Mark Porcher - mark.porcher@sd273.com 

Welcome to Mr. Porcher's Counseling Page

   Thank you for visiting the Mullan Trail Elementary Counselor Web Page. I feel privileged to serve as the counselor for such a caring community of staff, children and families.

   As the school counselor, my role in helping our students mature and develop into responsible and caring students starts with school-wide classroom lessons. I teach guidance lessons on a variety of topics including Character Education, Personal Safety, Building Friendships, Conflict Resolution and more. The lessons give children the knowledge and skills to make safe choices, build healthy relationships, and solve problems.

   In order for children to Work Hard, they must know how to be an active learner and use perseverance when challenged in various situations. Classroom guidance lessons address these these kinds of skills. Additionally, I instruct small groups that teach "Focus," "Impulse Control," "Emotional Regulation" and other behavior strategies. When children have personal obstacles to their learning, I can provide small group counseling and short term individual counseling in order to help students reduce stresses that can impact learning. I have an open door policy to students, who may come in to see me simply because they are having a rough day and need a place for their worries to be heard, so they can return to class 'ready to learn.'

Parents and caregivers are always welcome in my office. One of the most critical components of a child's success in school is their support from home. Please contact me if I can provide any consultation, support, or resources to help your child or your family.

Sincerely,

Mark Porcher

Classroom Lessons

Note: Each grade level has curriculum made specifically for that developmental stage. The following list shows the general topics for each grade. 

Second Step Curriculum: (https://www.secondstep.org/)

1. Skills for Learning

Unit 1: Skills for Academic and Social Success (KG-3rd Grade)

• • • Learning to Listen

    • Focusing Attention

    • Personal Space

    • Following Directions

    • Self-Talk for Staying on Task

    • Being Assertive

Unit 2: Empathy (All Grades)

• • • Identifying Feelings in Self and Others

    • Complex Feelings 

    • Understanding Different Perspectives

    • Responding with Compassion

Unit 3: Emotion Management (All Grades)

• • • We Feel Feelings in our Bodies

    • Managing Frustration, Anger, Disappointment

    • Strategies to Calm Strong Feelings

Unit 4: Problem Solving (All Grades)

• • • Steps to Solving Problems

      • Say the Problem, Think of Solutions, Explore Consequences, Pick the Best Solution

2. Bullying Prevention Unit (All grades)

• • Recognizing Bullying

  • Reporting Bullying

  • Refusing Bullying

  • Bystander Power

3. Child Protection Unit (1st -3rd Grade)

• • General Safety (items covered based on age): Crossing the Street, Stranger Danger, Staying Home Alone, etc...

  • The Always Ask First Rule (i.e. Ask a parent before going with a friend, Ask before giving a safe touch to a friend, etc...)

  • Safe and Unsafe Touches

  • The Touching Rule (It's not okay for anybody to touch my private parts except to keep them clean and healthy)

  • The Exceptions to the Rule (i.e. Help getting dressed/taking a bath, Doctor visit, Hurt private parts, etc...)

  • Never Keep Secrets about Unsafe Touches

  • Never too late to Tell

Cyber Safety (K-2)  Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsense.org/education/)

• Healthy Habits

1. Media Balance

2. Pause and Think Online

Cyber Safety (3rd Grade)   Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsense.org/education/)

• Basic Safety and Cyber Bullies

Cyber Safety (4th & 5th Grade)  Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsense.org/education/)

• General Safety

• Social Media Safety

• Cyber Bullying

• Gaming Online