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The LES School Counselor helps ALL children by teaching classroom guidance lessons that deal with many topics including:

• the understanding of self and others
• communication skills
• decision making skills
• stress management
• drug and alcohol prevention
• anger management

Wendy Ehlert works with children individually and in the classroom setting. She organizes and supervises the Big Buddy and the community peer mentor programs. She is a member of the school crisis team and the school wellness committee. She also supports teachers and families through her work with students.

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There are a number of reasons students may feel the need to have an individual meeting with a school counselor. Some reasons might include:

• school issues
• friendship problems
• social skills
• coping with a death
• coping with parents separation/divorce

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Wendy Ehlert runs bi-weekly classroom lessons that are developmentally appropriate for grades K-6. The school counseling curriculum includes:

• feeling identification and expression
• social skills (friendships)
• anger management
• stress management
• interpersonal skills
• communication skills "I messages"
• personal safety
  • medicines and poisons
  • strangers
  • prevention of sexual abuse
• bullying and harassment prevention
• tolerance/diversity
• conflict resolution/mediation
• empathy building
• manners and character building
• study skills
• coping with grief

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Some of the yearly activities offered through the school counseling office include:

• Red Ribbon Week (October)-- students learn about drug and alcohol prevention
• Mix It Up Day (November) -- students get to know someone new at lunch
• Pennies for Patients (February) -- students raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Big Buddy (runs throughout the school year) -- high school students are matched with elementary students to meet once a week to play at recess
• Adult Mentors (runs throughout the school year) -- community members spend one-on-one time with an elementary student

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Students can be referred to the school counselor through a number of ways, including:

• self referral
• parent referral
• teacher referral
• educational support team (EST) referral

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Websites

• American School Counselor Association Articles for Parents

Books

ADHD

• Learning to Slow Down and Pay Attention: A Book for Kids
• Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete Authoritative Guide for Parents
• Why Won't my Child Pay Attention? A Guide for Parents of Hyperactive and Inattentive Children (Video)

Discipline

• Keys to Effective Discipline: A Parent's Guide to Managing Difficult Behavior (Book or Video)
• The Parent's Guide: Solutions to Today's Most Common Behavior Problems in the Home
• Your Defiant Child: 8 Steps to Better Behavior
• 1-2-3- Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 (Video)
• Go To Your Room! Consequences that Teach

Divorce/Stepfamilies

• Don't Divorce Us: Kids' Advice to Divorcing Parents
• Children: The Experts on Divorce (Video)

Grief

• Helping Children Cope with the Loss of a Loved One: A Guide for Grownups

School and Homework

• How to Help Your Child with Homework
• Solve Your Child's School Related Problems
• The Survival Guide for the Parents of Gifted Kids
• It Starts with a Book and You! (Video & Guide)