Counselor's Welcome
Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs. Hirsch return this year as Poplar Tree’s school counselors. Mrs. Hoffman will be working with grades K, 2, 4, and 6, while Mrs. Hirsch will be working with grades 1, 3 and 5. This fall, Autumn Koo, a counseling intern from George Mason University, will also be with us.
This year our monthly guidance lessons will continue to focus on teaching students the many skills connected to CARES. Lessons will be developmentally appropriate and geared toward the needs of individual grade levels. For example:
- Cooperation lessons can include teaching the skills of understanding differences, team building and conflict resolution.
- In order to create a bully-free school, we teach students the “how to” of assertion and how to use these skills in and out of the classroom.
- Responsibility lessons can include study and organizational skills, career education as well as community service learning projects.
- When we teach students empathy they learn how to “step into another’s shoes” through group activities including community service learning projects.
- The skills of self-control will be taught through lessons in bullying, anger management, study skills, as well as teaching younger students how to control their words and actions.
- Shari Hirsch Shari.Hirsch@fcps.edu
- Carol Hoffman Carol.Hoffman@fcps.edu
- Look for Mrs. Hirsch’s letter home to sign your child up for small group counseling. Small groups will begin in October.
- All 5th grade girls will participate in Girls’ World, a curriculum aimed at increasing independence and reducing relational aggression. Girls from each class will meet over lunch twice a week for a month. More information will follow.
- Free tutoring is available through Chantilly and Westfields High Schools. Tutoring takes place on Saturdays, three times a month. For more information, contact Mrs. Hoffman or Mrs. Hirsch.
- Parents—don’t’ forget about our Peer Mediation program! Sixth grade students who are trained in mediation are ready to help other students to solve their friendship problems. To make a referral, please contact Mrs. Hirsch.
Our goal is to remove any barriers that may impede the learning process. In addition to the lessons above, we will also meet with students for individual and group counseling. Parents and teachers refer students for specific needs (i.e. friendship skills, organizational skills, changing families) with the knowledge of the parents. We also meet with parents, administrators, teachers, and students as part of a learning community to plan and coordinate the specific needs of your students.
Our job is to listen! Always feel free to contact us!
Announcements
Special Programs
Free Tutoring program at Chantilly HS and Westfield HS
Free tutoring is available through Chantilly and Westfields High Schools. Tutoring takes place on Saturdays, three times a month. For more information, contact Mrs. Hoffman or Mrs. Hirsch
Just Say No
The Just Say No club is an after school club open to all 4th, 5th & 6th grade students. The focus of the club is to offer students positive alternatives to using drugs and alcohol. Students who are interested in joining must complete the application along with parent permission. .Students must have arrangements made for pick up at 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact Mrs. Hoffman
Peer Mediation
Sixth grade students who are trained in mediation are ready to help other students to solve their friendship problems. To make a referral, please contact Mrs. Hirsch.
Staff Mentoring
Staff mentoring is a program is to develop a positive, caring relationship between a responsible, caring adult and a student. Staff member volunteer to mentor a student throughout the school year. Students participate with parent permission. Number of students involved is dependent on the number of mentor volunteers. For more information, contact Mrs. Hoffman.