jyjoyner counselor

Ease Testing Worries for Students & Staff

2013-05-13T15:30:00.001-04:00

It's everyone's "favorite" time of year...state testing! Well not really, but it does bring us one step closer to the end of the school year and summer break. State testing can cause stress, worries and anxiety for BOTH students and staff. So I decided to do a little something to pump up everyone for state testing. To see how we did staff pick me ups during testing, click here.

-I had a banner made from Vistaprint (ordered during a sale for just 99 cents) that says "Students do you best on the EOG test". EOG stands for End Of Grade, that's what we call it here in NC.

Banner from Vistaprint

-Carol from The Middle School Counselor Blog (a fabulous blog by the way) shared this awesome idea of using sidewalk chalk to write positive testing messages at the school entrance. I shared this idea with the fantastic art teacher at my school and he and several students will be decorating both the front and back entrances of the school.

From The Middle School Counselor Blog (thanks for sharing Carol)

-The AIG teacher gave me a ton of pencils which I tied ribbon with a nice note to give to all the students in 3rd-5th grades (these are the grades who test).

Pencils

Note I attached to the pencils

Finished product! I used red ribbon to tie the note onto the pencils.

-I did a lesson with 3rd graders on relaxation and relieving testing anxiety (same as last year). To see my post on my lesson for testing worries, click here, but I read a different book The Big Test by Julie Danneberg.

This year I decided to add a testing survival kit activity. Can you guess where I got this idea from ...you guessed right Pinterest!

-I started out by giving each student a plastic bag and testing survival kit card to complete.

-I created a testing survival kit card for the students to complete as a part of the lesson (we go over the tips during the lesson). It's a fill in the blank activity, since students are more likely to remember what they write down, versus me just talking. I used an Avery postcard paper template so that I could fit 4 on one page. I also copied on colored paper for a little flare.


Testing survival kit cards (copied on colored paper).

Copy of slide to complete with test taking survival kit activity

-As we completed our survival kit card, I passed out the item that went along with the saying. I got all my survival kit items from Walmart. Here are the pictures of the items needed and sayings to go along with it for the survival kit.

Starbursts: You're a star so aim high

Toothpick: Carefully pick your answers

Gum: Stick to it and do your best!

Red Balloon: You are totally REaDy for the test!

Student completing his test taking survival kit, with his kit nearby.

The students LOVED this lesson and activity and it certainly didn't hurt that everyone got a parting gift. I hope that this helped to relieve some of their testing worries.

What do you do to help calm testing worries?

Tips for new school counselor graduates

2013-05-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

May brings happy, celebratory times for school counseling graduates. So now that you've passed your tests, completed your internship & written your last paper you may ask yourself "what's next?" The next chapter in your career is just around the corner. I know that many of you are anxiously searching the web for school counselor postings in school districts across the country (try indeed.com for listings) The search and wait game can be exciting, disappointing and frustrating. Here are a few tips that I want to pass along as you enter the school counselor job market.

-Accurately update your resume: include any school experience that you may have (including teaching). List what responsibilities that you had as an intern. Click here to see sample counselor resume templates. If possible try to hand deliver a copy of your resume to the school that you're interested in working in. That way the school can place a face & name with the resume.

-Network: I can't say this enough! In this day & age it's all about who you know. I'll share my story with you. Years ago when I wanted to teach (I was a teacher then with just 1 year of experience) in the district that I'm currently in (I was working in another district at the time). I thought I was doing the correct thing by sending out my resume to schools that had positions posted, but I never heard anything back. I just happened to run into a college friend who was in my same teacher education program and was teaching in the school district where I wanted to work. I told her about my interest in moving into the area and getting a teaching job. She then spoke to someone else hiring teachers in my subject area and I had an interview and a job by the end of that week! I've been here ever since. If you have friends working in the district that you're interested in talk with them, meet the counselor at their school and see if they know of any openings in the area. Counselors retire, get married, move, have children and transfer to other places all the time, they may know of these things. Attend counselor conferences/events (conferences are great places to network, rarely will you be able to interact with such a large group of school counselors in one place at the same time) and join the ASCA scene, they have job postings listed from time to time.

-Research the schools that you're interested in: Almost every school has a website where you can get a feel of the school vision, staff and students. Some websites even provide links to find data on test scores, teacher turnover rates, student demographics, etc.

-Ask questions during your interview: Find out what committees that the counselor chairs, what responsibilities you might have (such as testing coordinator, that's a BIG one to find out).

-Sell yourself: When you have an interview, use that time to sell yourself and your vision for your counseling program. This is the time where you have the opportunity to show the school what a great asset you will be to their school. Play up your BEST counselor skills, if you are great at planning school wide events, by all means share that!

-Relax: Many schools do their hiring during the summer (July-August). I got my very 1st teaching job 3 days before school started and my 1st counseling job a week before school started so don't worry too much about late hiring. I've always seemed to be a late hire!

If you have more questions about your school counselor job search or are interested in working as a school counselor in the Raleigh, NC area please feel free to contact me. Congratulations and good luck to you!

