Welcome to the Plainfield School Guidance and Counseling Pages

From the School Counselor 5/11/12

I know that many families are making arrangements for their children’s summer enrichment. I’d like
to recommend a special opportunity. The Hartford Area Career and Technology Center (HACTC) is
again offering its Summer Technology Camp for students entering grades 7 through 9. (In other
words, this is for current 6th, 7th and 8th graders.) The dates are June 25th-29th from 9:00 AM to
12:30 PM.

Lebanon High School students are able to attend HACTC during their junior and senior years and
receive training for a skilled career. Some of the classes offered at HACTC may be taken for college
credit.

Attending the HACTC camp is great way to have fun doing hands on projects in:
• Auto Technology,
• Building Trades
• Culinary Arts
• Design Illustration
• Media Arts
• Engineering
• Architectural Design
• Industrial Mechanics
• Welding
• Natural Resources
• Business Administration

Exploring these fields is not only enjoyable but can be an excellent way to think about potential
career choices.

Plainfield students who’ve attended in the past have given the camp very enthusiastic reviews.
Parents are responsible for transportation but in the past have been able to arrange car pools. The
cost of $25.00 includes a t-shirt. Application forms are available in my office.

From the School Counselor 5/4/12

Science NECAP Grades 4 and 8
The spring NECAP Science Assessment was designed to measure your child’s progress in meeting the
basic Science Curriculum Targets that are highlighted within New Hampshire’s Grade Span
Expectations, or GSEs. The GSEs define the knowledge and skills a student should have mastered in
science by the end of grade spans K-4, 5-8 and 9-11. This year the tests will be administered on the
following dates:

4th grade
Monday May 7 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Monday May 14 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Monday, May 21 at 8:10 (120 minutes)

8th grade
Thursday May 17 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Thursday May 17 at 1:15 (90 minutes)
Friday May 18 at 8:20 (60 minutes)

The NECAP is one of the important tools available to parents and educators to determine how well
our schools are helping students meet standards and grade span expectations. In every assessment,
scores are only as meaningful as the effort students put into the test. Encourage your child to take
the test seriously and to give his or her best effort. You can best help your child prepare for the
assessment by making sure that she or he is rested on the days the tests will be given. And, as with
every day, it is critical that students have a good breakfast before heading off to school. Thank you
for supporting your child and our school during the testing period. Thank you. Please call me if you
have any questions.

Coping with Tragedy

A few students have voiced fears and sadness relating to the recent gun violence all over NH and
particularly the tragic death of Natalie Perriello. We’ve reassured the affected students that everyone
is safe, and encouraged them to talk about any feelings of anxiety or sadness. Sometimes hearing of
a heartbreak like Natalie’s death can trigger feelings from other losses. Sometimes the feelings will
surface as physical symptoms such as stomach aches, headaches, or insomnia. Encouraging children
to talk about the feelings can be helpful. Please let me know if you would like me to sit down with
your child.

Safety Curriculum

As it happens, May is a time when I address a number of safety issues during guidance classes. This
week in the 8th grade the topic was healthy relationships and the prevention of abusive dating
interactions. The 7th grade is currently reviewing healthy communication and conflict resolution.
Topics ahead in the next few weeks include domestic violence, anger management, and coping with
depression. In the sixth grade this week we talked about Internet, stranger and phone safety.

As always I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 4/11/12

Grades 2, 3, 4
A guest speaker from the nonprofit organization Turning Points Network,
(formerly Women's
Supportive Services), has been part of our yearly guidance programming for a
number of years. This
year these visits have taken place in grades 2, and 3/4 on consecutive
Tuesdays, April 3 and 10. The
guest teacher, Anne Rawson, is reinforcing the messages of respect and
appropriately assertive
communication that we work on all year long. Information about the services
offered by Turning
Points is available at http://www.free-to-soar.org/. We are grateful to the
PTO for funding this visit.

Grade 8
Eighth graders have completed their Lebanon high school registrations and
spent some time in a
guidance class developing a four-year plan so that they could have an overview
of where their
coursework would fit over time. We went over the recommended coursework to
suit a variety of future
plans ranging from work right after high school to admission to a competitive
college. Following up
on our recent work regarding future job applications, we also looked at some
ethical dilemmas that
could arise in the workplace.

Grades 7, 6, 5
Seventh grade classes have completed a unit on preventing, recognizing and
coping with stress. Fifth
and sixth graders have completed three sessions on career exploration and
spent a class reviewing
stress management techniques. Most recently we have been focusing on
communication including
listening skills and delivery of appropriately assertive statements.

Grade 1
First graders have spent several sessions on empathy training, recognizing
their own and othersï¿½
feelings. This week each student put together a feelings wheel illustrating
that feelings change and
that there are potential coping strategies for each feeling.

Summer/future scholarship for 7th graders
As you work on your plans for summer, parents of 7th graders may be interested
in looking into a
scholarship specifically for this age group. Information is available at
http://www.jkcf.org/about-jkcf.
The scholarship can be used for summer enrichment experiences and (as I
understand it) may lead to
funding for a private high school education. The deadline to apply is next
week, so time is of the
essence.

Game Research Study

On Wed. May 2 during the advisory period, students in 7th and 8th grade will
have the opportunity to participate in a fun research study being done at
Dartmouth. The study involves playing an educational game relating to everyday
social and academic situations. Permission slips will be going home on Monday
April 23 and will need to be returned by Friday April 27 if the student is to
be allowed to play. Participation will provide a glimpse into the work of
research scientists and game designers, of possible career interest to some.

IMPORTANT: Science NECAP Testing Dates

The 4th and 8th graders will again be taking the federally mandated
standardized science testing in
May.

The 4th grade is scheduled to test on these dates:

Monday May 7 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Monday May 14 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Monday, May 21 at 8:10 (120 minutes)

The 8th grade is scheduled to test on these dates:

Thursday May 17 at 8:10 (90 minutes)
Thursday May 17 at 1:15 (90 minutes)
Friday May 18 at 8:20 (90 minutes)

It is very helpful when students arrive on those days well rested and
nourished. We ask that parents
avoid appointments and trips that conflict with these dates as make-ups are
hard to schedule and
stressful for students.

Wishing you a delightful school break,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor
469-3250 x225
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org
From the School Counselor 3/16/12

Iï¿½d like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of our Internet
Safety and bullying
awareness evening. Iï¿½m grateful to Ellen Langsner for organizing the evening,
to peer mediators Emily
Ball, Abby Chellis, CJ Courtemanche, Gabrielle Guarino, J.D. Pixley, Coulston
Rogerson, and Joslin
Wainwright for their spirited portrayal of how to deal with conflicts and
harassment, to all of you who
attended, to Stephanie Schell and the PTO for sponsoring the event, and to our
outstanding visitor
Officer Jennifer Frank for providing such vital information with much humor
and understanding. I
have a number of booklets called NET CETERA- Chatting with Kids About Being
Online and would be
happy to send one home with your child if you missed the chance to pick one up
the other evening.

Stress Management Curriculum
In several grade levels the topic has recently been stress management. The 7th
grade classes have
spent 3 classes looking at different types of stress and how to manage it.
Weï¿½ve discussed and
explored the following strategies:
o Positive thinking or ï¿½talking backï¿½ to the worry thoughts.
o Deal directly with the problem that is stressing you. For example: study for
the test instead of
worrying about it.
o Try effective communication to relieve a stressful relationship. Use ï¿½Iï¿½
messages instead of angry
accusations.
o Use calming music, recordings of nature sounds, or guided visualizations.
o Get plenty of exercise and sleep and practice good nutrition.

In the 3rd/4rth classes we approached the topic through a story: ï¿½David and
the Worry Beastï¿½ which
covered much of the same material only geared for younger students. We did a
guided visualization
and made paper bag monster puppets on which students wrote thoughts to conquer
their worries.

Career Development and Getting Along
The 5/6th classes have been doing some career exploration, learning about
their Holland codes (a
theory of vocational types) and some careers that match. Weï¿½ve also continued
to touch on
relationship issues as theyï¿½ve arisen. I am extremely proud of the
interpersonal progress that has
been made in these grades. Students have been standing up for themselves and
others, have taken
responsibility for relationship mistakes theyï¿½ve made, and have practiced
being more accepting of
each other. One student pointed out that while we continue to work on getting
along, we are never
going to be perfect, since itï¿½s part of being human to be fallible. However,
we can keep trying.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 2/15/12

Suicide Prevention

Following the news of the shooting incident in Walpole last week, I would like
to offer information
about the suicide/self-harm prevention efforts here at Plainfield.

Starting in the early grades the students repeatedly review the need to tell
an adult if a friend is in
any kind of physical or emotional trouble, and students name the adults they
would tell. Beginning in
5th/6th grade we specifically talk about what to do if a friend expresses the
wish to hurt him or
herself and students know that they should tell an adult right away. In 7th
and 8th grade we look at
symptoms of depression and what can be done about it.

From time to time I do hear from students about friends who talk about death
and though we can
never guarantee that we will prevent every tragedy, this gives me some degree
of comfort that
students are aware of what to do.

You might like to know our procedure when we learn of a student expressing
thoughts of self-harm. I
interview the child to assess the situation and I involve the principal and
the nurse. If there appears to
be any depression or suicidal thinking we require the parents to take the
child for an emergency risk
assessment with a mental health professional. When in doubt as to the
seriousness of a threat we
always play it safe. It's better to be accused of overreacting than to miss a
dangerous situation.

Sometimes adolescents will confide in a teacher or a friendï¿½s parent. At a
workshop in Lebanon last
week the recommended response was ï¿½Iï¿½m so glad you told me.ï¿½ Iï¿½ve
occasionally found out about
at-risk students through a parent, and am always grateful for the information.

If your child should hear about what happened in Walpole and feel worried
please let me know.
Reassure your child that most students at Plainfield know to tell an adult
right away if a friend is in
trouble.

Curriculum
Seventh graders have turned in their career research projects and will be
participating in a mini career
fair during advisory the week after vacation. The vast majority of the
students have done a very nice
job and I am proud of their efforts, as are they.

Eighth graders seemed to enjoy filling out practice applications for a fast
food job last week. In March
we will role-play job interviews.

In the first and second grade weï¿½ve completed a lesson on the touching safety
rule ï¿½No one should
touch the parts of your body covered by a bathing suit except to keep you
clean and healthy.ï¿½ The
students know to say ï¿½NO,ï¿½ get away, and tell an adult if they ever are
touched inappropriately.

March 14
We are busy planning for our evening Internet Safety/Bullying evening for
families with students in
grades 4-8. Students now in grades 5-8 very much enjoyed Jennifer Frankï¿½s
presentation last year
and Iï¿½m delighted that she is able to return and work with you.

Wishing you an enjoyable presidentï¿½s day week with your children,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 2/3/12

Peace, Justice and Kindness Video
What a great time we had on January 25 during our ï¿½partner upï¿½ time! Students
in grades 5 through 8
had selected and prepared books relating to peace, justice or kindness (PJK
for short.) At the
designated hour, the upper grade students first read to their partner (in
grades K-4) then led a
discussion. Together each pair identified the theme of their book and came up
with a P, J or K
thought for the school wide PJK video. They rehearsed before videotaping their
statement.

The older students led the sessions with impressive intelligence and poise,
generating smiles all
around. A great team of staff members planned this meaningfully fun
collaboration involving every
student. Our technology integrator, Mary Cantlin, is hard at work putting the
clips into one movie
that we are eager to see. We are also making every effort to make sure that
students who were absent
have the chance to be included. Weï¿½ll let you know when the first screening
will be!

Bullying Prevention

The 5th and 6th grade classes have continued to focus on harassment/bullying.
This week we had
fun practicing light, humorous comebacks to insults, coming up with simple
responses that donï¿½t
escalate a provoking situation but rather deflect it.

In the 3rd and 4th grade we read a book, Bully Beans, about having the courage
to stand up to
ï¿½bullies,ï¿½ and the importance of bystanders who can help by siding with the
victim. Student
volunteers demonstrated the power shifts that occur when the bystanders align
with a ï¿½target.ï¿½ We
also practiced responding to would-be ï¿½bulliesï¿½ with a strong ï¿½Back off!ï¿½ We
then went on to practice
ï¿½pull-upsï¿½ since it can take ten pull-ups for a person to recover from one
put-down. This lesson was
fun and seemed to reach the students. My hope is that students can use
assertiveness strategies
along with knowing to tell an adult if they find themselves the target of mean
behavior.

Career Development
Seventh graders are working on researching a career of their choice. Their
research project is due on
February 15. We are spending considerable time in class but some of the
students may need to
supplement with a bit of work at home. The point isnï¿½t for students to lock
into a career but rather to
develop self-knowledge and to begin to understand what is out there in the
world of work. I let them
know that seventh graders are not finished with their personal development and
will need to keep an
open mind as they continue along their paths. I hope they are coming to
understand that education/
training is part of every career path and that often a higher level of
education/training leads to higher
pay. Another important insight should be that other values (such as time for
family or job
satisfaction) are often as important as monetary compensation.

Next week the 8th graders will be looking ahead to potential part time
employment, exploring job
applications and job interviews, which we will role-play.

In other counseling news, small groups and the Big Brother/Sister program are
going well. I check in
with certain students individually on a regular basis, and see others as the
need arises. Iï¿½ve been
seeing an increased incidence of student ï¿½melt-downs.ï¿½ It seems that the
winter weather ups and
downs, cancelled plans and restricted recesses are taking their toll. Most
often students are able to
quickly regroup using simple strategies such as deep breathing or a guided
relaxation exercise.
Having our FAST program back today should do wonders for everyoneï¿½s feelings, too.

As always I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
From the School Counselor 1/13/12

Next week is Peace, Kindness and Justice week in honor of Reverend Martin
Luther King. While these themes are constantly interwoven into our school
days, this year we plan to focus on the concepts through a school wide
project. We are hoping to produce a video in which students in pairs (younger
with older) will describe what peace looks, sounds and/or feels like. Stay
tuned for further information as this inspirational project develops and if
you get a chance, you might consider having a family conversation about peace.

In the 5/6 guidance classes weï¿½ve begun a several week unit looking at the
phenomenon of harassment. The students completed a detailed survey; saw a
short movie called "Harassment Workshop;" answered some questions as a group;
and had a discussion on examples of harassment they have witnessed. The film
covered different types of harassment and the three basic roles: ï¿½bully,ï¿½
bystander, and victim. Afterwards I expressed my feeling of dislike for the
term ï¿½bullyï¿½ which locks individuals into a negative stereotype. Along with
many others, I prefer to look at harassment from a more multi-faceted
perspective, looking at the many factors involved.

