Counselor's Office

As a School Counselor, I provide classroom guidance lessons, short-term individual student counseling, and small group support. I also help families to access services in the community and support the educational staff. I am a firm believer in experiential learning, so I use games and activities as much as possible when teaching skills.

If you click on my classroom (to the right), you can see some of the calming tools I use daily and will find some fun books.

School Based Counseling Services can be provided by JCC ( Jewish Community Counseling Services) during the school day! Call me for more information. (717) 657-5122 X10211

Shy Lawing

Sara Lindemuth/Anna Carter

Student Referral Form

classroom lesson request

Counselor Services

Classroom Lessons

My favorite thing to do is to go to classrooms to provide structured guidance activities to ALL children.

I believe that all children benefit from learning ways to deal with ups and downs.
I believe that children learn by doing- I use an active teaching model.
I believe that children learn from each other.
I believe that children learn best when they are feeling good.

Topics for class lessons are created to meet the needs of all students to learn to get along with themselves and other people.

Small Group

Throughout the school year, small groups are formed to help specific students meet their needs. These needs vary from developing coping skills to enhancing leadership skills. Students are assigned to groups based on needs, teacher referral and parent referral.

I am a believer in experiential education so all the groups that I conduct follow a similar format- students learn about a specific skill then practice that skill through play. Students then apply that skill to their natural setting and finally we reflect on how it worked.

All groups will consist of no more than 8 children and will be held during the school day.

Groups are short term and will meet 6- 10 times (with a few exceptions).

Groups to develop coping skills:

Self- Regulation Group- This group is designed to help students develop skills to regulate their response to things that happen. We will focus on “stop and think” and calming techniques. Depending on the group dynamic we may also spend time to develop the skills to deal with strong emotions so that they can effectively handle life's ups and downs.

Groups to develop social skills:

General Social Skills- This group is designed to help student to develop their social skills and learn how to get along with other students and navigate social situations. Students will be grouped according to age and need.

Friendship Group- We will target children who would benefit from developing skills to make and keep friends. This group depends a great deal on role-playing and practice outside of group

Groups to address specific needs:

Worry/ Anxiety Group- The participants will learn different coping strategies to handle anxiety and worry. This is an on-going open group that meets all year- participants may join and 'graduate' based on their own need.

Individual Counseling

What do I want to be when I grow up?

Career exploration begins earlier than most people think. In Elementary school, children begin to find their likes and dislikes, they begin to understand their strengths and form ideas that will guide them through their education and toward a career. They are also exposed to more and more people doing their job.

There are a ton of options for post-secondary education- not just four year colleges, but technical schools, community colleges and military options. Apprenticeships are also becoming an amazing option for people who are going into the trades. I am also featuring information about 529 savings plans. If you are interested in this you can find information here PA 529

What can parents do to support this exploration? Simple, expose your child to as many things, people and situations as possible. Below are some links to resources that may help:

Click the image below to share videos about tons of careers with your child.

Virginia Career View is a great place to start- there are games and links and even videos of some cool occupations.

I really love this page which is a list of fun career activities to do as a family.

Grief and Loss

For parents: When children try to understand the death of a loved one, they may process feelings in a very different way from adults. Their thoughts and feelings may be very jumbled or confusing. These resources may help. If they don't, please call me so that I can help you. My email

I always recommend the caring place first to anyone who asks for a referral for their child. The program offered at the caring place is designed to meet the needs of children at all developmental levels, and it helps you, the parent to cope with your loss as well. Caring Place

Sesame street has a lot of resources and activities that help to open conversation https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/grief/

This article helps when you have to talk to your child about the death of a friend. Death of a friend

The Dougy Center has a lot of resources to help you Dougy Center

From Kids Health this document discusses what reactions may look like at different ages Kid Health what to expect by age

Grief Speaks has a lot of resources as well Tips for talking about death

For more complicated grief or for longer term counseling, this is a list of area counselors Area grief counselors

For students- Parents, please pre-view these books!

This is a beautiful book by Todd Parr- it is simple but opens the conversation, and is helpful for all types of loss The Goodbye Book
The Invisible String- A lovely book about connections
The Memory Box - Keeping memories alive
I Miss You: A First Look at Death- PLEASE pre-view! This one is a bit more intense and talks about what death is, and what to expect at a funeral.

If your child needs to talk, contact your child's school counselor.