May #scchat: iPads In School Counseling

2013-05-05T17:00:00.000-04:00

I am super excited to share that I'll be moderating this month's #scchat on Twitter on Tuesday, May 7th! Our topic of discussion will be using iPads in school counseling K-12. Please join us to share your favorite iPad apps, how you use your iPad at your school or even if you're on the fence about using an iPad at your school.

The #scchat will begin at 8pm EST

If you haven't participated in a Twitter #scchat, boy are you in for a treat! This is great professional development that can be done from the comforts of your home. These awesome chats are planned and coordinated by Danielle Schultz and Erin Mason who I have the pleasure of presenting with at this year's ASCA conference (shameless plug).

For directions on how to participate in the #scchat click here. To see previous #scchat transcripts click here.

Don't forget to join us on Tuesday, May 7th at 8pm EST for the chat. Looking forward to tweeting with you!

Use Your Voice To Keep Your Counselor Notes!

2013-04-29T15:30:00.001-04:00

I'm still (actively) on my quest to keep paperless counselor notes. Previously, I shared how I used Google Docs and my trusty iPad to keep track of the students that I see daily. So my wheels have be steadily spinning on what other options can be used to keep paperless counselor notes. So here's my next "discovery" (if you want to call it that) on keeping (somewhat) paperless counselor notes.

Dragon Dictation is a free (my favorite price) app that converts speech into text, which means you simply just talk and Dragon turns what you say into written text! Dragon is also available to use on computers (but you'll have to purchase the software).

So how did I use Dragon to keep track of my counselor notes? Well, I decided to do a 2 week "Dragon Counselor Note Challenge" where I was to keep track of my counselor notes on Dragon for 2 weeks and share my experience with you. Before I get started with my review, I'll share that #1, I did keep paper notes (as I've always done before going paperless) for the 2 weeks and #2 I have some prior experience with using Dragon from my high school teaching days (this was a unit that we covered in my class). So here goes...

Each day, I keep a list of what I do each day in my personalized school counselor notebook. I created this daily template myself where I record which students I've seen, parents called, classes visited, to do list, reminders and general daily info (nothing too detailed). At the end of each day during my Dragon Challenge, I simply read my day to Dragon to record my notes.

Now to use Dragon, you must speak EXACTLY like you want Dragon to "type" it into text, meaning that you have to literally dictate punctation, spacing, etc. So if I were to say today is: Monday, April 5th, 2013. I would need to say it like this today is (colon) Monday (comma) April 5th (comma) two thousand thirteen (period). For a list of commands for Dragon, click here.

Here's how using it on your iPad works:
Open the app and simply tap on the plus symbol, which means new note (at the top right corner) then the" tap and dictate" button. Then talk away!

Ready to record!

Once you're finished talking you'll see what you said as text. You can also type and correct misspelled words and/or type more info as needed (you'll see the keyboard at the bottom where you can type).

What's said is quickly & easily turned into text! Notice the keyboard below the screenshot, this is where you can type and edit what was converted into text.

You can email your notes to yourself or someone else or copy and paste the notes into a word document that you just add to each day.

So what's my take on the challenge? Well I liked using Dragon, but it still doesn't quite make me want to switch from my paperless student notes through Google Docs. But I do like the convenience for me to give myself quick voice reminders. You could talk about your day as the day progresses, you would just have to remember to record your memo, that would be the tough part for me...remembering to record my notes.

Do you use Dragon for your student notes? I'd love to hear your take on using it for student notes.

Counselor finds at the Target $1 Spot

2013-04-22T15:30:00.002-04:00

As much as I try to ignore it, the Target $1 spot gets me almost every time. I had a whole basket full of stuff, but after some reality thinking "do I really need this" some things were put back. Here are some counselor finds I just recently bought....

Squishy balls, these students love these & so do I!

Book about careers!

Cardboard book holders (not put together yet)


Cardboard book holders (great for categorizing books). I would have gotten more, but I got the last 3 in the store.

I've already put my items to good use already!

Have you recently found any other good counselors goodies (that are affordable). Please share!

Great (free) Paperless App for Groups

2013-04-15T15:30:00.000-04:00

Running a school counselor group is a fun and interesting learning adventure for both myself and the students in the group. In the past, I've kept a notebook with attendance, notes, reminders, etc. Again in my attempt to head to the road to paperless school counselor tasks, I'd like to share a fantastic (free, my favorite price) app that will help you keep your groups organized WITHOUT paper!

Teacher Kit is a must have app for groups! So here's how to set up your groups using the app:

-Add a new group (the plus symbol at the top) and give your group a name (for the purposes of this post, it'll be called "Practice Group".

Add a new class (or group)

-Once you add the group, it'll appear on your "shelf", which lists all the groups that you've created. Tap on the door to "open" your group.

All your groups appear on the shelf. You can have multiple groups.

-You can now begin to add students to your group. Tap the plus symbol at the top right corner and you will be able to add the students. From here you can add info, parent contact info and even a picture of the student! As you add the student info and click save the picture will appear with their name in a "school desk" icon (by the way you can move the desks around for changing seating charts around).

Add your students in your group.

You can add images of the students in your group.

-To keep attendance for the group click on attendance and tap on each student to mark either present or absent. You can also add other choices for attendance. For my book club groups, I have options such as read aloud, and brought snack (also way for me to keep track of info).

