Dear Teachers, Students & Parents of Nannie Berry Elementary,
Welcome to the 2008-09 School Year & a big Nannie Berry WELCOME to all our new friends & Teachers; I hope you will find this a rewarding place to be!
For any new faces, I want to take this opportunity to quickly introduce myself personally and professionally. I am originally from Georgia where I grew up with my four siblings; my home town is named Sandersville (and I’ll give bonus points for anyone who knows where that is); it is the Kaolin capital of the world, and I grew up loving theatre, music, Rainbow Brite, Narnia and cheese grits. I came to Nashville to pursue my education and have since traveled to eight countries outside the United States. Throughout my education I have studied Theology, Philosophy, Psychology and counseling and plan to continue taking classes and learning as long as I am physically able; I believe that knowledge is power and that true power is the ability to better oneself without the oppression of others.
My professional experience has taken me from Directing before and after school programs to counseling in residential treatment centers and many places in between and beyond. I have a wide range of experience counseling families, particularly children ages 13 and younger. I have spent two years working directly with Metro school counselors conducting IEPs, S-Team and 504 Meetings. Fortunately, through the varying non profit realms I’ve worked in, I have acquired a consultation team throughout the area that I am confident in accessing whenever necessary for the care of our students.
Along with this letter you will find a tentative schedule for our school counseling program this year, along with a brochure for quick review. Our School (& County) wide Character education theme this year is: “Where are you Living?: 8 keys to success.” Due to growth this year, I will not have my own classroom; instead, I will be coming to your classrooms, teachers & students, & we will be enjoying our Guidance time there.
My tentative outline for this School Year is as follows (See Back for outline & see attached schedule for Character Keys of the month); I have also planned to conduct small group sessions in the winter and spring (see attached schedule); topics of these small groups will be decided with the information gathered from teacher and parent surveys.
Again, I am thrilled to be here among such a talented staff. I look forward to working with you and serving you in any way that I can in this upcoming year. I wish you all peace and serenity in your classrooms, light to exude through your darkest and most cloudy moments of instruction and for this to be your most rewarding year yet!
Grace and Peace,
Cathy C. Del Rio, L.P.S.C., M. A.
School Counselor, Nannie Berry Elementary
615.822.3123
ext. 103