School Counselor Interns - Yay!!

 We are very fortunate to have partnerships with area universities who provide us with counseling interns.  These interns are in their final semesters of becoming full-fledged school counselors, and come to us with a wealth of experience. The internship program not only provides an excellent training experience for our university students, it also allows us to offer more counseling services to students here at Lafayette. Read about our newest interns this semester:

My name is Jordan Albrite and I am completing the final semester of my Master’s in Education and Human Development at the George Washington University. Previously, I graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Psychology and Religious Studies, with hopes of pursuing a career in counseling. Before beginning my graduate studies, I spent three years teaching STEM enrichment classes and camps around DC and Northern Virginia, and developed a passion for working in educational settings with elementary-aged students. After a year of gaining experience as a school counseling intern, I am excited and honored to complete my final internship experience with the wonderful community at Lafayette Elementary!

My name is Lenore Hoover and I am completing the final semester of my Master's degree in School Counseling at the Johns Hopkins University. I am a longtime educator, having taught at John Eaton early in my career and since then in Montgomery County as an Art Teacher at the secondary level. I've earned my national certification  & was recently recognized in Maryland as Career Art Educator. Throughout my career I've found creative ways to highlight the unique talents and strengths of all students. I'm thrilled to be a part of the Lafayette Elementary community which has a wonderful reputation for it's collaborative efforts on behalf of all students.

Lenore Hoover and Jordan Albrite

Are you Flexible or Inflexible?

This month we've been talking all about the terms "flexible" and "inflexible."  The kids are amazed to learn that so many ordinary everyday items are flexible (think erasers, rubber bands, lego figures) and that things that are inflexible can often break easily (pencils, crayons, sticks). We have been applying these concepts to our bodies, which are all flexible to a certain degree, but even more importantly to our minds. If our minds are flexible, then we are really strong. We read The Zax by Dr. Seuss, and talked about the characters' inflexible thinking and the trouble it leads to. We will continue applying this concept to everyday situations the students encounter in peer interactions where flexibility is needed: who will go first in a game? Which color game piece will I be? How will I react if I lose? Who is first in line? And so on. So the next time your child acts a little "Rock-Brainish" remind him or her of the term flexible and how it makes us a stronger person.

-Jillian