I took the time to talk about the things to say to someone who is grieving (and they came up with their own list!). I found that the students are smart, caring and insightful. What a gift it is to spend time with them.
Cheers!

Guidance lessons in Kinder and 1st grade

I have started going into the Kindergarten and First grade classes. In Kindergarten, we are learning ways to calm our bodies and why its important to follow directions. In first grade, we are learning the difference between big problems and little problems. Big problems need to be handled by an adult. First graders are learning different ways to take care of little problems using Kelso's choice.
Next week I will be starting groups - if you think your kiddo could benifit from group, give me a call or send me an e-mail. I am taking teacher requests for the groups too.
Cheers!

Love & Logic is my favorite methodology for raising healthy kiddos! They send out an emailer that has awesome tips to keep us reminded of those good parenting (and teaching) skills. Go to their website to sign up - its FREE! www.loveandlogic.com

This week's email is on shaping self-concept and I have posted it here:

Shaping Self-Concept, one of our most popular audios, teaches a very special type of love. It's the type that allows our kids to struggle... lets them work thruough their trials...and guides them toward independence instead of insecurity.

This love can be expressed daily by:
Allowing kids to wrestle with tying their shoes...instead of automatically jumping in and doing it for them.
Letting them dress themselves...even if the clothes they choose don't match.
Teaching them how to talk to their teachers about problems at school...rather than always doing it for them.
Expecting that they speak up and order meals for themselves...instead of ordering for them.
Having them call the insurance company and arrange for their own car insurance...instead of doing it all for them.
Letting them do most of the work required to fill out their college applications...rather than preparing all of the paperwork for them.
Remembering that the more things they learn to do for themselves, the stronger and more confident they will become!

Isn't it ironic that our kids have to face some tough times in order to live confident, joyful lives?

Dr. Charles Fay
Love & Logic Institute

Welcome to a new year! I have neglected the blog and I was inspired by Anh Cao to make a commitment to keeping it updated. She is one of my favorite teachers, always looking at ways to improve her craft (and she shares that energy with everyone around her!)

We kicked off this school year with lots of changes, we have a new Principal and a new Assistant Principal and we are excited about all of the new possibilities.

The Character word for September is Responsibility. Students will be talking about what it means to be responsible and at the end of this month, each teacher will nominate one student from their class to have lunch with me in the great hall.

I will be in Kindergarten and First grade classrooms once a week for 5 weeks starting September 19. In Kinder we will be naming feelings and identifying facial expressions. In First grade we will start with Kelso's Choice - Conflict Management for Children.

Summitt was named a No Place For Hate school last year and we are going for it again! All students are asked to sign the Resolution of Respect and we will be rolling out our first school wide intervention at the end of September - more information to come!

I will be presenting Love & Logic at PTA meetings - so be ready for some fun!

Its going to be a great school year!

Cheers!