As part of the discussion I talked about how seriously kids can be impacted by
harassment, and the potential legal consequences. In coming weeks we will be
developing the discussion along the following lines:
ï¿½ How bad is it? Figuring out what events are minor, which are more serious
ï¿½ Relational aggression and what to do if you are a target
ï¿½ What if you are a ï¿½bully?ï¿½
ï¿½ How to defuse/respond to insults with light humorous come backs
ï¿½ Gender bias and sexual harassment
ï¿½ Self-esteem
ï¿½ Judging others

My hope is to elevate 5/6th gradersï¿½ consciousness and foster skills that will
support a healthy relational dynamic.

The 7th grade guidance classes are in a several week unit on career
exploration and development. The students explore their interests, values, and
preferences and discover what work is aligned with those. Each student then
selects a career to research and has time to do most of the research in
school. Research projects will be due the Wed. before vacation; the week we
come back the students will present their projects in a mini career-fair for
the entire 7th and 8th grade.

In just a couple of months the 8th graders will be choosing their high school
classes. Hoping to provide motivation to help the students soar on their way
to graduation, we spent a class period looking at inspirational stories of
teens whoï¿½ve overcome great obstacles. One of the stories was of the girl who
went from homeless to Harvard. The students expressed that compared with
challenges of that magnitude, most Plainfield students have a relatively easy
life. We reviewed strategies that can help overcome difficulties: goal
setting, discipline, communication, organization and positive risk-taking.

In the lower grades the lessons have continued on empathy training and
decision-making. In December the third and fourth grade reviewed the touching
safety rule: ï¿½No one should touch the parts of your body covered by a bathing
suit except to keep you clean and healthy.ï¿½ We talked about what adults they
could tell if they ever encounter a violation of this rule. Students in the
primary grades will have this lesson in a couple of weeks.

It is a privilege and a delight to work with your children on all these
meaningful topics, and as always I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org
469-3250 ext. 225

From the School Counselor 12/1/11

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with our students. There are some
challenging issues and
situations, but I like challenges, and there are many rewards. For example,
two second graders so
appreciated their peer mediation that they asked for a check-up from their
mediators this week. In
the session new strategies were chosen for continued improvement in the
relationship.

Then there is the comment overheard on the playground at recess: ï¿½Donï¿½t you
remember Guidance?
Youï¿½re supposed to think of the other personï¿½s feelings!ï¿½ This was a first
grader demonstrating
understanding of Mondayï¿½s lesson. I was very impressed.

Another source of satisfaction happened when Al Flory from the Hartford Area
Career and Technology
Center visited the 8th grade for advisory before Thanksgiving. About three
quarters of the students
indicated that they have some ideas about the work they would like to do some
day, demonstrating
that the career development work we have done is paying off.

Guidance Classes

Classes have been going well. As mentioned above, the first grade is working
on empathy training
through read-aloud books, discussion, and the Second Step program. The second
grade is continuing
to work on problem solving also through books, discussions and Second Step.
The third and fourth
graders have been doing some more sophisticated empathy training. I was very
pleased with some of
the examples they provided (two weeks ago) of understanding how someone else
feels by connecting
the otherï¿½s experience to their own.

The fifth and sixth graders finished a several week unit on resisting peer and
other pressures. The
work involved values clarification, discussion, and skits. We looked at clips
from mainstream movies
for one of our discussions. This week we returned to the topic of school
success skills and played a
game to review.

The seventh grade completed a drug and alcohol prevention unit, which reviewed
the negative
consequences of substance abuse and the ways to resist pressure to do things
we know we shouldnï¿½t
do. Their favorite activity is usually performing skits to illustrate the
concepts. This week we played a
game called ï¿½Acceptance and Rejection.ï¿½ and discussed the hidden rules for
being accepted at
Plainfield School. The students were candid and perceptive.

The eighth grade has guidance once a month. This week we used the Naviance
online career
exploration software to profile each studentï¿½s interests, look at potential
careers and plans of study,
and to begin to build a resume for future part time job applications.

Next week I will begin training a new group of Big Brothers and Sisters. I
have received suggestions
from teachers for students in grades 1-4 who would benefit; and parents may
also suggest their
child. I would need to hear from you right away: ideally no later than Wed.
Dec. 9.

As always I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, School Counselor
469-3250 ext. 225
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org

From the School Counselor 11/8/11

Drug Prevention, School Success
Iï¿½ve just come from a great conversation with one of the 5/6 classes. At this
grade level weï¿½ve been
working on tobacco and drug prevention for a couple of weeks, and practicing
peer refusal skills.
These students shared some great stories of difficult decisions, bad decisions
and pressured
decisions theyï¿½ve made. My hope is that through this discussion and practice
they will become more
conscious about the choices they make. When the time comes to turn down the
first illegal
cigarette/drink they are offered they will know what peer pressure is and some
ways to resist that
pressure. We tie these refusal skills to current every day situations such as
the temptation to go along
with someone who is making fun of another, or to accept an invitation to do
something dangerous.

Seventh grade has also been reviewing peer refusal skills and has learned some
of the more
significant hazards of alcohol abuse. Weï¿½ve recently wrapped up the school
success unit. I will be
working with some of the students in smaller groups to practice organizational
and other school
success strategies.

Suicide Prevention
Last week in 8th grade guidance we discussed teen depression and suicide
prevention. One class had
a longer class period so had time to create some skits of responses to a
friendï¿½s expressions of
depression. The skits were remarkably well done; I was very impressed. Itï¿½s
rewarding to witness the
growth in these students over the last three years. I will be talking with the
seventh grade about
suicide prevention in a few weeks.

Communication, Problem Solving, Feelings, and Friendship
The third and fourth grade classes involved a discussion of conflicting
feelings and how to
communicate these. We expressed our differing preferences and discussed the
importance of
respecting our differing needs and desires.

In second grade we are working with the Second Step program on problem solving
skills. We also
reviewed ways to calm down and I read a story called The Worst Day of My Life
Ever by Julia Cook. The
plot revolves around the importance of listening and following directions.

Friendship and feelings were our theme in first grade last week. I read Enemy
Pie by Derek Munson
and students shared their own experiences of turning ï¿½enemiesï¿½ into friends. I
was amazed to hear
how many have already overcome friend problems in this way.

Small Groups

Several counseling groups will begin or resume this week or next. These
include boys and girls
groups in 5/6, school success groups in 7/8 and a couple of smaller groups in
3/4. The current
session of the Big Brother/Big Sister program will end the first week in
December with the end of the
trimester and in January there will be new pairs.

As always, I hope you will call or email with your questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gail Malsin
469-3250 extension 225
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org

From the School Counselor 10/28/11

NECAP testing has been completed smoothly; we will receive the results at the
end of January. Some
students were interested to learn that the school results are usually
published in the newspaper. They
agreed that theyï¿½d prefer to see Plainfield compare favorably with neighboring
communities, and for
some the idea of comparison provided a little extra incentive to try even
harder to do their best.

The relatively serene testing process was possible because of the remarkable
collaborative
community effort. All those involved cheerfully tolerated the disruption to
our regular program.
Teachers, students and families adjusted their schedules. Volunteers prepared
math manipulatives
and provided some of the extra snacks, as did the PTO and the teachers. Thank
you, everyone!

During the testing we quietly held the annual ï¿½Mix it Up at Lunchï¿½ day.
Teachers organized students
by such categories as birth order or birthday to try sitting in new groups at
lunch. This event is a
nationwide school-based effort to promote social equality and is promoted by
the Southern Poverty
Law Center. Further information is available online at tolerance.org.

Elsewhere in this newsletter, please note information about our annual holiday
food and gift drive.

If you would like to meet with me during conferences, please phone or drop me
a line. I can attend
conferences at your request or meet with you before or after your conference,
barring conflicts.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin,
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 10/21/11

Jasmine Rogersï¿½ suicide has precipitated strong feelings of sorrow and loss.
We are reeling from her
untimely death and wanting to explain what cannot be explained. As was
eloquently noted by co-
pastors Susan and John Gregory-Davis, it is important that as we try to make
sense of this tragedy,
we practice loving forgiveness and drop the need to assign blame. Many of us
feel that there must
have been something we could have done to prevent this death. We need to
acknowledge this natural
sense of regret and use it to move forward with increasing love for every
human who crosses our
path. We need to let go of self-blame and turn it into a simple self-awareness
that will allow us to be
more fully present for everyone whose life touches ours.

During the grieving process a wide range of responses to strong feelings is
normal. Some may
express feelings openly while others will prefer not to. Some will find grief
from previous losses
returning. Sometimes emotional responses can be felt as bodily symptoms such
as a stomachache or
insomnia. It is important to help young people identify and name feelings,
which may be more
complicated than sadness or anger. Asking ï¿½What is your biggest worry?ï¿½ and
ï¿½What would help you
feel safe?ï¿½ can help open a meaningful conversation.

In guidance classes at all levels we often talk about coping strategies. These
can be very helpful for
dealing with waves of worry or sadness. Some of the strategies weï¿½ve talked
about are:
ï¿½ Taking deep breaths and/or counting to 10
ï¿½ Visualizing being in a favorite calm place
ï¿½ Talking to a friend
ï¿½ Reading, music or movies
ï¿½ Exercising

In guidance classes we talk about the children having trusted adults they
would tell something that is
bothering them. I have the children name some of the trusted adults. By 7th
and 8th grade I ask the
students to name at least five adults they would be willing to talk to about a
problem. Occasionally a
student will not be able to name five people; the staff makes extra efforts to
connect with these
students and with their parents. The vast majority of our students name their
parents as ones they
would talk to, but as adolescence proceeds teenagers are trying to be more
independent and may
find it easier to speak with a friendï¿½s parent, a coach, a neighbor, or a
teacher. Students know that
they are always welcome to speak with me or with our nurse Karen Heaton who
will refer students to
me as needed.

I have a number of resources in my office that are available for parents
including simple handouts on
talking about suicide and about grieving. Please be in touch if you are
interested.

With much appreciation for the caring strength in this community,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 10/14/11

This has been a difficult week for our community. We are all struggling with
our thoughts and
feelings as we try to make sense of the tragic death of our beloved former
student.

The 7th and 8th guidance curriculum includes mental health, depression, and
suicide prevention. We
discuss much of what our principal has outlined for you in her newsletter. We
also touch on these
issues in 6th grade. Although I let the students know that this kind of
tragedy could happen
anywhere, students often express a belief, that there is no way that a
teenager would take his or her
own life in our community. Facing the tragic reality that indeed no community
is immune, we begin
the task of recovering from the shock and start to work through our grief. I
will write about trauma
and grief in more detail next week, in the meantime I hope that you will
contact me with any
questions or concerns.

Robert Bryant of Second Growth will be offering a free six-week workshop for
parents at the Meriden
Congregational Church. I will provide you with the details as soon as I learn
these. Robert is known in
the Upper Valley for his work in the area of suicide prevention and other
issues facing teenagers. I
encourage any interested parents to take advantage of this opportunity.

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 9/23/11

8th Grade School Success Group

Iï¿½m postponing the start of the 8th grade after school success group for a
week, to Thursday
September 29, in order to allow a little more time for the sign-ups. If you
missed the information on
this, please give me a call.

Peer Mediation Team
The Peer Mediation program is continuing this year on an ï¿½on callï¿½ basis with
several of the students
who were trained two years ago. Their dedication is commendable!

Lunch Groups for Students in 3 and 4
During the fall trimester I am inviting the students in grades 3 and 4 to meet
with me over lunch,
rotating through the classes so that each student will have the opportunity to
participate four times.
The object of these groups is to build community, air out any difficulties,
and cultivate coping skills
for everyday situations. We also have fun! I will meet with girls on Tuesdays
and boys on Wednesdays.
This week I met with the students in Mr. Wolkinsï¿½ class; next week it will be
Mrs. Taberï¿½s turn and the
following week it will be Ms. Johnsonï¿½s.

Counseling and Guidance Wish List
The counseling office is looking for a ï¿½Connect 4ï¿½ game and a few legos,
especially people and
wheels, to supplement those already in the bins. If you have these items and
are no longer using
them, I would love to have them

Guidance classes are going well; I look forward to filling you in as to
content next time.

Wishing you a glorious fall weekend,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 9/30/11

Iï¿½d like to give you an overview of guidance curriculum from the last couple
of weeks.

The first graders have begun empathy training. I am using the Second Step
curriculum, which
provides large photograph cards to prompt discussion, reflection and
interactive role-plays. I also
use this curriculum with second grade. This week our lesson focused on ways to
calm down and think
before acting impulsively or melting down. We talked about taking deep
breaths, thinking calming
thoughts, counting backwards from 5 or 10, and using positive self-talk.
Positive self-talk would be
for example saying to yourself ï¿½I can figure this outï¿½ instead of ï¿½I canï¿½t do
this.ï¿½ Our lesson
concluded with a relaxing visualization.

In third and fourth grade we discussed the role of the counselor, and the
students completed a self-
esteem inventory. The students and I are enjoying the rotation of lunch groups
mentioned in last
weekï¿½s newsletter. Getting to know each other better and airing out every day
concerns is both fun
and useful.

Fifth and sixth grade followed our work on planner use with a session on
leadership, trust, and doing
your share. We used film clips from The Lord of the Rings, Apollo 13, and Antz
to stimulate the
discussion. This week we connected this work to Maslowï¿½s hierarchy of needs,
and students are
making posters to illustrate these principles. The underlying theme is that in
order to reach for our
highest potential our basic needs must first be met.

Seventh grade is continuing with our study skills curriculum. Next week we
will be working on the
inspirational quote project and towards the end of October we will be wrapping
up the school success
unit.

At the suggestion of the homeroom advisors, eighth graders demonstrated their
understanding of
assertiveness by creating skits during the advisory period. The objective is
for students to fully
understand our CARES rubric. By eighth grade the students have practiced
assertiveness skills often
in guidance classes; I was proud to see how well they were able to demonstrate
their knowledge.

As always I welcome your questions and comments. The counseling office library
contains a number
of parenting resources that I am happy to lend out and if a topic isnï¿½t
included we can look into
acquiring what is needed.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

8th Grade School Success Group

I'm postponing the start of the 8th grade after school success group for a
week, to Thursday
September 29, in order to allow a little more time for the sign-ups. If you
missed the information on
this, please give me a call.

