Hello, my name is Courtney Macal and I am the School Counselor at Western Hills Elementary School in Temple, Texas. I joined the awesome staff at Western Hills in 2014 and have been here ever since. This year, our school theme is "Level Up!" We are embracing this theme due to its relatability and relevance with our target audience...the students! This theme will encourage the staff, students, and families of Western Hills to "Level Up," in all 3 of our district's focus areas ... Attendance, Behavior, and Academics!

As you can see, I absolutely love FLAMINGOS! My office (and virtual office) represent that, so I thought that my website should as well.

Take a minute to explore the rest of my site, by using the drop down menu in the top left corner. I have information on different programs we use on-campus, (i.e. Zones of Regulation & SEL) as well as links to several outside resources and information.

The Zones of Regulation program has been used school-wide all year. The program helps students identify their current "zone," or state of emotion. We teach students that it is ok to be in any of the zones, as long as we behave in a way that makes others feel safe and comfortable around us. In other words, it is ok to be angry, or in the red zone, we just need to learn tools and coping strategies to use when we are angry, so that we are able to conduct ourselves in a safe manner.

Take a minute to view the following video that explains each of the zones to parents/caregivers: youtu.be/4zHR3kYg1vI

SEL is utilized campus-wide at WHES to teach self-regulation skills and strategies. I am very excited that our district recognized the immense need for Social-Emotional Learning to be included in our daily curriculum. We are fortunate to have Mrs. Brooke Guerra, taking on the role of our Social Emotional Learning Coach this year. Mrs. Guerra has taught 3rd grade at Western Hills for many years prior to stepping in to this new role. In addition to working with me to plan and implement the professional development, training, and continuous support for all staff members, Mrs. Guerra will also plan and provide the SEL lessons to all students during Extra Specials.

Cosmic Kids is a YouTube channel that is used frequently and your child should be familiar with. You can access the channel by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

• Another school counselor has created a great video explaining COVID-19, or "Corona virus," in a kid-friendly way. The video also explains why many students across the country are learning from home at this time. You can watch this video by clicking on the image of COVID-19, or by following this link: https://bit.ly/COVID19WHES