Keep track of attendance

-To keep individual notes on students in the group, click on behavior, choose the student you want to take notes on which will open a new window. Click on the plus symbol and type what notes to you want to input (be sure to give your note a title), click notes and tap description (this is where you type your notes). You can also use this to track positive or negative behavior.

Add your student notes

I LOVE this app and no longer have a need for my group notebook for keeping attendance or just general student notes. I'm really feeling this counselor going paperless plan!

For a more detailed description on using this app, check out this tutorial on YouTube:

Do you have an app to recommend to keep notes/attendance on your groups?

Your 3 Words Lesson

2013-04-08T15:30:00.000-04:00

I got the inspiration for this activity from awesome school counselor Julie Ford who shared this in her Lessons That Sparkle session at last years ASCA conference. So how many of you have seen or heard of the "Your 3 Words" campaign that was featured on Good Morning America a couple of years back? Well I hadn't until Julie was so kind to share. Your 3 Words is exactly what it says...you share 3 words (and that's it) about family, friends, motivation, positivity, humor, pretty much anything but you can only use guess how many words...3!!!!

So I decided to try this out with my 4th grade classes. I talked about how people can make a lasting impression and it can be both positive and negative and that they would the opportunity to leave an impression here at JYJ but with only 3 words! Boy did I get some strange stares then when I told them about only using 3 words. I then showed them the video (see below) of GMA's your 3 words. I'll warn you the song is very catchy and gets stuck in your head.

After the video, I showed the classes a few examples that myself and the counselor intern did for our 3 words.

School Counselors Rock (this is totally true)

This is also so true, sign created by counselor intern Dhruti.

I gave each student a half sheet of construction paper and told them to think about their 3 words and the power that they held. I can say that they really got into it.

Nothings Too Hard

Always Aim Higher

Students work on their 3 words

As they finished, I took group pictures using my iPad of all the students holding up their signs which I printed and posted on a bulletin board (along with some the signs that they made). I got lots of (positive) comments from students, teachers and parents about this activity.

Holding up our signs (I took pictures of every student holding up their sign, using my iPad).

Your 3 Words for the bulletin board made using Word (I printed these on colored cardstock).

Finished product! I didn't have enough room to post all the signs the students made, but I had everyone's picture holding their signs.

Who knew that sharing 3 words would bring out such powerful and dynamic thoughts!

Spring Break!

2013-04-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's one of my most favorite times of the year...Spring Break! Signs such as struggling to get up, being worn out and being just a tad on edge point me in the direction to a much needed break. I plan to use this week to rest, relax and most importantly break! I hope that you do the same during yours. See you next week!

Testing Coordinator Tips for School Counselors

2013-03-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

As a school counselor, being test coordinator had to be my absolute least favorite responsibility. I am VERY fortunate and THANKFUL that I no longer have that responsibility! However, I know that there are many school counselors that take on this very demanding and at times very stressful role. I've been in your shoes and have some tips that helped me to stay organized and prepared during statewide testing.

-Ask your school to purchase plastic bins (with tops) which makes it easier to pack class testing materials in. I tried to pre-pack scrap paper, pencils, highlighters already in each bin well before testing (one less thing to do once the crunch starts).

Testing bin (with lid and label)

-Make labels: I used labels for everything! I used them to label the teacher/test administrator bins, to label student booklets & to label the bags with answer sheets. I used both mailing labels and large packing labels.

-Keep track of student answer sheets, test booklet info, special codes. I used spreadsheet to create this (when you print, use legal sized paper so it will fit on one page). I copied/pasted most of the student info from our online student information management system. As I sorted booklets, I wrote test info (like test booklet color, form letter/number) on the sheet. I use this just in case something doesn't match later on in the testing madness. The special codes (in NC it's their current performance level), I gave the printed sheet to the homeroom teacher prior to testing to fill out, which they returned back to me. On the bubble day with the teachers, I handed out these completed sheets, which saved tons of time for the teachers, they already had the info completed. If you'd like a copy of this spreadsheet (which you can change to your liking), click here.

Student info spreadsheet (don't forget to print on legal sized paper_)

-Recruit parent or community volunteers to proctor early. I know parents hated to see me coming, during testing time (they knew what I was going to ask)! I even stood in the carpool line to recruit...it worked! Another suggestion that I would give now is to use Google Docs to create an online sign up. Create a spreadsheet with test dates, times, etc on it where parent volunteers can sign up. Send your sign up link to teachers to forward to their class list and if your school's PTA has a yahoo or gmail group, by all means use that too. Having too many volunteers is a good thing!

Example of volunteer sign up (this is from JYJ Gives back)

-Offer an incentive to get students to come to school on-time each day of testing. I offered ice cream to every student that had "perfect attendance" during testing (my principal paid for it). This worked, during the 3 years that I did testing, I had fewer than 10 students absent from testing (total) which means less make-ups to have to deal with.

-Have snacks for teachers & proctors: testing can be a long and draining ordeal for staff too. I had water and snack items for teachers to pick up once they turned in their testing materials each day. Last year I shared how we had staff pick me ups during state testing (stay tuned, I'll have more to share closer to our testing dates in May).