Peer Mediation Team
The Peer Mediation program is continuing this year on an ï¿½on callï¿½ basis
with several of the
students
who were trained two years ago. They are: Emily Ball, Jack Davini, Gabrielle
Guarino, Coulston
Rogerson, Abby Chellis, Chris Courtemanche, Sophia Lurie, Jacob Pixley, and
Joslin Wainwright. Their
dedication is commendable!

Lunch Groups for Students in 3 and 4
During the fall trimester I am inviting the students in grades 3 and 4 to meet
with me over lunch,
rotating through the classes so that each student will have the opportunity to
participate four times.
The object of these groups is to build community, air out any difficulties,
and cultivate coping skills
for everyday situations. We also have fun! I will meet with girls on Tuesdays
and boys on Wednesdays.
This week I met with the students in Mr. Wolkinsï¿½ class; next week it will
be Mrs. Taberï¿½s turn
and the
following week it will be Ms. Johnsonï¿½s.

Guidance classes are going well; I look forward to filling you in as to
content next time.

Wishing you a glorious fall weekend,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 9/16/11

NECAP TEST DATES

Every student in grades 3 through 8 is required by the state to take all
tests. If a student is absent he or she will need to make up the tests during
regular class time, which can be stressful. It is very helpful when parents
are able to avoid appointments during the testing dates.

Grades 5/6 Reading & Math: Mon-Tues-Wed Oct 3-4-5 (2 sessions each day)
Grade 5 Writing: Thurs-Fri Oct 6-7 (1 session a day)
Grades 3/4 Reading and Math: Thurs-Fri-Tues-Wed-Thurs-Fri (1 session a day)
Grade 7 Reading & Math: Tues-Wed-Thurs Oct 11-12-13 (2 sessions a day)
Grade 8 Reading & Math: Fri-Mon-Tues Oct 14-17-18 (2 sessions a day)
Grade 8 Writing: Wed Oct 19

If you have any questions, please call me.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin

From the School Counselor 9/9/11

We all seem to be getting into the swing of the school year. Today Iï¿½m
writing to let you know
about
some of the ways in which the counseling program seeks to provide
opportunities for all students to
attain their full potential as learners.

School Success Groups
The last two years Iï¿½ve offered ï¿½7th Upï¿½ school success groups for
seventh graders identified
by
teachers as needing some support. These were solution-focused groups aimed to
provide guided
peer support as well as a place to celebrate successes and to trouble-shoot
difficulties. Each student
had unique strengths and weaknesses thus each student was able to offer
secrets of achievement in
some area. I was very impressed with the way that the students quickly adopted
new strategies and
were able to report increasing success in the subjects targeted. Some of the
students confessed that
knowing they would have to report to the group motivated them to work harder.
We closed most
sessions celebrating successes with some sort of simple interactive game. This
year I will again hold
these weekly group sessions for 7th graders during one of their study halls,
beginnning in a few
weeks.

A number of the ï¿½7th Upï¿½ students from two years ago wanted to continue
meeting last year
during
their 8th grade but scheduling during the day wasnï¿½t possible. The students
and I agreed to meet
for
ï¿½8th Upï¿½ after school twice a month or so. Parents generously provided
transportation and
sometimes
the snacks. This year I would again like to make available an 8th grade school
success group on
certain Thursdays beginning September 22. If you would like your eighth grader
to be involved,
please call, email or send me a note. I will require that the students commit
to attendance for a
trimester.

I am in the process of identifying times and themes for a number of other
counseling groups. If you
are interested in suggesting a student or theme, please give me a call.

Guidance Curriculum
This year I am teaching 5th, 6th and 7th grade every week, and 8th grade once
a month. Our first classes will focus on team building and school success
skills. I am starting
with use of the planners and will share with students a rubric describing the
ideal. In the 7th and 8th
grade the planners this year include a supplement on ï¿½The 7 Habits of Highly
Successful Teens,ï¿½
which will be included in our discussions. Students should be using their
planners every day and
bringing these home. In 5th through 7th grade the planner is also packed with
suggestions for study
habits.

I am in the process of scheduling classes in the lower grades. We will start
with conversations about
friendship and the role of the counselor.

New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP)
Beginning October 3 and running through October 25 we will be administering
the state-mandated standardized testing. All students in grades 3 through 8
will participate in 3
sessions each of reading and math testing. Grades 5 and 8 will also have two
sessions of writing.
Please avoid student appointments or trips during these weeks, as the
scheduling is very
complicated and make-ups are stressful for the students. As soon as we have a
detailed schedule I
will make it public.

As always, I hope that you will feel free to get in touch with your questions
and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org
469-3250 extension 225

9/2/11

Dear families,

Iï¿½m again very gratified to be starting the school year in this exceptional
school. One of things Iï¿½m excited about is the weeklong Responsive Classroom
(RC) workshop I
recently attended with several colleagues. The Responsive Classroom approach
has already been
implemented in several of our Plainfield classrooms and is based on the idea
that social and academic
learning are interdependent. We believe that every child wants to learn and is
capable of doing so.
Through Responsive Classroom practices students learn the school success
strategies of Cooperation,
Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control (CARES.) Student needs
for belonging,
significance and fun are met through morning meetings in which students share
news and make a
structured, interactive transition into the school day.

Responsive Classroom is related to the Developmental Designs (DD) approach
implemented in the
upper grades the last two years. Responsive Classroom and Developmental
Designs share several
elements including the morning message, greetings, sharing and
community-building activities.
Classroom rules are student-generated, and desirable behaviors are modeled and
practiced in detail.
This leads to a safe, serene and confident student group. In the upper grades
Iï¿½ve seen how DD has
fostered a phenomenally caring community. As a result, fighting, relational
aggression and other
disciplinary issues have declined impressively in the three years Iï¿½ve been
your school counselor.

Another caring program here at school is our in-school mentoring program,
which will resume soon.
Seventh and eighth grade students who choose the Big Brother/Big Sister
elective will each be paired
with a student in grades 1 through 4. The younger students are selected based
on teacher input and
participation is voluntary. I do my best to honor parental requests as well.
The junior high students
are trained and brainstorm activities before the first get-together with their
ï¿½littles,ï¿½ which
probably
be towards the end of September. The activities take place once a week during
the younger studentsï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½
lunch and recess time for a trimester. This is a very rewarding program
allowing the older students to
practice responsibility and the younger students to connect with an older
friend and role model.

As always, I hope you will feel free to contact me anytime with your concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org
469-3250 extension 225
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the School Counselor 6/10/11

Career Day is rapidly approaching. On the afternoon of Friday June 17th we
will welcome an
impressive variety of community members to speak with 7th and 8th graders
about their work. I am
asking the 7th and 8th graders to dress in ï¿½business casualï¿½ style to reflect
the professional nature of
the symposium and to help students think about appropriate attire for a job
interview. For boys I
would like to see a collar shirt and long pants and for girls either something
similar or a conservative
skirt or simple dress. Iï¿½m hoping not to see t-shirts, shorts or jeans.
However, Iï¿½m definitely not
asking for anyone to go buy new clothes.

Iï¿½ve learned that there are still spaces at the Hartford (HACTC) technology
camp Happening four
mornings during the week of June 27. I highly recommend that rising 7th, 8th
and 9th graders take
advantage of this opportunity! For $10 each student receives a t-shirt and has
fun expanding his or
her technological horizons. We already have ten Plainfield students attending
and I would love to see
more. Call me if youï¿½d like an application. Please note that if the $10 is an
issue I will find you a
scholarship.

The Peer Mediation Program is winding down for the year. Recently we worked on
publicizing the
program by making some posters and presenting some skits to promote
understanding of what is
offered. The six graders who participated as mediators this year will be
invited to continue on an ï¿½on
callï¿½ basis in 7th grade and interested rising 6th graders will be added to
the roster later in the year.
The mediators have been wonderfulï¿½highly skilled and dedicated. Our only
frustration has oddly
enough been wishing for more conflicts to solve, which in part may be due to
growing success at
teaching students to solve their own conflicts.

Some of the 5th, 6th and 7th grade end of the year classroom guidance classes
have involved
simulations that help students look at behavior. The activities at various
levels have included ï¿½Ism
Cliffï¿½ dealing with stereotyping, ï¿½Escape from Planet Dilemmosï¿½ to examine
ethical dilemmas, ï¿½Lost
on the Moonï¿½ to analyze group roles, and ï¿½Acceptance and Rejectionï¿½ to raise
consciousness about
the hidden rules for belonging to a particular group.

The second grader recently received special remote control facsimiles to
color. The idea comes from
the story ï¿½Hunter and the Amazing Remote Control.ï¿½ In class we talked about
the uses for each
button. Here are some examples: ï¿½Change the Channelï¿½ is for bringing attention
back to class when
daydreaming, ï¿½pauseï¿½ and ï¿½slow motionï¿½ are to help curb impulsivity,
ï¿½rewindï¿½
is to redo something
that was a mistake, ï¿½fast forwardï¿½ is to look ahead and see consequences of
choices, and ï¿½zapperï¿½ is
to zap negative thoughts. Each student shared which button he or she would be
most likely to use.
Some of the students in my groups have also received these special remotes.

Isnï¿½t it great to be enjoying some good weather at last? I hope you have a
wonderful weekend with
your families.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 5/20/11

Career Development

Work awareness and career development is a major guidance curriculum area that
weaves through all
the grades. In 3rd and 4th grade last week, we talked about people who are
happy in their jobs. All
the students knew a number of people who are like their work. We then went
through an exercise to
demonstrate that gender should not be a factor in choosing careers: boys can
be nurses and girls
can be pilots. We looked at some short video clips of a variety of jobs. I
heard one boy in the hall
afterwards remark, ï¿½I want to be a glazier, and cut glass!ï¿½ Weï¿½ll look at a
few more jobs another day.

In March 5th graders completed a booklet of activities to develop awareness of
their individual
aptitudes and interests. The booklet, provided by the New Hampshire Higher
Education Foundation
(NHHAEF), also aims to increase understanding of the value of education past
high school.

In April and May 6th graders increased their understanding of the Holland Code
through a more
sophisticated inventory and discussion. The Holland Code is a theory that
interests can be sorted
into six categories that can be related to specific jobs and career paths. An
individualï¿½s ï¿½Holland
Codeï¿½ is made up of their top three categories. Through these activities the
students started a career
portfolio to be continued in 7th and 8th grades.

As previously noted, the 7th graders completed a variety of career-related
activities, and did a
research project. The 8th graders have used the Naviance online software
extensively to support their
self-exploration and career investigation. In 5th, 6th and 7th grade I stress
that itï¿½s important not to
lock into a career too early and that they should instead be gathering
information about themselves
and about many possibilities. By the end of 8th grade students start to have a
bit of a direction and to
keep this direction in mind as they choose their courses.

Both 7th and 8th grades will enjoy a career afternoon on Friday, June 17.
Thanks to Stephanie, this
very informative and enjoyable event is a biennial opportunity for our upper
grade students.
Stephanie Schell is recruiting for volunteers to come in and share information
about their jobs that
day. If you are interested, please let her know!

Other Recent Guidance Topics

The 7th graders have been doing a very nice job of tackling a variety of
topics. We recently explored
a decision-making model, and spent two classes looking at anger management.
This week we are
revisiting conflict styles.

The 5th grade recently discussed body image: the importance of accepting oneï¿½s
appearance and that
of others. Next week we will be playing a game called ï¿½Ism Cliffï¿½ to raise
awareness of stereotyping
issues.

In the primary grades weï¿½ve continued to work on empathy and communication
through the Second
Step program. The students are wonderfully expressive when we do simple
role-plays.

Iï¿½ve continued to meet with a number of small groups. Iï¿½m gratified to report
that a good number of
students have shown progress with their friendship skills, anger management,
and conflict resolution
strategies. Iï¿½ve been meeting with groups of selected 7th graders to work on
school success skills in
our ï¿½7th Upï¿½ group. These students excel at supporting each other! A group of
8th graders so
enjoyed last yearï¿½s meetings that they are voluntarily meeting a couple of
times a month after school.

HACTC Camp
The deadline has been extended for the Hartford technology camp taking place
the week after school
gets out. There are still a few slots remaining for rising 7th, 8th and 9th
graders. I highly
recommend taking advantage of this opportunity! For $10 each student receives
a t-shirt and has fun
expanding his or her technological horizons. Call me if youï¿½d like an
application.

NECAP Science

This week the 4th and 8th graders have had three sessions each of New England
Common
Assessment Program science testing, and have worked very hard. Congratulations
go to the fourth
graders and their parents: every 4th grader was present for each test! This is
the first time that Iï¿½ve
seen any class accomplish perfect attendance for any NECAP series. Very
sincere thanks go to the
parents for your support in making this happen. Makeups for 8th graders who
missed will be taking
place early next week.

As always, I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed
School Counselor

From the School Counselor April 29

Summer will be here before we know it, and Iï¿½m writing to let you know about a
couple of exceptional
summer opportunities for the middle school students.

The Hartford Area Career and Technology Center is again holding its camp right
after school gets out.
The program takes place four mornings June 27 through 30. The cost is only $10
and includes a t-
shirt. Students entering 7th, 8th, or 9th grade enjoy hands-on experiences in
auto technology,
building trades, culinary arts, design illustration and media arts,
engineering and architectural
design,
industrial mechanics and welding, natural resources, and robotics.

Several of our students attended last year and reported having a fabulous
time. There will again be
several Plainfield students attending, so car pools are possible. As the
school counselor I get very
excited about the idea of students becoming inspired about their future.
Brochure/applications are
available in my office. It would be wise to send in the application ASAP
before the enrollment closes,
since quite a number of area schools are involved but attendance is limited to 80.

Kimball Union Academy is hosting a girlsï¿½ leadership camp this summer that
sounds fabulous. The
dates are August 7-13. I have a couple of brochures, or you could email Brook
Wheeler at KUA.
(bwheeler@kua.org)

I have some other camp brochures in my office and would be happy to share
those if that would be
helpful.

We are busy preparing for the kindergarten screenings and the science NECAP
tests to be
administered in grades 4 and 8 the week of May 16, and a number of other end
of the year projects.

Next week Iï¿½ll write about current guidance curriculum.

From the School Counselor 4/8/11

Yesterday I attended a conference entitled ï¿½Friendship, Social Power and
Bullying: Where to Draw the
Lines.ï¿½ The speaker was Michael /Thompson, PhD, author of a number of popular
books including
"Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children." Dr.
Thompson stressed the
importance of preventing social cruelty through structured community building
with approaches such
as Developmental Design, Responsive Classroom and classroom guidance. I came
away feeling very
good about our efforts here at Plainfield School where we are increasingly
using these strategies with
remarkable results.

