Elementary Guidance and Counseling

Hello!  My name is Nicole Lippitt and I am the elementary counselor at MCS.  I provide services to students in Pre-K through 6th grade.  I welcome any questions or concerns you may have, so please feel free to call me at 607-286-7721 ext. 8407.  You can also reach me by email.

For many people the word counselor brings to mind someone they saw a few times in high school to help them with their class schedules, testing, college applications, and discipline.  Elementary counselors are responding to today’s needs by providing children with comprehensive and developmental school counseling programs.

Elementary school years are the foundation for developing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for our children to become healthy, productive adults.  Within a comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling program, counselors work as a team with educators, parents, and community members to create a caring atmosphere whereby children’s needs are met through prevention, early identification, and intervention.

More specifically, an elementary counselor:

• Implements effective classroom guidance programs focusing on understanding of self and others; coping strategies; peer relationships and effective social skills; communication, problem solving, decision-making and conflict resolution; goal setting and study skills; career awareness and the world of work and personal safety.

• Provides individual and small group counseling dealing with self image and self esteem; personal adjustment; family issues; interpersonal concerns; academic development; peer facilitation and peer mediation.

• Helps students to identify their skills, abilities, achievements and interests through counseling and guidance activities.

• Develops students’ career awareness as a lifelong process of forming basic values, attitudes, and interests regarding their future world of work.

• Coordinates school, community and outside resources for school wide guidance related activities and extracurricular programs, which promote students’ personal growth and skill development.

• Consults with teachers, staff, administrators, school psychologists, social service agencies and other mental health professionals concerning the welfare of students (often providing referrals for families to other agencies).

• Communicates and exchanges information with families regarding student progress.

I conduct classroom guidance lessons throughout elementary classrooms each year.  The schedule varies by grade level, but most sessions are once per six-day cycle for approximately 8-10 weeks. Lessons cover a variety of topics, such as: decision making, conflict resolution, self-awareness, bullying, social skills, career awareness, personal safety and problem solving.  Stay tuned for more information on what I will be covering in your child's classroom. 

• American School Counselor Association

• Common Sense Media

• Dignity for All Students Act Overview

• McKinney-Vento

• MCS Referral for Student Support Services

• MCS School Counseling and Guidance Plan

• NYS Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Standards

• NYS SEL Benchmarks

• Guidance Counselor vs. School Counselor

• The Role of the School Counselor

• Building Better Futures

• Understood

Programs: 

• Primary Project

Family Resources: 

• Foundation for a Better Life -  This organization’s only goal is to encourage others to do good.   

• Dignity Act - NYS Education Department overview of the Dignity For All Students Act     

• Family Education

• Kids Health

• Scholastic - Family Life Section

• Mesothelioma Hope

Careers:     

• Career Zone

• Occupational Outlook Handbook

• Career One Stop

• Naviance

Just for Girls:     

• American Girl Books

• New Moon Girls

Safety:    

• The Safe Side - Personal safety tips and information.

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

• Monique Burr Foundation for Children  Curriculum used for Erin's Law lessons, K-6

Anxiety:

• Help Your Child Manage Anxiety: Tips for Home & School

• Anxiety: Helping Handout for School and Home

Please Is a Good Word to Say - Reinforces those little magic words, and then some.
by Barbara Joosse

Everett Anderson's Goodbye - This story effectively details the feelings of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
by Clifton, Lucille

Grandad Bill's Song - A boy asks others how they felt when his grandfather died and then shares his own feelings. Illustrates how we all grieve and remember a loved one differently.
by Yolen, Jane

I'll Always Love You - Story of a child's sadness with the death of a beloved dog.
by Wilhelm, Hans

The Dead Bird - A good story to use to explain death and funeral rituals with young children.
by Brown, Margaret Wise

The Saddest Time - Explains death as the inevitable end of life and provides three situations in which children experience powerful emotions when someone close has died.
by Simon, Norma

The Tenth Good Thing About Barney - A young boy's cat dies. Explores the various feelings children experience with death and emphasizes the importance of remembering and honoring loved ones who die.
by Viorst, Judith

Waiting for the Whales - A Grandfather passes on a legacy of love and compassion for all living things. His family finds comfort in the simple pleasures that he passed on.
by McFarlane, Sheryl and Ron Lightburn

When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death - Explains in simple language the feelings people have regarding the death of a loved one. Also explores ways to honor the memory of someone who has died.
by Brown, Laurie Krasny and Marc Brown

When Someone Dies - Explains in concrete terms the impact of death of a loved one. With useful coping tools for parents and children.
by Greenlee, Sharon

You Hold Me & I'll Hold You - A young child experiences the death of a great-aunt.
by Carson, Jo

Because Brian Hugged His Mother - Brian's hug sets in motion a series of unselfish acts that reach more people than he could ever know.
by David L. Rice

Fill a Bucket - A guide to daily happiness for young children.
by Carol McCloud

Growing Up with a Bucket Full of Happiness - New levels of bucket filling and bucket dipping, and how to put a lid on your bucket in order to protect it from being empty.
by Carol McCloud

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? - We all carry an invisible bucket. Our buckets get filled with happy thoughts and feelings when someone does or says something nice. And, when we fill someone else's bucket, we fill our own too.
by Carol McCloud

Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler - Mrs. Ruler asks five of her students to miss recess, but she has a special plan for them. She has a new golden rule: Kindness is Cool!
by Margery Cuyler

One Smile - Even the smallest acts of kindness can powerfully impact the lives of others.
by Cindy McKinley

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed - One good deed changes the world. A feel-good story that inspires and celebrates a world full of ordinary deeds.
by Emily Pearson

The Kindness Quilt - Minna's class is working on a Kindness Project, and her idea spreads throughout the school.
by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Will You Fill My Bucket? - Minna's class is working on a Kindness Project, and her idea spreads throughout the school.
by Carol McCloud and Karen Wells

Being Bella: Discovering How to be Proud of Your Best - About a girl who learns she doesn't have to be perfect to be accepted.
by Cheryl Zuzo and Megan Wellman

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage to be Who You Are - Empowers children to always do the right thing and be proud of themselves.
by Maria Dismondy

When My Worries Get Too Big!  - A relaxation book for children who live with anxiety.
by Kari Dunn Buron