BCE Counseling

Courage to Stand in 4th Grade

BCE is excited to host the Courage to Stand program during end of September and beginning of October! Courage to Stand is a program through the organization Creative Action - check them out! They are working with our 4th grade students and teachers on learning to be courageous bystanders in bullying situations. The performers use fun and interactive situations to help the students learn by doing. 

The program is tailored to kids in 4th and 5th, and we hope to bring the program back each year to 4th grade. Big thanks to the BCE Booster Club for sponsoring this amazing opportunity! 

Family Needs Assessment - Results

Thanks so much to the families who took part in the BCE Family Needs Assessment! We had 61 responses (participation show in the graph) and we appreciated all of the information and feedback for the counseling program. Of particular value was the written feedback from parents that gave us insight into what areas families are loving or those in which we can provide more and/or improve upon. Here is a snapshot of the results:

The largest areas across all grades in which you appreciate more teaching are:

These top 3 topics are all interrelated to teammate behavior, relationships, and communication. We are excited to bring even more focus on these important areas. BCE as a school community is focusing heavily on "Teammate Behavior" this year, which you can read more about in the section below.

Other responses within the written feedback section pointed to:

We will do our best to address these areas in meaningful ways this year, and we want all families to know that the counselors at BCE always have an open door policy to kids and those who love them. We are also regularly updating this website and the Counselor Corner in the Bluejay Bulletin to keep families more informed. Please call or email and we are happy to talk with you about your child(ren) and how we can support their growth and development. 

TEAMMATES AT BCE!

"Teammates at Barton Creek make a positive impact through keeping bodies safe, keeping hearts safe, and helping each other learn and grow."

These words are being used throughout the school to help students, teachers, and all staff have common language for how we treat each other at school. A teammate is anyone you come into contact with at school; we may not be friends with everyone, but we are all teammates. Here are some examples of the words of teammate behavior:

If a student has a conflict at recess, for example, in which someone was hit, we might say,

"That is not your best teammate behavior because you did not keep his body safe."

OR, if someone told a joke that hurt someone's feelings, we might say, 

"Jokes aren't jokes unless they're funny to everyone, and that hurt her feelings. You weren't keeping her heart safe."

OR, if someone is tapping their pencil loudly during a lesson and has not stopped after being asked, a teacher might say,

"Please stop tapping your pencil, that is making it difficult for your teammates to learn and grow."

OR, if a student says he's the worst and feels dumb because he can't understand the lesson, a counselor might say,

"Let's be a good teammate to ourselves and not use those hurtful words. I want you to protect your own heart."

We would love it if our families used the same language at home so that these words can become integrated into their daily lives.