School Counseling: The Happenings

Parents and Guardians,

Our 2019-20 school year is underway and moving quickly! I want to take the time to welcome any new families to our Michael Anderson community, and I hope that family transitions outside of school are smooth. We are here not only as a support for your students but also for your family, so please reach out if you have any questions or concerns! Also for those of you who are new, Fairchild AFB has many resources in addition to our school community and we are happy to connect you with the right people. Please call or stop by the front office at any time if you would like to speak with myself or someone else about student or family well-being. On a separate note, I am excited for this year because there are several new things in the works as well as returning activities from last year! I will highlight some of these below, but again please know that I am happy and willing to talk about my role as School Counselor, the counseling program, or your students at any time, my contact info is listed at the bottom of this page. Thanks!

Seth Sammons

This summer I worked to condense the six Washington State K-12 SEL Standards into three elementary standards that will guide the work that I do with students. As time continues, we would like to highlight these more often with students as they assess their learning and become more responsible for their social-emotional growth. Every grade will build toward a better understanding of the standard through incremental learning so they can leave our elementary school with healthy social-emotional skills and strategies and be prepared for whatever comes next!

1) Students will be able to identify their own emotions and empathize with the emotions of others.

2) Students will be able to manage their own emotions and behaviors to make safe and constructive choices with and around others.

3) Students will be able to show a Growth Mindset while also positively engaging in their classroom and school community.

I put a website together earlier this year as a more exhaustive resource for anyone looking to better understand my role in the school and my focus with our school community, as well as how my work impacts our students. There are recent updates for this school year including our focus with classroom lessons and the year-end data from my work last school year. In addition to lessons and data, the website also explains how I work in both individual and small group counseling with students and includes a page devoted to family resources both on FAFB and in the greater Spokane community. To visit the website, you will also find the following link on the Counseling page of our MAE school site:

https://sites.google.com/mlsd.org/michael-anderson-elementary-sc

To learn a little more about me and what my role at Michael Anderson looks like, head back to the MAE website, click on Counseling under the Academics tab, and read the second edition of Counselor's Corner. In an effort to keep you informed of the School Counseling Happenings and ways that I am reaching students, staff, and families, I will update and make this newsletter available 3x/year (Fall, Winter, Spring). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via email or phone, or set a time to stop by for a conversation to guarantee my attendance!

Email: ssammons@mlsd.org
Website: anderson.mlsd.org
Phone: 509-565-3606