S.E.A.L. with Dr. Valdez
Dr. Valdez has been a part of our MCDS community since September 2017. Though she splits her time between MCDS and another private school (4 days at MCDS and 1 day at MCCS), Dr. Valdez shows her commitment and dedication to MCDS through her weekly K-12 SEAL classes, small group sessions, and some individual support with students when needed. Dr. Valdez also leads our IST team at MCDS and provides staff professional development, as requested. Also, returning again this year, Dr. Valdez runs, along with Mrs. Pidcock, monthly Coffee with the Counselor Chats.
Outside of school, Dr. Valdez enjoys spending time with her family doing various activities, including hiking, biking, exploring new towns, as well as their weekly Pizza Movie Night each Friday.
Dr. Valdez hopes that the Middle School community will continue to grow in empathy and will be evident through the many acts of compassion witnessed throughout the hallways each day.
Miscellaneous Resources:
Referral Form; Breathing Techniques; etc.,
Referral Form; Breathing Techniques; etc.,
Breathing Strategy
Option 2
Box Breathing
What is SEAL?
SEAL is an acronym for Social Emotional Academic Learning. As the school counselor, my lessons typically fall under one of these domains when I am working with students.
Select your child's grade(s) below and see what we've been discussing this month!
The SOAR System
The two links on the RIGHT provide more information as to what is involved in the SOAR system and what a SOAR binder looks like.
As a parent, what do you need to know AND what is your part in helping your child on their path to organization and academic success?
1 - Perfection is not the destination.
2 - While the SOAR system offers research based parameters for a good organization method and optimal study skills, it is not the ONLY way. Just as our children are different, their styles and preferences for studying and organization may be different. These are just helpful guidelines as to what has been proven to be effective.
3 - You cannot DO for your child, but you can ENCOURAGE. The parents role is to provide:
* a space where students can study, without
distraction
* time in their schedule to study and organize
* time in their schedule to relax and unwind
* a clear system on how you want them to give
you papers that are for your eyes and
response. For example, some parents have a designated "tray" or basket where students know all papers go for mom and dad to see. Or, some parents choose to sit down with their child (and a snack) and go through the paper sort of all papers in the take-home folder. Your family - Your rules! But be consistent :-)
What is a School Counselor?
As a School Counselor, Dr. Valdez is required to abide by certain professional ethics and also make sure that her programming covers specific domains. The three primary domains are:
Academics
Career
Social & Emotional
Her primary role as School Counselor is to provide support for all students (Tier 1) while also offering small groups and individual support (Tier 2) when warranted. When a family is in need of additional supports, then Dr. Valdez can work with the family to find appropriate resources within the community (Tier 3).
Coffee with the Counselor Chats
December 2023 marked our first CCC as Dr. Valdez facilitated a conversation with parents on the ins-and-outs of the world of evaluations. Parents were able to learn about the different types of evaluations (mental health vs academic) and the different paths parents have the option of pursuing (public school vs iu13 vs private agency vs medical provider). Five parents joined Dr. Valdez and Mrs. Pidcock for this first meeting and all left with questions answered and curiosities satisfied.
We will be continuing this series during the 2024-25 school year with our first CCC Session taking place in September - our focus for this conversation will be welcoming NEW PATRONS and learning all about the MCDS community!
Interested? To sign up - contact Mrs. Pidcock or Dr. Valdez to register.