NMS Counseling Department

From left to right: Ms. Tyler, Ms. Wright, Mr. Malinoski, Ms. Moriarty, Mrs. Thacher

https://nms.middleboro.k12.ma.us/about-our-schools/school-counseling-department

Happy National School Counselor Week! February 3-7, 2025, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recognizes all of the members of this profession who dedicate their lives to students and their success! This team is honored to be part of that journey here at NMS!

Ms. Madison Tyler, School Adjustment Counselor

mtyler@middleboro.k12.ma.us, x3549

Ms. Anna Wright, School Counselor

awright@middleboro.k12.ma.us, x3509

Mr. Frank Malinoski, School Counselor

fmalinoski@middleboro.k12.ma.us, x3522

Ms. Megan Moriarty, School Counselor

mmoriarty@middleboro.k12.ma.us, x3508

Mrs. Jillian Thacher, School Psychologist

jmorganelli@middleboro.k12.ma.us, x3553

Tyler: Works with all students, AIMS Program, Youthworks Program, Tier 3 Clinical Needs

Thacher: Works with all students (SPED testing, CST [Child Study Team] Lead; counseling secondary)

Moriarty: coordinates scheduling, high school admission/transition, new student enrollment

Please send an email to your preferred counselor and wait for us to call you down.

Please do not drop in to the counseling suite without an appointment.

If it is an emergency, please find the nearest adult. They will be able to contact us ASAP.

Sometimes, things are outside the scope of the school counselor's role and more intensive help is needed. Middleboro Public Schools provides free access to mental health services through Care Solace for all students, families, and staff. School counselors are able to do a referral to a Care Solace Companion who will do the legwork of finding area providers, such as outpatient therapists, that match your needs. Please reach out to your counselor if you are interested in being matched!

BOX BREATHING EXERCISE

Box breathing helps to regulate your nervous system and bring down your heart rate. If you are able to get your breathing under control, you are more ready to problem solve whatever is bothering you!

For more resources, please pick up hard copies of handouts inside the door of the counseling suite or see our department drive for digital versions:

Handouts for Students

We welcomed The NAN Project back to NMS this week. Founded in honor of a young woman named Nan who died by suicide in 2012, the NAN Project visits area schools to start open conversations surrounding mental health.

All Grade 7 students had the opportunity to listen to age-appropriate stories from our guests from the NAN Project about mental health during their Social Studies classes. School counselors were also present for additional support. We were impressed with our student's respectful behavior, insightful questions, and bravery in sharing if they chose to do so!

For more information, please visit https://www.thenanproject.org/.

To further the conversations about breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and educating our students about resources and supports, the NMS counselors will be presenting Erika's Lighthouse curriculum to all three grades during advisories in the auditorium.

The mission of Erika's Lighthouse is "to make sure no young person feels alone in their depression. We are dedicated to creating a community of empathy and education. We create upper elementary, middle school and high school mental health, depression and suicide awareness programs so educators, families and teens can create safe spaces to learn about mental health, letting students know they are never alone, and there is somewhere to turn."

For more information, please visit https://erikaslighthouse.org/.

Wednesday March 5 (C Day) - Grade 6 Advisory, Block 2

Thursday March 6 (D Day) - Grade 7 Advisory, Block 5

Friday March 7 (E Day) - Grade 8 Advisory, Block 3

Vaping is prominent in our culture today, and NMS is committed to educating students about the dangers of this behavior.

1. A group of eighth graders have been nominated to represent NMS at the annual Be in the Know Youth Conference at Bridgewater State University on March 13, 2025. This conference, put on by the Brockton Area Prevention Collaborative, brings student representatives from area middle and high schools together and is both fun and educational. To learn more, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/8th-annual-be-in-the-know-youth-conference-tickets-1051198070727?aff=oddtdtcreator.

2. TaprootsBH - we were very fortunate this winter to welcome Ms. Becky Fidler, LMHC, from Taproots Behavioral Health to conduct a substance education and diversion group for students at NMS.

3. Did you know that Ms. Moriarty, Mrs. Thacher, Ms. Russell, and Mr. Finch are trained in a substance diversion curriculum called "iDecide?" This four-part restorative course is designed to educate teens about substances and help develop replacement coping skills. Students found in violation of the Student Handbook's policy are required to take part in this course and have shared positive feedback about the experience and all that they learned.