-Borrow an apron, I never seemed to have enough pocket room to carry lists, pencils, pens, etc. so wearing an apron was a must. I could carry tons of stuff with me in the pockets as I moved around the building hands free. People always knew that I was in "testing mode" they'd said "oh, she's got on that apron". Ok, the apron thing may just be a me thing, I like aprons!

What testing tips work for you?

Spice up Your Lunch (Bunch)

2013-03-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

Lunch bunch is one of my favorite counselor ways to connect with students. I used lunch bunch last year as an attempt to meet students and let them know who I was (it was my 1st year at JYJ). I got an overwhelming response because now everyone wants to have lunch! I have lunch bunch groups 2-3 times each week (just depends on how my week is going) and although I enjoy lunch with students, adding a little "spice" to our lunches makes it more interesting. Here are some things that I've added to my lunch bunch groups:

-I invite a student to have lunch with me and they may bring 2 friends from their grade level to lunch. To remind them of their lunch, I made lunch appointment cards from Vistaprint. This also lets their teacher know that they will have lunch with me.

Lunch appointment cards

-Add a little color to the room! I got several plastic tablecloths from Party City ($1.99 each) to put on my table (you could also opt for cloth, but I'm not quite that brave with elementary aged children). When the weather's nice, I use the tablecloths on the outdoor picnic tables. By the way eating outside is another way to "spice up" lunch groups.

-Add some music to the mix! Students LOVE hearing music in the background during lunch. I use my (free) Pandora app on my iPad (there's also a computer website) to play (clean) today's pop hits and/or Kidz Bop (in your settings you can disable explicit lyrics from being played).

-Play a get to know you game favorites have been the popsicle stick question game and with my older students the QR questions.

What ways do you add "spice" to your student lunch bunches?

(free) Relaxation iPad apps

2013-03-11T15:30:00.001-04:00

Is it me or is it super busy at your school right about now? It certainly seems extra busy lately these days. Something that seems to "calm the storms"throughout our daily counselor lives when dealing with student issues is to have students cool down or relax. So here are some free (my favorite price) apps for relaxation that you may want to add to your iPad:

-Breathe2Relax (free): Neat app that I use quite a bit with students individually, small groups and even during class visits! This app will let you practice your breathing using deep inhale and exhaling exercises. This is also available on Android devices, click here for link.

-My 1st Yoga (free): Quick and easy yoga poses for children. *Note you may need to call this something else other than yoga to be politically correct (maybe relaxation poses).

-Fluid (free): Cool calming app that gives the effect of running your fingers through water. A bonus is that you can choose the background (including pictures from your camera roll!)

-Silent Island Relaxation Lite (free): Ahhh, the relaxing sounds are all here!

-Zen Space (free): Create your own zen garden of tranquility!

-Pocket Pond (free); Looking at fish is nothing but relaxing and since I don't have the space for a tank this will be as close as it gets.

-Relaxing Sounds of Nature Lite (free): Another soothing and relaxing sounds app!

Do you have any other free relaxation apps? Please share!

Bully B.E.A.N.S. Lesson

2013-03-04T15:30:00.002-05:00

How many of you awesome school counselors have the book Bully B.E.A.N.S. by Julia Cook in your counselor book collection? I do (actually have 2 copies and the activity and idea book) but anywhoo, I recently had a class visit using this great book during my lesson (this can be used in grades K-3). So here's what I did:

Book & Activity & Idea Book

-Opened with the question, what is bullying? Maybe it's me, but somehow everything (to students) is bullying...someone takes a pencil, accidentally bumps into them, you name it and it's considered bullying. During this time, I talk about what bullying really is considered so the students will have a better understanding of what bullying is.

-I then read the book Bully B.E.A.N.S. to the class. I really get them involved during the story having them to practice yelling "BACK OFF" as the characters do to the bully (they LOVE this because they get to yell).

Reading the story

-After the story, we review the tips shared in the story on how to deal with a bully.

-I tell the students that I actually have some bully beans to share with them! But first we have to practice getting rid of bullies. For bully beans I've used jelly beans, but since the store I was in was out of jelly beans I bought fun sized bags of Skittles (I really wasn't feeling going to multiple stores for jelly beans that day). However since Easter's around the corner, there will be an abundance of jelly beans to be found at pretty much any store.

-I gave each student a sheet of paper where they were to draw a picture of what they thought a bully looked like.

Bully drawing

Another bully drawing, I especially like that the student wrote that the "bule" was going to push the "prsin" in the "mud putol"

-I had the students hold up the "bullies" and said now we'll use our beans to get rid of the bullies. Depending on the class you can give the "beans" before or after the lesson (they get really excited about the "beans").

-We then tear up the drawn bullies and get rid of them while cheering and celebrating that we have the power within to stop bullying (this is the message of the book).

Adios Bullies!

Having "bully beans" nearby

We do recycle

I really enjoyed doing this lesson and think that the students somehow found courage to stand up to bullies with a little help from their own "bully beans" just like in the book!

Do you have any lessons or ideas that you use with the book Bully B.E.A.N.S. please share!

