KRISTEN BALEGA

School Counselor - 8th Grade (All) and 7th Grade (Last Names A-K)

Homeroom: Main Office

Phone: (907) 742-7968

I am excited to be back for my thirteenth year at MLMS. I am truly invested in this community! Please do not hesitate to email or call, if you have any concerns regarding your student.

For more insight into a school counselor's day, check out the poem below adapted from "A School Counselor's Typical Day or Let Me Overwhelm You," by Pat Nystrom, North Carolina school counselor.

A School Counselor's Typical Day

I drive up to school always before eight;
There is lots to be done-the needs are so great.
Parent's messages waiting, three kids at my door;
And a note that says "Urgent" waits for me on the floor.

One tearful parent whose child is depressed;
A student who fears she can't fit in with the rest.
Three girls who are friends who can't get along;
Two others who think that their schedule is wrong.
A teacher who learned that a student can't hear;
A new boy who seems to be frozen with fear.
A tutor I found for a child who's behind;
A mother who's sure that she's losing her mind.
A big-eyed child who'd been bullied that day;
And the bully so mad since his dad went away.
Three boys bring two others ready to fight;
Got to settle this quickly-it's going to be tight.
For my schedule is full and others still wait;
With hope in their eyes as the hour gets late.
For a school counselor's typical day
Begins with a bang and just stays that way.
Consult and coordinate, counsel and plan;
Mediate, motivate, and help all we can.
I chose it, I love it, I wouldn't change a thing;
Except there are all those students I still need to see...