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Ms. Fagan-Simpson began her career in education in 1985. After earning her BA in History at the University of Montana (where she played Division 1 Volleyball for the Grizzly’s) she began coaching volleyball at the high school level. She attended Humboldt State University where she earned her Teaching Credential. For the next 10 years she taught History, English and Physical Education and coached varsity volleyball at Willits High School in Willits, CA and South Torrance High School in Torrance, CA.
Ms. Fagan-Simpson is passionate about counseling, coaching and teaching. She has been honored both as a coach and teacher. A program she developed at South High in partnership with the Private Industry Council was awarded the National Association of Counties award for excellence. Many of the varsity teams she coached won league championships.
After earning her Master’s degree in counseling at California State University Dominguez Hills she counseled at Torrance High School and Beverly Hills High School.
While at Beverly Hills High School she filmed and produced a College Admissions film of the East Coast Colleges, including the Ivy League Schools. She was also instrumental in designing the “School to Career” program in Torrance in partnership with the community college and community business. After moving to Westlake in the year 2000 she brought her college and high school counseling experience to the 8th grade class at Colina where she helps students navigate the transition from middle school to high school. She truly enjoys Colina Middle School and working with the students and families in the Thousand Oaks and Westlake area.
Ms. Fagan-Simpson and her husband Greg have been married since 1992. They and their son Jeffrey (who was born in 2000) enjoy swimming, hiking, and volleyball, piano and reading together. Ms. Fagan Simpson has a passion for athletics (she is currently on the Westlake Moms In Motion running team); a passion for being a mom and a passion for helping students and parents as a counselor at Colina Middle School.
But wait, there's bound to be more homework.
How will I keep track? I'll have tons of books! Where will I keep them? Ahhh...I'll have a locker—my own!
But what if I leave my book in my locker, or forget my locker combination?
This ambivalence can contribute to an initial feeling by students—and their parents—that middle school's demands are insurmountable.
But rest easy. Students can help ensure academic success by cementing some basic study habits:
1) When it comes to homework, rely on an assignment notebook, not your memory. Why clutter memory with what page your fraction problems are on? Reserve memory for how to do the fractions.
2) Write each subject every day in the assignment book. And be specific; don't enter "bookwork" but "Page 87, Numbers 1-30 odd." (When your mom or dad writes an appointment on their calendar, do they write "11 a.m.: client; 11:30 a.m.: other client"? Of course not. They name the client.) Include long-term assignments and upcoming tests.
3) Study, in short bursts, for about 2 hours on average per weeknight: First, do what's due tomorrow, tackling your toughest subject first. Next, work on long-term assignments. Then, study for upcoming tests. Finally, each evening, take time to review.
4) Knock Ds and Fs out of the realm of possibility in most classes by abiding by a simple premise: Do all assignments.
Parents can foster good study skills by implementing interventions as needed:
1) Check the assignment notebook daily, and help your student establish study priorities.
2) Check each assignment for completeness and overall quality, asking for correction as needed. Don't just ask, "Did you do it?"; instead say, "Show me."
3) Some schools have a homework hot line. At Colina Middle School in Thousand Oaks, virtually every academic teacher posts the daily assignment on the hot line. A parent may call, compare what he hears to what the student has written in the assignment book, and help him keep a more accurate calendar.
4) Some schools allow for assignment notebook monitoring, with teachers' initials signifying that what was listed is correct.
5) Some have guided study or a similar program. At Colina, parents can contract for a recorded phone call any time the student misses submitting an assignment. No call equals peace of mind.
Played right, the transition to middle school can be smooth, with student and parent teaming toward success.
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Sometimes, students are reluctant to tell us that they’re being bothered by someone. They’re afraid that matters will get worse. Or, they think they’re being tattle-tales. Besides, it’s tough to report being bullied because it’s embarrassing and humiliating.
Perhaps you’ve been advised to “just ignore them” or “ask them to stop” when someone bullies you. To be sure, ignoring or asking may be a first attempt to solve a problem, especially if it’s a single and relatively minor incident. Sometimes ignoring or asking works; there’s no second occurrence.
But other times, the problem persists. Especially in those instances, it’s important for you to tell an adult in charge. Reporting is not tattling**; it’s taking good care of oneself, and everyone deserves that!
Bullies pick targets they think will be weak and afraid. “If I tell, it’ll get worse. They’ll get their friends to hate me. They’ll beat me up—they even told me they would.”
But a bully’s “power” is tenuous: Be silent and miserable, and the bully stays in charge; respond with appropriate steps, and the control is yours and the torment, over.
It takes courage to report. But what’s tougher: Dealing with your fear (that the bully will retaliate) and embarrassment (that you’re being picked on)? Or dealing with a slow, lingering pain to the point that you can’t concentrate or even don’t want to come to school any more? Once you’ve taken the bold step of reporting, you’re on a fast track toward solving the problem. A top priority at Colina is to resolve each reported harassment.
Step by step
Here are sequential steps to take if someone bothers you:
1) Try one or both of these strategies:
a) ignore the bully if what they did is relatively minor, or if the bully doesn’t know you;
b) calmly and clearly tell the bully what you don’t like and what you do expect instead; for example, “I don’t like when you call me four eyes; I want you to call me by my name.”
2) If the problem continues, report it privately to the adult in charge: the teacher in whose classroom the harassment is occurring; another teacher; the yard supervisor; an administrator on duty outside. (As a reminder, “Report Bullying and Harassment” signs are posted in many classrooms.)
3) If the harassment hasn’t stopped, report it to your counselor—Mr. Kane for grades 6 and 7, and Ms. Fagan-Simpson for grade 8. (It’s okay to tell a parent, who’ll then call the counselor, but it’ll save time if you yourself tell us.) Here’s how to report to your counselor:
a) Come to the Counseling Center and get a Counselor Request form from the tray near the entrance;
b) Print your name in the space provided;
c) Where it states “Concern,” either describe the situation specifically or just write “Bullying” or “Someone’s bothering me” or something similar;
d) Place the completed form face down in the tray, or hand the form to the counseling secretary and ask her to give it to your counselor.
Your counselor will make it a priority to resolve the situation. As a starting point, the counselor will call you in, and talk with you about what has been occurring. Depending on the nature of the bullying, the counselor may involve a second counselor or an administrator. The counselors and administrators have years of experience dealing with harassment, and virtually 100% of cases are resolved.
4) Report again if the bullying persists. (There’s no such thing as reporting too many times.)
No one goes around wearing a “Kick me” sign. Colina personnel will support and help you. Your counselor may suggest strategies to get better and better at avoiding being bothered or solving similar situations by yourself. For additional information, please see the District’s publication Student Guide to Understanding and Avoiding Harassment, sent to all parents as part of the summer packet for incoming students; if you did not receive this publication, please ask for a copy in the Counseling Center. See also related information on bullying on Colina’s website (colinamiddle.org; click the link on the home page).
* In this article, the words “bully” and “bullying” are used to include name-calling, teasing, rumor-spreading, threatening, hitting, etc.
**Tattling, on the other hand, is inviting unnecessary problems. For instance, if you see a fellow student in class throwing a wad of paper toward the trash can but missing the can, and you holler out that Johnny threw a piece of paper, then you might be inviting unnecessary trouble. Was it nice of Johnny to litter? No. Is it good for the environment to litter? No. But maybe it’s best to let an authority catch Johnny eventually.