The Thunder Bolt

As we prepare to kick off the upcoming 2026–2027 school year this Fall, our Elementary School Community is celebrating two major milestones. First, our beloved Elementary Counselor, Mrs. Katie Sutherland, is marking her 10th year of dedicated service to our students. Second, to meet the needs of our growing student population, our counseling department is officially expanding to provide two-full-time counselors for the Elementary School.

On any given day, a school counselor wears many hats: teaching Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons in the classroom, supporting teachers, partnering with parents, and rushing to handle real-time student crises, such as conflicts or tough days. With a second full-time counselor joining Mrs. Sutherland this Fall, our school is significantly lowering the student-to-counselor ratio. Here is a look at why this transition will be incredibly beneficial for our students, parents, and faculty.

One of the greatest benefits of having two full-time counselors in the Elementary School is increased visibility and availability. Instead of being pulled away by administrative tasks or sudden crises, counselors will now have the freedom to step out of the office and into the places where students interact most. This presence also ensures that if a student needs help, a counselor is always immediately available without disrupting scheduled classroom lessons or parent meetings.

"Being visible in the hallways, cafeterias, and out on the playground during recess is where the real magic happens," Mrs. Sutherland explains. "It allows us to handle conflicts and teach friendship skills in real-time, right when the students need that guidance."

To bring this full-time vision to life, we are thrilled to welcome our new counselor, Mr. Seaver Sherod, to the community. Mr. Sherod holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colorado Christian University and a Master’s degree in International School Counseling from The College of New Jersey. He brings five years of valuable experience in school counseling, beginning as a College Advisor in the United States public school system before moving to Bangkok, Thailand. For the past four years, Seaver served as the Elementary School Counselor at International Community School, providing classroom social-emotional learning lessons, small group support, and individual counseling within a diverse international community.

Mr. Sherod is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join Concordia International School Hanoi. He and his wife have visited Hanoi frequently over the past several years to spend time with family and have grown to deeply appreciate the city’s charm, architecture, food, and daily life. He looks forward to investing long-term in a community that already feels familiar and contributing to the school's mission of helping students discover and develop their talents.

With Mrs. Sutherland and Mr. Sherod working as a full-time team, the department can now provide more focused attention on specific developmental stages. It allows the school to offer specialized, small-group skill sessions focusing on boundaries, managing strong emotions, and building healthy friendships. Furthermore, having both a male and a female counselor on the team ensures that students can connect with whomever they feel most comfortable talking to.

A counselor’s impact reaches far beyond the students themselves; teachers and parents are vital pieces of the puzzle. Mr. Sherod’s past work is deeply grounded in relationship-building and close partnership with families and educators. In addition to his work with students, he has led professional development sessions for parents and teachers on executive functioning, classroom culture, responding to defiance, natural consequences, authoritative parenting, and healthy technology use for elementary-aged children.

With double the counseling hours available, our Elementary School faculty will receive deeper, more consistent classroom support. The team plans to collaborate closely with teachers to provide parents with more resources, workshops, and insights regarding their children's specific developmental stages, ensuring that the support students receive at school is mirrored at home.

Looking to the future, this expansion allows the Elementary Division to build a highly structured, tiered system of support for social-emotional needs, making it just as defined and clear as our academic support systems. This expansion also allows for closer collaboration across different school divisions, making transitions smoother for students as they grow and move up through the grades.

Ultimately, investing in character building and social-emotional skills during these younger years sets our students up for a lifetime of success. When parents send their children through our doors this Fall, they can rest assured that their child’s happiness, well-being, and emotional safety are our absolute top priorities.

Click here to learn more about Concordia Hanoi's Elementary School.