Counselor's corner
What's new
Welcome Back Firebird Families!
Welcome Firebird families! We are your school counseling department, here to support you and your student(s) with your arrival whether you've been with us for years, or brand new! We understand that while returning (or starting) school can be a source of both excitement and nervousness. Tips for acclimating new kindergarteners may be found on the left! Engaging in intentional, positive talk to help your child associate school with making friends and learning new things, can help them create positive feelings about school.
For older students, put together a list of positive self-statements. These can be “I can do this, there are people there to support me,” or “I’ve tried new things before and it went OK.” These realistic coping statements can be helpful for kids to have on a list in their pocket so they can look at that on the first day of school if they’re feeling nervous.
And if you need any further support transitioning your child to school, contact your school counselor!
988 is Now Live
988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:
Thoughts of suicide
Mental health or substance use crisis, or
Any other kind of emotion distress
People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.
988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help.
General Information from your
school counselors
2023-2024
TITLE IX
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces, among other statutes, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Falls Lake Academy does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the employment, education programs, or activities it operates. All Title IX reports should be made to our Title IX coordinator, Kelly Herman at kellyherman@fallslakeacademy.com.
Why School Counselors and not Guidance counselors?
School counselors are highly trained and support students in many ways in addition to guiding them to college
The role itself has evolved from a focus on post-graduation planning and administrative support to today’s focus on embracing a comprehensive approach to optimize student outcomes in much more than just college planning
Focus areas include emotional support, family intervention, social development, academic guidance, and career planning
School counselors are now a strong, collaborative member of an educational team
Social emotional learning
What is SEL?
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
Elementary School Curriculum
Second Step
The Second Step Elementary digital program is a web-based social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that allows for consistency from classroom to classroom and easily scales across schools and districts. Its digital format enables continuous improvement based on up-to-date research and feedback.
The Second Step Elementary digital program is designed to adapt to students’ needs:
In counselor-facilitated group settings, students connect with the content, each other, and the counselor as they build new social-emotional skills
Variety in media, activities, and interactive components helps engage every learner and provide opportunities for culturally relevant teaching
The look and feel of each grade’s lessons evolve as students grow into new developmental stages
Middle School Curriculum
Second Step
SEL curriculum-Second Step for Middle School
CASEL-aligned
Goal is to empower students with skills for life-holistic approach
Web-based
Topics: mindsets and goals, recognizing bullying and harassment, thoughts, emotions, and decisions, and managing relationships and social conflicts.
High School
Please visit Mrs. Jackson's website for our most up-to-date information.
Bullying Prevention
Elementary School
Into the Cloud™ is NCMEC’s flagship online safety product for children ages 10 and under. Using data from actual CyberTipline reports, each episode focuses on a different element of online safety, from strategies for handling cyberbullying to recognizing and reporting unsafe/inappropriate interactions and content. Into the Cloud™ presents important safety information in an age-appropriate and entertaining manner! Connect your child to their content here!
College & Career planning
Elementary School
Click here to check out Paws in Jobland on CFNC.org!
Middle School
High School
Students and parents are encouraged to explore the redesigned CFNC.org website. This is a one stop shop for students and parents to plan for college, apply to colleges, explore careers and sort through resources to pay for college in the state of NC. Planning starts even before high school. Students with CFNC accounts are encouraged to login and click around! Students without CFNC accounts are encouraged to create an account! Go ahead! Explore!
Click here for up-to-date information that colleges, universities, College Board (SAT) and ACT are releasing about COVID-19 and college admissions.
Career Assessments
This is a great time to start exploring career options. Use this link to explore resources that will help you find out things that interest you as well as possible careers that match your profile.
Virtual College Visits
Click here for updated information about virtual college representative visits to FLA. Use this link to join zoom meetings when applicable!
Resume Writing for High School Students: 101
Students often use resumes to apply to summer programs, college, internships, jobs and sometimes recommenders will request it when writing a recommendation for these programs. It is good practice to have a draft ready to go for these activities. It is also recommended to update your resume at least once a year.
Watch this video to gain a brief understanding of what a highs school student resume may consist of: How to write resume
Use this link for example resume templates and a more detailed explanation of a high school students’ resume.
***Reach out to Mrs. Jackson for more assistance.
Summer Programs & Other Opportunities
Use this link throughout the year to explore programs that may be of interest to your student. These are great resume builders and wonderful opportunities to gain experience in areas you may be interested in the future.
This can also be found on Mrs. Jackson’s website under “Career Planning Resources”.
504
The purpose of Section 504 is to provide students with a qualifying mental or physical disability equal access to his or her educational environment, materials, or program. Meaning accommodations are related to how the disability (or suspected disability) is currently impacting the student at school. It is important that a 504 never guarantees better grades, rather it provides a "level playing field" for an equal chance at success.
#Howtodeal
In this section, we will be including tips or tricks for you on how to incorporate self-care or social-emotional learning into your daily routine! We understand that during our time away from school, it may be a challenge to take care of YOU. So, here you will find some ideas to stay active, healthy, and mentally strong as we cope with this pandemic. Enjoy!
CASEL CARES is an initiative that connects our community with experts to address how SEL can be most helpful in response to today’s circumstances.
Dr. Deborah Rivas-Drake and Dr. Bloodine Barthelus engage in a heart-to-heart conversation around the pain and struggle of being a parent, particularly at this time, and the work that is required of us to mitigate racism starting at home.
Learn more: https://casel.org/weekly-webinars/
Contact us
Mrs. Jackson
High School
Email: Chantajackson@fallslakeacademy.com
Phone: (919) 964-9003 Ext. 7103
Mrs. Jackson's Website
High School Remind Codes
Students and parents are encouraged to download the Remind 101 app for an additional way to receive information from Mrs. Jackson.
Class of 2021: Send 81010 to @97kk7b
Class of 2022: Send 81010 to @3f439h
Class of 2023: Send 81010 to @27eak4
Class of 2024: Send 81010 to @ef6g4k