Easily Store and Organize Your Bulletin Boards

2013-02-25T15:30:00.001-05:00

At the start of this school year, I went out on a whim and put up my 1st bulletin board. As I shared in my previous post, coming from a high school setting, I wasn't much of a fan of doing bulletin boards but since I started this year I'm hooked! In fact I've changed out bulletin boards quite a bit this year. So what shall I do to store all my bulletin boards for the year? Well I've found an easy way that has helped me organize and store them. Here's what I did:

-I bought zip file bags at the teacher supply store ($1.99 each). I like these because they are large and have handles (that are in different colors).

Zip file bags

-I store pieces of my bulletin boards in each bag. In some cases you could store more than one bulletin board in a bag.

Bulletin board materials stored in the zip file bag.

-If the bulletin board has several items, I store them separately in plastic baggies to place in the zip file bag.

-I also add a picture of the completed bulletin board to the front of the zip bag. I took/printed a picture of each bulletin board with my iPad. I do this just in case I need to remember how I set up the bulletin board/border, background color, etc. for the next time I decide to put it up.

Picture to remind me what bulletin board is in the bag

2 bulletin boards can fit in one bag

I store the zip file bags in my storage closet, you could also hang them on hooks (I don't have a lot of space so it's option #1, for me.)

How do you store your bulletin boards?

More Counselor Led Book Club Suggestions

2013-02-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the many wonderful counselors who gave suggestions on more books that would be great to have for your counselor led book club. From your suggestions, I was able to order several sets for my 4th & 5th grade book clubs (I hope to order the rest in the next couple of months). I am able to purchase sets of 12 books for my book club through a grant through my school's PTA (they are wonderful). Here are some more book suggestions:

-Wonder (deals with a child having a disability) *I ordered this book

-Mockingbird (deals with a student having Aspergers)

-There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom (deals with social skills/behavior) *I ordered this book

-Gifted Hands (deals with achievement despite difficult circumstances, poverty, broken home)

-The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (deals with self discovery)

-The Girls (deals with cliques) *I ordered this book

-Eagle Song (deals with family changes, diversity)

-Locomotion (deals with broken family, foster care) *I ordered this book

-Peace Locomotion (Part II of Locomotion, deals with broken family, foster care) *I ordered this book

-On My Honor (deals with following rules, loss of a friend) *I ordered this book

-Izzy's Place (deals with family changes)

-The One and Only Ivan (deals with friendship)

Do you have any more books to add to the list? I'd love to hear them.

February's Black History Month!

2013-02-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

February is an exciting month, not only is it National School Counseling week during this month, but is the month to celebrate the accomplishments and history of African-Americans. Here are some of the things that I'm doing during the month:

-I made a black history month book display in the media center. I used Kente cloth printed fabric (that a parent let me borrow) and lots of books to showcase books with African American writers, illustrators and/or characters (the librarian helped me with the books, she's fabulous).

-I made a PowerPoint of black history month facts to be shown each day in February on our school news. The facts also rotate throughout the day on the classroom televisions. Here are a couple of samples of what I created:

Gabby Douglas

President Obama

-I also will focus on diversity & acceptance of others in my monthly class visit lessons. Click here for book ideas and lessons.

-We'll have a lunch celebration for the staff celebrating Black History Month (soul food menu).

And don't forget about my African-American inventors from A-Z bulletin board, I shared with you earlier.

What plans to you have to celebrate black history month in your school?

JYJ Gives Back Night (Planning a School-Wide Service Night Part III)

2013-02-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

I've given you tips on how to run a school-wide character ed event at your school (in part I and part II) and now it's time to share how our 2013 JYJ Gives Back School-Wide Event went (this is part III). Also I want to mention that JYJ actually gives back ALL year through community service. Each grade level is given money that has to be specifically used for a community service project for the school year.

Here's who & how we helped out this year:

TV Screenshot of station locations (created by the fantastic technology teachers at my school)

-Wake county SPCA: made dog chew toys out of old t-shirts

Making dog chew toys for SPCA

-Mayview Nursing Home: made (early) Valentine's Day cards

Valentine's day cards

-Tammy Lynn Center: (for developmentally delayed children & adults): made musical instruments out of cardboard tubes

-UNC-Children's Hospital: notes and care packages for patients. We also collected money school-wide to purchase 2 wagons to donate to the hospital (they use wagons to transport children through the hospital instead of gurneys or wheelchairs). Some people were so moved by our efforts that 3 parents offered to donate another 3 wagons to the hospital on our behalf at our event (what a great way to show JYJ Gives Back)! We had a station where students could sign the wagons.

Wagons "before"

Signed Wagon

-Ronald McDonald House: notes and care packages for patients

Making care packages

-Raleigh Rescue Mission (local homeless shelter): made & packed meals

Making sandwiches for the Raleigh Rescue Mission

-Backpack Buddies: packed meals for our PTA sponsored program

Food donations!

-USO: notes and care packages to the soldiers

USO station

-Refugee mission collection: separated winter coats, gloves, socks, scarfs and hats to donate to refugee families and children in the area.

-Several classes were really into the "giving back" and went above and beyond collecting items, helping set up and even running service stations at the event. We had so many donations, which is why our event was such a success and so very meaningful!

