Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2012! It's hard to believe that we have completed half of the school year!

Our upcoming guidance lessons will focus on goal setting, self-esteem, attitudes, living life, and of course making good choices! The choices we make everyday can have a lasting impact on our lives, friends we hang out with, and the directions we take! Developing refusal skills is so important. And we all know how tough peer pressure can be. Students will identify substances/situations that they may be faced with in the future and discuss strategies to make the best choice.

Suicide can be a very difficult topic to discuss, but we focus on the Life Model provided by the Jason Foundation. After watching a video, students discuss this topic and recite the following pledge: I promise to be here for my friends. I will watch for any behavior that concerns me and I will talk, listen, and respond using the LIFE model. I WON'T BE SILENT!

At Indian Trail we continue to strive to make our school environment safe and we want students to feel safe at school. We will not tolerate bullying/harassment of any kind and will take action. In previous lessons we focused on bullying, harassment, and cyber-safety! Technology is an awesome tool and is right at our fingertips! It can be misused in ways that can hurt others. Students will often not report misuse of technology because they don't want to lose privilages! It's important to use techology appropriately and for parents to monitor student use.

I am your counselor if you are on Bobcat, Red Fox, or Mustang Halls! You will see me everyday in the hall and during your lunch in the cafe! I am also behind the scenes in the newsroom on the WITMS News which is broadcast live every morning at 7:40!

Please know that I am here to help you in any way that I can! I strive to make each and every day meaningful. And I want to make a difference in the lives that I touch each day!

Be Kind To Others! Keep a Positive Attitude! And, Do Your Best!

I will be rotating through your classes this year providing lessons on various subjects. We will be working on developing strategies to becoming a better person and making good choices!

The following is a poem that I just love!

Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling, too. I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin. When he smiled, I realized I’d passed it on to him. I thought about that smile, Then I realized it’s worth. A single smile, just like mine could travel ‘round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected. Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!!