Dear Phillips Families,
My name is Claudia Henkel and I am the school counselor here at Phillips Elementary! I graduated from South Dakota State University with my Masters of School Counseling and I am now officially certified in Texas, as well as South Dakota. I have been working in various roles in the elementary school setting for almost five years and am absolutely thrilled to now finally have my own school counseling program!
Last year, students called me "Ms. Rombough", but now that I am married I will offically go by "Mrs. Henkel" moving forward!
I was born and raised in South Dakota and about two years ago, my husband and I decided to escape the cold weather of the Dakotas to move down here. We quickly fell in love with Texas and made this our home! When I am not at the school, you can find me typically hanging with our two cats, watching Harry Potter, cooking or baking, "attempting" pickleball, reading a book, working my part-time wedding planning job, or just hanging with friends!
This year I will be providing guidance lessons to all classrooms, conducting small group counseling, and working individually with students and parents. My goal as the counselor at Phillips is to make sure all students feel cared for, capable, and connected. I am oh so thrilled to be a part of the Phillips family, and I am looking forward to getting to know you and your student throughout the year!
The state and district guidelines for counselor responsibilities can be found at this link: http://www.friscoisd.org/ly/departments/GuidanceCounseling/guidanceK-5.htm
I perform a number of duties in order to achieve my goal of helping children be the best version of themselves.
Classroom Guidance
I will be providing guidance lessons to your child approximately three times every five weeks. During this time I will present a lesson based on the character traits we are focusing on for the month as well as needs that arise within the grade level. Some of these topics will include problem solving, goal setting, responsibility, cooperation, drugs prevention , goal setting, college and career, building friendships, and many more. The complete list can be found on the link above.
Small Groups
Small groups are another way that I work with children. We meet to discuss a topic of interest to that group. We work on strategies to help them throughout the year and have a great time! You will receive more information on those groups as the year starts!
Individual Guidance
I do meet individually with students to help them through an issue or situation. It is important to keep in mind that school counselors do no provide therapy. Remember that my goal is to help students with academic success and issues that could interfere with that classroom success. If your child is experiencing an issue that affects them outside of school, I have a variety of resources that may help!
Student Support
I am also part of the Student Support Team that meets to help make a plan for a student's success. I serve on that committee and help our SST team with forming goals and strategies that will focus on students social, emotional and academic needs.