Counseling

The Sand Creek Social Counseling Department consists of two full-time Counselors as well as a full-time Social Worker. Additionally, starting in the 2020-21 school year, we also have a full time Psychologist at Sand Creek. This department is able to provide a variety of services and support to our students and families. The office can direct you to either our counselors or social worker anytime you need support from this team. They can provide recommendations and information on community-based resources that can support students and families with a wide variety of needs. 

In addition to our counselor and social worker, all teachers are also a part of our Social Emotional Learning curriculum. We use the Sanford Harmony program to teach students about tolerance, diversity, empathy and other important life skills. Classrooms implement a Morning Meeting model to help build a strong classroom community for Elementary Students, and Middle School are involved in Social Emotional as well with a Monday focused SEL lesson followed by mini-lessons in all content areas throughout the week. We are also beginning to implement Restorative Practices in both elementary and middle school grades. 

In addition, we have two special programs we run through our Social Counseling Department for our 5th-grade students:

Student Ambassadors

Each year 6-8 students are chosen to serve as student ambassadors. One of their main roles is to welcome new students to our school throughout the day. These ambassadors give a tour to our new students and introduce them to the staff members they will be interacting with on a daily basis. 

Mentoring Program

Each year all of our staff members choose a 5th-grade student to serve as a mentor. This staff member could be a previous teacher, a custodian, an office secretary, the PE teacher or the principal. The staff member checks in with their mentee 5th grader on a regular basis to provide individualized support both with academics and social/emotional needs. This program is designed to ensure that our 5th-grade students are extremely prepared for the transition to middle school.

At the Middle School level, we have implemented the following program:

Peace Peeps

Each year 8-10 students are chosen to serve as Peace Peeps. This group of students serve as leaders in our school and are trained in Restorative Practices. These individual students are then able to work with the counselor and social worker and serve as peer mentors when younger students are involved in social conflicts and they facilitate conversations to help students resolve conflicts and restore peace.