Counselor Connection
Collaboration is essential for school counselors. This mini-blog is for my counselor colleagues to share ideas, lessons and inspiration
Transitions are a major part of life! And in the life of an elementary school student transitioning to a new school is a BIG DEAL! After spending time researching best practices in Transitioning and Welcoming new students last year I created a great system for making our new Cougars feel welcome. When students first arrive at our school they are greeted by Student Ambassadors who show them around our school. These Ambassadors are typically 7th or 8th grade National Junior Honor Society students, but could be any student who demonstrates responsibility and leadership. Each quarter I hold a Breakfast with the Counselor for all new students (all students on our campus eat free breakfast in their classrooms daily). I have a survey (posted below) that I give out to the students to get a feel for how they are adapting to our school. I also do some sort of "Get to Know You" activity. This week our new 3rd through 5th graders filled out a Facebook type Introduction Sheet (posted below). I took their pictures and created the bulletin board you see below. I did something similar for our Kinder-2nd graders (see below). Also during our breakfast I give the students a Cougar Bingo card (attached). It is their homework to fill it out and return it to me as a prize. This allows them to get acquainted with the resources available to them at our school. Finally, I created an "Award" that says (Student Name) is an an Official Cougar (attached). I invite our Principal and other Caring Adults from our campus to come to breakfast and introduce themselves to our new students. Through all of this, I hope that our new students feel more connected to our school community.
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A colleague shared this great resource with me today. I love this page for its variety! There are so many excellent ideas for not only School Counselors, but also for all mental health professionals working with children.
I have received multiple requests for a copy of my Multiple Intelligences Survey that I give to 3rd graders. I created this survey after looking at a variety of examples for older students. It is a part of my 7 Habits for Happy Kids lessons for my counseling program for 3rd graders. You can find all of the lessons downloaded on my Counselor Connection post from April 4, 2013.
Another great resource for Upper Elementary and older students is this Multiple Intelligences online survey. I love these online surveys because the students simply answer a few simple questions and at the end they receive a pie chart showing which Multiple Intelligence they are the strongest in. This is nice because the students see that they actually have each Intelligence; they are just better at some than others. Below is a Power Point and worksheet that I do with students for our Multiple Intelligence lesson using this site. You will want to edit the Power Point before using as it has information that is specific to my school.
February is Eating Disorder Awareness Month! I wanted to invite speakers to talk with my 7th and 8th graders about this topic. I could have spoken to the kids myself, but there is power in a "guest speaker". Operation Recovered was an AMAZING resource! Women recovering from Eating Disorders, Self Harm and other addictions visited our students and shared their stories. Needless to say, my students were completely engaged! A lot of teens are going to a site called We Heart It. The site is similar to Pinterest, where people post their pictures, but there is one big difference: it's a "bully proof" way for teens to express themselves. Beautiful landscapes, Fashion trends and inspirational quotes all can be found splashed across the pages of We Heart It; a social media site that attracts 20 million users each month. "People use it as a place to find design and fashion inspiration. They also find it just as almost a pick me up in the morning, so our service is a positive and supportive site," said Rhana Edelin, CEO of We Heart It. At first glance, We Heart It looks similar to Pinterest. Users can search for images by keywords, organize them in groups and follow others. But We Heart It CEO Rhana Edelin says the two services are quite different, starting with the user base. "Our demographic is a lot younger," said Edelin. "When we ask our users about what they think of Pinterest, they say 'Yeah, that's the site my mom and my aunt use'." In fact 80 percent of We Heart it users are under 25, and over 50 percent are teens. But cyber bullying isn't an issue on this social media site. Edelin says it has a "bully proof design." "If I am following you or see an image from you...the only thing that I can do is heart that image, which is endorsing it, or I can follow you which is a way to say I want more of those images, and so those are both positive actions," said Edelin. Edelin also credits the site with being a safe place for young adults to explore their ever changing identity. "You can find like-minded people and try out different sort of personas and experiment with different visually imagery to express yourself and see what fits," said Edelin. You can create a profile for We Heart It directly through the website or using your Facebook, Twitter or Google accounts. The We Heart It app is also available for both iOs and android. Read more: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/24470148/2014/01/16/bully-proof-site-attracts-teens#ixzz2qhPgk1Wn I have had a few counselors from a Facebook Group I subscribe to (Caught in the Middle School Counselors) ask me to share the bullying power point that I did recently with 8th graders. It is attached at the bottom of this post. A slightly different version of this presentation was presented to my staff earlier this year. It is all based on the book No Room For Bullies. The counselors in my district did a book study then developed a Professional Development presentation for our staff based on this book. If you do plan to use this power point, be sure to preview the videos in advance and make note of comments in the "notes" section at the bottom. The first video may not be appropriate for your audience. I came across the book, One, by Kathryn Otoshi and absolutely love it! I'm reading it to every grade this month as I roll out our new school Bullying Reporting Forms (also attached at the bottom). I'm also bringing out my crafty side and painting posters to hang around campus to remind my students that it only take ONE person to make a difference. I'll post pictures of those when they are finished. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the power point! Now go tackle some bullying behaviors!!
This Boost Attendance site has a great little tracker that shows students and parents the academic consequences of missing school. Families put in the number of days the student has missed and it shows the % Likelihood of graduating, the students math and reading percentiles. This is a nice tool for helping students understand how attendance can affect their current academics and their futures! I've been hearing a lot about this speech and finally looked it up to watch! WOW! Imagine what would happen if all celebrities used their fame to to influence our youth in this manner. How can you use this speech with your students? The 500,000 Children Project WOW! You can't beat this deal! Free goal setting books for all K-5 students in Arizona! Simply go to this website, input your school information and they are all yours! Just ordered mine, can't wait until they arrive! Here's a pretty great resource for working to prepare your student to be College and Career Ready! Below is a description from page one. Click on the photo or this link to see the document. Guidance in the later years of middle school, and particularly the time of transition to high school, can put students on a successful path to college education. At this stage, a counselor’s role should include: * Challenging students to see college admission and attendance as the goal after high school * Encouraging students to assess their interests, strengths, and academic habits * Helping students understand basic concepts regarding college options and financing a college education * Providing a template for the college preparatory curriculum that students should plan for high school years * Encouraging students to understand how they can build a profile and support network that will help them reach their college goals The following five session curriculum lays a comprehensive foundation to address all of the above. PLEASE NOTE: While the curriculum is written in a certain order, it is important that you keep the needs of your group in mind. Please feel free to change the order of the sessions if you feel the need to do so. |
AuthorProfessional School Counselor since 2004. National Award winner just trying to make an impact on our profession. Archives
October 2014
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