Teasley Counselors' Page

We are the Teasley Counselors!

 

Mrs. Sherise Harris: counselor for grades 1 & 5; sherise.harris@cobbk12.org; 770-437-5945

Ms. Kate Strother: counselor for grades K, 2, 3, & 4; kathryn.strother@cobbk12.org; 770-437-5945

Teasley Elementary School Counseling
Mission Statement

The mission of Teasley Elementary School’s Comprehensive School Counseling Program is to provide a developmental counseling program that addresses the academic, career, and personal/social needs of all students.  School counselors, in partnership with other educators, parents, and the community, assist in overcoming barriers that impede learning.  Our goal is to provide a program in a challenging, safe, and nurturing environment that fosters a desire in our students to become lifelong learners.

For more information about the Teasley Counseling Department, click "About Us" on the lefthand side

Teasley Spelling Champion... again!

Congratulations to Ms. Ragland's Fifth Grader Sreya A. for winning the Teasley Spelling Bee... for the second year in a row!  Wow!!  And congratulations to Mr. Stephens' Fourth Grader Madison E. for being the runner-up!

As always, two students from each Fourth and Fifth Grade class participated.  This was the first year we've had siblings competing against each other -- pretty neat!  There were six or seven Fifth Graders who had participated last year, all looking to grab the top prize this year.  Sreya was just too tough, though, and prevailed again!

Sreya will compete in the next level bee this Saturday, January 28, at Kennesaw Mountain High School.  Last year she made it through four or five rounds against dozens of kids from Cobb County schools.  We can't wait to see how she does this year!

There was one alternate from each class who was ready to participate in the event that a class representative was ill on the day of the bee.  We're proud of these alternates, too!  Thank you for being ready to spell!

Thank you to judges Mrs. Pascaline Ivey, Mrs. Susan Thomas, and Mrs. Gina McClenning.  Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Burge and Mrs. Lori Williams for their behind-the-scenes help in preparing for the bee, too!

Here's a list of the brave participants and alternates:

Mrs. Alongi -- Elizabeth & Isabella, Alternate: Alexis

Mrs. Wesley -- Eva & Z’kouree, Alternate: Calley

Mrs. Killimett -- Jordan & Erik, Alternate: Jasiah

Mr. Stephens -- Madison & Brianna, Alternate: Anais

Mrs. Bunch -- Grace & Kayla, Alternate: Olivia

Ms. Ragland -- Sreya & Simon, Alternate: Milan

Mrs. Hiles -- Clara & Beyonce, Alternate: Ananya

Ms. Gooden -- Samaria & Chloe, Alternate: Miles

P.S. Remember that Sreya has had more spelling bee experience than just at Teasley... Good luck on Saturday, Sreya! 
http://kennesaw.11alive.com/news/people/79535-smyrna-girl-heading-national-spelling-bee
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/15423937/article-Big-win-taking-girl-to-Big-Apple

A fond farewell to retiring Media Specialist Ellen Murphy

In December, the one and only Mrs. Ellen Murphy retired from her position as our Teasley Media Specialist.  Mrs. Murphy is one of the most selfless, thoughtful, optimistic people we know.  Our team of specialists gave her a little party to let her know how much she has meant to all of us.  Thank you to Mrs. Reiko Sears' Pre-K students for the cute poster!

You'll see a familiar face in the Media Center the next time you visit.  Mrs. Pascaline Ivey is our new Media Specialist!  Mrs. Ivey has worked as a Reading Recovery teacher and a First Grade teacher at Teasley, and she is excited about working alongside Media Center parapro Ana Hogan every day. 



Successful parent information session

Thank you to all of the Teasley families who braved the rainy weather to attend our parent information session about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, organized by the School and Family Committee.  Second grade teached Lynn Bixler gave a testimony about the importance of class meetings, and then Ms. Strother showed the data that the committee collected from 30 Teasley teachers about how class meetings are going in their classrooms.

Very specials thanks to Cobb County Prevention Intervention member Patti Agatston, who presented talked to the parents about what bullying is (and is not), cyberbullying, the power of the bystander, and how parents can be involved in partnering with schools to keep all kids safe.  

Information about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program here.

FIRST LEGO League update

One of the neatest opportunities at Teasley is being part of one of the FIRST LEGO League teams.  We're so lucky to have coaches, Mr. David Monroe and Ms. Sam Kasraie, who dedicate many afternoons and weekends to working with the third-fifth grade students who have chosen to dedicate their time to building and programming their robots, researching assigned topics, and involving the neighboring community in their endeavors.

Here are a few pictures from one of the teams at Moe's, where the restaurant manager supported the team by allowing the students to set up their display and run their robot for patrons to see:

Here are a few pictures from the December competition:

Here is an article from the Marietta Daily Journal about the December competition.  Mr. Monroe is quoted at the end of the article.

