Cataract Elementary School

6070 State Highway 27
Sparta, WI  54656
Phone Number  272-3111
FAX  272-3839 

 

Every child deserves a great school counselor.

 


Carla O'Rourke, School Counselor

corourke@spartan.org 

 

Counseling Department Mission Statement

The Sparta Area School District will provide all students an opportunity to participate in a planned comprehensive counseling program.  The primary aim of the Counseling Department is to strive to help each student achieve the maximum development of life goals that are acceptable to self, home, school and community.

 

Counseling is the personalized part of education which provides the foundation for helping the individual understand and accept self, to recognize personal needs, to assess potentialities and to formulate plans of action based on the foundation.

 

Counseling is an integral part of meeting the individual needs of each student.  Therefore, the counseling and educational opportunities should be in cooperation with home, school and community so interrelated and articulated that each student will have access to a well-planned, unified program.

 

 

Individual Sessions

Teachers, parents, other school staff and students may request for students to see me individually for confidential sessions.  Many of the topics covered are the same as those listed under Developmental Classroom Lessons and small groups.

 

Small Groups
I meet with students in small groups for a variety of issues including but not limited to:  Friendship, Family changes, Social Skills, Anger Management, Stress and School Success.

 

Developmental Classroom Lessons
Another component of Cataract Elementary School's comprehensive school counseling program is developmental classroom lessons.  Many topics are covered through these lessons including but not limited to:  Character Education, Friendship, Bullying, Telling vs. Tattling, Feelings, Safety, Problem solving/decision making, Cooperation, Respect, Career Exploration, Consequences of drug/alcohol use, Conflict resolution, Goal setting, Careers and Diversity.

 

This fall students in the Sparta School District will listen to an assembly presentation on the topic of bullying behaviors.  The students will be reviewing what to do if they are bullied or witness a bullying incident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Happening in…

the School Counseling Program

 

Mrs. O'Rourke, School Counselor

 

Red Ribbon Week was a great success with every classroom creating a door display; students creating their quilt block in Guidance class for the "I've Got Better Things to do then Drugs" Quilt on display in the school; and  classroom guidance activities focusing on safe and healthy choices.  Be sure to visit the school web page to view the various Red Ribbon Week displays. 

 

During Classroom Guidance, we have now turned our focus to safe and healthy choices for ourselves and with each other while we explore the topics of friendship and feelings.  Each grade will be learning feeling and friendship vocabulary and determining what friendship is, what it means to them and how to solve friendship conflicts.  Kindergarteners will listen to the story That's What a Friend is by P.K. Hallinan and create a friendship book for their classroom.  First, Second and Third graders will be learning from a selection of books such as:  Regina's Big Mistake by Marissa Moss and When I feel Angry by Cornelia Spelman.

 

Second and Third graders will also soon be working on their Learner Resume.  For third graders this is a continuation of their work from last year.  Second graders will be learning what a resume is and how to identify their academic and personal strengths and challenges as well as how to set and achieve goals.

 

                  Sleep and School-aged Children (5-12 years)

Children aged five to 12 need 10-11 hours of sleep. At the same time, there is an increasing demand on their time from school (e.g., homework), sports and other extracurricular and social activities. In addition, school-aged children become more interested in TV, computers, the media and Internet as well as caffeine products – all of which can lead to difficulty falling asleep, nightmares and disruptions to their sleep. In particular, watching TV close to bedtime has been associated with bedtime resistance, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety around sleep and sleeping fewer hours.

Sleep problems and disorders are prevalent at this age. Poor or inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and cognitive problems that impact on their ability to learn in school.

Sleep Tips for School-aged Children

  • Teach school-aged children about healthy sleep habits.
  • Continue to emphasize need for regular and consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine.
  • Make child's bedroom conducive to sleep – dark, cool and quiet.
  • Keep TV and computers out of the bedroom.
  • Avoid caffeine.

 

More information about sleep can be found at www.sleepfoundation.org.

Source:  National Sleep Foundation

 

The School Counseling Program is available to all elementary school students.  Thank you to all of the families for supporting the Elementary School Counseling Program. 

 

Mrs. O'Rourke                                                                                                          corourke@spartan.org

School Counseling   ~   By All For All