We had an outstanding turnout from students and parents, by having Spanish performances (in full costume) throughout the evening (JYJ is a magnet Spanish immersion school) so each grade level had a group to perform throughout the event in various locations in the school (this also doubled our attendance and donations from last year).

3rd grade performance

Kindergarten performance

The wonderful technology teachers at my school put together this fantastic video of our very successful event! Take a look (and yes, both myself & the counselor intern made a cameo appearance, we're the very last ones on the video):

Does your school have a school-wide service night event? If you do, I'd love to hear how you run yours, please share!

School Counselor On Air: What I Wish I Knew Wednesday

2013-02-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

As our week of celebrating National School Counselor Week continues, I had the pleasure of joining blog buddy Danielle Schultz from the School Counselor Blog for What I Wish I Knew Wednesday for the School Counselor On Air Series. During our hour chat, we talked about things we both wished we had known starting out as interns and as 1st year school counselors. Being a new school counselor there's so much to take in, well actually being a counselor period can be a lot to take in as well. To see our chat, see the video below.

I had a blast participating in this hangout. Thank you so much Danielle for having me on!

What do you wish that you knew that you as a beginning school counselor?

National School Counseling Week Link Party!

2013-02-04T15:30:00.001-05:00

Fabulous school counselors our week of celebration is here (although I think we should be celebrated each and every day)! I've been thinking how to celebrate National School Counselor Week at my school for a quite a while. I can honestly say that at my school, we (counselor intern & I) are constantly reminded how much parents, staff and students appreciate what we do as counselors (we do A LOT!)

So here's how we'll be celebrating National School Counseling Week at JYJ:

-My school district had a morning celebration (click here to see the write up on it) for all the school counselors. I was able to see blog buddy Vanessa from Savvy School Counselor! What a treat it was to see her.

Vanessa & I at our district school counselor celebration

-I made this great banner from Vistaprint to hang outside of my office to celebrate and to let everyone know that it's National School Counselor Week. On a side note I got a sweet deal on this banner months ago on a Black Friday sale, for only (are you ready for this) 99 cents!

Celebration banner

Yours truly!

Counselor intern Dhruti

-I put daily announcements on our live morning television school news show on things that school counselors do and how we are here to help all students. I even plan to be interviewed during the show on Wednesday (this is really a stretch for me, I'm more of a behind the scenes person).

-To include staff, I made a little note to everyone (I used Avery business cards) that said "being your JYJ counselors is worth at least 100 GRAND, celebrating National School Counselor Week from Andrea & Dhruti". I attached a mini 100 Grand candy bar to the note. To get more ideas check out Pinterest and look under teacher appreciation.

-I ordered "I heart school counseling" t-shirts (from Vistaprint) for myself and the counselor intern to wear on Wednesday (the same day that we'll be on the school news).

T-shirt to celebrate School Counselor week

-Don't forget about the School Counseling On-Air Google + Hangouts during the entire week. Some fantastic school counselor and bloggers will be hosting. I plan to be there "hanging out"!

I'm very excited about our week to celebrate our fantastic profession! What are your plans for school counseling week?

Please share by joining in on the National School Counseling Week Link Party hosted by blog buddy Danielle Schultz from the School Counselor Blog.

To participate in the National School Counseling Week Link Party:

Create a post titled "National School Counseling Week Link Party!"
Write a post about one of the following:

how you plan to celebrate National School Counseling Week at Your School
your favorite ideas, lessons, resources, etc. related to NSCW
a collection of things you have done to celebrate NSCW in the past

Place the National School Counseling Week Link Party Logo (above) in your post.
Submit your blog post using the Inlinkz tool in Danielle's original post. Make sure you link to the actual post URL not just your blog URL.
CELEBRATE by sharing what you are doing and applauding on what others are doing! :)
If you are not a blogger, but have an idea to share, please comment in the comment section!

Happy National School Counselor Week!

Celebrating African American Inventors (free printable)

2013-01-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

The month of February is Black History Month where we celebrate the contributions and successes of African-Americans. This year I thought of a great way to celebrate both black history month while using ASCA's career domain by creating a bulletin board of African-American inventors.

-I created this using Word by typing the invention, inventor and included clip art of the invention (I used Google images for the pictures) .

-I also created a bulletin board title using Word. After printing the title, I cut, added construction paper backing for color and laminated.

Title words

What a difference some construction paper can do!

-I printed, added construction paper backing (with a glue stick) and laminated each inventor and posted. I found some cool border at a teacher speciality store ($2.99). While at the teacher store, I also found a set of positive quotes from African-Americans ($6.99) to post around the school.

Inventions with construction paper

Border

Positive Quotes

Here's the finished product:

Finished product!

I LOVE this and found out that so many current things we use were invented by African-Americans, which ties into how regardless of who you are and what kind of struggle you may have, anyone can be an inventor or anything that they choose to be.

I want to share this with you so that your school can celebrate these accomplishments during black history or any month. Click here to download the title letters and click here to download the inventors.

Enjoy!

