Welcome to Counselor's Corner! My name is Kara Elmer and I am the Bell School Counselor. School counselors work as a team with school staff, parents and the community to create a caring climate and atmosphere. Elementary school years set the tone for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skill necessary for children to become healthy, competent and confident learners. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, school counselors can help all children achieve academic success. School Counselors typically have a master’s degree and the required state certification in school counseling.
I am fortunate in my position to have the opportunity to work with all of the students here at Bell. I work with the children in many settings including the classroom, individually and/or small groups. We work on social skills, such as friendship, leadership, conflict resolution, respect for others and building emotional vocabulary.
We have had a lot of exciting things going on this year including continuing to implement Second Step, a social skills curriculum in the younger grades. These lessons are done in the classroom and teach children skills such as listening, empathy, and problem solving. The third graders will continue to be working with the anti-bullying curriculum Steps to Respect that we began 4 years ago. Both programs were made possible through grants from the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools.
In addition to Social Skills groups, Lunch Bunch, and supporting the implementation of Second Step and Steps to Respect, I meet with individual children for a number of reasons; perhaps they are experiencing seperation anxiety, having trouble finding friends on the playground, maybe mom and dad are going through a divorce. A number of things can upset a child and make it difficult for them to focus at school. When necessary, a child will be referred to a counselor in the community for additional support.
I hope that you will find a lot of useful information on this site. I will be updating frequently, so please check back often throughout the school year. Also, feel free to contact me at anytime this year with questions, comments, and/or concerns. The best time to reach me is between 10:00 and 11:00 Monday through Friday. I can be reached at 781-639-3170 or by email at [email protected] Thank you for allowing your children to work with me. I enjoy getting to know them.