jyjoyner counselor

Brag Bag & Best Part of Me Lesson

2016-01-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! During this time of the year, many of us follow tradition and make resolutions and goals that we'd like to do for the new year. Often times the resolutions we make are to improve or enhance something in our lives. We often forget that we have many things already in us that we can brag about and don't need to change.

I was able to do an awesome lesson on body image and acceptance with 2 super cool activities with my 5th grade classes, partnering up with the 5th grade teachers in planning and preparing this made this even more special. Let me give a little background info...prior to this lesson I went on a field trip with 5th grade for their human growth and development unit to a health center. Also prior to this trip I had heard several cases of negative self-talk among peers.

For my lesson, the classroom teacher opened with "give your neighbor a compliment" as we listened, nearly all the compliments were based on items such as "I like your shoes", "I like your bracelet" and so on. That was our doorway to talk about things that we have within us that can't be purchased at a store. I then read a short story from Chicken Soup for the Soul, Think Positive for Kids entitled "Learning to Love my Nose". In this story the author shares how something she was embarrassed about became something she was proud about. It was great to hear the discussion from the class on how they connected with the story.

Next I used the Brag Bag activity from the Girls in Real Life Situations book. Students were to write 10 things that they could brag about themselves that were not materialistic. After you wrote the brags down, you cut them out and out them in a plastic bag. The teachers and I shared our brags with the classes and shared that it can be difficult to brag about yourself. It was so interesting seeing the students write their brags down. If we had time, students had the option to share (many were very willing to share).

GIRLS book (notice all my sticky notes, I love this book)

My Brags, that I shared with the students

Student works on their Brags

Cutting the Brags out and putting them in a bag

The following week students wrote a poem after reading the book The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald, where they wrote about the best part of them. This activity was lead by their teacher, however the brag bag gave them many ideas on things that just might be the best part of them.

Best Part of Me...Eyes

Best Part of Me...Hair

I loved seeing how thoughtful and creative students were doing both of these activities. I really loved the collaboration with the amazing 5th grade teachers. We have already said that we would do more things like this in the future.

More Book Club Book Recommendations

2015-09-28T15:30:00.000-04:00

If I haven't mentioned it several times before, book clubs are my favorite school counselor led group. I like the use of bibliotherapy to work with each group (books are so versatile to reach so many types of groups). Each year I look forward to adding more books to my book club collection. Here are some more to consider if you're looking for new books:

Brown Girl Dreaming, author: Jacqueline Woodson- This is an autobiography, written in poetry form (the title of the book says it all).

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, author: Wendy Mass- Book with a mystery that I think students will find very interesting. This book also deals with being in a single parent home, having a deceased parent and friendship.

All of the Above, author: Shelley Pearsall- My students and I both LOVED this book! A great book about overcoming obstacles to the fullest.

The Fourteenth Goldfish, author: Jennifer Holm- A funny sci-fi book that (humorously) discusses family dynamics, friendship and coming of age.

The Hundred Dresses, author: Eleanor Estes- This book is on many counselor book lists. Deals with bullying and acceptance of others.

What other books have you read that you think will be a great addition to a counselor led book club? Please share below.

Friendship Review & Back to School Giveaway

2015-09-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

Now that I think the majority of us are back in complete school-mode, what better time to offer a giveaway. Youthlight was so kind to let me do a review of Brad Learns how to Take a Bite Out of Meanness, which is great interactive CD on friendship and getting along with others (I don't know about you but this topic leads the pack of reasons to visit the counselor).

I LOVE this disc because it can be used in various settings, meaning it can be used in class lessons, small group or even individual sessions (there are 5 mini lessons completely adaptable with SMART or Promethan boards and in English & Spanish). Another cool feature is that there are printable worksheets and posters on the disc. I consider this a great resource to add to your "counselor friendship" resources.

The kind people at Youthlight were so nice to send me an extra copy as a giveaway prize. Please enter to win below.

What are you most looking forward to for the new school year? I'm looking to connect with even more students because this year we have a lot of new students (hello minute meetings).

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Tips for Counselor Self-Care

2015-08-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

Call back the search parties...I'm back! After an extremely restful and relaxing summer it's time to get back to business and head back to school. Although I did not blog this summer, I certainly thought of upcoming posts.

