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As part of the Long Branch School Counseling program, students in grades K-5 receive biweekly classroom counseling lessons. Our counseling lessons throughout the year align with the 5 CASEL Competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
This year, we are using the Harmony SEL program as part of our counseling core curriculum. The Harmony SEL program is an evidence-based curriculum that provides lessons on social-emotional learning. The units that will be covered through Harmony SEL are:
- Being My Best Self
- Valuing Each Other
- Learning From Others
- Communicating With Each Other
We will also use Second Step to cover the following units:
- Bullying Prevention
- Child Protection Unit
In addition to these curriculum, we will also cover:
- Career Awareness and Exploration
- Mental Health Awareness
- Prevention Lessons
Reinforcing at Home
Students will be learning a lot this year-and they will need your help! Throughout the year, we will share what curriculum and topics we have covered in the month. You can find Home Links on this page that go with several of our lessons. Home Links are simple, fun activities for you and your child to complete together. They are a great way for you to understand what your child is learning and for your child to show you what they know.
Being My Best Self
In this unit, students learn the importance of being their best selves. They will learn to recognize their own emotions and those of others; link emotions and thoughts; connect emotions, thoughts, and actions; regulate their emotions; and have a growth mindset. Students learn the importance of understanding themselves in order to understand others and interact with one another in more helpful ways.
Home Links
Valuing Each Other
Students learn the importance of valuing others and gain strategies to create inclusive and welcoming environments, including appreciating one’s own and others’ contributions, taking others’ perspectives, practicing empathy, building relationships skills, and standing up for one’s self and others.
Home Links
Communicating with Each Other
Students learn a range of social and communication skills including ways to support effective communication and ways to avoid communication mishaps. They learn about verbal and nonverbal communication and how to adapt to different settings including when participating in teamwork.
Home Links
Learning from Each Other
Students learn that encountering problems, including conflict with others, is a normal part of the human experience. As they learn to resolve problems and conflicts in an intentional way, students deepen their understanding of themselves and others. Through a four-step problem-solving process, students learn the importance of getting input from others when resolving conflict and working together to build healthy relationships.
Home Links
Bullying Prevention
In our Bullying Prevention unit, Long Branch students learn how to Recognize, Report, and Refuse Bullying. We also learn about being Upstanders.
Recognize
Bullying hurts someone’s body, feelings or belongings; it happens on purpose; it is unfair or one-sided; it happens more than once; and we are unable to get it to stop.
Report
When we recognize bullying it happening, we must report it to a caring and trusted adult. When we report bullying, we try to use an assertive voice that is clear, serious, and respectful. In our Bullying Prevention Unit, all students are asked to identify caring and trusted adults in the Long Branch community who they could report bullying to.
Refuse
Both Upstanders and anyone who is experiencing bullying can refuse bullying by telling the bully or bullies to stop using an assertive voice.
Upstanders
Upstanders take responsibility for preventing and stopping bullying in their community. When they recognize an unsafe or unkind situation is happening, they can support the person experiencing the unsafe or unkind behavior by reporting it to an adult, refusing the bullying, and checking in on the victim. Upstanders understand that we all have a responsibility to keep Long Branch a safe and welcoming community for everyone.
Home Links
Child Protection Unit
The Child Protection Unit includes one grade level specific lesson in Kindergarten through 5th grade classrooms. Long Branch students learn ways to help them decide if something is safe or not: specifically, about safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches, and rules about touching private body parts (we define this to students as the area covered by swimsuits). They also learn to say no to unsafe or unwanted touches, and to tell an adult if someone breaks rules about touching private body parts. Students also practice asking an adult for help, telling an adult about an unsafe situation, and being assertive to get out of unsafe situations.
Home Links
Career
Students in grades 2-5 use the Career curriculum put out by Virginia Wizard. Learn more about VA Wizard here.
Mental Health Awareness Month
Students learn about various ways to maintain mental wellness, such as getting plenty of sleep, eating a well-balanced diet, getting exercise, going outside, socializing with friends, and practicing self-care and mindfulness. Students in older grades also learn about how to recognize when they (or a friend) needs support or help with their mental health and wellness.
Prevention Lesson
Arlington County Public School’s mission is to ensure all students learn and thrive in a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment. To assist your child in making the most positive life choices as they transition to middle school, our 5th graders will receive a lesson on avoiding risky behavior (such as becoming involved with vaping, in particular, and other drugs in general.) A trained Substance Abuse Counselor will be offering 1 45-minute prevention-based lessons, which align with the Health and PE Standards of Learning (SOLs). The lesson topics include essential health concepts, healthy decisions, and advocacy and health promotion.