CounselingThe Guidance Office works with children in a wide range of ages and grade levels. Individual counseling is available as a short-term intervention. For personal problems, the counselor meets with students as needed, listening to their concerns and helping them develop and implement a plan for solving the problem. The counselor offers encouragement as well as options. When academic concerns need to be addressed at the Middle and High School levels, the counselor will talk with the student, the teachers and the parents and jointly develop a plan on how to best help the student be successful. This might mean frequent meetings with the student and more information from the teachers, which is also passed on to the parents, regarding the academic progress of the student. Academic planning at all grades in Middle and High School is addressed frequently throughout the year. A personalized college counseling program is implemented in 11th grade with individual meetings, career planning, parent meetings and grade level presentations.
Classroom Counseling
At the Elementary level, the counselor works with students on character development.
Presently, the counselor is supporting AISR’s “Community of Respect” program. This is a school-wide initiative built on the following themes:
1. RESPECT
2. COOPERATION
3. CONFIDENCE
4. INTEGRITY
5. APPRECIATION
6. EMPATHY
7. TOLERANCE
8. RESPONSIBILITY
The counselor is currently entering elementary classrooms to help students learn how to demonstrate appropriate behavior. Classroom guidance serves two main purposes: 1) an opportunity to teach developmentally appropriate life skills, and 2) a forum for getting acquainted with students and their needs. Active involvement by students is a must! Classroom guidance provides an excellent opportunity to model positive communication with students and an open exchange of feelings and opinions. It also helps to support some of the same values and concepts that the classroom teacher may be addressing in other lessons.
The counselor is also in frequent contact with the elementary teachers regarding any special topics that may need to be addressed through a guidance lesson(s). Many times this is something that is being brought up by the children as a concern (playground behavior, friendship issues, AISR’s Golden rules, etc.) and which can be incorporated into lessons as part of the discussion. The counselor visits the elementary classrooms frequently so that the children are comfortable and familiar with her when she enters the classroom.Individual sessions are also available should the need arise.
A visiting program for fifth graders is set up in May to help them begin the transition from the elementary school to the Middle School. Fifth grade students visit 6th grade classes for a day and are teamed with a "buddy" who shows them where their classes are held and generally answers questions they might have. Students keep a journal during the day long visit where they can write questions and comments about their experience, At the end of the visit, the counselor meets with all the fifth graders and answers questions as well as inviting a group of 6th graders to share their views about what 6th grade is like. A parent evening regarding the Transition to Middle School is held for all 6th grade parents in the fall of the new school year.
TestingThe Counselor is responsible for coordinating the standardized testing at AISR. The ISA (International Schools Assessment) is the academic proficiency exam that is given to students in grades 3-9. The PSAT (or Preliminary SAT) exam is administered to students in grades 10-11. Students in grades 11 and 12 are encouraged to take the SAT exams at AISR when they begin making plans for admissions to university. The Counselor is the SAT coordinator and can provide information for students and parents as well as helping interpret what the test scores mean.
Other ServicesThe School Counselor is an essential member of the Admissions Committee. The Counselor is responsible for conducting the academic interview with all prospective middle and high school students, reviewing records and providing a recommendation for admission when meeting with the Admissions Committee. Once a student is accepted the counselor will also provide transitional information for the new student and parent. The School Counselor works closely with the IB Coordinator and the Admin Team to provide appropriate feedback regarding the timetables for each student, making sure that all high school students are completing the courses necessary to meet graduation requirements. The School Counselor presents information in parent meetings regarding topics like the university admission process in the US and UK as needed. She oversees other meetings dealing with Transition to MS and HS and works closely with the IB Coordinator to present appropriate information and planning for 11th and 12th grade students.
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