Counselor's Corner - May 2024

*Mental Health Awareness Month is a great time to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in children and teens. Keep an eye out for any social or behavioral changes in your children. You can learn more about the signs at samhsa.gov/mental-health. #MHAM2024. Here's the link to a video clip that talks more about signs and symptoms in youth and teens.

https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/mham-2024-week-2-post-1.mp4

*In-person talks promote healthy mental development. This Mental Health Awareness Month, talk to your children and teens about mental health. Need help getting started? samhsa.gov/mental-health/how-to-talk/parents-and-caregivers #MHAM2024 #MentalHealthMatters

*What’s your favorite greeting for your child when they get home from school or when you are back from work? ✔️ I love you! ✔️ Did you have a fun day learning? Or ✔️ I’m so happy to see you! Consistent and reassuring interactions positively impact a child’s mental health. Learn more about how to support them at all ages and stages. samhsa.gov/families/parent-caregiver-resources #MHAM2024 #MentalHealthMatters

Thanks for joining us for Leadership Day on April 26th!

Big thanks to our Student Lighthouse Team for all of their help during Leadership Day! They met on April 26th to practice and get ready for Leadership Day. We appreciate them being MC's, tour guides, and leaders at different presentation boards. They also continue to help with daily announcements in the morning and recording our weekly news each week. We appreciate their time, dedication, and leadership.

Our Leading the Way Team at Wilton helps promote our Character Trait each month by helping with our school bulletin board, making posters, and sharing about the character trait on our weekly school news. Our Leading the Way team also helps recognize our monthly Character Trait Winners by giving out certificates and rewards to those students! They were also a big help during our Leadership Day event!

Wilton currently has over 40 4th and 5th grade students that serve on our Wilton PAW (Peers Assisting Wilton) Patrol. These students greet our students daily to promote a welcoming environment, walk in our PreK students, help monitor students for safety, and are a big help with our dismissal process. We appreciate their leadership each day! We also have a JR PAW Patrol opportunity for all of our younger students in grades PreK through 3rd grade. Students are selected from their class to weekly assist our older PAW Patrol students in the hallway each Thursday and Friday. We are excited to have our younger students working with our older students giving leadership opportunities for all ages.

Classes receive lessons from Mrs. Hockaday to support social emotional learning. I recently wrapped up small groups at the end of April. I am currently doing a lesson with 5th grade regarding middle school transition. Third, fourth and fifth grade students will receive a lesson next week on test preparation and how to help with test anxiety. PreK through 2 grade classes will also receive a whole group lesson from Mrs. Hockaday this month as well.

Attendance is a crucial factor to school success. Please make sure your child attends school each day and on time (unless they are sick). If they are sick, please make sure you notify their teacher that day to let them know why they are out and send a note in when they return to school to explain the absence. If students have an appointment, they do not have to miss the whole day but can come to school before or after the appointment or both before and after the appointment. See Mrs. Watkins for any attendance questions.

We continue our competition to recognize the classes with perfect attendance and we also continue to recognize individual students that come to school every day during each month. Congratulations to Ms. Dickerson's class for having the most perfect attendance days in April - they received an ice cream treat! Congratulations to all of our students who had perfect attendance in April (160 students) - they received an icee pop treat and had a drawing for a free entree from Chick-fil-a card! Special thanks to our PTO & Chick-Fil-A for supporting our attendance incentives!

• Mark testing days on your calendar to help remind you and your child when the testing will take place and plan your preparations.

• Avoid scheduling appointments on test dates.

• Encourage your child to review concepts now. Set aside time each night prior to the test for several weeks to review the concepts that will be covered.

• Keep a positive attitude about testing in general and emphasize their ability to demonstrate what they have learned rather than consequences of not passing.

• Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night prior to testing.

• Ensure your child eats a healthy breakfast and avoid high-sugar foods.

• Make sure your child is on time (if not early) the day of testing. Set a backup alarm to avoid the possibility of oversleeping.

• Plan a fun outing or treat for your child after the test has been completed.

• If your child is sick the day of the test, please contact the school immediately to inform them.

EOG Testing Dates

• Here are the EOG dates:

  
  

  • May 29 - 3-5 Reading EOG
  • May 30 - 3-5 Math EOG
  • May 31 - 3rd RTA; 5th Science EOG

Positive self-talk...

“I can do this!” “I know the material” “I have practiced this” “I am smart and capable”

Visualization...

Close your eyes and picture yourself doing well on the test. This will boost confidence!

Muscle relaxation...

Begin at your toes. Tighten and clench them for three seconds, and then release. Work your way through all the muscles in your body until you’ve tensed and relaxed them all.

Deep Breathing...

This is a great anxiety reliever. Sit up straight and put your hands on the top of your head. Breathe in a full breath through your nose for five full seconds. Hold that breath in for five seconds. Then breathe out for seven seconds. Repeat until you feel better.

Get silly...

There are many silly methods to relax before a test. • Think of something funny.

• Get out all the wiggles -- dance, shake, and move around. • Raise your hands up above your head! It w

We will be doing an EOG spirit week from May 17-24 to encourage a fun atmosphere and help reduce test anxiety here at the end of the year during end of year assessments. We want to always encourage our students and help them to stay positive!

Our character trait for May is integrity. Integrity is having the inner strength to be truthful, trustworthy, and honest in all things. Let's help our Wildcats learn about integrity this month!

We have finished covering the 8 habits each month so the focus this month is living the habits - practicing all the habits daily.

Please feel free to reach out to me if there is a need or concern regarding your child's academic or social-emotional needs, or you are in need of a community resource. We are happy you are part of our Wildcat family and we are here to help!

Email: hockadays@gcs.k12.nc.us
Phone: 919-528-0033