Counselor's Corner 3.8.2022

3/7/2022 12:25 pm

Food for Thought:

March is Women's History Month –  a time to commemorate and encourage the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. 

Here are twelve picture books that can spark meaningful conversation with your children about these important contributions.

And here is a quote from Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem that is an important reminder to all of us.

Wishing you a safe and restful spring break.

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner 3.1.2022

3/1/2022 7:26 am

Food for Thought:

As February comes to a close, so does Black History Month. So, I would like to share an article written by Michelle Silverton, a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Michigan Law School, who is a diversity consultant. Her article challenged me to think about my personal choices and the public policies that have kept us in our *silos* and reminded me to continue to reflect, learn, and grow in my understanding of race. 

I hope this article encourages you to do the same.

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner 2.22.2022

2/21/2022 8:05 pm

Food for Thought:

Staying on top of the current research regarding screen time can be challenging at best. There is a plethora of information to be read and some can even seem contradicting. Common Sense Media is a source that I use to guide my understanding.

Here are two resources from them (an article and a fact sheet) that present two sides of the same coin – social media harms for our youth and how not to demonize the use of screens during the pandemic.

I think it is important to recognize that screens are here to stay and in some ways have been a lifeline, especially during this pandemic, to learning and staying connected. AND there are inherent risks in social media which we must acknowledge and use to provide guidance for our children.

As always, I hope this information is helpful for you. Together, as a family and school, we can support these children as they learn to safely navigate the use of screens and the content they will encounter.

If there is any topic that you would like me to explore, please reach out to me at fkassoy@uaschools.org. 

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner February 15

2/15/2022 2:19 pm

Food for thought:

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a read aloud and conversation entitled “Changing the World One Word at a Time” featuring Jacqueline Woodson, an African American writer of books for children and adolescents and a MacArthur Fellow recipient.

In 2015 a group of Wickliffe teachers along with our beloved Mr. Collaros had the opportunity to hear her speak at a progressive educators’ conference in Brooklyn. At the time, I found her to be very inspirational, giving me new insights into how to have conversations with children on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, I would like to share the recording of Jacqueline Woodson. Please note, this link is password protected (password: Woodson2022! - don't forget the !) and will be available for 14 days - only until February 24, 2022.  

I hope this will affirm the conversations you are already having with your families or perhaps give you some “food for thought” as you continue.

If there is any topic that you would like me to explore, please reach out to me at fkassoy@uaschools.org. 

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner February 8

2/7/2022 10:30 pm

Food for Thought:

As we engage in Black History Month, I wanted to start by sharing an NPR article that provides the historical context for how this important celebration that “honors the sacrifices and contributions of African Americans who have helped shape this nation” began. 

And, here is a video created by PBS Kids, the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service. It features Amanda Gorman, before she was the inaugural poet, facilitating critical conversations with children and a trusted adult about the importance of talking about race and racism.

Our second foundational principle reminds us that “we raise social consciousness by encouraging the school community to examine and act upon complex issues within a democratic society.” I hope that both the article and video provide you with valuable information for having honest conversations in your homes like we are having at school, not just this month but throughout the year about “the rich cultural heritage, triumphs and adversities [of Black Americans] that are an indelible part of our history.”

Until next week,

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner February 1

2/1/2022 8:24 am

Through the generous donation of a Wickliffe family, we have hats, coats, and gloves available. Please reach out to Angela or Felice if your family needs any of these items. It takes a village and I am proud to be part of a community that takes care of each other.

Food for Thought

When I was in my doctoral program at The Ohio State University, my favorite class was the one on interprofessional collaboration. Through the readings, discussions, and case studies, I learned to value the perspective of others and in particular those who are as committed as I am to the wellbeing of children.

I recently read this article “Reasons for HOPE” by Dr. Robert D. Sege, a pediatrician from Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and it reminded me of why I enjoyed that class so much. Seeing this pandemic through the eyes of a pediatrician was enlightening. As the title implies, Dr. Sege is looking at our children and families through a strengths-based lens as we are living with this virus. He reminds us of resilience and the family-level protective factors which promote opportunities for our children to flourish.

It is always my hope that sharing these articles with you will provide you *food for thought* and that the insights of a professional from a different discipline will broaden all of our perspectives.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and insights. If there is any topic that you would like me to explore, please reach out to me at fkassoy@uaschools.org. 

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

Counselors' Corner January 25

1/24/2022 5:19 pm

Onward,

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

COUNSELORS' CORNER JANUARY 18

1/11/2022 10:44 am

Upcoming Family Coffee Conversation:

What exactly is Social Emotional Learning, or SEL? 