(Paperless) tracking of students seen

2013-01-21T15:30:00.000-05:00

Each year I have full intentions of keeping great notes on the students I've seen each day. I even made a special form to include in my counselor notebook to keep track of notes, parent calls, to-do lists, etc. Well I started out strong with keeping daily notes for a couple of weeks and it went downhill (at a record speed). So I thought to myself, "there's got to be a better way for me to keep up with who I've seen that doesn't require me to keep up with a bunch of paper". So I thought and thought....Hmmm what do I usually have with me that I can keep student notes on...you guessed right my iPad!

So I decided to create something a little similar to my previous post on Min Mtgs with a tech spin and made use of the fantastic features of Google Docs. Here's what I did:

-I created a survey in Google Docs with the following questions:
Student Name- First Name, Last Initial (text question)
Grade-K-5 (multiple choice question)
Teacher- I listed all the teachers by grade level (drop down list)
Reason for visit- Just visiting, Friendship/Peer Issues, Sadness, Anxiety, Lunch, Group, Anger, Other (multiple choice question)

Setting up survey questions using Google Docs

-After all my questions were typed, I added a theme to my survey for a personal touch (currently there are 97 different themes to choose from).

Samples of themes

Here's my finished survey:

-I emailed the link (from Google) to myself and of course added it to my home screen of my iPad so it's easier for me to locate.

Click to add to home screen. If your browser doesn't look like this on your iPad, you will need to update your iPad software (go to settings, general, software update).

-As I input my notes, everything uploads into a spreadsheet. I can easily see who I've seen. I have the link private to only me, meaning that I'm the only one that can view the information, so it's safe just in case you're wondering. Being in spreadsheet view allows me to easily sort and filter data (this is an awesome feature!)

Using this format to take notes has improved my note taking dramatically and most importantly it's completely paperless (I don't care to keep up with lots of paper, especially when there are other paperless alternatives). I liked this format so much, that I plan to create a 2nd (paperless) survey for parent communication.

I will admit that I am still keeping daily paper notes on parent calls, to do list and just general notes for myself (hey, I can't let my counselor created notebook go to waste just yet). I'm brainstorming a way to ease this into paperless too. Stay tuned, I'll be sure to share!

Does anyone have any other suggestions on how to keep (paperless) daily student notes? I'd love to hear them.

Career & College Ready Display

2013-01-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

I got this idea after seeing a banner from the school counselor blog store. I created a similar banner from Vistaprint (99 cents on a black Friday sale). I then made printouts of each college/university in NC (my state) using Word.

For the printouts, I typed each school name (in various fonts and colors) and put an image of the school logo or mascot below the name (use Google images). I then cut and laminated all of the schools. I also did something similar with the top 25 best jobs, which I saw under the #schoolcounselor hashtag on Twitter (by the way school counselor is #17). I added a few more careers that came up often from my minute mtgs with my students (I sorted my spreadsheet of data by career to get more career choices). I put the colleges and careers all around the banner (in no particular order).

Banner from Vistaprint

Colleges (sorry for the glare from the camera)

Careers (laminated)

Here's the finished product:

I like this display, pretty simple and easy to make but such a meaningful message!

How do you display career and college ready info at your school?

(Pt. II) Planning a School-Wide Character Ed Event at Your School

2013-01-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

In my previous post on planning a school-wide service (character ed) night at your school. I discussed pre-planning (this is the importance of having a committee). In this post I'll focus on how to plan and execute the event at your school.

-Remind students, staff and parents about the event. This year we had a banner put up in front of the school and a yard signs at carpool and the front entrance to remind them of the event. I had these made from Vistaprint (I added the date by creating a Word document, printed and added to the sign, which can be updated yearly).

Banner made using VistaPrint

Yard sign at the front of the school

-Once you've determined what organizations you plan to help and which items to collect for the service projects; determine what and how you will collect your items. This year we started off with collecting items school wide (before the holidays). These items included (old t-shirts, cardboard tubes, canned fruits, vegetables, healthy snacks and gently used winter items such as coats, gloves, scarfs & hats). After the holidays we assigned items for each grade level to bring in (that way items donated are pretty equally distributed).

Sample of the signs on the collection bins (I used PowerPoint to create this)

Donation bins at the front entrance of the school

-If you are collecting school wide, there's NO such thing as over publicity. We send home a note with a list of the requested donated items to all students, have the principal include it in her weekly phone message and include it on the televised school news. For the news show, I made visuals (using PowerPoint) of the needed items. We have collection bins throughout the school (which we mention in our note, phone message and news message, remember there's NO such thing as over publicity). Another option that the parents seemed to like was being able to make monetary donations instead of sending their child on the bus with canned items, snacks, heavy items, etc. By giving a monetary donation, our committee can go to the store and purchase items that we're running low on. As I've said before, we are very fortunate to have so many parents willing to go above and beyond with donations and volunteering for our event.

Collection bins

Winter items collected

Bin to collect cardboard tubes...we had more than enough! This is a range applicance box donated by a parent. I covered the box with butcher paper and posted donation signs on it. We had 4 (large) collection boxes.

Bin to collect winter items.

Visual used for the JYJ News Program.

- Decide/plan where each service project station will be held in your school. For an example, we kept all the projects that dealt with food packing in the cafeteria, crafty type projects in the art room, etc.

All food stations were in the cafeteria (this was the finished backpack buddies program station).