Our counseling groups have been getting creative this winter. Counselors and students have new games and art supplies to build skills for emotion regulation, overcoming anxiety, and improved socialization with their peers. Two of our favorite interventions are drawing our support structures and mindful painting, which are described below"

Mindful Painting:

During group, students practiced the mindfulness skill of non-judgemental observation and present mindedness. Students were asked to listen quietly to various classical music pieces, and to respond to the feelings or moods the music brought up for them with watercolor paints.

Support Structure Drawing

- Foundation: On the floor of the house, write the values that guide your life.
- Walls: Along the walls, write anything or anyone who supports you.
- Roof: On the roof, name the things or people that protect you.
- Door: Write the things that you keep hidden from others.
- Chimney: Coming out of the chimney, write down ways in which you blow off steam/coping skills you use
- Billboard/yard sign: On the billboard/yard sign, write the things you are proud of and want others to see.

Progress Reports were published to the Aspen portal on Monday, January 27, 2025. Term 2 closes on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. If a student or family is having an issue accessing their Aspen account, please contact Mrs. Goodine, kgoodine@middleboro.k12.ma.us.

Advisory is an excellent time for students to learn and apply executive functioning skills, such as using the school-provided agenda books to create checklists of assignments and ensure completion.

If you have a specific academic concern, please reach out to the teacher directly. All emails can be found in the attachments below.

Remember that regardless of the high school you are planning to attend, the MOST IMPORTANT things for ALL 8th graders to do are the following:

1. COME TO SCHOOL and maintain good attendance;
2. TRY YOUR BEST and keep your grades up;
3. BE RESPECTFUL and stay out of trouble so you can submit a clean discipline report!

Applications for ALL schools look at these things when considering you for admission. If you can maintain these three things, you will be in great shape when it’s time for schools to make their decisions. Additionally, Middleborough High School receives these records and these things can affect whether you remain eligible for things like sports and extracurricular activities.

If you applied to BP or Aggie, please note that they will review ALL of your Grade 8 records when we send them at the end of the year. BP and Aggie reserve the right to rescind offers of admission if they deem that your T2 and T3 grades, attendance, and conduct are unsatisfactory! Keep up these great habits so that you set yourself up for success!

All students, regardless of their plans to attend MHS, will be required to select courses for Grade 9. Levels for academic classes (math, ELA, science, and social studies) will all be recommended by content teachers and auto-imported into the Aspen portal. Students may also see recommendations for Art or Music Ensemble levels. The remaining courses are electives and can be selected by students!

High School Counselors will be returning to NMS on the following dates to meet with students during advisories. At this time, counselors will be able to answer any questions about graduation requirements, course content, or special pathways such as PTLW or MiLab and show students how to choose in the portal. All other questions can be directed to the NMS counselors who are available via email at any time.

Thurs. Feb 27 (E Day Block 3 - 10:13 AM - 11:06 AM)

Mon. Mar 3 (A Day Block 1- 7:57 AM - 8:50 AM)

PLEASE NOTE! The Program of Studies linked in the workbook is last year's - students and families must use the linked document on the website:

https://mhs.middleboro.k12.ma.us/students-and-families/program-of-study.

Your HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS can be contacted at:

Mrs. Amy Beirne, School Counselor: abeirne@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Mrs. Colleen Breton, School Counselor: cbreton@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Mr. Stephen Goldman, School Counselor: sgoldman@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Mr. Andrew Swiderski, School Counselor: aswiderski@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Mrs. Gretchen Ponte, Admin Asst. - Counseling Dept: gponte@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Questions about BP and the application process should be directed to:

Ms. Elise Rodrigues, Student Services Secretary

erodrigues@bptech.org, 508-823-5151 x115

Further questions about Bristol Aggie and the application process should be directed to:

Ms. Karen Minster, Student Services Secretary

kminster@bcahs.org, 508-669-6744

Please do not reach out to NMS regarding the status of your applications. We anticipate the online portals having decisions listed for students in mid-March.

Website: https://nms.middleboro.k12.ma.us/about-our-schools/school-counseling-department
Location: 112 Tiger Drive, Middleborough, MA, USA
Phone: 508-946-2020