The Caring place is located in Camp Hill. Mostly staffed by volunteers, it is devoted to helping children to cope with loss. http://www.highmarkcaringplace.com

Looking for a Counselor

Community Services Group (CSG) is approved to provide School Based Outpatient treatment in our district. Call me for information- Shy Lawing 717 657-5122 or slawing@hannasd.org
Here is a list of LOCAL COUNSELORS and agencies who may be helpful to you.
ESAP- is a way to screen and support students who may benefit from additional mental health services. Elementary Student Assistance team is a small group of specially trained staff and consultants from local agencies. SLAC currently uses Keystone Children's Services to support our team. A permission form must be signed in order to access this service- please contact me for more information.
Are you looking for help to access Intensive Behavioral Support Services (IBHS)? This can provide supports in your home, school and community. Check out this document

You can always contact me for more information or help to find the right match for you and your family. Shy Lawing 717 657-5122 slawing@hannasd.org

YWCA

The YWCA provides free and confidential counseling and advocacy for victims of dating/domestic
violence, sexual assault or harassment. Services are provided to children and their families.

The YWCA provides a number of other services. refer to their website for more information.

http://ywcahbg.org/programs.htm

ESAP / Elementary Student Assistance Team

ESAP or Elementary Student Assistance Team is a small group of specially trained and dedicated staff and consultants from local agencies. SLAC currently uses Keystone Children’s Services to support our team. EASP is way to screen and support students who may benefit from additional services.

How do I get this service?

A permission form must be completed in order for the ESAP representative to meet with your child

Why would you use this service?

· You wonder if your child needs additional services

· You need help to access services that meet your needs

· Your child has exhibited changes in behavior and/or academic skills

Parenting Help

Child Behavior help: A variety of articles on a variety of topics- giving consequences that make sense, effective parenting strategies and much more! Check it out! http://www.empoweringparents.com/

Positive Parenting: This web site was recommended by the Governor’s commissionon children- it offers some practical ideas about parenting as well as information about development. https://keepconnected.searchinstitute.org/understanding-ages-and-stages/ages-6-9/

Some amazing parenting ideas are available on the CDC webpage: https://www.cdc.gov/parents/essentials/index.html

Your Healthy Hive

Developmental Milestones

PBIS at home Power Point Presentation- English, translation in Nepali

Organization- Power point presentation- English

Behavior- Power point presentation- English Click here

Learning help:

Community Classrooms located on 6th street Click here for more information

Financial Help:

Financial assistance. Resources for your family

Red Cross Virtual family assistance RC resources

Resources from Keystone- this covers a lot of different need areas including financial, food, and mental health

Just for Fun

Looking for fun and easy crafts to do with your children? check out these sites

http://funfamilycrafts.com/
http://www.allcrafts.net/kids.htm

Recipes that you and your children can make together- what's more fun than cooking with your child? (cleaning up the mess together afterwards) http://www.momswhothink.com/kids-recipe/kids-recipes-a-to-z.html

PBIS at Home

PBIS at home:

Forms for PBIS Advanced Tier Interventions

Student Referral Request Form

Parent Input Form

Teacher Input Form

This is an amazing resource from PBIS.org Make a family Plan

We practice PBIS at school, why not use it at home? You can work as a family to develop your own matrix for behavior expectations. What does safe, respectful and responsible look like, sound like and feel like at different times of the day (or just choose one time that is especially difficult)? I put this matrix together for you to use if you want. It should be fully customizable if you download it home matrix.

So here is what you could do:

Decide on 3-5 expectations at each time of the day- phrase them positively- what you expect to see- for example. Responsible while adults are working- play quietly in you room (rather than Don't interrupt).

Show your child what it will look like if they are being safe, respectful and responsible.

Devise a way to reward following the expectations. Catch them doing it right and reinforce right away so that you can decrease "bad" behavior. Reinforcer do NOT need to be a thing; they can be time together or an activity or just saying "thank you".

Develop a plan together for what the consequences will be for not following expectations- this should include a practice time- practice what it should look like.

If you want even more information, these are two wonderful resources provided by others: PBIS at home or PBIS for parents

Books that Teach

If you are looking for a book to read to your child about a specific topic, these are some of my favorite sites.

At this blog, books are reviewed and sorted by topic. Simply click on the topic on
the right side of the page and many titles will be listed for you. Most of
these titles will be available at your local library.http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com/

Multi-culural book lists can be found here multi-cultural books

This site lists picture books to "help deal with life's challenges". http://www.littleparachutes.com/category.php the list includes topics such as illness, behavior, and a variety of other challenges.

This is a blog designed specifically for girls! Enjoy http://www.amightygirl.com/

This list covers a variety of topics from academics to pro-social behaviors. http://susannahill.blogspot.com/ when you get to the page, click the link at the top that says "perfect picture books"

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