Posting about self-care is something that I've wanted to share for some time. Often we give so much of ourselves in our schools to our students, parents and even staff that sometimes we forget to give some time to "us". I thought of a few tips, some others told me in my career and some I've just learned from trial and error that I'd like to share with you:

-Do something (non-work related) that you enjoy: I have several hobbies that I enjoy, my morning group run twice a week (Shout out to BGR) and going to group fitness classes at my gym (shout out to the Cary Y). My class starts at 4:30, which makes me leave work on time. During the fitness class, work is usually not on my mind. After I've finished, I have a clear head and have had a great workout.

My morning run group (awesome ladies)

-Keep a folder (or even a drawer) of positive notes, cards, drawings from students, parents, staff, etc: When having a rough day(s) it's very reassuring to know that you're truly making a difference in your role.

Notes like this can totally brighten your day.

-Don't respond to voicemail or email messages when angry or upset: Guess what kind of response you give when you angry or upset? Yep you're right angry and upset! Take some time to calm down and get your emotions in order before you respond, as my students sometimes say "don't get all up in your feelings". Usually by the time you have calmed down you can rationally respond to your email. Also word to the wise, keep those emails short and sweet.

-Eat lunch away from your computer: Each year, my intern and I make a rule to have lunch together and not in front of a computer. What a difference that makes. We really need that non-work time to connect.

-Even if you're alone as the counselor in your school, you're NOT alone: Connect with other counselors in your district or nearby. Thank you social media for allowing so many of us to connect! If you haven't already joined the Elementary Exchange Facebook group, you sure are missing out! Ask a question, share a resource or even a little vent on the FB group and you'll have a multitude of support. I'm so thankful that this blog has allowed me to connect with so many of you.

I never feel alone thanks to this amazing PLT (Professional Learning Team)!

-When needed, take a mental health day: Any form of burnout isn't fun. You're no good to yourself or your students when you're not "yourself". If you need to take a day to rejuvenate and refocus it may be in your best interest.

Do you have any other tips that you'd like to share for self-care?

(Free) School Counselor Printables

2015-05-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

I know many of you wonderful school counselors are on Pinterest. How do I know this? I follow lots of you and you follow me. One of my favorite boards is my School Counselor Printables board because A.) I like printables, I actually have a folder that I save all these goodies called "Pinterest stuff to Print". B.) I don't want to re-create something that's already been made. So friends I'm going to share my favorite Pinterest School Counselor Printables along with their links (all of these are free). Enjoy!

Shhh We're Testing Sign

Binder Covers

(yes even my binders have to have a little style)

Fill in the Face Printable

I Am Poem

Mean Stinks Posters

(this is also a great anti-bullying resource website)

Behavior Think Sheet

All Quotes Coloring Pages

If you'd like to follow my Pinterest board of School Counselor Printables, click the link and follow me (most of my pins are freebies, free is my favorite price).

Dressing Interview Ready on Budget

2015-05-04T15:30:00.001-04:00

After working at my district's career fair recently, my fashion forward co-worker and I began to chat about how it felt to be on the other end (the person looking for a job) and all the emotions and feelings that you feel being at a job fair...nervousness, excitement and especially feeling overwhelmed. One of the things we discussed was dressing for an interview and how as college students funds may be limited to spend on new clothes. So hark, a blog post idea came on sharing budget friendly and simple ways to dress appropriately for a school counselor interview.

I thought back to my first rounds of teacher interviews fresh out of college (I was a teacher before becoming a counselor) and I wore the "unofficial interview uniform"...a black dress suit. Not just any suit, this said suit I thought was quite snazzy (for 12 years ago). This two-piece suit had a dress and a black long-sleeve jacket to go over the dress accompanied with black pumps AND off-black pantyhose (gasp)! Did I mention that I did my interviews during the summer months...in the south (HOT)! Since then, my interview dress has been a little more relaxed and I don't think I've worn a suit to an interview since then. There are ways to dress professional without wearing a suit or breaking the bank.

