Home → Departments → Guidance
Counseling Department
Telephone: 301-989-5790
Ms. Rosa Ponce, Secretary
Counselors
- Ms, Erika May, Resource Counselor
- Ms. Jacqueline Khelawan
- Ms. Meghan McDonald
Counseling Department Mission
We exist to engage and inspire all students to be respectful, responsible and ready for lifelong learning.
We focus on the personal, social/emotional and career development of all students.
We collaborate with parents and staff to nurture and encourage student growth.
We provide responsive and preventative services through individual and group counseling, classroom guidance lessons and school-wide programs.
About the Program
The guidance and counseling program at White Oak Middle School focuses on the rapidly changing needs of adolescents. These changing needs can affect every aspect of the young person's life.
As students in grades 6-8 work to form an identity, counselors help them to balance these needs within the school setting.
The guidance department stresses development in three major areas: academic achievement, career and educational decision-making, and personal/social development.
Our Services
The counseling department offers the following services: individual and group counseling for students who have specific concerns (e.g., separation, divorce, anger management, social skills, grief, substance abuse, etc.); consulting with parents, teachers and other professionals who work outside the school; and assisting in the coordination of school wide programs and activities.
One of the major focuses of the guidance department this year is to reduce the amount of bullying done by our students. Click here to access resources to prevent bullying.
Courses for 2011-2012
Click on the link below to access the grade level course bulletin for the 2011-2012 school year.
6th Grade Course Bulletin 7th Grade Course Bulletin 8th Grade Course Bulletin
Parent Academy Workshops
The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Parent Academy holds workshops in various locations across Montgomery County including public schools, community centers, and recreation centers. If you are interested, please register for these interesting workshops. There are geared towards educating you (the parent/guardian) on various topics including “Social Bullies”, “Computer Smart” (how to use MCPS website, Edline and other resources), “Understanding the MSA” etc… If you are interested in these or any other workshops, please click the link below to see the schedule of courses and register online at the Parent Academy Website
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/parentacademy/ .
What’s New In The Counseling Department?
Career Chats- Please Volunteer!
The counseling department will be hosting Career Chats for all grade levels, this year. Career Chats are a part of our Career Exploration Program where students will have the opportunity to learn about various career opportunities. We are recruiting parents, business owners and staff family/friends to come in and speak to our students about their careers. The purpose is to open our students eyes to the many career opportunities that await them ,in the future, and to help make that connection between school and the world of work. The volunteers share their experiences, talk about or demonstrate various aspects of their jobs and answer questions that students may have.
The chats will be three 30 minute sessions, one day a month. The presentations will start at 8:15a.m. and end at 10:15a.m. We are very excited about this program and are hoping that once again it will be a success. If you, a friend or family member would be interested in volunteering to speak with our students, please contact the counseling office at 301-989-5790. We thank you in advance for your support!
Counseling Groups
The counseling department has started counseling groups to help support students academic, social and emotional development. Please see what we have been we’ve been working on with our students:
Ms. Khelawan started a 6th grade Organization Group that met for two weeks. She really worked hard to get the 6th graders more organized. Each group session was spent at the beginning organizing binders but also talking about strategies to help stay organized. Strategies that were discussed included; cleaning the binder every day, keeping one folder for homework, keeping planner at the front of the binder, not throwing away important papers, and also filing papers in the appropriate subject area. The organization group was a success and 6th graders finished the group feeling better organized for middle school! Ms. Khelawan is looking forward to helping with more 6th graders with organization this year.
In the 7th grade, Mrs. McDonald has been working with a group of boys on social-emotional issues related to common milestones experienced by middle school students. The group discussed bullying, friendship, parent and family dynamics, as well as what it means to be part of a group on a social, familial, and cultural level. Students developed rules for the group and shared personal experiences relating to the topics discussed while practicing active listening skills. Mrs. McDonald looks forward to hosting more beneficial groups like this later in the school year!
Ms. May has been working with a group of girls, in the 8th grade, to create academic goals and achieve them. The group was formed with students who all wanted to do better academically. Students set academic goals for themselves, they learned how to use Edline to monitor grades and they learned study skills techniques. Each week, students shared their progress with the group, celebrated successes and came up with strategies on how to remedy setbacks. The students also provided a lot of support and motivation for each other. At the end of the quarter, all group members made remarkable improvements in their grades. There were 3 students who way surpassed the academic goals they set at the beginning of the group. Ms. May is looking forward to facilitating more groups in the future.