CAMS School Counseling Program

As professional school counselors we are dedicated to empowering every student to achieve academic success, personal and social growth, wellness and career exploration.  

Our mission is to continue to develop and deliver comprehensive school counseling program that reaches all students.  We will strive to be an integral part of our school’s overall education program.  Our aim is to foster positive and resilient psycho-social attitudes and beliefs in our students by focusing on creating awareness and skills in the areas of learning strategies, self-management skills, and social skills.  Our ultimate goal is for all of our students to make self-identified, realistic, and responsible decisions setting the stage for life-long learning and adapting to our ever changing society.

Our enrichment programs address important life skills including: stress management, emotional awareness, healthy friendships, and academic skills such as organization and time management.

Patriots Preparing for Success (6th Grade)

SEE Life Hacks Pt. 1 (7th Grade)

SEE Life Hacks Pt. 2 (8th Grade)

Mrs. Schurdell and Mr. Firebaugh provide solution-focused counseling to students seeking assistance in managing middle school academic work. While middle school is a great time in a student's life, it also can be stressful with learning how to manage homework, study for tests, and balancing extra-curricular activities. Any student who seeks help for bringing up grades, studying for tests, managing homework, or needs new ideas for study skills can find help in the CAMS Counseling Center.

Other common academic problems that middle school students seek counseling help for are listed below:

• Test Anxiety

• Time Management (balancing homework time with personal life)

• Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• Organizational Skills

• Study Skills

• Assistance with communicating with teachers

The Commonwealth of Virginia requires that every student have a completed Academic and Career Plan by the end of their 8th grade year. 

Mrs. Schurdell and Mr. Firebaugh provide developmental career guidance and counseling to every middle school student as required by the Virginia Academic Career Plan. The following explains how our students receive this service:

• 6th Grade: 6th Graders participate in a classroom guidance lesson through one of their Core Classes in the spring semester.  The focus of the lesson is the connection between personality traits, interests, and career choices. Students will take personality inventories to help them discover what types of careers best match their interests and skills.

• 7th Grade: Students who take the Exploratory rotation take a Career Investigations class for one nine-weeks. In this class, 7th Graders start their Academic and Career Plan.  Mrs. Schurdell and Mr. Firebaugh visit the Band and Chorus classes to deliver a career investigations lesson and start the process of developing their Academic and Career Plan.

• 8th Grade: The school counselors meet Eighth Grade students to assist them with completing their Academic and Career Plan (ACP). All students receive classroom instruction and meet individually with a school counselor and to help them update their ACP and prepare for high school course registration. 
  
  The Academic Career Plan then follows the student to high school, and will continue to be updated each year.

Many changes happen in a middle schooler's life that can cause distress personally and socially. Like any of us, when a middle schooler is stressed, this can greatly impact his/her academic performance.

Mrs. Schurdell and Mr. Firebaugh are available to assist students with personal and social problems when they interfere with academic performance and school behavior. The following counseling activities are examples of personal and social interventions used in CAMS' Counseling Office:

• Conflict Mediation (between students)

• Small Group Counseling (including, but not limited to, Friendship groups, Social Skills groups, and Anger Management groups)

• Individual Counseling focused on developing Problem Solving skills

• Individual Support for students struggling with Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns that may impede a student's academic performance.