I'd like to share some affordable ways to dress for your school counselor interview. I stuck with basic clothing pieces and things that most people are likely to already own (or have a friend they can borrow them from).

So here are Basic Clothing Pieces to start with:
-Black or Navy dress pants
-White Button-up Shirt
-Basic Black Dress
-Black pumps

Pants: JC Penny, Shirt: Nautica Pumps: Nine West

Black Pants: Banana Republic, Navy Pants: JC Penny

Dress: Old Navy

Here are some ideas on how simple pieces can update your look, while looking professional.

Black or Navy Pants + White Button Down Shirt + a Statement Necklace:

Statement Necklaces: NY & Co (Left), Gifted (Right)

Black or Navy Pants + a Stripe Shirt + a Statement Necklace:

I added brown pumps since it's great compliment color with navy pants.

Shirt: Old Navy, Necklace: NY & Co, Shoes: Naturalizer

Black or Navy Pants + White Button Down Shirt + a Stripe Blazer:

Blazer: JCrew Factory

Black or Navy Pants + White Button Down Shirt + a Stripe Blazer+ a Statement Necklace:

Basic Black Dress + Belt:

Belt: Gap

Basic Black Dress + Belt + Cardigan +Statement Necklace:

Cardigan: JCrew, Necklace: Belk

Basic Black Dress + Belt + Cardigan + Scarf

Scarf: Old Navy

See there's potential awaiting you in your closet as you prepare for your upcoming interviews! Veteran counselors these looks work for us to, just for a regular school day. I loved writing this post, I plan to share more shopping and outfits that are school appropriate and budget friendly.

Book on Celebrating Diversity with Empathy and Giveaway

2015-04-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

Teaching empathy is something we school counselors do oh so well and what better way to model and show empathy to our students than through books. Author Maria Dismondy's newest book Chocolate Milk, Por Favor is a fantastic book to use to show empathy AND teaches accepting others through diversity.

What I really like about this book is that this story is very relatable because it's Maria own story of a new student (Gabe) at her school who's an non-English speaker from another country and how another student (Johnny) goes out of his way to be unkind to him. Throughout the students differences Johnny learns that those differences make people special or unique. He learns that these special differences don't mean that you can't be kind and learn from others that may be different (and in this case, speak a different language than you). This same story happens in many of our school buildings with (initial) non-English speaking students. I can see this being shared with many of the classes and teachers in my school. This is a great addition to my school counselor book library.

As an added bonus super fantastic Maria already has Chocolate Milk, Por Favor Reader's Guide with worksheets and ideas to use with students (thank you Maria). Maria has been so kind to give an autographed copy of the book away. Enter below. This is a win-win situation...book and activities, what more can I say!

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Clear and Bold Writing Aid...Hemingway

2015-04-06T15:30:00.000-04:00

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you...this IS a new post! I am so glad to be back in the blog world and share more counselor tools with you. With that said, let's roll:

How many times have to typed a document or email for school and thought to yourself "does this make sense" or "I hope that this is fairly easy for people to understand". I can gladly say that this is me. I've been known to type something, reread it multiple times and even have a second reader proof it for me.

So I have a cool web tool that was shared by one of the fabulous teachers at my school and it is Hemingway (like the author). What exactly does this tool do? Well counselor friends, it does oh so much, it's like the friend that you ask to check your writing but on your computer/tablet.

To get started, just type or copy and paste your text on the page

As your written text appears, Hemingway identifies grammar tools (such as adverbs, passive voice) and gives you suggestions to update it. Hemingway also gives you a readability level AND breaks down your writing to let you know sentence/phrase difficulty.

I am so excited to use this tool. I may just sound like a "true writer" now, so if my blog writing seems a little more "polished" it just may be due to Hemingway (actually, I'll probably use this more for school related stuff, blog posts will be "just me").

Liebster Award

2015-02-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Fellow blogger and fashionista school counselor friend Melanie from The Stylish School Counselor nominated me for the Liebster Award so here's my questions to answer:

1. What are your top 3 favorite life moments to date?

I try to make all my moments in life memorable so there are too many to name.

2. What are some stores that are your go to places to shop for you?

I love to shop (especially for a bargin) so my usual shopping spots are: JCrew, Old Navy, Gap, Macy's, Banana Republic and recently I've gotten into Athleta.

