Elementary and Middle School Guidance Counselor

elmscounselor@tattnall.org

ext 179

 

 

Education

B.A. in Journalism                                                      University of Georgia

B.A. in English                                                           University of Georgia

Masters in Teaching Secondary English                      Agnes Scott College

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The Middle School Honor Banquet will be held Monday, May 4th at 11:15 in Trojan Hall. If you received notification that your child is being recognized, please have them dress nicely for the banquet on Monday. Join us for dessert after the banquet in the lobby of Trojan Hall.

 

Elementary School Honor banquet for grades 1-3 will be held May 28th at 8:20 and grades 4-6 will follow at 10:30 in Trojan Hall. Please join us in the cafeteria after the program for light refreshments.

 

Terrific Tattnall Trojans were created to recognize resposnible behavior, reinforce self-discipline, encourage character building, increase cooperation and build positive attitudes among our elementary school students.  Each month Tattnall's elementary school teachers select students from their homeroom who display integrity and high moral character with a special emphasis on a particular characteristic. For the month of April, our characteristic was patience.

 

April's Terrific Tattnall Trojans:

 

First grade\: Linsey Austin, Tee Hobbs, Samuel Duffield, and Bailey McFadden

Second grade: Anna Russ, George Hickman, and Taylor Harrison

Third grade: Sydney Thompson and Katilyn Ashley

Fourth grade: Brianna Clay, Caroline Dunn, and Rebecca Lynn Johnson

Fifth grade: Marc Harrison and Emily Rozier

Sixth grade: Emily Puryear, Will Fox and Courtney Collins

 

The character trait word for the month of March is COMMITMENT.

We read the book Clorinda by Robert Kinerk and met a cow, Clorinda,  who is determined to be a dancer.  She travels all the way to the big city to pursue her dreams but faces obstacles and disappointment.  Ask your child about Clorinda's commitment to her dream.

 

Being a person of commitment means you keep your promises and honor your work and commitments.

 

Other words that remind us of what it takes to demonstrate commitment are diligence, self-discipline and perseverance.

 

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

 

 

 

 

NO STICKS. NO STONES. NO DISSING

 

 

     I hope 2009 is off to a great start! I am so excited about the wonderful things that have been happening in the elementary school.  We prepared for Tattnall’s 1^st “No Name Calling Week” during the month of January.  Overall, I hope that students gain an awareness of the power of words. We can use our words to build people up or tear them down.  Are we encouraging others or discouraging others with the names we call them?

     In kindergarten and first grade we read The Band-Aid Chicken.  In this book a new chicken shows courage by refusing to “peck” on other chickens.  Her courage becomes an example for the other chickens, and at the end of the story, all of the chickens on the farm are happier in this new “peck-free” environment.  Each class made its own Band-Aid Chicken puppet, and we discussed the SAFE strategy.  Each letter stands for a strategy a child can utilize if he or she is being “pecked on.” S- say how you feel, A- ask for help, F- find a friend, E- exit the area.  Please continue to reinforce these strategies with your children at home. I remind our students that sometimes we have to use more than one of the strategies to see a difference in a name-calling situation.

       Second and third graders read Kevin Henkes’ Chrysanthemums and talked about how important it is to love and respect the names our parents gave us. We shared names we like to be called and those we don’t. Our fourth grade students worked in groups to create no-name calling pledges that represent the ideas they think are most essential to becoming a better student body.  The rest of our grades also focused on name-calling. We discussed different “put ups” and “put downs” that we hear.  Classes are working on eliminating names that put others down from their vocabulary.  Here at Tattnall, we want to use our words to strengthen the spirit of others, and one way to do that is to use words that affirm others and build them up.

 In the upcoming weeks, please stop by the lobby outside the media center.  I will be displaying bricks our students use to pledge what they will do to make our school a better place.  I am so proud of all of our students and their dedication to make Tattnall the best school it can be.  Lastly, I would like to share with you one of the pledges our fourth grade students created:

 

I pledge to be a no bullying school

I pledge to be tolerant at Tattnall

I pledge to be courageous and have self-control

I will stand up for bullied people

I will not be a bully

 

by Saki Tomita, Garrett Houston, Rebecca Lynn Johnson, Thomas Humphries, and Joseph Bowen

 

 

Tolerance, courage and self-control.  Those are things we all can pray about and work hard on for the remainder of the school year. Good work!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

We have been learning some exciting things in the elementary school this month.  In kindergarten, first and second grade we have been talking about appropriate ways to express our feelings and how to handle conflict.  When faced with disagreements or conflict, we learned to STOP before we lose our temper, SAY how you feel, LISTEN to how the other person is feeling, and THINK of solution.  We also discussed the importance of using I messages.  I messages allow students to express how they feel without being accusatory with another student or friend.  I messages follow the format of “ I feel  when you .”  For example, I feel sad when you won’t share your toy with me, or I feel embarrassed when you call me that name.  I encourage you to practice using I messages with your child, so we can work together to equip him or her with the skills necessary to amicably resolve conflicts. 

In third through fifth grades we have been discussing bullying.  We discussed the SAFE strategy together: S- say how you feel, A-sk for help, F-ind a friend, and E-xit the area.  You can use one or all of these strategies to help you deal with a bully.  In classes, we role-played common scenarios that students face, and we read Just Kidding and My Secret Bully.  Both of these books present very realistic bullying scenarios.  Parents, this is a great opportunity to share different ways you have safely and successfully faced a bully in your life.  It can be a great comfort to know that our parents truly understand what we are going through!  It is also important to stress to children that they can stand up to a bully without being mean back.  Lastly, in 6^th grade we are learning about cliques.  We have been discussing the pros and cons of these groups and worked through scenarios of what students can do when ostracized by cliques.  These are skills that we will continue to reinforce and work on throughout the year.

As always, my door is open to you and your children to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.

 

Zephaniah 3:14-17 The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

 

 

 

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