McAuliffe Counseling Program

What Does a School Counselor Do?

The School Counselor is here to support every single student!

Ms. Bisselle does:

Teach classroom counseling lessons monthly to all students about a variety of counseling-related topics (ie. emotion identification, coping skills, friendship skills, conflict resolution, stress management, etc.)
Runs group counseling activities to support student growth based on data-supported needs including social skills, regulating emotions, dealing with changes, healthy conflict management, and coping with anxiety
Provides brief, solution-focused individual counseling to support academic, social/emotional success
Provides support during crises
Collaborates with school staff, families, and community agencies to support students
Makes referrals for appropriate community resources and agencies (ie. wrap around services, after school activities, therapy, clothing, and food, etc.)

Individual Counseling

Students may request to work on a one-on-one basis for a few sessions. Parents and staff members may make this request as well. If a student requires ongoing, one-on-one counseling, I will provide and assist with referrals (McAuliffe has a partnership with JSSA Mindcraft. To find out more about this program, click here).

Consulting

Part of my role as a school counselor is to consult or problem solve with parents and staff members daily via phone, email, or in-person. I also have numerous resources to help address areas of possible concerns, such as, behavior management, emotional regulation, social skills, attentional issues, death, and divorce.

Wellness Night

Each school year, I organize a wellness night event to promote social, emotional, physical, and mental well being. This event is full of wellness activities, resources for families, yoga, Zumba, arts & crafts, healthy choices, raffle prizes and more!

Career Day

Each school year, I organize a career day expo to promote career awareness and exploration. Career day takes place In the spring. We have indoor and outdoor portion of this in school event. Several speakers from the community participate and share their expertise and experiences with students.

504 Plans

I am the case manager and contact for 504 Plans at McAuliffe ES. 504 Plans help students with substantial limitations perform at the same level as their peers. Click here for additional information about 504 Plans in MCPS.

Student Ambassadors

I coordinate our McAuliffe student ambassador leadership program! We want all students to feel welcomed and a sense of belonging when they arrive at our school as a new student. Student love the opportunity yo be student leaders within their classroom and our school!

Zones of Regulation & Mindful Exercises

What Are The Zones?

The Zones is a systematic, cognitive behavioral approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing all the different ways we feel and states of alertness we experience into four concrete colored zones. There are four zones to describe how your brain and body feel: Teachers ask, "How are you feeling today or what Zone are you in today?"

BLUE is the REST Zone – Your body is running slow, such as when you are tired, sick, sad or bored.

GREEN is the GO Zone – Like a green light, you are “good to go.” Your body may feel happy, calm and focused.

YELLOW Is the YIELD Zone – This zone describes when you start to loose control, such as when you are frustrated, anxious, worried, silly or surprised. Use caution when you are in this zone.

RED is the STOP Zone – This zone is for extreme emotions such as anger, terror and aggression. When you are in this zone, you are out of control, have trouble making good decisions and must STOP!

What Are The Zone Tools?

The Zones framework provides tools to teach students to be more aware of and independent in controlling their emotions and impulses, manage their sensory needs, and improve their ability to problem solve conflicts. Teachers ask: "what Zone tools will you use to stay in the green zone?"

BLUE Zone – Take a break, think happy thoughts, talk about feelings, ask for a hug, draw a picture.

GREEN Zone – Complete your work, listen to the teacher, remember your daily goal, think happy thoughts, help others.

YELLOW Zone – take a break, talk to the teacher, squeeze a stress ball, go for a walk, take three deep breaths.

RED Zone – take a break, squeeze a stress ball, take three deep breaths, count to ten, talk about my problem.

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