3. How would you describe your style? (Bonus: share some pictures)

I'd say that I dress very preppy with a little edge. I love to mix prints and colors and love dressing up for work...dress for success (I know it sounds cheesy but it's so true).

4. What is your occupation? If you didn't do that, what would you do?
School Counselor, oh yeah! If I weren't a school counselor, I'd love to be a corporate trainer that traveled all over the world training others.

5. What is your favorite room in your home and why?

My living room...couch, Apple TV ie..Netflix, enough said

6. What are 3 things on your wish list right now?

-Silver Birkenstocks for Spring

-Track Jacket

-Gift card to Athleta to buy said Birkenstocks and jacket

See these are actually on my wish list!

7. What has been your favorite vacation to date?Vacations are always awesome, I loved my cruise to the Bahamas 2 years ago and I loved my trip to England and Norway last year. Could I possibly go for a three-peat by going to Central America this year in Costa Rica & Nicaragua?

8. If you could share one of your best organization tips (whether at home or at school) what would it be?

Pick out your clothes/outfits for the week ahead of time and make/pack your lunch before you go to bed...will save you so much time. This works oh so well for me!

So.....now I would like to nominate the following bloggers for the Liebster Award and to join in on the fun! Simply link back to this post, answer the questions below, and nominate some of your fav bloggers!!

Traci from The Extraordinary School Counselor

Rebecca from School Counseling By Heart

Vanessa from Savvy School Counselor

Angela from Life on the Fly Counselor

Carol from The Middle School Counselor

Questions:

1. What can always be found in your handbag or schoolbag?

2. Do you pack your lunch or eat school cafeteria food?

3.Why did you decide to start blogging and why?

4. What is your absolute favorite food?

5. If you weren't a school counselor, what career path would you choose?

6. What is the most played song on your iPod?

7. What's the last book that you read?

8. What's your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

9. What's your favorite TV show?

10. What's the last movie that you saw?

#NSCW15 Friday Giveaway

2015-02-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

On the last day of #NSCW15 and one last giveaway. Enter below to win a $20 giftcard to Walmart to use towards your next school counselor project. I hope that you had a fantastic week celebrating all that you do, it is certainly appreciated!

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#NSCW15 Thursday Giveaway

2015-02-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

#NSCW15 Thursday Giveaway is a copy of What Shoes Will You Wear book by the fabulous Julia Cook. Raise your hand if you have a Julia Cook book in your counselor library? Well here' s a way to add another to your collection. Enter below to win a copy of What Shoes Will You Wear which is great book to use with students to explore careers options. I ALWAYS find myself looking for resources and ways to expose younger students to careers. This is going to be an excellent resource to add to my counselor career resources.

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#NSCW15 Wednesday Giveaway

2015-02-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

#NSCW15 Wednesday Giveaway is a copy of The Body Image Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help Girls Develop a Healthy Body Image in an Image Obsessed World (An Instant Help Book for Teens) by Julia V.Taylor. Raise your hand if you own the super helpful G.I.R.L.S. book (I do, love them). Well here's a way to add another book to your counselor library. Enter below to win a copy of The Body Image Workbook for Teens, which is great book to use with students & parents. This is going to be an excellent resource to add to my counselor career resources.

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#NSCW15 Tuesday Giveaway

2015-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

#NSCW15 Tuesday Giveaway is a copy of The Anti-Test Anxiety Society book by the fabulous Julia Cook. Raise your hand if you have a Julia Cook book in your counselor library? Well here' s a way to add another to your collection. Enter below to win a copy of The Anti-Test Anxiety Society, which is great book to use with students as testing season approaches. I ALWAYS find myself looking for resources and ways to calm testing nerves with students and parents. This is going to be an excellent resource to have on working with testing worries.

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Celebrating #NSCW15 & A Week of Giveaways!

2015-02-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

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 Victoria & 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:

-My school district will host a morning celebration for all the school counselors to celebrate...us and what we do!

We're so excited to celebrate. Use the hashtag #NSCW15 to post your pictures.

-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 bannery on a Black Friday sale, for only (are you ready for this) 99 cents!

