Hello Friends! Where has time gone? The first week of school is in full swing, and I am completely exhausted, yet blissfully happy. My brain has been pulled in a million different directions, but I feel that our students and faculty are doing an amazing job every day! So with that being said, I thought I would share some of the fun things I have done with my office and program to kick off the school year. 1. Zones of Regulation Posters Here is a peek at my new Zones of Regulation posters! I love the movie Inside Out, so I thought these were a great way to introduce the zones to help the students relate to them! 2. Back to School Night Table I wanted to share with you my set-up for our back-to-school night. ON this night I am usually busy helping junior high students with lockers and schedules, so sometimes I feel like I don't really get to SEE the students or talk to their parents. Solution: I set up this table right outside my door! I had about 40 brochures taken and two bags of bubble gum gone. I will consider this a win!
I hope your first week back as been as great as mine has! What is your favorite go-to activity for the first week of school? Happy School Year!
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Happy Week Friends! This week brings the first day of school in my building, and there is still a lot of finishing touches to do! This will be my seventh year as a school counselor, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I finally have a grasp on things. I cherish this feeling because I know it is rare, and this school year will most likely bring something that causes me to grow even more as a professional. Whatever you are feeling right now as your school year begins, I hope you are embracing it!! As a school counselor, you may feel conflicted about what your role is during the back-to-school night. Don't worry; it is completely ok to feel that way! It is up to you to make a name for your program, and here are some ways you can do that. The beginning of the year is the best time to start these activities, but it will be imperative to maintain these throughout the year. Here are some ways I have advocated for my school counseling program in my building: 1. Create a school counseling program brochure. Having a tangible brochure you can hand to people or place in the main school office is always a great way to get your name out there. Plus, if anyone every questions exactly what you do, you can always pull it out and it provides a perfect summary of what your program. Need some ideas?? You can create a brochure using almost any Microsoft Word or Publisher template. I created my revamped brochure with Canva.com. 2. Create a presence at school events. The only way that people will know who you are is by being PRESENT. I know we all have busy lives, but it is so important to be apart of your building community. Make sure to attend family nights, sporting events, school board meetings, etc. The more you attend, the more people know you are invested in the school and the students. 3. Introduce yourself to parents AND teachers. It is nice to be present, but you must also go TALK to people. This was the hardest hurdle for me; I am an introvert by nature and I always overthink social situations. I would love nothing more than to just be a wallflower! But when you work in a school, that cannot always be possible. When talking to parents, find students you have seen do something great recently, and then go tell the parents! It is a great start into a conversation, and you will be making a positive parent contact at the same time! At the beginning of the year, make sure you go introduce yourself to ALL new teachers. Even if you work in a small building, it is important that you introduce yourself and make sure you come off as an approachable person. If teachers do not feel comfortable coming to talk to you, they will be less apt to tell you about students who may be struggling throughout the school year. Being a school counselor is about building positive relationships with everyone, not just students and parents. 4. Create a website parents can access. This will be a new endeavor for me this year; but I am excited to try! I have loved my journey with this blog; I highly suggest everyone giving it a try. But this blog isn't necessarily for my parents. I will be attempting something will Google sites, and I cannot wait to let you know how it goes! 5. Send out monthly newsletters. Newsletters are essential to keeping your presence known throughout the school year. Even if people do not read the bulk of it; it is free marketing for your program! I always try to put a theme with my newsletters. Try and find a topic you know parents will find interesting and write a short blurb about it. I don't reinvent the wheel; I find an article online (make sure you cite your source!) and highlight the best points. Want some examples of newsletters?? Check out my blog post from this last spring that also highlights the importance of Positive Parent Contacts. I wish all of you the best start to your school year! I hope you know that you make a difference in your students' lives!! Happy August Friends! The smell of school supplies are in the air, and I am definitely feeling the crunch of school starting in seventeen days! I am thoroughly excited to have our PD days next week and get our school year kicked off. I wanted to share what I have been working on in my office during July in between all of the ideas and brainstorming. Our school has the theme "Under the Sea" this year, and I have embraced the nautical theme. Take a peek below at the nautical School Counseling office: This main bulletin board was so much fun to create! I feel the word "character" is so important to be on my main bulletin board in my classroom; it is a daily reminder to students what a school counselor are supposed to help them develop and sustain. On the left, is my door that faces the hallway when open. I found the Cape Cod themed scrapbooking paper pack from Hobby Lobby to make the sign. The Counselor lettering was typed and cut out from the website Canva.com. What is Canva?? It is a great designing website where you can create free graphic designs and printing documents. This will be the second year I have used this, and I feel this has really helped my students and co-workers! I use a clothespin and pin it to the corner of each card depending on where I am or what I am doing that the moment. I used the Cape Cod scrapbooking paper for the top portion, and then I used FREE nautical theme labels from No Longer Drowning on TeachersPayTeachers. Above our my table number centerpieces! I love how they turned out! I used a used candle jar that I removed the wax from, jude rope from Hobby Lobby, and a glue gun. I found a FREE table number printable from Butter Buddies on TeachersPayTeachers, then laminated and glued them to popsicle sticks. These make my classroom management very easy and quick when I am trying to teach a 25 minute lesson! Above is my objective board in the front of my room. I use this and post my objectives weekly for each class I teach. At the beginning of the class, I always reference this with my students and let them know that if they look over here, they will know what we are learning about for the day. Even my first graders got into the habit of looking at this! As hard of a habit it was to get into this, I feel that my objective board keeps me on task and focused when it comes to lesson planning. For the grade numbers, I printed them from Canva, and then glued them onto some of the Cap Cod scrapbooking paper. I also laminated some chart paper; this way I can write the objectives with Expo marker and erase as the year goes! As you can see, I am pumped about this school year. Stay tuned for the fun adventures that are in store!
Jessica |
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