My name is Ali Squires, and I am excited to be the new school counselor at Orange!

My hope is that this school year will be full of fun and successful experiences for all students.

As a school counselor, my primary responsibility is to promote the academic, personal, and social development of ALL students.

Here is what I do at our school:

Classroom guidance lessons: I visit all grades to teach lessons that relate to the 7 Habits.

Small group counseling: I facilitate small groups for students who need a little extra support in a certain area.

Individual counseling: I meet with students to work through problems that may be affecting them at school. During this time, students are able to confidentially discuss any personal concerns or challenges they may be facing.

Consultation with staff and parents: I work with teachers and parents to help support students and provide resources and education about issues affecting children.

Students may ask to visit with me or be referred by parents or staff members.

I look forward to working closely with all of you in an effort to ensure that your child has a successful school year!

Please let me know if there is any way I can be of help to you. If you need to contact me, I can be reached by phone at 319-233-4885 or by email at [email protected].

Helpful Tips:

for communicating with your child about school

Encouraging your child to open up and talk about their school day can sometimes be difficult. The typical, “how was school?” question is often met with one word responses, such as “fine” or “good”. Asking open ended questions about specific parts of your child’s school day can often open the doors of communication. Here are some ideas of questions to ask instead!

• What did you do that was fun today?
• What is your teacher’s most important rule?
• Who do you want to make friends with, but haven’t yet? Why?
• What did you like best about today?
• What challenged you today?
• Tell me your favorite part about lunch today.
• What was the nicest thing you did for someone else?
• If you had the chance to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?
• Tell me something you learned about a friend today.
• When did you feel most proud of yourself today?

These types of questions can give you a greater understanding of what your child is experiencing in school as well as show them that you are interested in their day!