Meet the Counselors

Lilly Paradis
Kindergarten-9th Grade
Hawthorn Academy West Campus
Room 209
801-282-9066 x2209
lparadis@hawthornacademy.org
•Biography
•Refer Students
•Request Parent Meeting

Shaunae Behunin
Kindergarten-6th Grade
Hawthorn Academy South Campus
Room 133
801-260-3040 x1133
sbehunin@hawthornacademy.org
•Biography

All students have access to
our counselors and services
How our program works
Our counselors serve and support Hawthorn students socially, emotionally, and academically through a tiered intervention model. For tier 1, all students participate in school-wide initiatives including classroom lessons and the key events listed below. In tier 2 some students participate in small groups, peer mediation, academic interventions, and consultation. Tier 3 includes referrals, crisis response, behavior trackers, and individual counseling that a few students participate in.
Counseling Philosophy
Counseling in our room is rooted in a solution-focused, strengths based approach. We believe that every school client, student or teacher, has the ability to shift their perspective and find the solution for themselves. We try to not give advice, but instead give students the opportunity to challenge themselves, grow as thinkers, take perspectives, and set positive future oriented goals. A few common questions that guide conversations with students might sound like this: "How do you want things to be? What would that look like for you? What difference would that make for you? and When have you done this before?". We have learned that this solution focused approach can be impactful for any problem a school client is facing. Our goal is to support students in discovering how resilient and adaptable they are as they experience an overwhelming amount of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual change. Through this model we work to support our students in creating a future for themselves that they will thrive in.
Key Events
15th
september
Mental Health Night
Discussion on skills and strategies to support positive mental health for students and families and answer any related questions.
3rd-7th
october
Red Ribbon Week
10th
november
High School Night
Local High Schools and 9th grade families are invited to Hawthorn for a Meet and Greet night where they can connect and prepare for their High School Transition.
14th-18th
november
White Ribbon Week
-Digital Citizenship Lessons grades 3-9
-Classroom discussions and activities
-Family discussion questions sent home
-Lunch activities
-Digital Parenting Night and Mental Health Night
6th-10th
february
Career Week
-CareerExplorationLessonsGradesK-6
-Teacher Career Profile Bingo
-GuestSpeakersGrades7-9
-Career Dress Up Day
27th-31st
March
HOPE Week
-5th-9th grade student members nominated by peers
-Learn how to support peers who are struggling
-Connect struggling students to counselor or advisors
-Promote positivity and school connectedness
Mission Statement
Our Mission is to provide a comprehensive program that addresses the academic, career, and personal/social development of all students. We are committed to supporting the school mission in offering a safe and enabling learning environment for students to develop a desire to explore and understand the world around them; be inspired to set and reach goals, and become lifelong seekers of knowledge. The primary goal is to understand and address the needs of the "whole child" for every child.
Vision Statement
The Vision of Hawthorn Academy's School Counselor's is guided by our data-driven comprehensive counseling program and our commitment to fostering a sense of belonging and community in every student, staff, family, and community member. Through a counseling lens, we guide and support our students with the values and principles of the IB profile which contributes to the development of confident, independent, kind, and productive members of a global society.
Counseling Resources
Family & Student Resources
A comprehensive, yet constantly growing, list of resources, activities, worksheets, and more.
Counseling Resource List
This is a list of virtual and in-person counseling and support group services.
Second Steps
Social-Emotional Learning Support Curriculum
The purpose of any social and emotional learning program is to offer essential life skills to students, and support them in becoming better learners, who are better equipped to handle life's social and emotional challenges in the classroom and especially at home.
The reason Second Step was chosen among other social and emotional learning programs is because of the evidence of its impact on student learning and it's long history of quality implementation across the United States. The Second Step program includes many tools that support and facilitate family and community engagement in student learning.
If families are interested in learning more about the Second Step curriculum, they can go to secondstep.org under the Learn More Tab, and then Sample Lessons. Families can also reach out to the School Counselor at their student's campus with any questions or concerns.