Happy New Year CAG families! We hope you had a great and safe winter break. As the LS School Counselors, we are excited to start the second half of the school year, continue promoting and contributing to the well-being of our learning community, as well as to strengthen our students´ social, emotional and academic skills at each of the different stages of their development.

Welcome to our LS Counselors Corner. We are excited to start this project! We look forward to sharing with you the latest Counseling activities and information.

For this first issue, you will find information about our new Social Emotional Learning Program. We encourage you to participate in our upcoming workshop to learn more about the different ways we support the well-being of our students and the role of the LS School Counselor. We invite you to enjoy the clip video with some pics about the first days of school.

Enjoy!

Dear Families,

We want your child to be as successful as possible at school. Success in school is not just about academics, but is also knowing how to learn and get along with others. We are happy to share with you that we will start to use the Second Step program in your child’s classroom to teach these critical skills.

The Second Step program teaches four basic skills:

• Skills for learning (students gain skills to help themselves learn, including how to focus their attention, listen carefully, use self-talk to stay on task, and be assertive when asking for help with schoolwork), E

• Empathy, (students learn to identify and understand their own and others’ feelings and how to take another’s perspective and show compassion).

• Emotion Management (students learn specific skills for calming down when experiencing strong feelings, such as anxiety or anger).

• Problem Solving (solving problems with others in a positive way).

The Second Step program also teaches concepts such as Growth Mindset and Goal Setting. Your child will be learning a lot this year—and he or she will need your help! Throughout the year, your child will be bringing home Home Links that go with several of the Second Step lessons. Home Links are simple, fun activities for you and your child to complete together. They are a great way for you to understand what your child is learning and for your child to show you what he or she knows. If you have any questions about the Second Step program, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information. Thank you for supporting your child in learning the skills that lead to success in school and in life.

Sincerely,

LS Counselors

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