Counselor's Corner

About the Program

Mrs. Kate Hankins is the counselor at Belmont for grades kindergarten through fifth grade. She can be reached by phone at 301-924-3140.  You may also contact her by email at Katherine_C._Hankins@mcpsmd.org

The counseling program includes working with individual students, small groups and whole classes. The counseling relationship allows children to explore feelings and interests and provides an opportunity to explore specific issues or concerns. The counseling program also supports typical students with typical problems. Topics frequently discussed with students may include:

School concerns Family concerns Fears Teasing Peer relationships Self-improvement Behavior concerns Self-esteem Study skills

Goal setting Decision-making Grief/loss Serious illness Coping skills Anger management Social skills Responsibility

A major focus of the counseling program is on prevention and involves classroom activities to develop personal, social and learning skills. Small group counseling provides students an opportunity to develop skills, share ideas, and support one another.  Individual counseling is available for all students. Students may self-refer or be referred to the counselor by teachers and/or parents.

One key to a child's success at school is good communication between school and home.  The counselor is available to meet with parents to discuss their child's needs. The counselor is a consultant to parents and teachers to create a caring and successful school community. 

An important consideration in the counseling relationship is confidentiality. The counselor is a professional who maintains confidentiality with students, parents, and teachers.

Typical Students with Typical Problems

Sometimes these problems aren't even problems, but confusing situations and/or difficult choices. Sometimes we visit about good or exciting happenings, the kind of things kids just have to share! Some problems are really big, or appear that way to the child or parent. Problems are most often peer, family related, or personal concerns. They arise from relationships with others as well as from the child's feeling of worth. Common problems we work on with a student are academic motivation, sadness, fears, loss, and other developmental concerns. The counselor is available to provide resources for outside counseling. 

Classroom Guidance Activities

Preventive guidance is a very important part of our counseling program. Classroom guidance activities include self-esteem skills, peer relationships, responsible decision-making, communication skills, and conflict management. The curriculum being used is entitled "No Putdowns." Lessons in the spring cover career awareness. A goal of classroom guidance is to develop skills, attitudes and behaviors that will assist all students in growing toward social, emotional and academic success.

Small Group Counseling

Counselors frequently see small groups of children. These groups may have similar concerns or a variety of concerns. They may also be friendship groups where we work on issues related to being a good friend. Most groups are 6-8 students and meet for a limited time. Other topics might include loss, skill development, divorce, anger control, and self esteem.

Variety of Methods

A direct approach or problem-solving model may be used if the child comes to the counselor with a specific problem. The problem can be defined, solutions explored, alternatives considered and solutions tried.  Counseling involves a skill-building component that might include teaching social skills, anger management, and problem solving techniques.

Another method may be called expressive. A child may exhibit different behavior or depressive signs, but the reasons are not clear. Through various activities including play with puppets or clay, toys, drawing, talking or others, the counselor may be able to discover the source of the problem. It is then possible to help the child to express and deal with the difficulty.

Character Education

Character education is the framework for the counseling program that will help your child focus on virtues needed to treat themselves, others, and their world with respect and dignity.  Each quarter the focus will be on  a different character trait. 

Parent Resources

A variety of books are kept in the counselors' office. These are for parent's use. There are resources that deal with discipline, loss, divorce, attention disorders and related childhood problems and general parenting resources. Please feel free to contact Mrs. Hankins to check out these materials.

Online Parent Resources

Counseling Information

American Counseling Association - http://www.counseling.org

American School Counselor Association -http://www.schoolcounselor.org

ADD/ADHD

CHADD: Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
http://www.chadd.org/

ADD Resources is a national (US) not-for-profit organization with lots of good materials
http://www.addresources.org/

Adoption/Family Diversity

Fair -  http://www.fairfamilies.org

Institute for Adoptive Information http://www.adoptioninformationinstitute.org

National Adoption Center's Learning Center - http://www.adoptnet.org

 

Bullying

A “No-Bullying Proposal" Webquest    http://www.gecdsb.on.ca/d&g/nobullying/index.html
Bullying Online - http://www.bullying.co.uk/index.html
Kidshealth - http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/bullies.html
 

Child Care Information

Child Care Aware
http://www.childcareaware.com

NACCRRA | The Nation's Network of Child Care Resource and Referral
http://www.naccrra.net/

The National Network for Child Care
http://www.nncc.org/homepage.html

Child Care Tips
http://www.fisher-price.com

Miscellaneous Parenting Resources

Family Education Network
www.fen.com

52 Ways to Help Your Child Learn
http://www.cta.org/FamilyInvolvement/52Ways

Parent Education Resources (K)
http://www.parent-education.com/

Early Intervention Resources (PreK-3)
http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/education/ei.html

KidSource Online
http://www.kidsource.com

National PTA
http://www.pta.org

Safety

Surfing the Net with Kids
http://www.surfnetkids.com

Special Education

Special Education Resources
http://parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/

An Easy Read About Special Education
http://specialed.about.com/

Council for Exceptional Children - http://www.cec.sped.org/ 

 

Tolerance/Diversity

Teaching Tolerance - http://www.teachingtolerance.org