Celebration banner

-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. Both Victoria & I even plan to be interviewed during the show on Tuesday (this is really a stretch for me, I'm more of a behind the scenes person).

-My principal included a little reminder on her phone message that it was School Counselor Week and also our PTA sent out a shout out to us to the parent list serve (great school counselor PR).

-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 & Victoria". I attached a 100 Grand candy bar to the note. To get more ideas check out Pinterest and look under teacher appreciation.

Treats for staff & counselors in my region. To print your own copy of NSCW signs click here.

-To include school counselors in my school district Victoria & I made a treat to give all of the counselors in our elementary region. It says "For being a part of our super STAR Central PLT, happy school counseling week!" and we attached it to Starburst candy (another Pinterest idea). I love that I've been able to be a part of such a wonderful and fun region (shout out to the Elementary Central Area PLT)!

-To include other school counselors, I sent notes to a few school counselors that I've met from this blog, conferences, professional development and even counselor friends in my district. I used post cards & envelopes that I ordered from Vistaprint. I can't say it enough how this blog has allowed me to connect with so many amazing school counselors. Thank you for reading and sticking with me. Who doesn't like to receive a little note celebrating what you do?

Notes to school counselors, you just may be receiving a note from me!

-I also have another way to celebrate us by having a giveaway a day for the rest of the week!!!
Here's what's on tap for the week's giveaway:

-Tuesday: Win a copy of The Anti-Test Anxiety Society book by Julia Cook
-Wednesday: Win a copy of The Body Image Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help Girls Develop a Healthy Body Image in an Image-Obsessed World (An Instant Help Book for Teens) by Julia V. Taylor
-Thursday: Win a copy of What Shoes Will You Wear by Julia Cook
-Friday: Win a $20 gift card to Walmart

Don't forget to enter each day

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

Wear to Work Series is BACK!

2015-01-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

Yes we're back with one of my favorite topics...school counselor fashion! I'm so excited to team up with my favorite school counselor/now assistant principal fashionista Melanie from The Stylish School Counselor Blog.

We'd like to share some of our Winter Wear to Work Gear.

Andrea: This season, I had a "little" obsession with wearing vests and thanks to jcrew, I went from owning 1 vest to 5 vests this season. To justify my purchases I vowed to wear a vest at least once a week (makes sense right).

Melanie: Hey y'all! I am so excited to team with the oh-so-beautiful and stylish Andrea over at JyJoyner Counselor blog. We are doing our Winter Wear to Work series and I couldn't be more excited. Honestly, my winter fashion has been a hodge podge of randomness. It has been a little bit of glam mixed with a whole lot of comfortable.

Just like Andrea, I have been loving vests! I bought two this season. A furry black vest that I swear keeps me so warm and a white one that I wear with so much!

Black fur vest (Apricot Lane), Dress (Nordstrom), Silver Tassel Necklace (Gap)

White Vest (Old Navy), Tunic (Groovy's), Scarf (Nordstrom), Skinny Jeans (Gap), Boots (Groovy's)

Here are a few more of our wear to work gear looks:

Andrea: I love mixing brown and whatever color comes to mind, in this case gray!

Shirt: Nautica, Dress & Belt: Gap, Tights: Macy's, Boots: Coach

Melanie: I have also been loving jewelry. Whether it's a bold pop of color or simply and dainty...I want to wear it all!!

Coral statement necklace and earrings (Charming Charlie)

Andrea: Can't go wrong with a set of pearls.

Blazer & Shirt: Old Navy, Belt: Gap, Skirt: Thrifted, Shoes: Bass Weguns, Necklace: Belk, Glasses: Kate Spade

Pendant and Drop Earrings (Kendra Scott)

Cardigan: JCrew, Belt: Gap, Skirt: Banana Republic, Shoes: Bass Weguns

Melanie: When the weather is cooler, scarves become my instant BFF! They always tend to tie an outfit together plus keep you warm!

Leopard Scarf (Nordstrom), Striped Dress (Groovy's)

Scarf: Gift, Sweater: Gap, Pants: Banana Republic, Shoes: Cole Haan

Melanie: And here is a pic to show how much I am lovin' these items altogether!!

