Counselor Page

 The counseling program at Atlas Elementary School is proactive and focuses on building a positive community that supports independence, responsibility, respect for self and others and the resolve to solve problems peacefully.
 

My name is Bill Rutherford and this is my third year as an elementary school counselor at Atlas Elementary School.  Atlas is a great school with brilliantly wonderful children and a motivated and dedicated staff. It is my pleasure to be part of the educational team!

I visit each classroom bi-weekly to reinforce character traits and teach the children important lessons on values and morals important to the success of our community. I also counsel students individually and in groups.  When a child or family is in crisis, I help them discover ways to resolve their crisis. I also strongly urge the students to talk with their parents about their family’s values, morals and personal safety.

 At Atlas we have numerous ways for students to become positive role models and active community members.  Fourth and fifth graders are trained as Peer Mediators to aid students at recess to resolve their conflicts in a positive way.  Sixty students have “jobs” working to keep our school clean, aid teachers in their classes, deliver messages to classes, and play with students who need a friend.

 I firmly believe in the potential of a child.  Every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential at Atlas Elementary School and when a child stumbles, I will be there to support them!

Some of the programs that I support or teach include:
Personal Safety
· Character Education
· Classroom lessons to help students learn how to get along with their peers
· Conflict Resolution skills and strategies
· Peer Mediation
· Individual sessions to help student with specific needs
· Groups for students; divorce, grief, values, friendship and many more
· Personal/ Social development
· Educational development
· Career Awareness
· Self Esteem
· Bully Prevention
    Two excellent web sights for KIDS who want a fun way to learn to       deal with bullying:
STOP BULLYING NOW
KID'S HEALTH SITE
    An excellent resource for PARENTS who want help assisting their kids with bullying or bullies:
PARENT SITE
 

A few of the programs that support community at Atlas are:

Student Jobs:
Students apply for certain jobs at the school, are interviewed for the position and are hired. Some jobs might include special need kid’s buddies, playground equipment cleaner and bus runner. The kids are paid for their jobs on payday (the last school day of the month) with a workers party! The party might include pizza, games or a movie.

Character Club:
The Character Club meets twice a month to reinforce the character traits of that month. The students create plays and skits, make posters for the school, design their own character shirts, write songs and cheers and perform these activities at an assembly at the beginning of each month. This helps build Atlas into a strong community and allows the student to become a positive role model.

Peer Mediation:
A peer mediator learns to resolve conflict with their peers by helping children in conflict. They work during recess on the playground and when students are in conflict, they aid in the resolution. They make their school a safer place by reminding students to use their words to resolve conflict, to listen to the other person, to state their issue and to decide on an equally agreeable resolution.

  Counselor’s Corner
Divorce Group Starting
Divorce is difficult for affected children to understand. Children often struggle understanding why their parent’s can’t live together anymore. They often feel they are at fault for the divorce, feel they can fix their parent’s and make them love each other again, or feel they must take the place for the missing parent. This is why I am starting a divorce group for our Atlas students. We will meet for 6 weeks and work to understand how to be emotionally healthy through the divorce and help the child develop healthy coping skills. This group will be a platform for children to understand their emotions connected to the divorce and work through their new role in the lives of their separated parent’s. The group is fun but also educational and emotional. This group will meet Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 starting February 8. Transportation will not be provided at 4:30 so please plan to pick your child up at this time. The last class, on March 15th, parents are encouraged to attend to quiz the children on what they’ve learned. This is usually a very emotional and cleansing experience for the child and the parent. Please call if you would like your child to attend—762-0626.