I was also pleased that Dr. Thompson emphasized something that I believe: that
the word bully is
problematic since itï¿½s a name-calling stereotype. Dr. Thompson prefers to use
the terms ï¿½social
crueltyï¿½ and ï¿½social power.ï¿½ He pointed out that social pain is not
necessarily bullying, and that
rejection is a normal part of life. We need to teach people how to own their
personal social power:
how to be appropriately friendly and how to choose friends who in some cases
may not be the most
ï¿½popularï¿½ or socially powerful. He also noted that a number of years ago when
families tended to be
bigger kids used to be less sensitive as they were exposed to bickering,
name-calling and power
plays with their siblings. The practice with squabbling was useful for
understanding that conflict is a
part of life.

We teach kids to stand up for themselves and their friends and to try to work
out problems on their
own. We also make sure they know to get help when they need it. We insist on
restorative justice
when we find that students actually have been cruel. We want every individual
in our school
community to feel respected, safe, and valued, and we know you want this too.

As always I welcome your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 3/18/11

Stress
This week the combination of daylight savings adjustment, NWEA testing, and
end of term have
combined to create coping challenges for many. At most grade levels weï¿½ve
noticed instances of teary
meltdowns. Iï¿½ve been happy to see how caring the students are in their
responses to friends, and
proud of the ways that students are helping themselves. In the upper grades
particularly Iï¿½ve loved
seeing the developing assertive communication skills as students ask for extra
time and/or help to
complete assignments. Weï¿½ve reminded students that the best stress relief is
to get the work done
instead of worrying about it, and we also review stress relief techniques
such as breathing, yoga,
progressive muscle relaxation, visualizations, and exercise.

NAEP Testing
A couple of weeks ago the 8th graders participated in the National Education
Assessment Program
testing. The testing took a couple of hours on March 1. This is a national
assessment of educational
progress in every state. We were selected among schools in NH to take part in
this program. In the
past NH has ranked within the top five states and I feel confident that our
students again represented
NH very well. We received compliments from the NAEP team on the serious and
uncomplaining
attitude of our students as they each took a (randomly assigned) math,
reading, or science test.

High School
Lebanon High School has needed to move the date of their presentations to the
8th grade parents
and students. The parent night will be Monday March 28 at 6:30 in the high
school cafeteria. The
student presentation will be during the advisory time on Wednesday, March 30.
This year the course
catalogs will be handed out at school instead of mailed. Weï¿½re also very proud
of our many 8th
graders who have been accepted to KUA.

I look forward to sharing further counseling and guidance news next week, and
to hearing from you if
you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the School Counselor 3/10/11

The weather related cancellations and problems seem to be reminders to
practice flexibility and
positive thinking. When due to potholes I ran into some expensive and
time-consuming car
problems. I said to myself: ï¿½If this is the worst thing that happens this
week, I am doing well. ï¿½ Some
of the younger students Iï¿½ve worked with will recognize this as a bandaid for
a ï¿½boo boo thought.ï¿½
The seventh graders practiced this kind of positive thinking in detail as part
of the stress
management unit.

The career day originally scheduled for March 23 has been rescheduled for June
17, a Friday.
Stephanie Schell is recruiting volunteer presenters for that day.
Meanwhile, the seventh graders are working on their career research
brochure/posters and will share
with each other at a mini-career fair on March 23 during the advisory period.
The project deadline
has been extended to the end of next week.

The topic for third grade guidance this week was conflict resolution,
shielding oneself from mean
people. We also looked at questions so that each student could determine ï¿½Am I
a bully?ï¿½

Thanks for generous support from the PT0 the Turning Points Network will visit
grades 2, 3, and 4 on
Fridays April 8 and 15.

As always, I hope you will contact me with your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
gmalsin@planfieldschool.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the School Counselor 3/3/11

One of the things I truly love about working at Plainfield School is the way
that our efforts as staff
interconnect. Here are just a few examples:

ï¿½ Thursdayï¿½s assembly echoed a motivational story that the eighth graders had
looked at their last
guidance sessions: the story of ParaOlympics basketball gold medalist Jennifer
Howitt who became
wheelchair-bound as a result of an accident.
ï¿½ The eighth graders also looked at Liz Murrayï¿½s history. You have probably
heard how Liz went
from homeless to attendance at Harvard as the result of her own determination
and willingness to
take risks. One of the obstacles Liz overcame was the loss of her mother to
AIDS; looking at this true
story connects with our excellent Health curriculum.
ï¿½ The goal setting, reading and writing that 7th and 8th graders are doing
supports the
counseling
and guidance curriculum in the areas of identity formation and career
development, academic
success, communication, coping, and conflict resolution skills, to name just a
few.

The trimester is coming to an end in two weeks and the current Big Brothers
and Sisters will have to
say farewell to each other. New partnerships will be formed once the third
term settles in. If your
child could benefit from a seventh grade big sister or brother and hasnï¿½t had
the opportunity this
year, drop me a line or give me a call and Iï¿½ll do the best to accommodate
your request.

As you know, the recent snow days have wreaked havoc, and as a result the
Career Symposium
scheduled for March 24 will be postponed. Stay tuned for the new date. The due
date for seventh
grade career research projects has been extended a bit to the week of March 14.

As always I hope you will feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
From the School Counselor 2/24/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Development curriculum

We are into career exploration season in the upper grades. The seventh grade
guidance classes are
working on a research project due March 10, with class time provided to
explore both Internet and
library resources. The product will be a brochure, poster or booklet to be
shared with peers later in
the month. The current eighth graders did an outstanding job with this last
year and I expect that the
results will be equally wonderful with this group! The afternoon of March 24
the seventh and eighth
graders will benefit from the work experiences of community members during the
career symposium
organized by Stephanie Schell. Thinking about the future will be timely for
the eighth graders who
will meet with high school representatives the afternoon of March 23 to
prepare for high school
course selection.

When we look at studentsï¿½ future employment choices we also think about life
choices as they relate
to values, quality of life, and the development of roles outside of work.
Geographic considerations for
job availability and issues of time versus money come into the discussion. It
can be hard for
adolescents to recognize that the choices they make today will impact their
futures so we try to help
them see the importance of training and education starting right now.

The fifth and sixth grades will spend two or three guidance classes on career
exploration in a few
weeks. Currently these grades are working on the mediation process (5th) and
understanding/coping
with harassment (6th.)

Iï¿½ll look forward to sharing further information about the counseling and
guidance world next week.
As always, feel free to call me with your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org, 469-3250 extension 225

From the School Counselor 1/27/11

Texting
We have recently discovered that some students are texting each other late at
night, even going so
far as holding their cell phones in their hands when going to bed so not to
miss a text coming
through. This habit has the effect of depriving students of much needed sleep
which of course affects
their ability to learn in school. We know how wonderful it must feel for kids
to be able to connect with
their peers whenever and wherever they want. It is an incredible temptation to
be texting into the
night. Since it can be a silent activity, parents might not be aware of the
amount of texting their child
is doing. We strongly recommend that parents monitor and limit access to all
forms of technology
(including cell phones) in such a way that kids are supervised and get enough
fresh air, exercise and
sleep.
Here are some facts about texting found on an interesting website called
Common Sense Media
created for parents and teachers.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/responsible-text-
messaging-tips
ï¿½Texting is the #2 use of cell phones -- after checking the time.
ï¿½Teens send an average of 3,146 texts per month, and kids ages 9 to 12 send
1,146 (Nielsen, 2010).
ï¿½75% of 12 to 17 year olds own cell phones and 88% of them use text messaging
(Pew, 2010).
ï¿½64% of parents look at the contents of their childï¿½s cell phone and 62% of
parents have taken away
their childï¿½s phone as punishment. (Pew, 2010).

Parent Book Club
A small group of parents has gotten together for a two-part book discussion on
parenting teens.
Weï¿½ve had constructive conversations and laughed a lot too. If you missed the
book group, but would
like to borrow Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to
the Mall, please let me
know.

Guidance Curriculum
First grade is continuing with the Second Step curriculum exploring
communication, particularly
about feelings. First graders are very good at finding clues to othersï¿½
feelings, and some are already
expert at communicating those feelings!
In second, third and fourth grades this month we looked at a short DVD called
Intricate Minds III. It is
a charmingly done presentation featuring commentary by children with learning
differences about
what itï¿½s like to be them. The students responded very sensitively to this
video. The second graders
also put together a feelings wheel to illustrate how our feelings can change
and what some coping
mechanisms are for dealing with feelings.

In third grade we have also taken a look at the difference between tattling
and telling an adult when
there is a real need. We read a story called "A Case of Tattle Tongue," and
discussed situations in
small groups, deciding how each situation fit within the guidelines:

ï¿½ Tell a trusted adult if a person or animal is in danger.

ï¿½ If a problem involves you directly, try as hard as you can to find a
solution yourself.

ï¿½ Figure out whether the problem can wait until later.

ï¿½ MYOB: Donï¿½t tattle if the problem isnï¿½t dangerous and it doesnï¿½t
involve you.

Fourth grade this week addressed the topic of body image: being happy with how
we look. Fifth
graders are learning about peer mediation. Sixth graders are working on
understanding and coping
with harassment. Seventh graders are finishing a three-session unit on stress
management and will
be starting the career development unit. The eight graders will be taking a
look at overcoming
obstacles and will be organizing their career portfolios.

Other Happenings in the Counseling Office
Academic success counseling, friendship issues, deaths in the family, stress
at home: these are a few
of the issues that individual students have worked on this week in my office.
The peer mediators are
ï¿½on callï¿½ and have been very helpful with younger students. A group of 8th
graders meets with me
after school regularly to support academic success, a continuation of meetings
that took place last
year.

I hope you will feel free to contact me with any questions or if I can help in
any way.
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From the School Counselor 1/6/11

Parenting Book Discussion Group: Itï¿½s not too late to sign up!

The dates for the "Get out of my life, but first could you take me and Cheryl
to the Mall" book
discussion group have been changed due to scheduling conflicts. The new dates
are Thursday,
January 13, and Thursday, January 27 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. We currently have
four parents signed up
and would love to have more. If childcare issues are in the way, please let me
know and Iï¿½ll see if I
can recruit a babysitter or two to be here at school for the hour. Light
refreshments will be provided.

High school preparations for Eighth graders
Weï¿½ve been busy this week working on the paperwork for a significant number of
eighth graders who
applying to KUA. Reflecting on student growth and progress as I write
references, Iï¿½m excited to know
that all the eighth graders have entered their graduation year and will be in
high school before we
know it. We are doing everything we can to get them ready!

Curriculum notes in brief for this week:
3rd: learning differences
5th grade: conflict resolution and peer mediation
7th grade: suicide prevention
8th grade: healthy relationships v. abusive relationships

Sixth, second, first and fourth grades are due to meet for guidance in the
next two weeks.

Wishing you health, wealth and prosperity for 2011!

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin M.Ed.
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 12/9/10

Private School Applications

We are expecting to receive transcript and recommendation requests no later
than the day before
vacation, Dec. 21. Considering the odd chance that we could have a snow day it
would be wise to get
those in even sooner. Weï¿½re pleased to note that one of our eighth graders was
so organized with the
application process that she has already been accepted!

Stranger Safety

On Wednesday at the end of the day the teachers did a quick review of stranger
safety. I was very
happy to observe that the students readily remembered the safety procedures
weï¿½ve gone over in
guidance classes.

Parenting Discussion Group

Right now it looks as if our January 6 and 20 discussion group for "Get Out of
My Life But First Could
You Take Me and Cheryl to the Mall" will be small and intimate which can be
lovely. On the other
hand, please donï¿½t hesitate to join us if you are thinking about it. If you
have any questions, please
give me a call.

Iï¿½ll write about curriculum next time.

With appreciation for all you do,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor Dec. 1, 2010

For Parents of the Class of 2011

We urge eighth graders who are planning to apply to KUA or another private
school to submit
transcript and recommendation requests no later than Dec. 21, the day before
vacation. Quite a few
students will be applying this year and we would like to ensure time to give
each application our most
careful attention. Please use the ï¿½common applicationï¿½ forms whenever possible
and particularly
when applying to more than one school.

Parenting Sessions

Itï¿½s not too late to sign up for the Book Discussion Group for parents of
middle school students. The
meetings will be held on Thursdays, January 6 and 20, 2011 from 6:30 to 7:30
PM. The book is Get
Out of My Life But First Would You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? (A
Parentï¿½s Guide to the New
Teenager) by Anthony E. Wolf. Please let me know ASAP if you would like to
attend.

Curriculum

Guidance classes at all levels have been going very well. With the first grade
classes I have been using
the research-based Second Step curriculum for development of emotional
literacy, empathy, and
communication. The children seem to enjoy identifying and practicing how
various feelings are
expressed and expanding their understanding of these feelings. These lessons
form a platform for a
number of topics to follow.

Second grade classes are also working with the Second Step curriculum and
expanding their feelings
vocabulary. Next week we will be talking about personal safety and appropriate
physical boundaries,
a topic covered in all grades at some point in the year.

Third grade guidance this week focused on dealing with ways to cope with
worries. In fourth grade
we
are continuing to cultivate tolerance for differences. Fifth grade has
completed a mini-unit on
advertising pressures and this week discussed a movie on coping with a variety
of emotions. The
sixth grade has been doing some group team building and processing these
activities. For example,
students provided an acknowledgement for each of their classmates and
discussed which recognition
felt the most sincere and thoughtful. We will soon turn our attention to
decision-making.

The seventh graders this week looked at ways to cope with the everyday
phenomenon of gossip and
rumors. In advisory we also discussed HIV and AIDS using curriculum provided
by Karen Heaton, R.N.,
our Health Educator.

The eighth grade is piloting the middle school version of Naviance (an online
guidance tool also used
at the high school) to clarify interests, practice building a resume, explore
future careers and
generally prepare for high school. Grades six and seven will also have the
opportunity to use this
software later in the year.

The Giving Tree
We were amazed by the speed with which the mittens on the giving tree flew out
of the foyer this
week and we hope that the students (who were certain their parents would want
to participate) have
remembered to follow through. If by any chance a mitten reached your house
without your OK,
please send it back to the tree for someone else to take.

I am very thankful for your support of our efforts and I hope that you will
feel free to contact me at
any time with your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor
Plainfield School Counseling and Guidance
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Book Discussion Group
for parents of middle school students

Thursdays
January 6 and 20, 2011

6:30 to 7:30 PM

Get Out of My Life
But First Would You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?
By Anthony E. Wolf

A Parentï¿½s Guide to the New Teenager

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Parenting Discussion RSVP

Please Return by Nov. 23, 2010

Name(s)_______________________________________________________________

Please check one:

o I would like to buy the book. My check for $10.00 payable to Plainfield
School is attached.

o I would like to borrow the book from the counseling office.

o I have my own book.

