Welcome! My name is Mrs. Tashia Kerins. I am the PK-12th grade school counselor. Please find more info below.
General Guidance PK-4th Grade: Character Strong
Middle School Guidance: Character Strong, Power Up Speak Out
PK-12th Grade Child Protection/Relationships/Safety: Speak Up, Be Safe
4) Suicide Prevention Training 8-10th grade: SOS Suicide Prevention
Are you concerned about your child? Please feel free to reach out to me directly via email or phone. I am available Mon-Wed 7:45-3:30. Coffee with the Counselor meets every third Wednesday of the month in the MT room as well. Come ask questions, check out resources, and discuss any concerns you may have. I also now offer individual and small group counseling options for our students. Please find my Consent Form for parents/legal guardians to fill out below prior to starting services.
School Counseling Informed Consent
Coffee with the Counselor (MT Room):
Thursday, April 18th at 8:00 AM
Pre-K-4th Grade: Problem Solving, Fair Ways to Play, Taking Responsibility for Your Actions, Dealing with Peer Pressure
5th Grade: Teamwork and Balance of Mental/Emotional/Physical Health
6th-8th Grade: Career Exploration Contd. & Reach Higher MT guest speaker
9th-12th Grade: Reach Higher MT guest speaker and Youth Employment guest speaker
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ASVAB testing for Juniors: April 3rd
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ACT for Juniors: April 9th
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Pre-ACT for Sophomores: April 17th
MTDA Course Catalog &Dual Enrollment @ Twin Bridges
Click here: The Positive Impact of Family Involvement in Student's Learning
Click here: US Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health
3rd Wednesday of each month in the MT Room! Come say hello!
Pre-K-4th Grade:
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March 9th: 4th Graders take the NAEP Assessment
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We will be wrapping up 2nd Step Lessons in March/early April and moving on to some fun career exploration activities in the Spring
5th Grade: Finishing 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and moving on to Career Exploration in the Spring!
6th-8th Grade: In January, We began utilizing the Montana Career Information System and are continuing to progress through the different activities to understand more about ourselves and goals. This month, students will be choosing their electives for next year. Students will be bringing home their elective choices for a parent/guardian signature so you are aware of their plan for the 24-25 school year!
9th-12th Grade: 9-12th Grade Post-Secondary Prep & Scholarship Resources on TB Guidance Website. A group of students went to explore JobCorp in Anaconda in February! 24-25 Scheduling starts this month! Students will meet with me individually to discuss career goals, plan, and make their schedule for next year. A scheduling form will come home for a parent/guardian signature! For Scheduling Options: MTDA Course Catalog & Dual Enrollment @ Twin Bridges
March: Youth Employment Program out of Dillon will be coming to Guidance this Spring! A great program for students interested in working outside, making money, and gaining experience!
Families of Juniors and Seniors: Scholarships and Letters of Rec Support
Twin Bridges Alumni Scholarship ---click
At the January curriculum review meeting (1/30), we discussed the SOS suicide prevention curriculum for 6-12th grade and child protection curriculum for PK-12th grade. Here are links to find out more below. Parent Nights, notifications, and resources will also be part of the implementation process so families have the knowledge and understanding of what their students will be learning. Highlighted links will take you to additional sites and information.
Signs of Suicide Prevention Awareness Program Info Packet
Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools
Montana DPPHS Suicide Prevention and Information Resources
Child Protection Curriculum PK-12th Grade (1 option)
Middle School Child Protection Curriculum (additional option)
PK-8th Guidance Curriculum
Twin Bridges is currently working on researching guidance curriculums that would meet the SEL standards. The current guidance curriculum is from 2011 and needs to be updated. The plan is to have an initial presentation for the top few curriculums to the board in April, then following the proper steps to include the community and others in order to make the final decision to begin the 24-25 school year. You can find a spreadsheet to some of those potential curriculums endorsed by Montana OPI here: Future Guidance Curriculum Options
Pre-K-4th Grade: In February, classes will be navigating discussions and practice around calming down strong emotions, managing anger, disappointment, and embarrassment, testing anxiety, and learning to wait/have patience. If you would ever like to join our guidance lessons, feel free to come in to observe or volunteer! I love helpers! Also, because a lot of our work around calming down is utilizing the breath, students have been practicing taking mindful belly breaths. See link here for more info: Belly Breath for Groundedness
5th Grade: In January, we worked on the 5th Habit: Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood. In February, we will move on to the 6th Habit: Synergize
6th-8th Grade: In January, We began utilizing the Montana Career Information System to create interest profiles, explore career interests, and better understand career clusters and the various job opportunities within those clusters. If you’d be interested in a parent account connected to your student’s account, let me know! This is a great way to learn more about what sort of information your student is learning about themselves and careers that may be connected to their interests.
9th-12th Grade: 9-12th Grade Post-Secondary Prep & Scholarship Resources on TB Guidance Website. In January, 9th and 10th graders worked in Montana Career Information System to programs of study and helpful high school courses that relate to their careers of interest. I will be utilizing this research with students as we begin planning out the remainder of their high school years. These are helpful resources they have been using to understand other courses available outside of the TB schedule:
MTDA Course Catalog & Dual Enrollment @ Twin Bridges
Upcoming:
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Feb 1: Sophomores and Juniors will be heading to Future NOW Expo at Western
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Feb 13 & 14th: MT National Guard will be coming to speak to 9th and 10th graders regarding post-secondary prep, options, and military careers
Families of Juniors and Seniors: Please continue to encourage them to check out the weekly scholarships that are sent to their student emails and to see which are applicable to them. Scholarships and Letters of Rec Support
FAFSA Time!! 24-25 is now available and it’s important to act fast! Click Here!
