The counseling office in the Middle School is dedicated to providing support to all MS scholars. In addition to individual and group counseling services, the MS Counselor also coordinated the implementation of the Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, Onboarding and Transition programs. Communication and transparency are key components in ensuring the programs are effective. We always welcome feedback and open communication from our community.

Below are a list of services provided by the MS Counseling Office

SESSIONS
Counseling sessions are offered to all students both individually, in groups, and in classes. Services are designed to address the unique academic, social, emotional, and developmental needs of students. Topics include; divorce, grief, stress management, social skills, character building, conflict resolution, anger management and academic success.Referrals may come from teachers, parents or scholars.

Group counseling sessions were initiated this year to help support scholars to dig deeper into certain challenges. The benefit of doing this in a group setting is to also help build self-esteem and self-advocacy skills.

ONBOARDING
The MS Counseling Office coordinates a variety of special programs within the school.
Starting from the first day the scholars are enrolled, the counselor works with families to provide an orientation to MS. Interviews of new scholars or placement recommendations can be made by the counselor during Admissions.

ADVISORY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
The transition to Middle School can be a challenging time as scholars adjust to policies and systems in a new division while navigating physical and development growth milestones. The SEL curriculum currently used is called Character Strong and it focuses on  impacting engagement , belonging and student well being. The curriculum is aligned with ASCA Standards as well as our AISJ SCHOLAR Core Values.

The counselor provides a variety of classroom advisory lessons throughout the year to provide students with information relevant to their needs or concerns and that cover the three counseling domains: academic, socio-emotional and career. Specific lessons may include study skills, soft skills, goal setting, bullying prevention, character education.

TESTING
The counseling office in MS working on with  the MAP Testing Coordinator for the smooth administration and interpretation of the scores as well as leads on the testing of the PSAT for G8 scholars.

TRANSITION PROGRAMS
Every Spring during the scheduling season, we begin preparation for our rising G6 scholars and our rising G9 scholars. Working very closely with the administrations of the ES and HS divisions, the counseling office leads the transition programs that help our scholars bridge in or out of the Middle School. These programs are aimed at providing more clarity to each transition while preparing scholars for what is to come.
We have hosted a Fly Up Day annually for our G5 scholars entering MS and a Scholar Led Transition program for our G8 scholars entering HS.

SCHEDULING
The counseling office is also responsible for creating the yearly master schedule and schedules for all MS Scholars. This process is centered around Scholar voice and choice. It is their interests and choices that literally initiate and drive the whole scheduling process in MS.