Hello Rainwater families! I am so happy to be back with you all for the 2024-2025 school year. We have so many amazing things planned for this school year, and I am excited to get started again August 12.
For those of you who may be new to Rainwater, WELCOME! My name is Carly Berterman, and I am the counselor for all students here at Rainwater. I received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Towson University and my Master of Science in Counseling at Johns Hopkins University. I moved to Texas one year ago this month, and I am so happy to be here!
Something I am really looking forward to is hearing what our students were up to this summer. For me, I spent most of the summer here in Dallas. I attended a Play Therapy conference at the University of North Texas where I learned TONS of new information, activities, and resources I can use with our kids. I was also able to take a trip back home to Maryland to see family and friends for a week. I went to an awesome Orioles game against the Yankees (we won 😊), ate all you can eat crabs, and enjoyed much needed time on the beach.
As I said earlier, I have a lot of amazing groups, lessons, events, and more planned for this school year. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the counseling program at Rainwater/CFB or if you would just like to say hi! My email is bertermanc@cfbisd.edu
We will be discussing:
-Who I am
-What a school counselor does
-How a student can make an appointment with me
-What topics we talk about
-and of course, fun ice breaker games!
Because this is the first month of school, our lesson will be informational and fun. Future topics to expect include but are not limited to celebrating differences, looking at our future selves, middle school transition for 5th graders, how to cope with big problems and little problems, and, of course, state mandated lessons.
Academic – This is the first month of school!!! Academics are ALWAYS important, but what is especially important at the beginning is making sure our kids feel confident in their abilities. Entering a new grade level is scary because the students have no idea what content to expect, how hard it will be for them, how fast the pace will be, and more. At home, you can help your child with their academics by letting them know that yes, this is hard! But so was last year! And look at us now! Kids don't always want solutions, they sometimes just want to be heard and understood - give them a space to express their nervousness or excitement and let's start the year off strong! 🤩
Social/Emotional – The beginning of the school year can make kids nervous for so many reasons. While some of our students have been at Rainwater since Kinder, some of our students are ALL NEW! Even those students that have been here for a while worry about who is in their homeroom, if they'll make friends, and what their teachers will think of them. And overall, especially for our older kids, they are becoming more independent and forming their identities. At home, you can talk to your kids about their values and who they want to be, what kinds of friends they are looking for, and the power in making choices that are true to who they are.
College/Career Readiness – I love talking about college and the future with little ones. Their dreams are just so so big (especially the ones that want to be the next Lamar Jackson) and it is INSPIRING! At home, when your child shares with you their huge dreams, we can talk to them about how to get there. We all know the NFL is a huge dream, but it is literally possible for some of our kids (I am thoroughly impressed by the football programs at public schools in Texas...we did not have this in Maryland one bit). While I am using football as an example because I'm excited for the season to begin, this can be for any big goal - doctors, lawyers, researchers, actors, singers, artists, astronauts, teachers, parents. We want our kids to dream big, so let's talk to them about what characteristics, skills, and knowledge someone may need to have to get to that point. Let's encourage them to be great, and they will find their dreams along the way ✨
