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Counselor's Corner
Meet the Counselor
My name is Tambi Durham and I am thrilled
to be back as a part of the Lake Whitney family. I have been
involved with Orange
County Public Schools for the past 14 years, first as an
involved parent, then as a substitute teacher, and now as your
school
counselor. My counseling experience includes
working with young children, adolescents, and adults in a variety
of
settings. I am looking forward to another great
year! 407-877-8888, ext. 225, or durhamt@ocps.net.
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Classroom Guidance
Developmental classroom guidance is an integral part of the Comprehensive
Guidance Program. I visit each classroom once a month with
a whole group lesson that correlates to the Orange County Student
Development Benchmarks.
We discuss the word of the month and focus on Character development.
Topics include: working together, making good choices, building
friendships, effective problem solving, being responsible, managing
anger and other feelings, understanding self and others, study
skills, and for our 5th graders transitioning to middle school.
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Comprehensive Guidance Program
Comprehensive guidance seeks to serve the needs common to ALL
students using a variety of methods including classroom guidance,
small group counseling, individual counseling, parent conferences,
consultation, crisis counseling and referral services. Some children
experience emotional or behavioral needs or face family situations
that may interfere with the learning process. The goal of the guidance
program is to help each child work through these difficulties and
to learn new skills to improve his or her success in school.
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Counseling
Short term, individual counseling is available on an on-going,
as needed basis. This is helpful usually in the areas of peer
relationships, behavior difficulties, grief, underachievement,
homework difficulties, and organizational skills. Please contact
me at 407-877-8888 ext.225 or durhamt@ocps.net if you are interested
in setting up some sessions for your child.
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Small Group Counseling
Support groups are being offered at Lake Whitney. Some of the
groups scheduled for this year are for students experiencing
difficulties with peer relations, anger, self-esteem, retention
and changing family situations The groups usually include five to eight children who share similar
feelings and experiences. There are discussion activities in
each session. Groups typically meet once a week during the school
day
for 30 to 45 minutes for 6 or 7 weeks. If your child is interested
in participating in a group, please contact me at 407-877-8888
ext.225 or durhamt@ocps.net.
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What's Going On...
Character Club -
Every month one student from each class is nominated by their classroom
teacher. The teacher is looking for the student in their classroom
who best exhibits the character trait of the month. Upon being
nominated that student is announced on the morning news, receives
a certificate
of accomplishment, and signs their name on the Character Column
in the café.
The Character Words for the year are:
- Citizenship
- Responsibility
- Integrity
- Caring
- Respect
- Perserverance
- Courage
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Parent Print Resources
Parenting is the most challenging job most
of us will face, and kids don’t come with instructions.
Some helpful resources you may want to review include:
- “ The Answer is
No”: Saying It and Sticking To It, by
Cynthia Whitham, M.S.W.
This book teaches how to provide consistent structure,
clear expectations, and predictable responses and consequences
at home to help your children grow into responsible, and
socially agreeable adults.
- Win the Whining War and Other Skirmishes: A Family Peace
Plan, by Cynthia Whitham, M.S.W.
This book is filled with ideas to
inspire cooperation between parents and children. Helps
you reduce whining,
tantrums, bad language, name-calling, teasing, talking
back, complaining and other annoying behavior that drives
us crazy.
- How to Handle a Hard-To-Handle
Kid: A Parents’ Guide
to Understanding and Changing Problem Behaviors, by C.
Drew Edwards, Ph.D.
This
book discusses parenting high maintenance kids, ones
who act out,
argue, disobey, and throw temper tantrums more often than
others.
These books, and others are available for review in Guidance.
Please contact me at 407.877.8888, ext. 225 or durhamt@ocps.net to set
up an appointment.
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Parent Web Resources
Parent Soup -
This site has a variety of topics from drug education to “Bedtime
Battles” to handling behavior problems to step parenting. http://www.parentsoup.com
The National Parenting
Center -
This site has a Parent’s corner and articles about parenting
from the world’s most renowned authorities.
http://www.tnpc.com/
Parent-Planet -
This site includes top parent websites, and recommends books,
and videos to answer parent questions. http://www.parents-planet.com/
Divorce Source -
This site offers information about a variety of topics regarding
divorce issues. http://www.divorcesource.com
This website also offers information that may be helpful for
children dealing with divorce.
http://www.hec.ohio-state.edu/famlife/divorce/pguides/intro.htm
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