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From the School Counselor 11/10/10

Mix it Up Day

ï¿½Mix it Upï¿½ at lunch day was good as always thanks to teachers providing ice
breaker topics for
discussion and arranging for students to sit in new groupings. In many
classes mixing at lunch takes
place more often than weekly; in fact the 5/6 teachers do ï¿½Mix it Upï¿½ every
week. Since in a small
school we tend to know each other rather well we do sometimes get stuck in
certain social patterns,
so itï¿½s great to break out of patterns from time to time.

Classroom Guidance
In grades 1 through 4 weï¿½ve been working on developing empathy, the ability to
feel what another is
feeling. In the first and second grade we exploring what facial expressions
and body language reveal
about what someone is feeling, as well as learning what bodily sensations go
with a particular feeling,
and what situations tend to produce that feeling. In third and fourth grade we
looked at a videotaped
series of common scenarios and discussed the points of view of the children
involved, as well as
possible empathic responses. This learning is very helpful for development of
strong friendships and
happy classroom relationships. I very much enjoyed hearing about a second
graderï¿½s empathic
response to a classmate following the lesson.

The 5th graders completed our two session unit on advertising, and the 7th
graders are wrapping up
the study skills unit this week.

Iï¿½m planning a January book discussion group for parents of 6th through 8th
graders. We will meet
on two Thursdays, January 6 and 20, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. The book is Get Out
of My Life But First
Would You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? (A Parentï¿½s Guide to the New
Teenager) by Anthony E.
Wolf. The books will be available in time for the December break so that
people have time to read. I
will have a few office copies to loan and will also order copies you to buy.
The cost is $10. Please
drop me a line or give me a call to let me know that you would like to attend
so that I can order the
books. I need the replies by Nov. 23. Please come if you are interested! I
figure that two evenings is
a manageable commitment and I promise that you wonï¿½t regret coming.

Perler Beads Needed
The Big Brothers and Sisters are looking for perler beads and frames for a
project so if you are
getting ready to give yours away, please sent them to the counseling office!
Thank you!

Thank You PTO
And speaking of help from parents, I would like to express my gratitude to the
PTO for their
generous funding of the guidance feelings frogs, the books for students who
are moving away, and
the Turning Points Network presentations to be scheduled later in the year.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with your children and hope that you
will call me with any
concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

From the School Counselor Nov. 1

Internet Safety Assembly

This week grades 5 through 8 attended a presentation on the subject of
Internet safety. Investigator
Jennifer Frank from Plymouth State College, a police officer and former social
studies teacher who
visits schools around the state warned about the dangers of social networking
websites, and provided
students with guidelines for a safer Internet presence.

Red Ribbon Week

Last week was Red Ribbon week highlighting drug prevention. In sixth and
seventh grade we
reviewed refusal skills, and in seventh grade this week students received
information about the
negative effects of alcohol and drugs on the developing brain. I was very
happy to find that both
sixth and seventh graders have successfully absorbed lessons on the difference
between assertive,
aggressive and passive responses to difficult situations.

Seventh Grade Study Skills
Seventh graders have completed or are completing a ï¿½take home testï¿½ on school
success. I am
available for individual school success counseling if students need more
attention in this area, and
will be forming a seventh grade school success group soon.

ï¿½Mix it Up Dayï¿½ Tuesday, November 9

"Mix It Upï¿½ is a nationwide campaign that supports students who want to
identify, question, and cross
any social boundaries that separate them from each other and seeks to help
build inclusive,
welcoming learning environments. Building inclusive communities is something
that we as educators
work on constantly. The Responsive Classroom and Developmental Design
approaches are examples
of this type of work, which also takes place through such approaches as
curriculum integration of
tolerance themes, and the classroom cooperative learning strategies used by
our teachers.

From time to time we to focus on inclusion as a school, as we will on Tuesday,
November 9, "Mix it
Up" day 2010. As in the past, Plainfield staff will be helping to mix student
seating at lunch and
providing conversation starters. For further information about ï¿½Mix it Upï¿½
day please visit
www.tolerance.org.

Peer Mediation Program

The sixth grade peer mediators are on a roll with facilitating conflict
resolutions and serving as
peace-making role models, and were honored with a celebration book called Why
Are You Picking on
Me? The mediators who served during our first round of mediations are Abby
Chellis, Olivia Balise,
Emily Ball, Jack Davini, Alieke Feid, Noah Forman, Gabrielle Guarino, Erin
Gregory-Davis, Leigha
Keller, Sophia Lurie, Jacob Pixley, Coulston Rogerson, Chris Schell, Julia
Surgenor, Joslin Wainwright,
and Taylor Williams. Chris Courtemanche has joined for the second round.
These students are giving
up their recess time about once a month in order to provide this service.

Stay tuned for further guidance news next week!

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
RED RIBBON WEEK

Once again PES will celebrate National Red Ribbon Week during the last week in
October. Red Ribbon
Week is dedicated to Federal Drug Enforcement Agent, Enrique Camarena, who was
killed by drug
traffickers in Mexico in 1995. In response to his death, angered parents
across the country began
wearing Red Ribbons to symbolize their commitment toward the creation of a
drug-free America. In
1988 congress officially proclaimed the first National Red Ribbon Week,
October 23-31. The Red
Ribbon has become a symbol for the drug-free movement.

In an effort to encourage students at an early age to live a drug free
lifestyle, students are
encouraged to celebrate this week by participating with the following:

Monday, Oct. 25th ï¿½ ï¿½Be Proud to Make Healthy Choicesï¿½ (Students are
encouraged to wear red.)
Tuesday, Oct. 26th ï¿½ ï¿½Say Peace Out to Drugsï¿½ (Students are encouraged
to wear
tie-die)
Wednesday, Oct. 27th ï¿½ ï¿½Show Your Spirit ï¿½ Drug Freeï¿½ (Students are
encouraged
to wear school
colors)

Students will receive Red Ribbons to wear throughout the week. Ribbons in
grades K-3 say, ï¿½Make
Footprints Worth Followingï¿½ and grades 4-8, ï¿½Hawks Stay on Track for Success
Drug Free.ï¿½

As part of Red Ribbon week, the student council will be collecting
nonperishable items beginning on
Monday, October 25th through Friday, November 19th. The donations will be
given to families within
our community.

From the School Counselor 10/20/10

The New England Common Assessment Program tests have finally been completed,
sorted, packaged
and sent for scoring. Students in grades 3 to 8 demonstrated commitment and
grace in their
dedication to this time consuming task, as did the staff at every grade.
Every schedule and room in
the building was impacted by the testing procedures yet everyone maintained a
positive attitude in
the face of these disruptions to our schedule. Itï¿½s gratifying to work with
such outstanding students
and flexible professionals. We also appreciate all the efforts parents made to
insure well-rested and
nourished test-takers present in school.

Iï¿½ve received many requests for Big Brothers and Sisters for first through
fourth graders. Due to some
extra (and very special) electives being offered this year, there are many
fewer ï¿½Bigsï¿½ available right
now and I have not been able to honor every request. However, in December we
will begin a new
trimester and new partnerships will be formed.

The peer mediation program is experiencing some wonderful success. On Fridays
at lunch/recess
trained sixth grade volunteers are having the rewarding experience of helping
younger students
resolve conflicts. The mediation program builds on the communication skills
introduced in every
grade through guidance and classroom curriculum. Students are asked to
practice using ï¿½I messagesï¿½
to let another know how they are feeling about something that has happened,
and to follow up this
statement with a request. We stress the importance of a respectful demeanor
and tone of voice. This
topic was addressed recently in second grade along with a conversation about
the difference between
tattling and telling.

In preparation for Red Ribbon Week next week, fifth graders have begun
learning to be thoughtful
consumers and to be aware of the messages in advertising. When we meet again
on November 1
students will be bringing home some fun activities to share with their families.

Seventh graders are finishing or have finished their motivational quote
projects this week. Weekly
guidance class time is also a time when I am available to answer any questions
the students may have
about emotional or academic issues affecting the individual or group. Youï¿½ll
be glad to know that
overall this seventh grade is responding remarkably well to the transition to
the challenges of an
increased workload and a greater variety of teachers.

Iï¿½ve been receiving many phone calls and emails from parents and am pleased to
know that you feel
comfortable to approach me with your concerns. If you would like to schedule
an appointment at
conference time, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin

From the School Counselor 10/1/10

Our October standardized testing has begun. For your convenience, the schedule
is outlined below:

NEW ENGLAND COMMON ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (NECAP) TESTING SCHEDULE 2010

GRADE 3: Oct. 14, 15, 18, 19

GRADE 4: Oct. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

GRADES 5/6: Oct. 12, 13, 14

GRADE 5 Writing: Oct. 15

GRADE 7: Oct. 6, 7, 8

GRADE 8: Oct. 1, 4, 5, 12, 13

We are hopeful that we can avoid absences on test dates, which will make the
experience much more
serene for all concerned. In addition to a determination to bring a serious
but calm attitude to the
sessions, the best preparation for these tests is a good nightï¿½s rest and
practicing good nutrition,
including a healthy breakfast, lunch and snack.

For your advance planning: the fourth and eighth grades will have Science
NECAP testing in May.

Peer Mediation Program
The 6th graders whoï¿½ve volunteered to serve as mediators have received the
first monthï¿½s schedule
and the first four teams have gone out at Friday recess. I am very proud of
the poise and
commitment of these young people. It will take a little while for the program
to become established
but weï¿½ve made a great start!

Classroom Guidance
A schedule for guidance lessons is now in place for the lower grades. Stay
tuned for more
information as the fall proceeds.

Eighth grade guidance meets monthly: next weekï¿½s session will focus on
bullying prevention from a
number of angles, a review and extension of all the work we did last year.

Seventh grade is continuing with the study skills unit, thinking about
organizational strategies, time
management, and homework completion. As a hands-on exercise to supplement our
conversation
about how to keep ourselves committed to our goals, seventh graders have an
assignment (due in
two weeks) to produce an attractive 8x10ï¿½ poster incorporating a motivational
or inspirational quote.
The students will receive a magnet on which to mount their poster for display
on or in their lockers.
The students will have one class period to work on this; the rest will need to
be done outside of
class.

Sixth graders received the Creating Peace, Building Community booklets that we
will be using in class
for some of our sessions. We reviewed the mediation/conflict resolution
process that they studied in
depth last year, and used our new feelings frogs to do a quick share.

Fifth grade classes are learning stress management, relaxation, and other ways
of taking care of
ourselves. We met last week and will meet again next.

For Parents
I was delighted to have a parent join me for the PBS movie Inside the Teenage
Brain. The next parent
evening will be high school night at a date yet to be arranged; Iï¿½m waiting to
hear from the high
school about dates when they could come down. Most likely this will be at the
end of October.

Iï¿½m also planning to offer a How to Talk so Kids will Listen, and How to
Listen so Kids will Talk series
for parents, and a book discussion group on Get out of My Life (but first
could you drive me and
Cheryl to the mall?) Iï¿½m looking at the November calendar and thinking about
dates.

With appreciation,
Gail

Gail Malsin, M.ED.
School Counselor.

From the School Counselor 9/17/10

Parenting Resources

There are a few new parenting books in the guidance office, and they are
available to sign out. The
titles include Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to
the Mall? (ï¿½A parentï¿½s
guide to the new teenagerï¿½), Have A New Kid by Friday (ï¿½How to Change Your
Childï¿½s Attitude
Behavior & Character in 5 Daysï¿½), and The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted
Child (ï¿½Helping your child
thrive in an extroverted world.ï¿½)

These are just a few of the resources available to support your parenting. I
am planning to catalog the
counseling and guidance library this year in order to provide parents with an
overview of what is
available. Meanwhile, please let me know if you are looking for a resource on
a particular topic.

Since many (students and adults alike) are experiencing a bit of stress with
the increased demands of
the new school year, Iï¿½ll mention that Ready, Set, Relax (a book and CD) has
been popular with
parents the last two years. I sometimes use these visualizations (developed
for a school) in guidance
classes to teach students how to cultivate the relaxation response when they
are feeling anxious or
worried.

Would any 7/8 parents like to join me at 6:00 PM on curriculum night Sept. 23
(before the
presentations) to view the PBS film, Inside the Teenage Brain? This is an
informative video with an
entertaining feel that gives an overview of the adolescent development
process. Please RSVP if you
are interested.

Iï¿½m working on the schedule for 1-4 guidance classes. Sixth and seventh grade
guidance this week
focused on organization, time management, and use of the assignment books.
Eighth graders
learned some common coping/defense mechanisms, and reviewed organizational
strategies.

As always I welcome your comments and questions. Please feel free to call or
email any time.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

9/10/10

Standardized Testing in Grades 3-8 in October

The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) standardized testing will
begin in three
weeks, on Friday, October 1, and continue through Friday, October 22 for
students in grades 3
through 8. While not every class will be testing every day, it would be very
helpful if parents could
avoid scheduling student medical appointments and trips during this three-week
period since make-
up tests are stressful for the students and cumbersome for the staff.

Below are some test-taking strategies to share with your children. These are
guaranteed to help with
all tests, not just the NECAPS!

ï¿½ Get a good nightï¿½s rest
ï¿½ Eat a healthy breakfast
ï¿½ Bring a healthy school time snack
ï¿½ Try not to miss any school
ï¿½ Be sure to read the directions carefully
ï¿½ Take your time; donï¿½t rush
ï¿½ Be sure to read the entire question and all possible answers
ï¿½ If you donï¿½t know an answer, skip it and return to it once youï¿½re done
with
the other questions.
ï¿½ If you have time, check your work over
ï¿½ Make educated guesses
ï¿½ Keep trying; do your best!

Guidance News

Other guidance news includes that our several new students seem to be settling
in well; the seventh
and eighth graders have begun their guidance classes; fifth and sixth grade
classes will start next
week with other grades to follow; the peer mediation program is in development
and the new ï¿½Big
Brothers and Sistersï¿½ are in training.

For Parents of 7 & 8th Graders

I would like to offer the opportunity to 7 & 8th grade parents to view the PBS
film ï¿½Inside the Teenage
Brainï¿½ before the 7/8 curriculum night on Thursday, September 23. We would
run the film at 6:00
PM and if you would like to bring a brown bag supper, I could provide drinks.
Please RSVP if you are
interested. I am working on the date for our high school information meeting
to be held at the end
of September or early October. Representatives from LHS and KUA will be
available.