In the works: Job and Volunteer Board for students looking to build their resumes! Work-based learning opportunities for high school students. Reviewing potential new guidance curriculums(PK-8th) for coming years. At the January board meeting, I proposed a mental health awareness/suicide prevention curriculum to the school board for 6-12th graders. You can see more documents regarding it below:
Signs of Suicide Prevention Awareness Program Info Packet
Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools
Montana DPPHS Suicide Prevention and Information Resources
Every 3rd Wednesday of each month (except January)! Come visit, ask questions, and enjoy a hot drink. Please feel free to call, email, or set up a meeting if you’d like to connect regarding your student(s). I will be unavailable Monday, January 15-19th.
Pre-K-4th Grade: We will be focusing on emotional awareness and management, specifically regarding frustration, disappointment, anger, and anxiety. In December, we focused on spreading the light and kindness to ourselves and others, doing small service projects and mentoring younger classes.
5th Grade: We wrote future letters to ourselves in December and created vision boards. We will be moving on to Habit #4: Think Win-Win (Having the courage to consider yourself and others in your decision making process). We will also start shifting into more career-focused activities in the Spring.
6th-7th Grade: We wrote future letters to ourselves, took career interest surveys, and created Christmas cards for the Senior center in December. We also practiced logging into Infinite Campus and discussed making this a more frequent habit to check our grades. We will begin working in the Montana Career Information System programming in order to expand our dive into high school prep, career exploration, and post-secondary planning.
8th Grade: Identifying Your Spark and Exploring Interests, Values and Careers utilizing Montana Career Information.
9th-12th Grade: 9-12th Grade Post-Secondary Prep & Scholarship Resources on TB Guidance Website. I will continue to meet with Freshman and Sophomores monthly to prepare for life after graduation. This month we will be working on the Reach Higher MT website and Montana University System website to navigate important resources and tools for high school students.
10-hr lifetime OSHA Training is open to all high school students on January 3rd and 4th here at school.
In February, Sophomores and Juniors will be attending a MT Western Expo (highly structured career awareness conference with industries and business partners). Lunch and transportation will be provided.
JUNIOR FAMILIES: The ACT test administration will be at the school in April. Please reach out with any questions or support with testing questions, prep, study skills, etc.
SENIOR FAMILIES***: FAFSA (studentaid.gov) opened on Dec 31. See more info on the Twin Bridges Guidance website or reach out with questions on tips for getting your student set up to afford college, tech school, etc. Click here for more info: 24-25 FAFSA is LIVE
Please join our Financial Aid Town Hall to address frequently asked questions about the college application and financial aid process and timeline. Janet Riis, FAAC® Director of Financial Aid, Carroll College will present some of the most common questions and answers and will open up the chat for questions from the audience.
- Thursday, January 4, 5:30-6:30 PM (MDT)
The FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), is delayed this year due to many, many changes to the formula and questions. The application should be available by December 31st. Colleges will not have students' FAFSA results until very late January which means financial aid offers from colleges will likely not be available until March or April.
Zoom information:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://carroll.zoom.us/j/4064475423
Meeting ID: 406 447 5423
Get set for an epic New Year's Eve! Join us for Southwest Montana Prevention and Madison County DUITF 3rd Annual Family Movie Bucket Event, where we're giving away 150 movie-filled buckets for FREE. Each bucket includes a movie, popcorn, and healthy snacks. Register via QR code or contact Esther Lince at preventionmc@swmtprevent.org. It's your ticket to an unforgettable New Year's Eve family movie night!
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 8:15-9:15 am in the MT Room.
Open Forum format: Come ask questions, peruse guidance curriculum and resources, and enjoy a hot drink!
Note: Monthly update with attached links can be found on the Twin Bridges Guidance and Counseling Website page:
Pre-K-4th Grade: Students will be working on ways to spread "the light in the darkness" as we enter the darkest part of year--this includes learning about compassion for self and others and how we can show it (https://thecompassionproject.com/). We will then be focusing on emotional awareness and management, specifically regarding frustration, disappointment, anger, and anxiety.
5th Grade: We will be continuing Habit #3: Put First Things First (Prioritizing what matters most, overcoming fear and peer pressure, and time management) and moving into Habit #4: Think Win-Win (Having the courage to consider yourself and others in your decision making process)
6th-7th Grade: Healthy Friendships, Conflict Management, and Peer Mediation
8th Grade: Identifying Your Spark (Watch TedTalk here) and Exploring Interests, Values and Careers utilizing Montana Career Information (Click Here)
9th-12th Grade: 9-12th Grade Post-Secondary Prep & Scholarship Resources on TB Guidance Website Continued meetings with Seniors for scholarship essays, college/trade applications, and resume building. Guidance lessons with Freshman and Sophomores continue to explore Careers and Interests and Post-Graduation Prep. Lifetime OSHA training available to all high school students in January.
****IMPORTANT 4 SENIOR FAMILIES***: FAFSA (studentaid.gov) opens on Dec 31. Have your FSA ID created ASAP, so you are prepared for when it opens. See more info on the Twin Bridges Guidance website, as well as below this update.
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