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    WHITE OAK MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELING DEPARTMENT

     
    Telephone: 301-288-8250 
     
    Mission 

    It is the mission of the White Oak Middle School Counseling Department to provide a systems-focused, developmentally appropriate, data-driven program that actively works to ensure that all our students feel supported and challenged to meet high standards in their academics, their social/emotional growth, and their college and career trajectories.  

    Who We Are 

    What We Do  

    We provide responsive and preventative services to help support our students’ academic, social emotional, and career development. By collaborating with parents, school staff, and community partners, we help ascertain that our students’ needs are met in a comprehensive way, and that they receive the supports that will help them continue to grow and become respectful, responsible, and ready life-long learners.

     Individual Counseling & Group Counseling

    Individual counseling and group counseling are both services that the WOMS Counseling Department provides in order to directly support students. Although our role is not to offer long-term counseling services, we do work with students who may benefit from receiving short term counseling services as a result of how their particular issue is impacting their academic and social emotional growth.  Below is a short list of some of the issues that we work with students on:

    • Peer Relationships  
    • Anger Management  
    • Organization & Study Skills  
    • Body Image  
    • Family Concerns  
    • Loss of a Family Member  
    • Becoming a Teenager  
    • Planning for High School and College     

    We may refer students and their families to seek additional therapeutic services through our community partners.

    Positive School Culture  

    As a way of creating a positive school culture where students embrace diversity, learn to be kind and gracious to their peers, and where bullying behavior is not tolerated, the WOMS Counseling Department has implemented several interventions to foster these skills in experiential and theoretical ways.

    • AllyCats – Students learn how to be allies by first attending workshops, and then educating their peers through skits/lessons on a particular character education theme during morning announcements. 
    • Classroom Lessons – Counselors collaborate with classroom teachers to present developmentally appropriate lessons that provide students with examples of positive behavior and strategies for resolving conflicts and coping with stress in a healthy, productive way.
    • Student Ambassadors – Nominated by their teachers, these students help welcome new students to the school and provide assistance to families coming to events at White Oak.

    Naviance

    Naviance is college and career exploration program that has been widely used in High Schools across the nation. Starting this year (2016-2017), we are rolling out Naviance for middle school students, to help them familiarize themselves with the program and start so self-exploration. The counseling team will be completing several Naviance modules through counseling lessons starting in Nov-Dec. Access Naviance Here.

    Family Partnerships

    White Oak Family Nights are a fun night for both students and their families.  Occurring quarterly, these nights offer a series of helpful workshops for parents/guardians, as well as activities and treats for students. The intent of these workshops is to help our students become more successful by providing parents/guardians with tools and resources that they can use to support their student. Translators are provided.

    Contacting the Counseling Department 

    If you need to speak to your student’s counselor, please call the counseling secretary, Ms. Alicia Valdes at: 301.288.8250. Additionally, your student can come see us by getting a pass from their teacher or by making an appointment with Ms. Valdes. You are also welcome to contact by email (addresses given above).