Please email or phone me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail

Gail Malsin M.Ed.
School Counselor

8/31/10
Hello! It is a delight to be returning to Plainfield for the third year as
your school counselor. I look
forward to working with your children to develop positive attitudes and goals,
practice decision-
making and communication skills, and increase school success strategies. Iï¿½m
particularly
enthusiastic about entering the second year of the Developmental Design model
in the middle
school. The design is intended to enhance student development and learning by
meeting basic needs
for belonging, autonomy, competence and fun. This programmatic design supports
our guidance and
health curriculum goals in a very effective manner.

Big Sister/Brother Program

Our in-school mentoring program will resume soon. Seventh and eighth grade
students who choose
this elective will each be paired with a student in grades 1 through 4.
Students are selected based on
teacher input and participation is voluntary. The junior high students are
trained and brainstorm
activities before the first get-together with their ï¿½littles,ï¿½ which
probably be towards the end of
September. The activities take place once a week during the younger
studentsï¿½ lunch and recess
time
for a trimester. This is a very rewarding program allowing the older students
to practice
responsibility and the younger students to connect with an older friend and
role model.

Peer Mediators

The current 6th graders were trained in a peer mediation process last year.
Several have volunteered
to serve as mediators this year. Once weï¿½ve reviewed the procedure, we will
develop a schedule for
the morning 1-4 recess, so that a pair of mediators can be available each day
to help resolve small
conflicts. I will be with the mediators to supervise for the first weeks and
the playground staff will
also help supervise. In one school everyone became so used to the mediation
process that after a few
years mediators were no longer needed!

If you have a particular interest in having your 6th grader participate in the
Peer Mediators program
or your 1st through 4th grader participate in the Big Brother/Sister program,
please send me a note
or an email (gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org) by Tuesday, Sept. 7. If you have
any questions, I hope you
will call.

This year I will be offering a variety of evening parenting sessions. Stay
tuned for more information!

Sincerely yours,
Gail Malsin M.Ed.
School Counselor

8/23/10
A team of Plainfield students has put together a team to run in the CHAD half
marathon this coming
Saturday, in honor of Ms. Lincoln. The team is called "Too Big to Fail."

For more information copy and past this link into your browser:

http://chadhalf.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?
ievent=336151&lis=1&kntae336151=16A1DF018F4E4BD5A816D096F00F0596&supId
=0&team=379
4476&cj=Y

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8/22/10

Program Announcement:

Nurturing Healthy Sexuality
Tuesday night, Aug 24 at 7 p.m.
Meriden Congregational Church
Presenters: Leslie MacGregor and Sean Phelps

Simple ways to prevent child sexual abuse, how to recognize signs of abuse, and
what to do if a child confides in you about anything suspicious.

RSVP to lsmacgregor@gmail.com

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Summer Supply List Letter

Parents of 7th and 8th graders should have received the following letter:

August 4, 2010
Dear Seventh and Eighth Grade Students and Parents,
There has been a lot of working going on in the seventh and eighth grade
classrooms (affectionately
called the POD) this summer. The social studies room has new windows and a new
outside door with
a window adding more light to a dark space. The language arts room has one
bank of new windows,
and the science room will be sporting a new tile floor.
The teachers have met a couple of times this summer to plan for new school
year. One of challenges
of middle school is the increased number of text books and materials the
students need to keep
organized as they move around from room to room. Teachers have come up with a
plan that will
hopefully help students as they learn good habits that will make their school
lives easier as they move
on to high school.
One thing we would like to do is to make sure students have the correct
materials, things we know
will fit in the space students have to store them and that we want everyone to
have. Since shopping
for back-to-school can seem daunting (or tempting) with everything being
something you might use
(or want), below youï¿½ll find a list of supplies needed on the first day of
school. We can purchase
these
materials for students using our bulk purchasing power for a fee of $42.35
(with the calculator) or
$31.35 without the calculator. You can also purchase the materials yourself.
Please send in a check
made out to Plainfield School or the materials on the first day of school.
In addition students will need a reasonable supply of their own notebook
paper, pens and pencils. We
strongly encourage students to write their names on their writing implements
in permanent marker.
As always, if you have financial need, please contact Gail Malsin, the school
counselor, at 603-469-
3250, extension 225.

Sincerely,
Ellen Langsner, Principal

Materials Needed for Seventh and Eighth Grade
ï¿½ 3 inch white Avery Heavy-Duty Reference View Binder
ï¿½ 1 inch red poly binder
ï¿½ 1 inch green heavy-duty binder
ï¿½ 8-8 tabbed poly pocket pages
ï¿½ 1 mesh binder pocket (for pens and pencils)
ï¿½ 1 ï¿½ inch binder clip
ï¿½ 1 short point compass
ï¿½ 1 clear plastic ruler with 3 holes to fit in binder
ï¿½ 1 Safe-T 180 degree protractor
ï¿½ 1 TI-30xa Texas Instrument Scientific Calculator
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Student Name: ____________________________________
o I have attached a check for
o $42.35 (with calculator)
o $31.35 (without the calculator)
o I have sent my child to school with the needed supplies.
o I am including an additional $_____________ to assist any child who needs
help paying for the
required materials.

From the School Counselor 6/18/10

Step Up Day

Wednesday, June 16, was Step Up Day. In the morning for half an hour students
had the chance to
take a look at whatï¿½s ahead next year by experiencing their new class
groups, rooms and teachers.
There were many smiles of anticipation to be witnessed in these new
arrangements. The rising
seventh and eighth grade assembled in the band room for a question and answer
session. Questions
about seventh grade that had been generated in sixth grade guidance classes
were answered by
volunteers among the older students and a number of fears were laid to rest.

As is the tradition, the eighth graders spent the transition half hour
returning to the kindergarten
room to share memories with Mr. Woodcock. Those who started school in another
district provided
their own contrasting recollections. Future ninth graders who will be
attending Lebanon High School
next year then went up to the high school for the afternoon. We enjoyed a bag
lunch in the cafeteria
and were divided in groups to rotate between stations. Presenters at the
stations provided
information about the new competencies on which grades will be based and the
co-curricular
offerings. Students also were assigned shared lockers. A panel of high school
students including two
former Plainfield students answered questions. One comment was both humorous
and insightful: ï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½At
Plainfield we have four rooms... Our whole school fits into the high school
band room.ï¿½ Afterwards,
hearing about the many transition activities planned for freshman orientation
in August, the
students expressed confidence that they would find their way around. I predict
that this group of
students will do well in high school and maintain the solid reputation and
record of achievement that
Plainfield students have always enjoyed.

From the School Counselor 6/2/10

On Friday, May 28, John and Susan Gregory-Davis led a touching Memorial Day
service for the
school community as we formed a circle around the flag pole. Each student and
staff member whoï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½d
recently lost a loved one came to the center of the circle to offer a memorial
carnation and a fifth
grader honored the memory of our many beloved pets. Bill Knight stood up for
the Veterans and
Larry Wolkin led the school in a ï¿½Dona Nobis Pacemï¿½ to end the program.

The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) science tests administered
in grades 4 and
8 were sent off for scoring at the end of last week. We are proud of the
seriousness with which our
students approached the tests, particularly the challenging experiments they
had to conduct. The
results will be available in the fall.

Iï¿½m very pleased to report that six Plainfield School students have been
accepted to the Hartford
Area
Career and Technology (HACTC) Camp taking place mornings during the week of
June 21. HACTC
and I have each sent out letters with explanations of some of the details.

The fifth graders have completed their career development classes and have
taken home their
booklets. These fifth graders have received applications to serve as peer
mediators during morning
recess next year as sixth graders. They have shown great talent in the initial
trainings and will
receive further training if accepted to serve. I am delightedly anticipating
their help in spreading a
peacemaking approach to conflict! The peer mediation applications are due in
my office on Tuesday,
May 8. Please encourage your fifth grader to participate.

Recent topics in 7th grade guidance classes have been anger management,
communication and
conflict resolution, suicide prevention, and teamwork. In 6th grade weï¿½ve
been talking about
tolerance and will wrap of the year with a review of several topics and a look
ahead at 7th grade. Iï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½m
hoping to get into the lower grade classrooms to do a few lessons these last
two weeks, as time
permits.

The Big Brother/Big Sister Program is wrapping up for this year; the last day
will be June 11. Itï¿½s
been
a wonderful year of fun and personal growth for all involved.

As always, itï¿½s pleasure to serve you and your children. Feel free to call
with any questions.

Sincerely yours,
Gail

5/7/10
Thank you very much to the PTO for their generous support of the Turning
Points Network guest
speaker who came in April.

Hartford Area Career and Technology Center summer camp update: There still are
spaces available
for this great one-week career exploration opportunity for sixth, seventh and
eighth graders. The
camp runs mornings June 21- 25 which overlaps with our last two days of school
but Iï¿½ve been
assured that students may miss one or two days and still have an excellent
experience. If the $10 fee
is a problem, please let me know, since a generous benefactor has agreed to
pay the fee. Application
forms are available on my door at school and need to be filled out ASAP.

Here is the schedule for Science NECAP testing the next two weeks:

Fourth Grade
Tuesday, May 11: 1:00 ï¿½ 2:30 (Session 1)
Wednesday, May 12: 10:15 ï¿½ 11:45 (Session 2)
Tuesday, May 18: 1:00 ï¿½ 2:30 (Session 3) (Inquiry Task)

Eighth Grade
Monday, May 17: 10:20 ï¿½ 12:10 (Periods 3 & 4) (Session 1)
Monday, May 17: 1:15 ï¿½ 2:45 (Periods 7 & 8) (Session 2)
Tuesday, May 18: 9:05 ï¿½ 11:20 (Periods 2, 3, 4) (Session 3) (Inquiry Task)

As always I hope you will email or call if you have any concerns or questions.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

4/30/10
In the sixth and seventh grade classes we are discussing Internet and cell
phone safety and privacy
issues, cyber bullying and related topics. We talk about the misperception
that privacy can be
maintained on social networking sites such as Facebook. The reality is that
that once something is
online it has the potential to be downloaded and used by another, not always
for the intended
purpose. We talk about the importance of telling an adult if you receive a
threatening or harassing
message and the seriousness of using technology to ï¿½jokeï¿½ in a harassing
manner. We watch a
movie
called ï¿½Inboxï¿½ dramatizing the hurtful potential of messages delivered
electronically. We look at
the
potential for thoughtless online postings to jeopardize job, school, or
scholarship applications. The
students offer their thoughts and experiences and we talk about ways to enjoy
technology safely.

In the school newsletter we've attached a flyer that may contain some useful
suggestions for your
consideration.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

4/16/10
A guest speaker from the nonprofit organization Turning Points Network
(formerly Women's
Supportive Services) has been part of our yearly guidance programming for a
number of years. This
year the special classes are taking place in grades 2, 3, and 4 on consecutive
Mondays, April 12 and
26. The visiting teacher, Anne Rawson, is reinforcing the messages of respect
and appropriately
assertive communication that we work on all year long. Information about the
services offered by
Turning Points is available at http://www.free-to-soar.org/

Eighth graders have completed their Lebanon high school registrations and
recently revisited their
career portfolios during an extended advisory period. Seventh grade classes
have completed a unit
on preventing, recognizing and coping with stress. Sixth graders have
completed career exploration
and will be moving on to other topics after break. Fifth grade is due for
their beginning career
exploration; applications for the peer mediation program will be made
available soon. Lower grade
guidance lessons in recent weeks have involved a number of issues such as
recognizing and coping
with feelings, tolerance for diversity, communication, multiple intelligences,
and safe touch.

The 7/8th Big Brother/Sister elective has begun for the third trimester. In
almost every case the
ï¿½bigsï¿½ have been paired with new ï¿½littles.ï¿½ Iï¿½m very delighted with
the responsiveness,
initiative and
responsibility being demonstrated by this yearï¿½s ï¿½Big Sibs.ï¿½ Playing as
a whole group with Mr.
Feidï¿½s
big parachute in the gym has been a fun activity weï¿½ve tried to occasionally
work in.

I like to remind you that the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center half
day camp (June 21-25)
is requesting applications, which are available in my office. With the nearly
free cost of $10 this is an
excellent opportunity for our students; it does unfortunately conflict with
the morning of our last
two days of school but parents may wish to choose this opportunity just as
they do for other special
events. Hartford has assured us that missing one day would not be a problem,
so that they could be
here for our last half day. If you have any questions, please call me.

Wishing you a lovely spring week,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

4/2/10
High school registration forms are due in the guidance office by Monday, April
12, at the latest.

3/25/10

For parents of 8th graders:

LHS has mailed the course catalogs to families of rising 9th graders. Anne
Evensen, LHS lead
counselor in charge of 9th grade, will present information to 8th graders next
Wednesday, March 31,
during the advisory period. For parents there is an information night on
Monday, March 29th, at the
high school. Tours will be available at 6:00 PM and the meeting will start at
6:30 in the cafeteria.
This event is for parents only.

For parents of 6th, 7th and 8th graders:
The Hartford Area Career and Technology Center (HACTC) has received a grant to
provide a one-
week Technology Camp June 21-25. The sessions will be held from 9:00 to 12:00
each morning, and
transportation from Lebanon is available. Students will have the opportunity
to learn about the
educational programs at HACTC and to do a variety of projects in these programs:

ï¿½ Building Trades
ï¿½ Business Administration
ï¿½ Computer Technology Applications
ï¿½ Collision Repair & Refinishing
ï¿½ Design & Illustration/Media Arts
ï¿½ Engineering & Architectural Design
ï¿½ Finance & Business Management
ï¿½ Industrial Mechanics & Welding

The cost of the program is an amazing $10.00 and includes a t-shirt. This is a
great opportunity to
get started on a path towards marketable job skills and I hope that a number
of our students are
able to attend. This will also provide an excellent way to make friends with
students from around the
area. The application forms are available in my office. HACTC will give
preference to 8th graders,
followed by 7th graders and finally 6th graders. If you have any questions,
please call me.

Yours,
Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 3/18/10

The highlight of this week has been the seventh grade mini ï¿½career fairï¿½
held during the
Wednesday
upper grade advisory time. This was the culmination of a several week
developmental guidance
career exploration. Each student used the brochure or poster he or she had
created as a resource to
provide career information to peer interviewers visiting their ï¿½booth.ï¿½
These projects were the
result
of research the students had done in guidance class, the library, and on their
own. It was an
enormous pleasure to spend the weekend reviewing these nicely done projects
and then to witness
the careful interviewing and presenting that took place grade-wide in
advisory. The career fair was a
success not only because of the excellence of these young peopleï¿½s efforts
but also because of the
teamwork among seventh grade staff all of whom were flexible, supportive and
had great ideas.
Special thanks go to our librarians Ms. Jill and Mrs. Collins, Ms. Thibodeau,
Sra Allen, Mrs. Goodrow,
Mrs Lanzim, Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Heaton. There will be a display of some of
the projects soon.

