Staff
Ashley Copeland
Guidance Counselor
Services Offers
Pope John XXIII
Guidance Services Offered
What Do School Counselors Do?
Professional school counselors provide a wide-range of services in the schools, based on individual student needs and student interests, including, but not limited to:
- Mental, emotional, social, developmental, and behavioral services to students and families;
- Academic guidance and support services, including organizational, study and test-taking skills for students;
- Special education services, including serving as integral member of the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP); Career awareness, exploration and planning services, including goal setting and decision making assistance for students;
- School crisis intervention and response services; Collaboration and coordination of more in-depth services needed through community agencies.
- School Counselors Help You Cope
School counselors know how to listen and help. They’ll take your problem seriously and work with you to find a good solution. School counselors are trained to help with everything — and it doesn’t have to be just school stuff. A counselor can help you deal with the sadness when someone has died as well as advise you on taking the right classes to get into your dream college.
It takes a lot of training to be a school counselor. Most not only have college degrees but also master’s degrees, as well as special training and certification in counseling. One of the many good things about school counselors is that they are up-to-date on all the top things that affect students, including any trends that might affect your school.
School counselors can give you all sorts of tips and support on solving problems and making good decisions. Chances are that whatever problem you have, your counselor has seen it before — and has lots of good advice on how to help you work through it. Counselors can give you tips on standing up for yourself if you’re being bullied, managing stress, talking to your parents, and dealing with anger and other difficult moods. Counselors also can advise you on problems you may have with a teacher, such as communication difficulties or questions over grades.
School counselors are plugged in to the rest of the school community and, in many cases, the outside community as well. So they can refer students to outside resources like substance abuse treatment centers, professional therapists, and even health clinics.
It can help to know the different types of support your counselor offers — even if you don’t think you need it now. Some schools and school districts use their websites to explain what the counselor does and how to get a counseling appointment. You may find their services listed under headings like “student resources,” “student services,” or “student counseling.”
Your school’s website may also explain the roles of other school staff members who can help students with problems or school issues. Depending on the size of your school, these people may include school psychologists, tutors, college or career counselors, and school nurses.
The counselor’s role varies from school to school and district to district, so don’t assume your counselor provides the same services as the counselor in a friend’s school.
So, In Summary
When Do You Need To See Your School Counselor
School concerns
- If you feel harassed or made fun of in any way at school.
- If your grades need to be better and you need assistance getting the academic help you need.
- If you have test anxiety.
- If you need help with your study skills.
- Any other issues that make you feel nervous or upset at school.
How to See Your Counselor
Students may meet with Mr. Deffenbaugh, their school counselor by appointment or by filling out a form to request a meeting. If an appointment is made, you should come to MY office at the beginning of the period of the appointment time and I will write you a pass or escort you back to your study hall or lunch. If you fill out a form to request a meeting with ME, I will come get you as soon as I can.
Students may sign up for an appointment by signing their names in the appointment book during a study hall, lunch period, or before or after school.
In the case of an emergency, no appointment is necessary.
Tips for Parents
- Take an active role in course selection throughout high school.
- Stay involved with your student’s teachers.
- Communicate regularly. Encourage responsibility and organizational skills.
- Check your child’s assessment notebook / planner daily until a routine is established
- Support and promote joining co-curricular activities. 6. Support your child’s efforts to become independent. 7. Read together. Limit TV and video game time.
- Expect good grades and achievement appropriate to your student’s aptitude.
- Praise for progress and help during struggles.
- Get to know your child’s friends.
- Join parent groups.
- Utilize support services for any concern.
- React and discuss the student handbook with your teen.
- Use the MyStudentsProgress (MSP) computer program to stay current with your student’s achievement and post-secondary planning. If you need login information please call the schools office.
Ten Positive Ways We All Can Make A Difference In The Life Of A Child/A Friend
- Notice them by making eye contact, listening intently to what they have to say, and acknowledging the importance of what they say to you.
- Surprise them by doing something special for them or saying something special to them each day.
- Believe in them by being the one who sees what they can do and helping them achieve their goals.
- Invest in them by supporting their needs, hobbies, and dreams.
- Enjoy life with them by playing together, creating memories, perhaps even by just laughing with them.
- Value them by being their friend, a person who cares, who is by their side, and try to see things from their point of view.
- Dream with them by finding out what they dream for and helping them achieve their dreams.
- Disciple them by meeting with them outside of church and helping them understand how much God loves them.
- Pray for them and follow up to see how they are doing during tough times.
- Remember them by being a friend for life.
Study Skills:
Becoming a Better Student
SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Review and Recite
- How to Survey (Q & 3 R’s later in the handout)
- Directions: Look through the chapter to find out the important points. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
- Read the title: Read and focus on the title. Think about what it means and what should be in a chapter with that title. Think about what you may already know about that topic.
- Read the introduction: Sometimes the first paragraph gives you an overview (review) of the whole chapter. It may give you clues to how the chapter is organized, and tell you what you will be learning about.
- Read the bold faced subtitles: Subtitles are labels. By reading them you will read a list of all the important parts of the chapter. Think about each one, what it means and what you will learn.
- Look at the pictures, charts and graphs: Glance at these to pick out anything you feel is important and/or interesting.
- Read the summary at the end: The summary gives you the key points in the chapter. It will help you understand the chapter because you will gain a better idea about what the chapter is about.
- Look at the questions at the end of the chapter: Read through the questions, these will give you a better idea of what you will be learning from the chapter. DO NOT read the chapter to simply answer the questions though.
- Complete SQ3R note cards. Study during wasted time in chunks of 5 minutes. Take a 5-15 minute break before studying the note cards again.
Organization Skills
Directions: Planning, setting aside time each day, rehearsal of information to place it in long-term memory, and asking for help, will assist you greatly in learning and being academically successful!
- Plan & get organized: Use your agenda book to write down assignments in each class. When you complete your assignments, have your parents check your work. Put it in your binder that is designated for each class. Turn in your assignment promptly at the beginning of each class. If you have an assignment due sometime in the future, work on it early and finish it well ahead of time. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Each day before it is due, look at the assignment, revise it and make it better!
- Set aside time each day for studying at home: Every day at home, spend 2-3 hours studying. That means not only to do homework, but review material covered in class that day. This study time at home needs to be at a quiet place, preferably away from distractions like TV, the computer, or music playing. Your entire focus needs to be on studying. Part of this time each day should be used for SQ3R note cards.
- Rehearsal, repetition, rote memorization – the 3 R’s to successful learning: In Bloom’s taxonomy, the key to being a successful learner, to be a critical and creative thinker, you need to have a solid foundation of common knowledge. To acquire basic facts and information to be stored in our long-term memory to which later we can more easily learn new information, attachment of this new information is easier if we can easily recall similar information previously learned.
- Ask for help! Get a peer tutor, stay after school and work with your teacher individually each week, form a study group, and call a homework hotline like 1-800-ASK-ROSE, all can assist you in doing better in the classroom. See Mrs. Miller for additional information on homework assistance.