You may be hearing this phrase more frequently and know that it is an important part of a child’s development, but it can be challenging to fully embrace something that you might not know a lot about.

Please join Angela Evans and Felice Kassoy for a one-hour Zoom during the lunch hour (noon-1 p.m.) this Thursday, January 20. We will focus on what SEL looks like at school and at home. Information will be provided to better understand this framework, as well as the opportunity for reflections, questions, and an open discussion about how to implement SEL in your child’s life. Use this link: https://zoom.us/my/wickliffeprincipal

Food for Thought:

This weekend’s tragic news of a hostage situation at a Texas synagogue on the Sabbath and the death of an Asian woman at the Times Square subway station are stark reminders of the need to have ongoing conversations with our children about the life of Martin Luther King Jr and his teachings.

Denene Millner’s article reminds us “how the passion, righteousness, ideals, and actions of even one person can change our entire world for the better.”

Dr. King's message “[to] treat our fellow man equally, judge people ‘by the content of their character, not the color of their skin,’ and have enough decency and respect for ourselves to lift our voices and seek what we think is rightfully ours without resorting to violence to get it” is worth repeating to ourselves and our children. Without ongoing conversations, advocacy, and action in our homes, at school, and throughout the community, Dr. King’s words will never be fully actualized.

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

COUNSELORS' CORNER JANUARY 9

1/11/2022 10:44 am

I am delighted to share that we have new two members of our counseling team for this second half of the year. Sarah Lemery and Nicole Hebert-Ford are practicum students earning their masters degree in School Counseling. Please welcome them to our Wickliffe community!

Ms. Ford joins us from the Counselor Education graduate program at The Ohio State University. Ms. Ford serves as Cofounder and Board Operations Chair for a nonprofit organization called Student Success Stores, which serves students in Columbus City Schools. She also has volunteered as a mentor with Franklin County Children Services for the past nine years. Prior to training to become a Professional School Counselor, Ms. Ford earned her Master’s degree in Secondary Science Education from Arizona State University and taught seventh grade science for seven years. She also worked for two years in youth services at the Columbus Metropolitan Library. She and her husband just welcomed their first child, Baby Archer, during the first week of January of 2022. Her family of three plus their dog Doby live in Clintonville. Ms. Ford is super excited to join the team at Wickliffe this semester!

Ms. Lemery is a practicum student from Capital University. She is originally from Northern Virginia and graduated from Ohio University in 2019 with a degree in Child & Family Studies. She currently works for Lutheran Social Services as the Youth Advocate. When she isn’t studying or working she loves watching movies, listening to podcasts, and spending time with family and friends! Ms. Lemery loves working with kids and is so excited to join the Wickliffe Counseling Team.

Food for Thought:

Continuing to navigate this pandemic is exhausting to say the least. This article from the Child Mind Institute, an independent nonprofit in children’s mental health, reminds us how to stay positive and manage stress and help our children do the same as we deal with the uncertainty of the Omicron variant. As always, I hope this validates what you are already doing or provides you with some tips that might make life feel more manageable.

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)

COUNSELORS' CORNER JANUARY 2nd

1/2/2022 4:21 pm

Food For Thought

Catching up on my reading was something that I was looking forward to doing over winter break. I am currently reading the book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson (which I highly recommend!) as I continue to grow in my understanding of racism. 

I also went back to the many open tabs on my computer of the articles that I skimmed, but never really read. So for today’s “Food for Thought,” I wanted to introduce the concept of familect, described in this National Geographic article as “the secret words and phrases shared exclusively among the members of a household.” 

For instance, in the Kassoy house when we thank one another we always say, “Yanks!” This word emerged in our familect because my middle granddaughter always substituted a “y” for “th” and with that “yanks” was born.  As Connie Chang describes in her article, “though it might just sound like a family being silly, building a familect can have emotional benefits for kids and adults.”

As I spent time with my nuclear family over the holidays, I was mindful of words and phrases that were passed down from my grandparents (some may actually have been a form of Yiddish?) and from my parents (many of which I can’t even figure out how to spell…like the one my mom used to describe what she was doing when she stirred a raw egg with a fork before using it for baking). And the list keeps growing as my children and grandchildren have added new words, as well. The researchers remind us that familect  “helps us forge connections to family members, creating a cohesive unit bound by a shared, secret language.” I hope you have fun thinking about all the words in your familect.

Be well and yanks for reading this week's post!

Felice (and the rest of the counseling team)