In the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th grades we recently covered the topic of safe
touch. Students reviewed
what to do if anyone ever touches them in their private parts (the parts of
the body covered by a
bathing suit) for any reason except to keep them clean and healthy. We
discussed the need to say
NO in a firm voice, to get away, and to tell a trusted adult.

In the 5th grade we are proceeding with the mediation process curriculum. The
peer mediation
program should be ready to go for the fall. Interested rising 6th graders will
have the chance to
apply to serve as peer mediators for younger students during recess. Career
awareness has begun in
6th grade and will be introduced in 5th grade later in the spring.

Third graders have had a lesson on understanding anotherï¿½s point of view
last week. We watched
an
excellent movie and discussed standing in someone elseï¿½s shoes. Ask a third
grader what empathy
is
and they will be happy to explain it to you. Fourth graders are scheduled for
a lesson on multiple
intelligences to increase awareness of individual learning styles.

Students who have parents who live apart are participating in small one-time
lunch groups. They
come to my office for a ï¿½My Two Homesï¿½ game. Iï¿½ve started in 3rd grade
and will work my
way up
through the grades.

Wishing you a beautiful almost-spring weekend with your families,

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

3/12/10
From the School Counselor

High School Registration
Look in the mail for registration packets from Lebanon High School. Anne
Evensen, the high school
lead counselor in charge of 9th graders, will be visiting to share information
with students at a date
TBA. (The event will take place during the school day.) An information evening
for parents of 9th
graders will take place on March 29th at 6:30 at LHS.

Seventh Grade Career Project
Seventh grade students have completed a career exploration unit and research
project. The projects
in most cases are impressive! Students will have the opportunity to share
information with each
other on Wed., March17th, during the advisory time when we will hold a
mini-career fair. The
students are encouraged to dress up slightly (business clothes) for this event.

Iï¿½m looking forward to sharing further news next week.

Yours,
Gail Malsin M.Ed.

2/28/10
From the School Counselor

My topic today is support for your work as parents. One opportunity that is
coming up is the popular
Strengthening Families Program for 10-14 yr. olds and their parents and
caregivers which will be
starting at Claremont Middle School on April 28. Parents may be interested in
trying out the program
by coming to the first session. The flyer is posted on the Guidance web ages
under photos/docs or
here is the URL that you can copy into your browser:

http://teacherweb.com/NH/PlainfieldElementarySchool/Guidance/SFPPoster-April-2010Clmt11.pdf

Those interested in attending may call also Gail Kennedy at 863-9200 or e-mail
gkennedy@ceunh.unh.edu.

Parenting support is also available through my office. I would be happy to
offer an early morning
(7:30 AM) coffee and parenting series if there is sufficient interest. Let me
know by Friday, March 5 if
you would attend. Most likely this would be on Fridays. In the Guidance office
there are a number of
books and videos that can be borrowed and at the school district meeting there
will be a table of
books to take home for free as I am weeding out the shelves.

Additional resources are available through the NH state library, which mails
out resources. A flyer
Will be is attached to the school newsletter and a link is posted on the
guidance web pages under
parent resources.

I look forward to seeing you at the school meeting. Iï¿½ll be in the
babysitting room for part of the
time. If our paths donï¿½t cross please feel free to call or email me with
your concerns.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin

From the School Counselor 1/28/10

G.I.R.L.S.
This week was the final meeting of the fourth grade G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real
Life Situations) groups.
Over the course of three months weï¿½ve met in two small groups to explore
identity and practice
communication. The girls seemed to have fun celebrating their strengths and
their natural ability to
connect with others. Their interpersonal problem-solving talents have
flourished and I am very
proud of how many of them are able to demonstrate appropriate, sensitive
assertiveness in difficult
situations.

Classroom Guidance
Due to our delayed opening, the fifth grade mediation practices were postponed
this week but will
resume next week. The students have been wonderfully responsive. In sixth
grade over the last
weeks weï¿½ve covered a number of topics. One week the students developed
skits illustrating the
difference between passive, assertive and aggressive responses to conflict.
Another week we talked
about responding to peer pressures. This week we reviewed study skills and
talked about the roots
of angry feelings.

Before the holidays, the seventh grade guidance classes wrote wishes for 2010.
A sampling of these
wishes is posted below. We are currently into our career awareness unit. The
Seventh Up school
success groups will be celebrating the completion of a nine sessions series
next Wednesday, and we
will then reconfigure the groups for a renewed series of meetings.

Iï¿½m in the process of scheduling classroom guidance in the lower grades.
Itï¿½s great to see how
so
many of our guidance goals are incorporated into the daily classroom curriculum.

Parent Opportunity
Iï¿½m exploring the possibility of providing an early morning (7:30 to 8:30
AM) parenting group open
to parents of students of all ages. Coffee and snacks would be provided. If
you would be interested,
please let me know. This would start after vacation.

Dartmouth Partnership
We are in the beginning phase of a relationship with the Tucker Foundation at
Dartmouth to provide
volunteer college age mentors to a few students. Tucker has recently shifted
this mentoring program
from community-based to school-based. My responsibility is to choose students
and make matches,
arrange for the necessary paperwork and background check (fingerprinting,)
facilitate an initial
meeting, mentor the Dartmouth students via email, attend meetings in Hanover,
and write reports.
The mentors meet outside of school with parent participation involved. There
are some
transportation challenges yet we hope to see the program prove to be valuable
and serve the needs
of a few of our students.

It is a pleasure to serve as your school counselor.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin

12/2009 selected Plainfield School Class of 2011 Wishes for 2010

? To help people who need it.
? For Obama to do something about the healthcare thingy.
? To sit with different people at lunch.
? That no one has to endure a winter without heat in the house.
? For a lot of snow.
? Progress towards stopping global warming.
? That people just be themselves.
? To keep a pencil longer than 7 hours.
? To stop procrastinating on homework.
? No more smoke!
? For my enemies to become allies.
? ***To see friends/family more.
? To think about other people rather than myself.
? No lies.
? Not to go crazy in double classes.
? To get to know my teachers better.
? 100 on one test for each class.
? Not goof around at all.
? Find a good singer for our band.
? Meet new peopleï¿½be friendly with everyone.
? Sister not mean to me.
? To pay attention more.
? My friends to act more their age.
? For my sister to be happy in school.
? Friends wonï¿½t nag or bother me in class.
? ***More friendsï¿½make new friendsï¿½stay connected to friendsï¿½
? Become friends with everyone***
? Be happy.
? Not let social life get in the way of grades.
? No pink slips all term.
? A fast trimester.
? Look at things with an open mind.
? Get along better with teachers.

***January 2010 Addendum: Ms. Lincolnï¿½s speedy and complete recovery.

*** Wish of many

From the School Counselor 1/21/10

In honor of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. this week has been an opportunity
to celebrate kindness,
tolerance and justice. For example, Mark Woodcockï¿½s kindergarteners created
a beautiful bulletin
display centered on global diversity. In class kindergartners practiced
conflict resolution strategies
such as avoiding the escalation of disagreements. Partner-up day on Wednesday
(organized by the
5th through 8th teachers with the support of our wonderful librarians Jill
Daley and Leanne Collins)
included a friendship theme. Many classes had the opportunity to incorporate a
friendship peace
symbol activity created by Mindy Taber; look for a bulletin board with these
creations. Students in
7th grade guidance classes watched a video documentary about a holocaust
survivor and next week
will be discussing the implications of intolerance, a theme we have been
working on all year. My
hope is to bring awareness of the wealth of opportunities we enjoy as
Americans and that this will
enhance motivation as we discuss their futures during our career awareness
unit. Morning sing on
Tuesday centered on peace and justice as it has at MLK day for many years. The
PTO treated the staff
to the kindness of an amazing lunch. These events are but a few examples of
the how we integrate
this theme school-wide not only this week but every week as we strive to
enhance student
development in all areas: academic, social, and emotional.

Parents of 8th graders applying to private schools may rest assured that all
materials have been sent
in plenty of time to meet the deadlines. A heads up for parents of 7th and 8th
graders: Hartford Area
Career and Technology Center has received a grant to provide a one week
institute late in June at the
minimal cost of $10 which will include a t-shirt. Students will need to apply
and I will get the details
out as soon as I receive them.

Look for more news next week!

Yours,
Gail Malsin M.Ed.
School Counselor

1/15/10

Kindness Week
January 18 ï¿½ January 22

"Just for today, I will let go of anger. Just for today, I will let go of
worry. Today, I will count my many
blessings. Today, I will do my work honestly. Today, I will be kind to every
living creature."

-Mikao Usui

Quote courtesy of Lisa Gradijan

12/11/09

At the holiday season with winter truly upon us any gap between income and
expenses becomes more intense. If you are experiencing difficulty taking
care of the basics of shelter, food and heat, please feel contact me so
that we can help. Applications for free and reduced school lunch can be
made at any time during the school year and applications are handled with
strictest confidentiality.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor
469-3250 extension 225
gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org

From the School Counselor 12/3/09

With the end of the trimester this week, the current session of the Big
Brother and Sister elective is
coming to a close. A new group of Big Sibs will begin meeting and pairs will
be arranged after the
holidays. Some of the Big Sibs are continuing, but most will be paired with a
new little buddy
because we always have many more ï¿½littlesï¿½ than we can take care of. The
students to be
mentored
are chosen by teacher and parent recommendation; if your student wasnï¿½t
involved first trimester
and
you feel there is a need, please drop me a note or give me a call.

In the 7th and 8th grade guidance classes and advisory we have been looking at
the issue of
harassment. This week we looked at a sobering movie incorporating clips from
the Columbine High
School shooting 10 years ago, with student testimonials. We discussed the sad
reality that while in
Plainfield we do not anticipate ever dealing with such an event, harassment
and isolation can lead to
feeling desperate and alienated enough to plan a shooting, and we discussed
ways to prevent this.
The movie brought home the one of the reasons we practice ï¿½sheltering in
place.ï¿½

Again this week Iï¿½m feeling very delighted by the way our Health and
Guidance curriculum is
integrated into other subject areas. For example, David Keeney had students
think of feeling words
to go with a musical piece. He integrated this activity with technology by
creating colorful emotion
collages through Wordle. This week too I enjoyed seeing the student career
brochures displayed in
Sra. Allenï¿½s classroom.

As always, itï¿½s a pleasure to work with you and your children and I hope you
will always feel free to
contact me with your concerns or questions.

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin

From the School Counselor 11/18/09

Today Iï¿½m feeling grateful about the many ways everyone here practices
tolerance and seeks to
create
group harmony. For example, last week we joined schools nationwide to
celebrate ï¿½Mix it Upï¿½
day at
lunch. In 5th grade the tradition for eight years has been to get together by
birthdays, discussing
positive and negative traits of each sign of the zodiac and discussing
historical celebrities who share
the same sign. Seventh graders recalled enjoying these 5th grade activities
with enjoyment and at
their suggestion the upper grades used horoscopes as well. I was happy to join
the sixth grade,
which had been mixed up by color. In a ï¿½yellow dotï¿½ group I enjoyed a
lively conversation that
included how we would spend a million dollars and how we might get our hands
on that many
dollars through our work.

In kindergarten with Mr. Woodie students not only mixed it up at lunch but
also were mixed up in
pairs to complete a remarkable cooperative unit. Each duo negotiated to
complete a shared book on
mutual likes and dislikes. The students looked very professional in their
working teams! I could just
see them growing up to be very highly evolved ï¿½movers and shakers.ï¿½

Under the direction of Ms. C., the entire student body has contributed to a
cooperative mural spelling
out ï¿½Speak your mind even if your voice shakes,ï¿½ to be posted soon.
Coincidentally,
assertiveness has
been a theme this month in a number of guidance classes classes. In Mrs.
Heistadï¿½s class we
practiced telling a classmate that we would prefer not to join a particular
game, and talked about not
taking it personally when an invitation is politely refused. We explored a
similar theme in 6th grade
this week, practicing ï¿½I statementsï¿½ to communicate things that might be
hard to say such as ï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½When
you spread rumors about me, I feel upset and Iï¿½d like you to stop.ï¿½ ï¿½I
statementsï¿½ will also
be useful
for the 5th graders who are learning how to mediate conflicts. We are hoping
to launch a pilot peer
mediation program later in the year. In third grade weï¿½ve discussed kindness
and honesty; in
second
grade we reviewed good touch/bad touch.

Inspirational/motivational posters by the 7th graders are posted in the lobby
and other places
around school. They are great! Students were given this in-class assignment as
part of our study
skills curriculum since half the battle with homework is staying motivated.
More recently in 7th
grade weï¿½ve been discussing the issues of gossip and harassment, thinking
about ways to avoid
and
cope with this troubling and hurtful behavior. The students agree that the
advisory program is
helping to promote a culture that discourages uncaring actions, but a deeper
conversation on the
topic is also needed.

Two groups of fourth grade girls are meeting with me regularly in the
G.I.R.L.S sessions to focus on
identity, self-esteem, communication, and relationships. Two groups of seventh
graders are meeting
in the Seventh Up groups to focus on ways to achieve school success. I am
looking into the
possibility of a divorce group, and planning other groups for later in the year.

As always, a number of students with social and academic concerns have come
into the office for
individual and small group counseling. Itï¿½s always a pleasure to witness the
skills they are able to
develop with a little support. Today I pointed out to a group of girls how far
theyï¿½ve
come since last year. Theyï¿½ve developed some strategies for working out
social conflicts and while
there is plenty of work yet to be done I am proud of them.

A note to parents of 8th graders applying to private schools: please have your
student give us the
recommendation requests as soon as possible. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

11/8/09
Holiday Baskets
Once again PES will be offering Thanksgiving Food Baskets for local families
in need. You can help
by providing $10 gift cards to local grocery stores or other food items.
Please take a leaf from the
tree in the foyer with the needed item written on the back. Children should
check with parents
before taking a leaf from the tree. Once you have purchased your item it can
be placed under the
tree. Gift cards should be brought to the office. All items must be in by
Thursday, November 19th.
Thank you in advance for your support. It is a time to be thankful and help
out our neighbors! We
will also be doing our traditional food basket and gift card collection for
families during December
holidays. Please stay tuned for more details. If you have any questions please
be in touch with Gail
Malsin or Karen Heaton at 469-3250.

