Counseling

Get to know your counselor

Hello! My name is Sofia Narvaez, and I am thrilled to serve as the school counselor at Shugart Elementary this year. I hold a Master’s degree in School Counseling from East Texas A&M University and bring with me seven years of experience in education. Prior to stepping into the world of counseling, I had the privilege of teaching 4th grade, Kindergarten, and 2nd grade.

This is my first year at Shugart, and I am incredibly excited to join this wonderful community. I am deeply passionate about supporting students' academic, social, and emotional growth, and I look forward to partnering with families, staff, and students to make this a successful and meaningful school year for all. I can’t wait to see all the great things we will accomplish together!

Mission

The mission of the Shugart Elementary School Counseling Program is committed to providing a positive, nurturing, and supportive environment where all students are empowered to reach their full potential. Through a comprehensive counseling program, we support students’ academic, social-emotional, and career development while equipping them with the skills, confidence, and resilience needed for future success.

Vision

The vision of the Shugart Elementary School Counseling Program is for all students to become confident, resilient, and lifelong learners who are prepared to meet future challenges and opportunities. Our students will develop the academic, social-emotional, and career readiness skills needed to succeed in school and become responsible, productive members of their community.

What the counselor does for the students

Counselors will help you with the following:

reviewing your choice of subject during the registration period (February - April)
providing study skills and academic information
providing career and college information
helping in teacher/student relationships
helping cope with family issues
listening to concerns about friends, etc.
giving you information about life and decision-making skills
referring you to people or places outside of school for help if necessary
being your advocate – counselors are here for you!

Counselors for each campus are certified by the state of Texas in School Counseling, have a Master’s Degree, and previous teaching experience. Each elementary school has a guidance counselor to help ensure that adequate support for helping students to succeed and meet their goals is available.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

This month, we’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month — a time to honor and recognize the rich cultures, traditions, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities!

At school, we’re highlighting one Hispanic figure each day during the morning announcements 🎙️. Students will learn about inspiring leaders, artists, athletes, and changemakers who have made a positive impact on our world.

💡 Families can celebrate at home too!
Here are a few fun and meaningful ways to join the celebration:

📚 Read books together by Hispanic authors or featuring Hispanic characters.
🎶 Listen to music from different Spanish-speaking countries.
🍴 Try cooking a traditional dish from a Hispanic culture.
💬 Talk about the importance of diversity and appreciating other cultures.

Let’s work together to help our students celebrate and learn about the beauty of Hispanic heritage all month long! ❤

Respect challenge

In September, we were excited to launch the respect challenge that helps promote and recognize positive behavior across our school!

Here’s how it works:

Students can earn yellow tickets from any teacher or staff member for demonstrating respect.
Once a student receives a ticket, they should write their name on it, and as students move around the building, they can place it in their grade-level bucket, located in the front hallway near Ms. Augsteen’s office.
At the end of the week, the grade level with the most tickets will win a prize!

Congratulations to third grade for being the first winner of the respect challenge! They were excited to earn extra recess and ice cream!

September challenge: Respect round up! Prize: extra recess & ice cream!

Respect challenge with grade level bins.

Respect challenge with third grade student putting his ticket in his grade level bin.

Kindness challenge

In October, the kindness challenge promotes kindness to self, others, and the school.

Ms. Narvaez painted a tree near her counselor's office. Students have the opportunity to add a leaf to our 🌳 Kindness Tree. 🍂 Leaves for the Kindness Tree were given to teachers. They will select on the leaf, if the student was kind to self, others and/or the school.

We can't wait to see the tree all filled up with kindness leaves!

Kindness tree

No Grinchy behavior challenge

As we kick off our “No Grinchy Behavior Challenge” for the month, teachers were sent this short video to their class so students understand the expectations and how they can participate.

In the video, students are reminded to:

Be Respectful!
Follow Directions!
Do their work!

Teachers can save the tickets in a Ziplock bag or envelope. 20 tickets will allow them to join the glow party on Friday, December 19th! Once they have 20, they can exchange it for a ticket to the party! ✨

We are watching for non-Grinchy choices all December and will give out the tickets!

Here's how Mrs. Herman PreK class is organizing their tickets.

Mrs. Herman's class Grinch challenge poster.

Social and emotional help

Each week, our counselor provides grade level lessons that address mental health, kindness and mindfulness. Additionally, she organizes events related to Red Ribbon Week, the canned food drive, and Christmas donations.

Our counselor also helps students and parents obtain information from digital resources. Check Common Sense Media for information about digital citizenship and staying safe online, and utilize Love and Logic for parenting information.

Bullying resources
Red Ribbon week

Bullying resources

Red Ribbon week

Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign observed annually.

We say BOO to drugs! Wear a storybook character costume!

Born to be drug free bulletin boards

Counselor and college readiness

In order to support our students, the counselor offers an open and comfortable environment. Also, to highlight the importance of college readiness, she stays busy making sure our students are always thinking about this subject. She goes into classes to provide students with lessons about college and career interests. She makes sure there are visual representations about college throughout our school. Also, she highlights GISD events such as Career Day and College Expo.

Bullying

No student should be subjected to bullying or harassment that interferes with their ability to learn or their safety.

Visit the Bullying Prevention and Investigation page on the district website for more information and resources.

Anonymous Alerts®

You can use the Anonymous Alerts® webform or mobile app to quickly, easily and anonymously report bullying, cyberbullying and other sensitive topics to school officials.

Anonymous Alerts® is monitored by GISD Security 24-hours daily and should only be used for serious and urgent matters. In the event of an emergency or life-threatening event, always call 911.

Submit an Anonymous Alert ®

Download the app

To place a report from a mobile device, first download the free Anonymous Alerts® app from the Apple App Store or Google Play store. Then open the app and enter activation code garlandisd.

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