-Recruit, recruit & recruit volunteers! I created a Google Doc that was sent to the parent yahoo email group and we were able to fill all volunteer spots to manage service project stations. We also contacted the neighboring high school for students who were looking for community service hours (all students are required to complete service hours). Last year we had 10-15 high school volunteers who were able to move, set up/take down tables and station materials.

Volunteer sign up, using Google docs

-At each station, we made specific directions on what needed to be done and we made a sample of the finished station product (I recruited students to make the samples before the event) so that the station managers could show the students the finished product. We had 2-3 parents (and in some cases a parents and a student) manage stations.

A few of the station directions

-Invite a representative from the organization you're helping to come to the event. Most of the people will come and say a few words during our (quick) opening session and tell how our community involvement makes a difference and what their organization does to help the community. The great thing about having a representative there is that they can also take back the items that were made/packed at the station and you won't have find someone to take them to the organization.

-We actually serve dinner during our event also (this is up to you). We have pizza, snack carrots, cookies, water and lemonade. Again, this is funded through our PTA and we accept donations for the cost of the food. Parent volunteers handle this part of the event.

-To assign stations, when students come in to the event, they choose 2 tickets from a basket which tell them which stations to go to. I made these "tickets" using Avery business cards and typed the station names and locations on the cards. Having students pick, eliminates overcrowding at some stations.

-Our JYJ Gives back event is just a couple of weeks away and I'll be sure to share how our event went this year. Stay tuned!

Whoo hoo, I'm the website of the month!

2013-01-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

What better way to start off 2013 than being featured as the January website of the month for Elementary School Counseling! I was so excited when Marissa Rex contacted me to share the great news (which you can tell in my interview, I was talking soooo fast based from pure excitement, shock & nervousness). I've been following her blog & reading her website for quite some time. In fact she's my December 2012 JYJ Shout Out! I am so glad that I can share what happens in my little counseling world through this blog while being able to connect with so many fantastic school counselors. Thank you so much for reading! Thanks so much Marissa, I'm truly flattered beyond words.

Ice-Breaker with a Tech Spin

2013-01-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

This year, I've made it my personal counselor project to update my ice-breaker activities with my students. Yes I have the beach ball with the questions on it (brilliant idea) and I made the popsicle sticks with questions on them earlier so now I needed a jyj counselor tech-like ice-breaker activity. So I had this great idea to use QR (Quick Response) Codes for my next ice-breaker activity. QR codes, when scanned can take you directly to web pages, videos, pictures or documents without having to type in a web address. These cool codes are popping up everywhere... on TV, newspapers, magazines and even on various products. So I thought of a way to incorporate QR codes into my ice-breaker.

Here's how I used QR Codes for my ice-breaker:

-I typed ice-breaker questions into Google Docs (use the presentation feature, it's just like PowerPoint).

If you need ice-breaker question ideas, click here.

Ice-breaker question

-After I typed the question, I clicked the "share" button on my Google Doc, clicked available to "anyone with the link" and copied and pasted the link to share. You will have to type each ice-breaker question into it's own separate file (so that it can have it's own link from Google Docs).

-I then went to the site Kaywa QR creator to make a code from the link (just copy & paste the Google link). After you paste the link, click "generate free" and your new qr code will appear.

-I copied and pasted the QR code into a Word document. (I used the Avery business card paper template).

Business cards I used, $6 from Sams Club.

-I printed QR codes on business cards & laminated.

QR Codes printed on business cards

-I put the cards in a jar where the students can choose randomly which questions they scan to answer next. I use Qrafter (free QR scanner app) to scan the cards.

Cards in a jar

This ice-breaker was a complete hit with my students (can be used on either individual or group counseling). They LOVED it! They liked that they didn't know what the question would be until they scanned it on the iPad.

Do you have any tech ice-breaker ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Lesson on Listening & Following Directions

2013-01-04T15:31:00.000-05:00

How can I reiterate to my 1st grade friends the importance of listening and following directions? With a fun listening and following directions lesson of course!

-I opened by asking the students questions about listening/following directions: Who do you listen to? Teachers, friends, family, etc. Ask students why do we listen? What could happen if we don't listen when someone is giving directions? (Be prepared for a variety of responses).

Why follow directions?

-I made a "direction scramble" activity using the Promethan board where students had to rearrange directions to a task in the correct order (shows how to give and follow directions). I had several direction scenarios for students to put in order.

Screenshot of direction scramble.

-After the direction scramble game, I showed them the animated book Howard B. Wigglebottoms Learns to Listen.

-After the video we discussed what happened to Howard when he didn't listen and when he listened. Discuss what happened to Howard when he did listen (there's an interactive quiz on the website that I also used with the students).

-I then told the class that they get to practice listening and following directions in a fun and exciting way!

-I told everyone to stand up, move to the open space in the classroom and make sure they have enough space to move. I played the line dance song the Cha-Cha Slide, which gives directions to follow (the students LOVE dancing, even if they can't keep the rhythm, it's so fun!) I used a Youtube version that has the words (directions) so the class can see and follow along. I like to do the dances with them, that also shows that the counselor listens and follows directions too!

Cha Cha slide time!

What lessons do you use for listening and following directions?