A New Beginning

Middle school life is beginning for sixth graders.  Middle school life is ending for eighth graders. High school life is beginning for freshmen. High school life is ending for seniors.  The Canton 6-12 Guidance Department is experiencing both an end and a beginning.  The success and advancement of the guidance services under Mr. Dan Rubin is ending, but his accomplishments over the last eight years established the foundation for the new and exciting programs we are unveiling this year and in future years.

Our vision centers around the idea that the guidance services from sixth to twelfth grade will follow a cohesive curriculum, building in complexity and detail, as the student matures through the middle and high school. Our initiatives include this blog, Twitter updates, a revamped webpage (which is already in the works), parent coffees at both schools, night events, bus tours of colleges, after school SAT and ACT prep, lunchtime workshops, and our own YouTube Channel.

We hope you will join us as we embrace this exciting time in the Canton Guidance Department. We aim to reach the needs of ALL our students, at all ages, and hope you will help us in achieving this goal. To that end, we ask that if you need something, pick up the phone, send an email, share your thoughts. We are here to HELP.

Lean On Us

A new school year is challenging. Families, students, parents, faculty, and administrators are all adjusting to the feel of the new year, embarking on new initiatives, and striving to improve with each passing day. Unfortunately, this year, we aren't just beginning the 2015-2016 academic year. We are grieving the loss of one of our students. Grief is complicated; people experience it differently. On account of this, we need to respect one another's process and lean on each other as we need it. The Guidance Department of Canton High School is here for you as a resource. Pick up the phone, have students stop by our offices, or send us an email. We will help you grieve, we will help you process, we will help you in any way you can. Lean On Us. 

First Day of School Jitters

How many of you were up later than normal last night? Like students, we educators frequently experience first day jitters too. However, the parental experience of the first day of a new school year often gets overlooked. Parents are the ones lining the lines of Target, purchasing new outfits for children, buying, yet again, a new pair of shoes since their feet grow fast and furious. Yet, it is so much more than organizing a backpack, triple checking the school start time, and understanding the absence procedures. It's the silent well wishes sent to the universe, begging for a good first day. It's the triple checking of the clock to make sure the alarm wasn't missed. It's the incredibly slow passing of time until school gets out so a phone call can be made to see how it went.

All of this excitement and anticipation sometimes results in one word answers to questions which desire paragraphs of detail. How was your day? Did it go okay? Try to transform these questions into prompts which will require more detail to answer. Tell me about your day. Share the low point and the high point. What experiences are you feeling about tomorrow? How can I help?

If your child struggles to open up, do an activity together so it is easier to open up and eye contact can be avoided.  Go for a drive. Take a walk.  Eat dinner around the table and share the same information about your day that you are asking about. You might not get all the information, but be persistent, because at the end of the day, we all love talking about ourselves.