Counseling Monthly Themes

       A typical school day schedule is jam packed with activities, as every minute is usually accounted for to fulfill the academic needs of students.  A few years ago my fellow counselors and I strategized to figure out a smart way to work our curriculum into the school schedule.  We developed a K-12 curriculum that focused on an important social/emotional or academic theme.  The curriculum also included a career component.  Each month we would also focus on 2 of the 16 nationally recognized career clusters.  The review of the career clusters worked perfectly because we were able to spotlight every career category before our big career-focused month in May.

South Side Elementary Monthly Counseling Themes

       This organized structure of our curriculum was then publicized to all stakeholders.  When contacting teachers about completing a lesson in their classroom, I could say something like, “This month’s counseling theme is “Wellness,” can I come into your classroom to facilitate an anger management lesson?”  The lesson then is even more purposeful, as it fulfills not only an important student need, but also one of our school-wide initiatives.

The main themes have been modified each year to best meet the needs of our students.  This year our monthly themes include:

September: RAMS Rules

Our school district’s mascot is a ram, and RAMS Rules is our school-wide positive behavior plan.  RAMS stands for Respect, Appropriate Behavior, Management of Time, and Safety.

October: Positive Choices

Positive Choices is a theme that works great with Red Ribbon Week, which is our big focus in October.  I typically partner with local agencies to provide tobacco prevention lessons for every grade level in the elementary.

November: Wellness

Wellness is an umbrella term that allows us to cover topics such as anxiety, stress, and anger management.

December: Kindness

December always is our shortest month to plan curriculum.  My plan for December is to develop a “Kindness Tree” on my bulletin board.  Students will then be able to write kindness examples on “ornaments” to be placed on the tree.  I would like to highlight how our students are making kindness a priority.

January: Bullying

Bullying is such a key terms that students need to understand.  I complete bullying prevention lessons in each grade-level.  To help with scheduling, I usually partner with special teachers.

February: Healthy Relationships

The neat aspect of healthy relationships is that it can be adapted for the needs of an elementary, middle, or high school student.  In the elementary healthy relationships can simply mean friendship, while at a high school level it can also include a dating relationship.

March: Study Skills

This theme correlates with state assessments.  Study skills lessons can help the students physically and mentally prepare for state testing.

April: Diversity/Tolerance

Diversity and Tolerance is important to my school district because the student body is not diverse.  Children in this area have a very limited perception of different ethnic groups and cultures.  As they grow and expand their horizons to college or the workforce, they need to be able to work and function alongside people who look and act differently from themselves.

May: Careers

My goal for May is to complete a career-based lesson in every elementary classroom.  The 4^th and 5^th graders participate in college and career awareness field trips where they travel to either a local college, community college or a career and technical center.  I also schedule a “Career Day” for the 5^th graders. It is a busy month!