Counselor's Corner

Cristina Figueredo, Counselor

Hello Rhinos! I created a short video for you all to view on "Getting to Know Your School Counselor." I can't wait to meet all of you VERY soon!

Counselor Corner Message 08272020

Hi Rhinos!

My name is Cristina Figueredo and I am Rylander’s school counselor. This is my 11th year in education working with elementary students. I graduated from Sam Houston State University with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies and an M.Ed. in School Counseling from Houston Baptist University. I am excited to serve the students, teachers, parents, and community of Rylander!

What is my role as a school counselor?

School counselors work with students, teachers, parents, and administrators to create a caring and safe school environment that provides developmentally appropriate counseling services to promote academic success. These services of a school counselor support the social, emotional/personal, academic, and career development of students. This promotes not only school success, but effective interpersonal skills and emotional health through education, prevention, and intervention services.

Services

Guidance Lessons

Guidance lessons are taught in the classroom by the counselor throughout the year. These lessons provide strategies and skills that help students to be successful. My goal is for those skills to be carried over into lifelong learning in all avenues including academic, personal, and social interaction.

Individual Counseling

In a school setting, the counselor does brief counseling which addresses problems within a few sessions. The school setting is different than a therapeutic/clinical setting where diagnosis and treatment plans are created and treatment is administered for a longer period of time. The goal of school counseling is to address issues which impact learning while at school. If issues continue to impact the student's learning at school, after intervention by the counselor, a referral to an outside resource will be suggested to the parent/guardian.

Group Counseling

Sometimes a child's needs are best served through the use of group counseling. In group counseling the students come together to work on a common need or concern. The counselor facilitates groups and strives to provide the students with strategies that will aid in their success.

Programs

KEYS

KEYS (Keep Encouraging Youth toward Success) is a district program in which adults can apply to mentor students on elementary, junior high, or high school campuses. Rylander students are nominated for this program by RRE staff members, and parent consent is required. If you are interested in becoming a KEYS mentor please contact Mrs. Figueredo.

PALS

The Katy ISD has a very special mentoring program called PALS (Peer Assistance Leadership Skills). Rylander has been paired with PALS from Cinco Ranch High School who will act as mentors to selected students at Rylander Elementary. These high school students have met eligibility through training standards and participated in a selection process to become one of these dynamic peer leaders. Rhino students are nominated for this program by RRE staff members, and parent consent is required.

PBIS

What Is PBIS?

PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) is a proactive, school wide framework to teach and positively reinforce behavior within our building.
Relationship building with students is critical.
Expectations are set and taught for all settings (classroom, hallway, café, etc.).
Interventions help teach appropriate behaviors to students.
Acknowledgement of students displaying appropriate behaviors is essential.

PurposeFull People

PurposeFull People is Character Strong's Pre-K-5 Toolkit. It is intentionally designed to support work around Character Education and Social-Emotional Learning. It is packed with practical and easy-to-use tools that focus on developing character and social-emotional skills in students, staff, and families.

The PurposeFull People Trait

for January 11 - 29th

Honesty