School Counselor: Maureen Kirgis

St. Monica Catholic School provides a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes and enhances student achievement by removing impediments to student learning. The school counselor is available to help students, parents, and teachers develop positive learning experiences in personal, social, spiritual, and academic development. Occasionally, a need arises to examine a student’s academic/emotional challenges through a more detailed process. This process may include student observation, teacher input, parent input, and/or screening instruments. When the results indicate a need for additional testing or intervention, we may recommend outside services that could include tutors, diagnosticians, or other professionals.
Services:

• Academic planning for students
• Responsive services
• Guidance curriculum
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Parent referral: A parent can contact the counselor or the classroom teacher to request that his/her child meet with the counselor. Such a request may be due to a difficult life event the family is going through, frequent, recurrent, and disruptive emotions displayed by the child, difficulty forming friendships, unexplained changes in behavior, and other concerns.

Teacher referral: A teacher may refer a student to visit the counselor if the child is agitated, has social and/or emotional difficulties or regularly exhibits behaviors that impede his/her learning.

Self-referral: A student may ask to see the counselor if she/he feels upset and is not able to focus on learning or if dealing with a difficult social and/or emotional situation.

Administrative referral: The principal or assistant principal may suggest a parent-student–counselor meeting if deemed necessary.