Leopard Scarf (Nordstrom), Green Long Sleeve Tee (Express), Skinny Jeans (Gap), Boots (Target), Purse (Kate Spade)

I hope you join Melanie and myself during National School Counselor's Week for our School Counselor Fashion Challenge on Instagram and Facebook. We can't wait to see all of your style (guys and girls)!! Simply upload your outfit each day with #nscw15fashion

I LOVE doing these types of posts! Thank you so much Melanie for sharing. What are some of your winter counselor wear to work staples? Scarves, Boots, Vests?

Great Kindness Challenge

2015-01-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

No your eyes aren't deceiving you, I (finally) have a new post for the new year! I have missed blogging and sharing with you. My original plan was to blog over the holiday break but wouldn't luck have it that the wrath of the flu hit me (big time) and took me down for 2 weeks!

I'm back now and want to share the Great Kindness Challenge which is coming up next week (Jan- 26th - 30th) which is where students can do and share acts of kindness with others. The cool thing is that there's a website that gives you info and ideas to implement at your school! I love that there's also a checklist that students can use to keep track of their kind acts. You could also use my previous posts on Random Acts of Kindness and Web of Kindness if you're doing class lessons. I'm excited to be back to blogging and sharing with my school counselor friends.

What better day to talk about service and being kind to others than today where we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King as well as others all over the world that advocate for change for the better.

12 Days Before Holiday/Winter Break

2014-12-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

The holiday season covers all kinds of emotions, happiness, excitement, stress, anxiety and for the 2nd year in a row to pump up the staff for the exciting break, we did the 12 days before Christmas (JYJ style). Several teachers and myself thought of this and we also had help and support from our PTA. So here's what we did (these are pics from last year & I apologize that I don't have pictures for all the days but you'll get the gist):

-Day 1: Turtledove Treat (Turtle and Dove Candy w/ a little note)

-Day 2: Guess the number of (holiday) M&M's in a jar (the PTA) counted and put the jar in the staff mail room and the winner got the candy.

-Day 3: Carols in the Cafe, a Holiday playlist on the iPod that was played using an iPod speaker during lunch.

-Day 4: Holiday Photo Booth, we used a corner wall on the main hallway and decorated with props (staff brought in the props). There's a staff member who does photography as a hobby and volunteered to take the pictures (we also used our phones).

-Day 5: Staff lunch and coverage for lunch duty (sponsored by PTA)

-Day 6: Cookie Exchange (staff brought in cookies/sweets to share)

-Day 7: Flannel Friday, wear your flannel/holiday PJ's and enjoy some hot chocolate (sponsored by our PTA).

-Day 8: Find the hidden holiday ornaments, PTA put 5 ornaments throughout the school and if you found one you won a prize.

-Day 9: Give and receive a snowman of appreciation (we assigned everyone a person to write a nice note to and each person also received a Hershey's Hug and Kiss candy). The snowmen were cut using a dye-cutter and some people got creative and added more to their snowman (see mine below). For the person that I wrote a snowman to, I knew that they liked diet soda so I put a dollar with the snowman to buy a drink from the drink machine.

-Day 10: Holiday headgear day

-Day 11: Pin the nose on Rudolph (like pin the tail on the donkey, blindfold and all), the top 3 people closest to his nose win a prize.

-Day 12: Tacky Holiday Sweater Day

The "countdown" to holiday break was even more interesting by adding fun events for staff. This year we're doing it again and adding a few different things. What things does your school do to celebrate staff for the holiday/winter break? Please share.

Travel Opportunities for School Counselors

2014-11-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

Nope you didn't read the title incorrectly, this post is about ways to travel as a school counselor. This summer I had an opportunity to do an educator travel/study abroad program to England and Norway and it was awesome! I got a staff email about traveling abroad for the summer and the requirements were to be a teacher. I then emailed the contact person and asked if school counselors could come along and ironically the contact person replied "why we've never had a school counselor apply for this program" BINGO, that was my way in (remember we have to be our biggest advocate)! Here are some options on how to find out more about traveling abroad opportunities:

-Many colleges/universities have summer travel opportunities for teachers/educators/school counselors during the summer. You don't necessarily have to be a student at the university to go on the trip either. Check with your alma mater or colleges/universities in your area. My trip to England/Norway was through the university where I've supervised counselor interns.

