Welcome to a Great New Year!
Dear Parents,
My name is Sara Le Blanc and I have been in education for over twenty years. I am a certified school counselor grades K-12. In 2009, I returned to my hometown of Mt. Pleasant after working abroad for many years as I am now beginning my seventh year within the MPCSD. It is a privilege to work with your child to help him or her develop life skills so that your son/daughter may successfully navigate his or her elementary school experience.
What does an elementary school counselor actually do? The counselor meets once every two weeks with each elementary class at three of the four elementary schools for a guidance lesson. This year, the district will continue to utilize the Why Try program, which consists of ten visual analogies or pictures with solutions and questions to help students gain insight into how to deal with daily challenges. The goal of the Why Try Program is to help students answer the question, “Why try in life?” when they encounter situations, which cause frustration, confusion, or anger. The Why Try Program teaches students the value of trying hard in life and putting effort into meeting the challenges at home, at school, and with peers is worth the effort. The Why Try Program supports and enhances the PBIS Panther Pride value system as it teaches self-respect as well as respect for others. The elementary guidance lessons concentrate on your child’s overall social and emotional development. The Why Try Program is a comprehensive guidance curriculum developed to help children solve life’s problems in a positive manner. The school counselor’s role is to help children find their voice so that they may communicate their needs in a healthy and respectful manner as well as provide skills for children so that when they encounter difficulty, they will have a plan in place so that life’s challenges will be handled successfully, and as a result their self-concept will be strengthened. Please feel free to learn more about this program at www.whytry.org
In addition to teaching guidance lessons, the elementary school counselor also works with small groups of students as well as with individual students for social-skills training. Kindly note, that a school counselor should not be confused with a therapist, as a school counselor is not qualified to provide therapy, but may make referrals for students and families to outside resources. Ultimately, the role of the elementary school counselor is one of support; support for our students, support for teachers, parents, administration, as well as the overall elementary school program.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or contact your child’s school.
Kindest Regards,
Sara Le Blanc
Elementary School Counselor
Our Guidance Counselor, Sara LeBlanc shared the book, Teamwork Isn’t My Thing, and I Don’t Like to Share! She will be sharing more of what she will be doing within the classrooms every week. 
Here, Mrs. Kenney’s 2nd grade class used great PRIDE skills and lined up quickly and quietly in the hallway!
Salem News 