Counseling
October 6, 2011 - Happy Fall!
Hi RMDS families! This week I created an “INFO FOR YOU” wall for students in the cafeteria. I wanted to create a central place to post information for students to read with the goal of summoning discussions and questions among our students. Information posted will change as different events and topics emerge.
RMDS has designated next week (Oct. 10-14) as our Bullying Prevention Week, and your child will be discussing various topics related to bullying and positive school culture in his/her classes. Wednesday, October 12th is Unity Day at RMDS - we’ll be celebrating an unified school community and taking a stand to “unite against bullying!” You should receive a note home this week with your child reminding them to wear ORANGE on Wednesday the 12th. If s/he doesn’t own anything orange, s/he can bring a white shirt and we can “write” UNITY on it using orange tape 
I encourage you all to discuss bullying with your children at home - it’s so important that they see the same messages from school at home as well!
This month is also LGBT History Month, and I’ve posted information about notable lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people on the Info Wall. lgbthistorymonth.com is an excellent resource, and each day this website reveals a different LGBT Icon and his/her accomplishments. It’s vital that our children understand, appreciate, and respect the diversity that exists among human beings!
As always, if you have questions or concerns, please email me, give me a VP call, or stop by my office.
Avi
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Hello RMDS Students and Families!
My name is Avi Haimowitz, and I’m the new school counselor here at RMDS. I’m excited for what this experience will bring, and am already getting to know many students well. I will be posting on this webpage from time to time with resources for families with children of varying ages. I’ll also update you about topics of discussion with students, as I would like to encourage families to review some of these topics at home (e.g. emotional health, stress, conflict resolution, etc.). I conduct weekly push-in counseling groups with most elementary classes, and weekly community meetings focusing on various socioemotional topics with middle and high school students. Middle and high school parents: we will also be working this year on developing your child’s ICAP!
For those of you who were unable to attend Back to School Night, ICAP stands for Individual Career and Academic Plan. This is a transition plan now required by state law for middle and high school students, and this fall, all our older students will be setting up accounts and profiles in Naviance. They will be developing goals and exploring information related to life after high school. It’s never too early to think ahead, and I would love to see parents involved in the transition planning process! Please look for a letter coming to you soon with your personalized Naviance registration information (your child will bring one home to you in the next few weeks).
If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Avi Haimowitz avi@rmdeafschool.net 720-235-0003 (VP)
