School Counseling Services

We offer variety of services to respond to the needs of our students and their families. These services include: classroom guidance, individual and group counseling, parent education and referral services.

Classroom Guidance Classes focus on character education as outlined in the Core Essentials Program. Each month students are encouraged to explore broad topics such as: honesty, responsibility, commitment, and diligence. Children are also involved in the planning of the morning announcements and broadcast along with Pep Rallies featuring these characteristics.

Other areas of study include how to deal with loss, conflict resolution, peer relationships and the DeBug Method.

Each year special emphasis is placed on Red Ribbon Week, Student Council, Patrols and Jr. Beta Club. Visits from the Forsyth County Police Department focuses on Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying.

Child Abuse Reporting

“Georgia law requires public and private school administrators, teachers, and counselors report any suspected case of child abuse or neglect to the county Department of Family and Children Services. It is not up to the school official to determine the truth or extent of the alleged abuse. Any person failing to report suspected abuse will be charged with a misdemeanor.”

Crisis Preparedness

McGinnis Woods School is equipped with the Centegix safety platform which empowers staff help keep our school communities safe–as anybody can trigger an alert anywhere on campus. Specific alerts directly notify local authorities of emergencies. The school also maintains a detailed crisis intervention plan which contains specific protocols, steps and policies for family and guardian notification, crisis team mobilization, privacy issues, and outside resources should a crisis arise during school hours.

Testing

All students in 2nd -8th also participate in Educational Records Bureau CTP5 testing in the spring of each year. The test results are sent to parents and guardians once received.