11/4/09

ï¿½Mix it Up Dayï¿½ Tuesday, November 10

"Mix It Upï¿½ is a nationwide campaign that supports students who want to
identify, question, and
cross any social boundaries that separate them from each other and seeks to
help build inclusive,
welcoming learning environments. Building inclusive communities is something
that we as educators
work on constantly. The Responsive Classroom and Developmental Design
approaches are examples
of this type of work, which also takes place through such approaches as
curriculum integration of
tolerance themes, and the classroom cooperative learning strategies used by
our teachers.

From time to time it is useful to focus on themes of inclusion as a school, as
we will on Tuesday,
November 10, "Mix it Up" day 2009. As in the past, Plainfield staff will be
helping to mix student
seating at lunch and providing conversation starters. For further information
about ï¿½Mix it Upï¿½
day
please visit www.tolerance.org.

Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

From the School Counselor 10/30/09

With the month-long New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) testing
having completed
last Thursday we are able to move forward with a number of guidance and
counseling efforts.

First on the agenda this week was working on the 8th grade transition to high
school.
Representatives from Lebanon High School and Kimball Union Academy visited to
present
information about their programs. If you missed this opportunity you will have
another chance in the
spring at the LHS 9th grade parent to meet Anne Evensen (who is the new lead
counselor at LHS) and
assistant principal Kristin Wilson. Those interested in meeting Rich Ryerson,
director of admissions
at KUA, are invited to attend an open house; there is one scheduled for
Saturday, November 7.
Applicants to private schools including KUA may want to consider using the
Common Application to
simplify the paperwork tasks. And speaking of paperwork, we appreciate
receiving the
recommendation forms as soon as possible in order to write the most thoughtful
letters.

This has been Red Ribbon week. In seventh grade guidance class we watched a
DVD entitled ï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½Getting
Stupidï¿½ about the physiological effects of substances on the brain and in
advisory Karen Heaton
showed all the seventh graders a video on the effects of tobacco. Seventh
grade guidance classes
have also been working on motivational/inspirational posters, illustrating a
quotation of their own
choosing. They are wonderful! Look for these in the hallways when you come in
for conferences. And
speaking of conferences, feel free to invite me to attend your childï¿½s
conference if you feel my
attendance would be helpful. I am also available for appointments outside of
conference times, so
please call me if you would like to schedule one.

A number of new group sessions will be starting soon. A G.I.R.L.S. group for
fourth grade girls will
begin as soon as we have the permission slips back. All fourth grade girls are
invited to meet in a
small group on Tuesdays to explore girl concerns. I am using the curriculum by
Shannon Trice-Black
and Julia Taylor as a springboard and will tailor the meetings according to
the girlsï¿½ needs. The
girls
will need to give up one of their Tuesday recess times to participate but my
expectation is that we
will have so much fun that the girls wonï¿½t care. Two groups of 7th grade
students will be using
some
of their study hall time on Wednesdays to meet in a solution-focused group to
focus on ways to
increase success strategies for school.

In sixth grade classes weï¿½ve focused on communication and ï¿½rules for
fighting fair.ï¿½ In fifth
grade we
are looking at the possibility of starting a peer mediation program. I will be
returning to the primary
grade classes as soon as possible to review topics covered last year and
continue with the Second
Step curriculum we started last year.

Itï¿½s a pleasure to be part of the educational team at Plainfield School and
to serve the needs of you
and your children. I hope that you will call or email me with your questions
and concerns.

October 23, 2009
Notice for 7 and 8th Grade Families
(This notice was sent home as a letter on Wednesday, Oct. 21)

Although June 2010 and Plainfield School graduation seems far away, it wonï¿½t
be long before our
8th
graders will be selecting courses for 9th grade. To prepare for this major
transition and the choices
ahead, representatives from Lebanon High School and Kimball Union Academy have
been invited to
provide information sessions next Monday, October 26 at 6:30 PM. The evening
is intended primarily
for the 8th grade with the 7th grade families cordially invited.

The presentations will be held simultaneously and then repeated to allow
families to gather
information from both schools. Each presentation will last for half an hour so
if you attend both
sessions the evening will end at 7:30. The meetings will be held in the 7/8
Language Arts and
Science rooms.

Anne Evensen, who is the lead school counselor at LHS and in charge of 9th
graders, will attend
along with Kristin Wilson, who is the assistant principal responsible for 9th
grade. Theyï¿½ve let me
know that they are bringing a lively PowerPoint presentation along with
packets of information to
take home.

Rich Ryerson, director of admissions at KUA, will be offering information and
handouts; you may
want to follow up with a visit to campus for one of the open houses. The next
KUA open house is
scheduled for Saturday, November 7th.

Iï¿½m excited to begin the process of shepherding these spirited young people
into the next phase of
their education, and I look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Gail Malsin M.Ed.
School Counselor

Oct. 9, 2009

The NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program administered in NH, VT, RI
and ME)
standardized testing is in full swing. On Tuesday the eighth graders completed
this series of
assessments while the seventh graders completed their series in the latter
part of the week. Sixth
graders finished on Thursday and fifth graders began today. Over the next two
weeks the third,
fourth and fifth grade students will also complete their series of tests and
we will be done in time for
Open House.

This extensive testing program is federally mandated by the No Child Left
Behind legislation and is a
significant way that we measure student progress. This assessment requires a
great deal of effort on
the part of all the staff and the grade 3-8 students. We encourage you to
explain to your children the
importance of giving relaxed but focused attention during this testing season
to produce accurate
results reflecting true achievement levels. We ask students to work very
carefully and thoroughly and
we also ask students to be patient if they are among the early-finishers. For
security reasons the
test administration procedures, carefully outlined by the State Department of
Education, are very
strict. We are required to set aside 90 minutes for each section of the test
even though not every
student needs that amount of time, and we allow students to read quietly once
they have finished.

If your child is scheduled for an appointment on a test day and it would be at
all possible to
reschedule it, that would be great, since make-ups interrupt the academic
program and are hard on
students.

Please feel free to contact me about any concerns.

Gail Malsin
School Counselor

October 2, 2009
The 7 and 8th graders who are participating in the Big Brother and Sister
elective began to meet with
their assigned younger ï¿½siblingsï¿½ this week. The current set of pairs will
get together either on
Thursday or Friday through December 4. Now that the program is running on the
trimester system,
weï¿½ll have three sessions of the program. If your child isnï¿½t involved
there will be further
opportunities later in the year. There are always more requests for big
siblings than the program is
set up to handle, so if a student is unable to take advantage of the program
one time we try very
hard to meet the request in the next round.

Eighth grade families are reminded that on Monday, October 26 representatives
from LHS and KUA
will be on hand to meet with you at 6:30 PM. I will be talking with 8th
graders about their plans for
next year either in Health and Guidance class or in advisory. Any student who
is interested in
applying to private school should contact the school to ask about application
deadlines and testing
requirements. Also, if you think your child would benefit from receiving mail
regarding the Johns
Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer enrichment programs for gifted
students, one way to get
on the mailing list is to take the SAT test. If you would like further
information, please give me a call.

In 7th grade guidance classes weï¿½ve explored the theme of conflict in tandem
with the homeroom
advisors. Our interdisciplinary trip to the Hood museum enhanced these
discussions as we explored
the Orozco murals and Felix de la Conchaï¿½s multimedia portraiture.
Picnicking on the green
provided
an opportunity to enjoy each other as a class. I was very gratified by the
studentsï¿½ thoughtful
responses to the exhibits. These students are deep and creative thinkers.
Weï¿½ve also been working
on study skills and discussing school success strategies such as time
management and organization.
We will be doing more with school success skills in weeks to come.

In 6th grade Guidance we finished discussing the career exploration booklets
from last year and
students have been given these to take home. We are beginning to use a series
of activities designed
to help students develop a sense of self, build collaboration skills, manage
emotions, resolve
conflicts, resist peer pressure, and solve everyday problems. I am delighted
to be working with each
sixth grade class every other week and really enjoying the thinking going on
in these groups as well.

In first and second grade classes weï¿½ve talked about the role of the
counselor and visited with the
counselorï¿½s furry seal puppets (Seymour and Lucille) who love to see
students. My friend Impulsive
Puppy often comes along to class to encourage students to listen and
participate in discussions
appropriately. We also read two stories about helpful friends.

In third, fourth and fifth grade classes we are (or soon will be) reviewing
listening actively and
communicating effectively.

As noted in the principalï¿½s notes, the NECAP testing has started and I am
working with the special
education team and the teachers to ensure another successful test season. I am
always happy to
hear from parents. Sometimes email is the best since it allows me to respond
very early in the
morning or late at night. (gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org) In any case if you
phone or email and fail to
receive a reply, please try again. Our communication is important to me.

Sincerely yours,
Gail Malsin
School Counselor

September 13, 2009
I've just watched the Sesame Workshop video "Families Stand Together" which
aired on public TV this
week and is now posted online at:

http://www.sesameworkshop.org/toughtimes

The hourlong video features Elmo and his family coping with a job loss and
lifestyle changes. The
site offers a number of resources for families.

September 11, 2009
It's gratifying to see all the smiles on studentsï¿½ faces. Many students have
told me how much they
are enjoying their new classes and teachers.

Guidance classes will begin in 6th grade next week and I will be doing lessons
in the lower grades
before the end of the month. Seventh and eighth graders have received Health
and Guidance
curriculum outlines this week and a homework assignment of obtaining parent
signatures on the
outlines.

The New England Common Assessment Program testing for grades 3 through 8 will
take place
between October 1 and 22. It would be very helpful if parents could avoid
scheduling trips and
appointments during this period since every student must be tested and makeup
sessions are hard
on the students. When we have settled the schedule for each grade we will make
it available.

DATE CORRECTIONS:
Representatives from Lebanon High School and Kimball Union Academy will be
available to offer
program information to 7 and 8th grade families on Monday, OCTOBER (NOT
SEPTEMBER) 26, at 6:30
PM.

Seventh graders will visit the Hood museum the morning of Thursday, September
24. Look for a
notice being sent home with students. This week's newsletter incorrectly lists
the date as September
26.

September 3, 2009
In several of the 7th and 8th grade Health & Guidance classes this week,
Karen Heaton and I
enjoyed
witnessing the collaborative efforts of the students as theyï¿½ve blended
individual goals with those
of
classmates to come up with a group statement of commitment to a positive
learning environment,
building on the work theyï¿½ve been doing in homeroom/advisory. Karen works
most often with the
8th graders in Health & Guidance classes, while I work more with the 7th
grade classes, and we
also
co-teach and switch off. I feel very fortunate to work in partnership with
Karen since sheï¿½s
established the most outstanding Health program Iï¿½ve ever witnessed.

The 7th and 8th grade ï¿½Big Sibsï¿½ are beginning to meet during their weekly
elective time and I
am
developing a list of potential ï¿½little buddies.ï¿½ Students who are not in
ï¿½Big Sibsï¿½ first
trimester may
be involved during one of the other trimesters.

Throughout the building Iï¿½ve had the pleasure of reconnecting with students
on the playground, in
the classrooms, and in the hallways. The students who are new to our school
seem to be fitting in
very well. Soon Iï¿½ll be visiting 1-6th grade classes to provide classroom
guidance.

Homework has started; outside my office Iï¿½ve posted a Valley News column of
suggestions written
by
parent and teacher Deb Beaupre and Iï¿½m attaching a homework handout for your
convenience.

I hope that you will always feel comfortable to contact me with your questions
and concerns, either
by email (gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org), phone or in person.

August 26, 2009

Greetings from the Counselor

Hello! Iï¿½m delighted to be returning to Plainfield for the second year as
your school counselor. I
look
forward to working with your children to develop positive attitudes and goals,
practice decision-
making and communication skills, and increase school success strategies. Right
now Iï¿½m
particularly
enthusiastic about the Developmental Design initiative taking shape in the
middle school. All
teachers of middle school students are working to enhance student development
and learning by
meeting needs for belonging, autonomy, competence and fun in a number of new
ways. We
will also be able to integrate a number of our Health & Guidance
curriculum goals through this
programmatic design.

Big Sister/Brother Program

Our in-school mentoring program will resume soon. Seventh and eighth grade
students who choose
this elective will be paired with a student in grades 1 through 4. Students
are selected based on
teacher input and participation is voluntary. The junior high students meet
with me to train and to
brainstorm activities to share with their younger buddies. The meetings take
place during the lunch
and recess time once each week for a trimester. This is a very rewarding
program allowing the older
students to practice responsibility and the younger students to connect with
an older friend and role
model.

If you have a particular interest in having your child participate, please
send me a note or an email
(gmalsin@plainfieldschool.org) by Friday, Sept. 5th. If you have any
questions, I hope you will call.

Gail Malsin, M.Ed.
School Counselor

June 23, 2009

Transition to High School

We wish the new graduates much success as they head to high school. As of
tomorrow, career
portfolios will be available to pick up in the office with report cards.

Gusanoz, Conflict and Reconciliation

On May 29th the seventh graders visited Gusanoz restaurant and the Hood Museum
of Art. Thanks to
Seï¿½ora Allen, students enjoyed Mexican cuisine and the pleasure of dining
together in a congenial
setting. Later, at the museum, two docents helped students to understand
multi-media portraiture
in the exhibit by Lyme artist Felix de la Concha: Public Portraits/Private
Conversations. The
installation explores the theme of ï¿½Conflict and Reconciliationï¿½ in the
lives of local residents.
This
interdisciplinary event culminated much of the yearï¿½s guidance work, with
tie-ins to social studies,
language arts, and of course the arts. Students wrote thoughtful
follow-through reflections
demonstrating connections theyï¿½d made to their own lives.

Memorial Day Ceremony

On May 29, John and Susan Gregory-Davis led a moving Memorial Day service for
the school
community, which formed a circle in the gym. The program opened with Will
Merchantï¿½s rendition
of
Taps followed by inspiring words from the Gregory-Davisï¿½s. Each student and
staff member whoï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½
ï¿½ï¿½d
recently lost a loved one came to the center of the circle to offer a memorial
carnation and a second
grader honored the memory of our many beloved pets. Bill Fleming and
retiringï¿½C dn0ï¿½@ï¿½lyn
Alves played special roles in the ceremony: Bill stood up for the Veterans and
Mrs. Alves
represented the eighth graders who were in transit to Montreal. Larry Wolkin
led the school in a
traditional Celtic song to end the program.

Career Day May 1, 2009

Career Day was a brilliant success thanks to Stephanie S

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