Guidance » Guidance Home

Guidance Home

Welcome Parents & Students!
Thank you for visiting the guidance webpage. Students encounter many challenges and changes during the middle school years. This webpage is meant to be used for informational purposes only. The guidance program is based upon the American School Counselors Association's standards and is comprehensive as it is based upon the academic, career, and social/emotional domains. If you have specific questions about our guidance program or need additional resources, please don't hesitate to contact us. We are looking forward to working with you!

Program Overview

The school counseling program is a safe and non-judgmental place to talk about your problems. A few of the most common topics that students talk about with a school counselor include: setting goals, study skills (time management, test anxiety, etc.), career planning, conflict resolution, bullying, self-esteem, family relationships, peer relationships, feelings, communication skills, and decision making.

We believe that every student is capable of reaching his or her greatest potential. In order to help students on this path and assist them with academic, social/emotional, and/or career decisions, the following counseling services strive to achieve this goal:

Guidance Curriculum: The guidance curriculum component consists of structured developmental lessons designed to assist students in achieving the competencies and is presented systematically through classroom and group activities.
Some examples: bullying prevention lessons, character education lessons, Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) Program, S.O.A.R. (Students Organizing Academic Resources) Group, 5th Grade Transition, New Student Orientation Group, etc.

Individual Student Planning: The individual student planning component consists of school counselors coordinating ongoing systematic activities designed to assist the individual student in establishing personal goals and developing future plans.
Some examples: career planning, setting goals, Student Assistance Program (SAP), scheduling, academic tutoring, etc.

Responsive Services: The responsive services component consists of activities to meet students’ immediate needs. These needs may require counseling, consultation, referral, peer mediation or information.
Some examples: S.M.I.L.E.S. (Students Mentoring Individuals with Learning Empowerment Skills), referral to community-based organizations, peer-to-peer conflict resolution, etc.

Systems support: The systems support component consists of the professional development; consultation, collaboration and teaming; and program management and operation activities that establish, maintain and enhance the total school counseling program.
Some examples: Safe Schools Team, Workplace Safety Committee, Respective Solutions Group (RSG), Outdoor Odyssey, etc.

Please take some time to explore our webpage for information on a variety of topics. Have a wonderful school year!

Ms. Ribarich
Guidance Counselor
 
Ms. Suzette Elders
Guidance Counselor

Some Information obtained from:

American School Counselor Association. (2019). The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, Fourth Edition. Alexandria,VA: Author.
Logo created by Mr. Brian Dumm, CCMS Art Teacher.
 
The S.M.I.L.E.S. Program is a student-led peer mentoring program, supervised by Ms. Ribarich, that assists students in grades 6-8 with resolving a variety of problems and provides support. Trained peer mentors meet with referred students on a regular basis during lunch to discuss ways to help students who may be experiencing bullying, poor grades, family situations, friendship concerns, etc. The program was developed in 2012 as part of a Girl Scout Silver Award Project spearheaded by Becca Houghton (Class of 2017) and Emily Shero (Class of 2017).