2014 England Educator Study Abroad Group at Highclere Castle (the Downtown Abbey House)

-If you're working on the high school level, see if you can chaperone a study abroad trip with your foreign language department. For us on the elem and middle school levels, make friends with high school counselors to be in the loop about traveling with a school group.

-Have a counselor topic that you'd like to research from a global perspective and do you live in a rural area? Consider applying for a Global Teacher Fellowship (I'm not able to apply for this because where I live doesn't qualify as a rural area)

Most programs have end of year or early spring deadlines (just double check the dates for the trip you're interested in).

Hiking along The White Cliffs of Dover (Dover, England)

I've always enjoyed any opportunity to travel and I must say that going this route is great, I just wish that I had known about opportunities like this earlier in my career. Better late than never! I'll say the travel abroad bug has bitten me and I'm already making plans to travel abroad for the upcoming summer (I'm thinking of visiting Central America this time around).

Introducing the School Counselor Lesson

2014-10-27T15:30:00.001-04:00

Whew, this school year has been quite busy and it's been a little obvious in my blogging absence. I finally have some time to share how I introduced myself & the counselor intern at the start of the school year. This year we used the book Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives by Erainna Winnett which is a fantastic book on introducing the school and describing what the school counselor does.

Reading the book Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives

As our activity, since Mrs. Joyce gives great high fives and we told the students that they could give us long lasting high fives. Here's what we did:

-We used cut colored construction and gave everyone a sheet where they were to trace their hand (we did assist a bit with tracing the hands).

-The students then cut out our handprints (we had to help some with this too).

-After the hand prints were cut out, I let them decorate their hands with crayons or makers (we saw lots of creative decorations).

-After we had handprints from all of our classes (we did this lesson with 1st grade). We made a "wreath" on high fives, which I put near our office, which reminds them of where the counselor's room is.

I loved this intro and love hearing the students say "that's my high-five"!

The Power of Self-D Review & Giveaway

2014-10-20T15:30:00.000-04:00

What counselor isn't a fan of biblio-counseling, meaning that we use books as a resource to work with students whether it be individually, with a small group or even with class visits. I had the pleasure of receiving a copy of The Power of Self-D, Willie Bohanon & Friends Learn the Power of Self-Determination by Kip "Mr. J" Jones, which is an excellent character education book on overcoming facing challenges, peer pressure and making good choices.

I would use this book for my older students (4th-5th graders) and it would also be excellent for middle school students because it is totally relatable for "tweens". Our story deals with Willie Bohanan raised in a single-parent home with several siblings who struggles with choosing academics over being "cool" with his friends and strives to be the first in his family to go to college. I especially like how the (relatable to tweens) acronym SWAG (Self-Determination, Working Hard, Ambition, Guidance) shows them steps and tools they can use to be successful. This is great addition to my counselor library.

Thanks to Mr. J, I have an extra copy to give away, please enter below to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make Use of Your State's Conference

2014-10-06T15:30:00.000-04:00

After participating in the #ASCA14 Google hangout with fellow school counselors a few months ago, I thought about other ways that school counselors could get a "conference experience" even if they aren't able to attend the national conference ((I was #notatasca14 this year). Attending your state level conference is a fantastic way to get fresh ideas, be among peers and network. As Matthew M. from CO explained to me "our state conference is like a mini-ASCA" perfectly stated Matthew.

I got to see BOTH Erin Mason & Julia V. Taylor at the Virginia School Counselor Association Conference.

I didn't attend an ASCA conference until my 4th year as a counselor, but I had attended my state's conference since my very 1st year. My state conference has been a great chance for me to meet other school counselors all over my state, which certainly helps since I as well as most elementary school counselors work solo at their schools. Here's a list of all state conference dates from the ASCA website. Attending your state's conference is another fantastic way to get other great ideas.

Will you be attending your state's conference?

