Rochambeau Middle School

The goal of the Counseling Department is to work collaboratively in order to assist middle school students through their adolescent years which can be very challenging.  Students will see the counseling staff in many ways such as: Guidance class, individual or group counseling, facilitating the peer tutoring program, facilitating the peer mediation program, or just to say “hi”. 

 The Counseling Office is a non-confrontational safe zone for students to come and feel comfortable to express their feelings, opinions and perceptions, concerns for others, how to do better in school, or just to run an idea by someone.  The job of the department is to assist each student that walks through the door and help him/her feel comfortable and welcome, which in turn will help the day run as smoothly as possible. 

Comprehensive School Counseling Curriculum 

The Comprehensive Counseling Curriculum at Rochambeau was created by the school counselors in order to assure that all students would have awareness in three major content standards: academic, career and personal/social.  The curriculum is delivered to all students through lesson plans that have identified goals, student competencies, and activities for achieving these competencies.  The class is already a part of each student’s schedule on a weekly basis (6^th grade for the entire year) or two times a week (7^th and 8^th grade) for half the year.  

The curriculum is based on the “Connecticut Model Comprehensive School Counseling Program” through the State Department of Education.  These guidelines have allowed the counselors to create various activities that allow students to work together collectively on everyday life situations/decisions. 

The Guidance Department covers specific topics at each grade level (6^th, 7^th, and 8^th).  Click on the following links to see an overview of each grade level's guidance topics:

6th Grade        7th Grade        8th Grade

Counseling Services

Do you think you can handle the world on your shoulders? Do you think you can conquer everything that comes your way?

If so, we would like to meet you just because of that! However, if you answered "no" to one of the above questions, then we are here for you! The Counseling Department offers a variety of services; one of the support services can be either through individual or group counseling. 

Individual Counseling: Individual counseling allows any student to come to the Counseling Office and speak to their counselor in a confidential manner.  If your counselor is not there, you can either speak to whoever is available or leave a message with Mrs. Smith (secretary) and she will make sure the person gets it.  Students come for all sorts of reasons, fights with friends, parents, wanting to do better in school, etc. Students don’t have to have an appointment to come, one can come when their schedule allows.  It is important to be able to discuss situations before they get worse.

Group Counseling: Do you ever feel like you're the only one? Do you notice there are other students who share your same concerns? If you answer "yes" or "no" to either question, check out what group counseling may be for you. The Group Counseling program allows for students to work together in a specific area that others in the group may share.

Topics range from: self-image/esteem, grieving, decision-making/coping strategies, social skills, extended families, divorce and many more.

Student Peer Mediation Program: Have you ever had a fight with a friend?  Has someone been mad at you and you have no idea why? Maybe a good way to resolve the problem is through Peer Mediation.

Peer Mediation gives students a chance to sit face-to-face and talk, uninterrupted, so that each side of the dispute is heard. After the problem is defined, solutions are created and evaluated. When an agreement is reached, it is written and signed by both students. This process is facilitated by a student who is a trained peer mediator. The peer mediator does not take sides, give advice or assume the responsibility for solving the problem. The mediator is there to help the students in conflict resolve their own problem. All mediation sessions are confidenial. Anytime you are in conflict with another student, peer mediation may help. Unresolved conflicts often result in hurt feelings, loss of friends, increased anger, and frustration. Nobody wants to feel like that so give it a try.     

Organization and Study Skills

• Strategies to be Organized for School
• How Do I Study Anyway
• Test Preparation to Reduce Anxiety