And here is an article about an amazing group of girls, the G.E.N.I.U.S. team (Girls Exploring New Ideas Using Science), who came to love our Teasley robotics teams during their interactions at various competitions over the past couple of years.

More information about FIRST LEGO League: http://firstlegoleague.org/

And Georgia's FIRST LEGO League: http://georgiafll.org/

Before you speak, T.H.I.N.K.

It's impossible for any person, child or adult, to 100% "take back" words he or she has said.  So before we speak, we must T.H.I.N.K. -- are our words true? helpful? inspiring? necessary? kind?  We'll be emphasizing this concept with some of our classes soon.

This T.H.I.N.K. concept also applies to words sent in an email or text or words posted online.  As Dr. Patti Agatston showed us last week in her talk, if we wouldn't say it in person, we shouldn't say it online.

**Reminder to parents of our fourth and fifth grade Teasley Tigers: children need to be 13 or older to have a Facebook account.**

Trust is like an eraser...

When we talk to students about trust, sometimes it's hard for them to fully grasp what it means to break or lose someone's trust.  In most situations, broken trust is never fully repaired.

Every day, students use erasers, so we loved the quotation pictured above when we saw it recently.  We hope that as we explain trust to students using the concept that it's like an eraser, getting smaller and smaller after every mistake (lie, broken promise), this will help them understand the concept.

Mayor's Award Recipients

In December, three members of the Teasley community were honored by Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon at an award ceremony at Smyrna City Hall.  Every year, the Teacher of the Year is recognized, so fifth grade teacher Terri Bunch and her family attended the ceremony to receive her honor.  PTA President and Teasley parent Kristyn Rees was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year for all of her work this year.  Fourth grader Leathan P. was honored for his academic excellence, leadership skills, and extracurricular involvement, including his dedication to the LEGO League team. 

Thank you to Mrs. Bunch, Mrs. Rees, and Leathan for making Teasley a better place every day!

Here's an article about the evening in the Smyrna-Vinings Patch: http://smyrna.patch.com/articles/emotional-night-at-the-mayor-s-education-awards

Here's a list of winners for all of the schools: http://www.smyrnacity.com/index.aspx?page=635

(Left to right: PTA President Kristyn Rees, Principal Leslie Mansfield, 4th grader Leathan P., 5th grade teacher and Teacher of the Year Terri Bunch)

We are Bully Busters!

Every year when the agendas are ordered for the students, we are allowed to choose different supplements.  This year, we chose the "Bully Buster" supplement, and they've been great!  We're continuing to discuss bullying in our guidance lessons by using these books and highlighting one specific aspect of bullying: teasing.

There is "ok teasing" and "not ok teasing."  Teasing is ok when everyone is having fun.  Someone can say, "Good work, smarty pants!" in a way that is ok -- it can make someone feel special.  But it can be said in a mean, sarcastic way, too, and that type of teasing is not ok.  Kids need to be detectives and watch other people's facial expressions.  If someone looks like she's upset, it's not a good time to tease.

Click here to look at all of the supplements.  If you click on the Bully Busters one, you'll be able to flip through the pages.

A busy week ahead! Girl Scouts, WATCH D.O.G.S, and more!

Teasley families, it's going to be a fun week!  This evening at 6:00 p.m., an informational meeting about Girl Scouts will be held in the Media Center.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 8:15 a.m., families in the Teasley area are invited to a Prospective Parent Coffee to learn all about our school and take a tour, too. 

Tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. is the kickoff for the WATCH D.O.G.S. program for dads!  (D.O.G.S. = Dads Of Great Students.  We're so glad this program is going to be happening again at Teasley.  It's a fantastic way for father figures to get involved with our students!  Dads, stepdads, grandfathers, uncles, etc., can volunteer for a day to be the WATCH D.O.G. Dad of the Day, spending the day in classrooms helping the teachers and students.  Kids love seeing the WATCH D.O.G. around the school wearing the official WATCH D.O.G. shirt. Learn more about this awesome program here.)

On Thursday night, head to Sparkles for skate night from 6-9 p.m., and then celebrate the 100th Day of School on Friday!  What a fun week! 

Friday, Feb. 3: Chick-fil-A Biscuit Sales during carpool

Thursday, Feb. 9: Restaurant Night (location TBD) 

Monday, Feb. 20: Presidents’ Day Holiday, No School

Thursday, Feb. 23: Publix Math Night (a fun family night!)

 

Coming soon...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to the Teasley community!  We look forward to another fantastic semester with your children!  Soon we'll post a few pictures of fun Teasley events that happened in December at school (and at Moe's, at East Cobb Middle School, at Smyrna City Hall, in Vinings...), but for now we'll post two photos of your Teasley counselors collaborating! :)

Enjoying the free hot cider, the chilly weather, the anticipation of Christmas, and the fellowship of the Teasley Treble Tones, families, and community members at the Vinings Tree Lighting

A fun lunchtime collaborating session at Twisted Taco during the winter break