Counselor Corner

First, I want to say how much I miss all of my Jeffries kids! I miss saying good morning to all of the car riders. I miss having lunch with groups of you in my office. I miss giving you hallway hugs. I miss seeing your smiling faces. And, I miss helping your hurting hearts! I know being at home instead of school might seem like a dream come true, but I am sure, like me, most of you are already ready to come back to school. It will happen--just give it some time! Never before have we seen such events in our country. So I know many of you might be worried, anxious or even scared. You are not weird if you feel that way, and you are certainly not alone. But take heart! Many smart people are working to put an end to the spread of this virus and this time of uncertainty will not last forever! Eric Bates said: There are no negatives in life, only challenges to overcome that will make you stronger! So, let's not look on this time as negative or boring or useless. Rather let's make ourselves stronger because of the challenge that being cooped up with our family presents and take more time to play together and read books together and watch a movie together and sing songs together and dance our best moves together and clean our rooms together and ENJOY our family time together -- more, instead of less, every day! Through all of that, your mind and body will grow and develop and who knows, maybe your job one day will be to find a cure or solve a world problem! May your family stay healthy and your time be well spent! Until we see each other face-to-face again. Here's sending each of you my best! ~ Mrs. Livingston

Starting March 30, students can make an appointment to meet with me virtually through the Conference feature in Canvas. Go to the Jeffries Counseling Commons page in Canvas and follow the directions on the Virtual Counseling link. Appointments must be made a day in advance -- as I will not be sitting at my computer all day long every day. Please note that any session is voluntary; and while I will make every attempt to protect the confidentiality of any virtual counseling session, because of the online nature of the sessions, 100% confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.

Confidentiality means anything we talk about is private unless someone is being hurt or is in danger.

Students can continue to use the Counseling Request Form as well. If I receive a request from a student, I will send them a message to their Canvas Inbox to set up a video conference.

Additionally, my e-mail is: tmlivingston@spsmail.org if you have questions or concerns about your student or want to make a referral for School Based Counseling services.

It is my understanding that school based counseling services (SBC) will still be available during our time off from school. However, those sessions will not take place at school. Please contact Burrell directly (417/761-5000), if your SBC has not already contacted you to answer your questions, and make alternate arrangements for meeting your student's needs.

Additionally, if you would like to have your student referred for services, please e-mail Mrs. Livingston at tmlivingston@spsmail.org

Mini counseling lessons will be available for each grade starting the week of March 30. I will upload a new video into Canvas by Wednesday every other week. Go to Jeffries Counseling Commons>Counseling Lesson>your grade level. Lessons will be dated by week.

I will also record a video read-along each week. These will also be posted in the Jeffries Counseling Commons under Counseling Lessons.

During this time, take in facts as necessary and otherwise stay away from filling your mind with negative images and stories from news and social media outlets. Instead, engage in some of these activities to help your mind and body stay healthy.

Stress Busting Activities for Young Children

13 Stress Relief Tips for Kids (and Adults)

If you or your child are feeling anxious, besides trying some distracting activities, consider checking out or downloading one of these books for a good read.

25 Thoughtful Anxiety Books for Kids

10 Best Children's Books to Help Kids with Anxiety

K-2 students have learned about Feelings Buddies. This article by the creator of Feelings Buddies might be useful for talking with the your student. Though the information could be useful to all.

Five Helpful Responses for Families

Mental Health: https://sites.google.com/sps.org/mentalhealthresources/home

Jobs: See the Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/springfieldclosed/?ref=bookmarks And use the “search this group” function to search for jobs. There have been lots of postings.

Here is a list of just some of the community resources available. Continue to be in contact with your teachers, the nurse or myself if you have unmet needs. My e-mail is: tmlivingston@spsmail.org