Counselor's Corner
Welcome to Jane Ruestmann Elementary!
I am so excited to spend the year learning and growing with the students at JRE. I am Mrs. Garcia and I am the counselor at JRE. I am here to support your child and your family during your time at JRE and I am thrilled to get to know everyone!
This week at Jane Ruestmann...
This week guidance was with 3rd and 4th grade. February is friendship month! In 3rd grade we spoke about how we are all unique but work together to make the perfect puzzle. In 4th grade we learned about executive functioning.
See below for more information and pictures from our week!
Upcoming for Mrs. Garcia:
5th grade will be learning all about the 6th grade center and will soon be getting their course selection cards.
This week the band presented to all of our 5th graders to help them select their electives.
Guidance Lessons:
This week guidance took place in 3rd and 4th grade. February is Friendship Month, so our 3rd grade lesson focused on being a good friend. In 3rd grade we read the story "The Sandwich Swap". We read about how we are all unique and make the perfect puzzle of a class and school. In 4th grade, we learned about executive functioning and how to manage our time. The students participated in an experiment on discovering our big rocks, pebbles and sand for our use of time. They then utilized that information to create a use of time wheel to see if they are using their time to best meet all of their needs.
Follow Up Questions after Guidance:
What is a way to be a friend?
What are things that make you unique?
What are your rocks, pebbles and sand?
How do you manage your time?
Positive Parent Communication Tips
The "Wow and How" is an idea for communicating positive behavior with your child. By highlighting the positive with a "Wow" statement, you encourage the behavior to continue. By asking "How" it helps your child to process what they did to experience that success. By thinking through the how, it helps them to understand the steps they should take in the future.
Comprehensive School Counseling Program
Your child may have come home and told you that they met with the counselor today or had a class with them. Please don’t panic! Our favorite part of this job is going into the classrooms for guidance lessons. These classes cover topics/TEKS such as:
Anti- Bully/ Kindness
Conflict Resolution
Safety Rules and Decision Making
College and Career Exploration
Social Skills
Guidance classes are done in a classroom setting and are not therapeutic. Through guidance classes, we get to know all of our students and become a supportive staff member in the building.
The counseling program consists of Guidance classes, small groups, and individual support. For groups and individual time, the counselor will involve parents as partners, along with their teacher. Individual visits are meant to support school success and do not involve “therapy”. Our goal as school counselors is to support students during their time at school, and on an as needed basis. Individual meetings with students would involve reaching out to the parents to keep them informed. I am happy to provide you with outside resources, as needed.
Please let me know if you ever need our support or have any questions.
~Mrs. Garcia
How to Meet with the Counselor
Parent referral (academic concerns, test scores, parent conferences, behavior, etc.)
Self-referral (new to school, anxiety, friendship, safety issues, grief and loss, etc.)
Teacher referral (brainstorming, support, ADHD, behavior concerns, professional development, etc.)
Guidance classes
For an appointment with one of our counselors please email amanda.garcia@argyleisd.com
Links and Resources
Argyle ISD Crisis Counselor - Dr. Paul Haggan
Argyle Independent School District is very fortunate to have a crisis counselor to serve all Eagle students in the district. Please visit his webpage for helpful information and quality mental health resources.
Be informed as to what is going on in our wonderful community.
Center for Play Therapy - University of North Texas
This website serves as a wonderful place to find out more about Play Therapy. Play Therapy is a great way for children to work through some of the emotional challenges that life can bring.
Child Protective Services (CPS)
It is all of our responsibility to help keep children safe. This website is helpful in terms of helping define what constitutes abuse and neglect as well as providing other information that might be helpful in making a report.
Crime Stoppers - Denton County Sheriff's Office
This is a website where you can provide tips to law enforcement anonymously.
Denton County Friends of the Family
This is a wonderful agency dedicated to preventing abuse through community education. They also provide comprehensive services to those whose lives have been impacted by abuse and domestic violence.
Denton County Registered Sex Offenders
This website, which is a service of the Denton County Sheriff's Department, provides a listing by zip code of registered sex offenders living in Denton County.
Our Daily Bread: A Community Soup Kitchen
Mission Statement: “Our Daily Bread provides nutritious meals and facilitates referrals for other services to those in need.”
Parent's Trauma Resource Center
A nice resource to help parents and teachers easily find information about grief and trauma.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The Lifeline provides 24/7 free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
This is a handy website where you can view and print copies of released state STAAR tests. Answer keys are also available.
STAAR Testing - TEA Questions & Answers
This website is intended to help students, teachers, and parents understand more about the state STAAR test.
This website will take you to the most current state testing calendars.