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School Counselor Introduction
(For Elementary Students)

Purpose: To make students feel comfortable with the school counselor and know how to reach her if they need her.

Introduction

Hello Students! I’m ______, your school counselor. A counselor is someone you can talk to when you have a problem. I don’t get mad at you or get you in trouble or discipline you. I’m just the person to come to when something bothers you and you need someone to talk to.

What It Feels Like to Get Mad or Bothered

What kinds of problems do I deal with? Well, look at this poor lion and see if you can tell me his problem and how he must feel.

Video: This funny video will probably get the children laughing. Laughter helps students let down their guards and open up. Show the video from YouTube of a lion being pestered by a monkey. The monkey swings from the trees, occasionally swinging down to pop the lion on the head or pull its tail. (You may be able to find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZDgQRZwkY8, or go to www.youtube.com and search for “Monkey Fighting Lion.” Some versions are more clear than others. If you can't access youtube at school, you may download it to a blank dvd or cd at home and play it at school.)

Debriefing: What was the monkey doing to that poor lion? (Let several students share.) How do you think the lion felt? (Annoyed, bothered, mad) Have you ever felt irritated, like that poor lion? If you have, raise your hand.

I Was Once Like You (Communicating: “I understand your problems and feelings. Here are some problems you might have…”)

So we all have problems from time to time. Sometimes they’re at home; sometimes they’re at school.

When I was your age, I sometimes felt that people didn’t like me. Sometimes I was left out at recess. Sometimes I didn’t understand something in class, was embarrassed about it and didn’t know who to turn to. Maybe that’s why I became a school counselor. When I was your age, I needed someone to talk to. (Add your own specific problems you faced in school that could help hurting students to identify.)

How to Find Me

If you ever want to talk to me, just tell your teacher that you want to see me. My office is in this building, so I’m not far away. And never think that your problem is too small to bother me with. I like talking about problems, big or small.

It was nice to meet all of you! If you ever feel like that poor lion, come see me and we’ll talk!

Alternate Activity

Especially with the older group, if you have extra time or want to substitute this activity, it gets students moving and working together. It’s called “The Untangle Game.”

Divide into groups of 6 or 8 (must be an even number. You may want to start with 4 to get the hang of it.). Stand facing one another in a circle. Instruct each student to grab the right hand of a student across from (not next to) him or her. Next, join left hands with a different person. Then, try to untangle (end up in a straight line) without anyone letting go. (You can start with four people the first time to help them get the hang of it more easily.)

Debriefing

1.    What are some things you did to get untangled? Did you notice how sometimes you needed advice from another person in the group to know how to get untangled? Often someone can see your tangled knot from a different angle or viewpoint that makes things easier.

2.       There may be times this year when you feel like you’re all tangled up and need some help getting untangled. Perhaps somebody’s really ruining your life. Maybe there’s a bully on the playground. Maybe your home life isn’t going well. Maybe you feel all lost in your school work. I’m here to help you get untangled. Feel free to talk to me any time.