Share how students show character

2014-09-29T15:30:00.001-04:00

Sharing character the character trait of the month has been an on-going project that I've steadily been working on increasing each year. This year I decided to add a video component of students sharing how they show the character trait of the month. Here's what I did:

-I made signs with each character trait listed (in both English & Spanish, JYJ is a Spanish themed Magnet school, so I try to reiterate our theme, although my Spanish has not improved at all). The students hold up the sign of the trait of the month while they share how they show the trait.

-I recruited students from various grade levels to share how they show that months' particular trait. I use my school issued flip camera or iPad to record the students. I give them the "script" which is: "I show ____(the character trait) by_____" for an example "I show respect by listening & following directions from my teachers".

-There's usually not a problem getting student volunteers, they all love being on the school news.

-I edit my own video using iMovie trailers (my character trait movie isn't more than a minute long) and have the video shown on our school's morning news. The video is shown during the month of the trait.

I would share the finished product, but since I don't have permission, just take my word for it.

Storyline Online...Great (Free) Counselor Find

2014-09-15T15:30:00.001-04:00

I LOVE reading and enjoy reading to my students during class visits, but there have been a few cases where reading aloud hasn't worked so well in my favor. These instances include losing my voice, not feeling my best or just not feeling reading the same story for the 10th time in a week. I've found an amazing alternative solution...Storyline Online! Which is an online book website where The Screen Actors Guild Foundation records well-known actors reading children’s books and makes graphically dynamic videos so that children around the world can be read to with just the click of a Storyline Online video book image. I also think that this is awesome because we'll be able to have more discussion and lesson activity time during our class visits and there's a good chance that I wouldn't have nearly as many interruptions during story time (we all have a class or two that provides lots of "commentary" .

I have a strong feeling that this will be used quite a bit in my class visits and small groups. Thank you Storyline Online, this website is a school counselor's dream come true!

Considering Going the Counselor Ph.D Route?

2014-09-08T15:30:00.001-04:00

Occasionally I get some emails or questions from other school counselors asking for advice in pursuing a doctoral degree and I have no idea how to respond. The only school I'm currently attending is the school where I work. I recruited Julia V. Taylor, a former school counselor to chime in on what it's like to take the Ph.D route.

Give a little background about your school counseling experience. How long you were a school counselor? What grade levels did you work in?

I was a school counselor for a decade before I decided to pursue a PhD in Counselor Education. I began my career as a high school counselor, then moved to a middle school, then I switched back to the high school level. After a few years, I went to central office for a year to help build a 6-12 public girls' school and stayed a year after it opened.

What did you like about being a school counselor?

That's difficult to answer - I'm a huge fan of the profession. School counselors change lives; they make a difference and have a lot of influence. I think the profession is still an undiscovered gem in education, but that is rapidly changing. I loved the school part of school counseling. I liked working in a school, being on a team, and being surrounded by people everyday. I enjoyed watching students grow. I was fortunate to follow a group of students from 6th to 8th grade, then a position opened up at the high school most of them were slated to attend. I interviewed, got the job, and followed them there. When those students were beginning their junior year, I was presented with an opportunity to be on the founding leadership team of the girls' school. I was over-the-moon thrilled (dream job!) to do this, but I was also devastated to leave that particular group of students. Two years later, the highlight of my entire career was watching the Apex High School Class of 2013 graduate. Coincidentally, their graduation day happened to be on my last day of employment in WCPSS. I cried the entire ceremony, I was so proud of them. It was the absolute perfect ending.

What sparked your interest to pursue a doctoral degree?

My interest in pursuing a doctoral degree was piqued a long time ago and grew over the years. My advisor in my Master's program, Dr. Tammy Davis, had a decade of experience as a practicing school counselor. She was completely transparent and taught us the realities of the field. Her stories were real and her passion was contagious. I remember thinking "I'll do this for a decade and follow her steps." I'm not sure how calculated those thoughts were at the time, but throughout the years I became increasingly interested in education reform, school counseling leadership, and the science of the field. I'm an information monster and I want to know the hows and whys of everything. I want to learn how to read, write, interpret, and critique research. I want to learn how to think about my thoughts. And I want to be able to back up my many opinions with research/data. With all of that said, I want to teach graduate students and I have to have this degree to do so.

Why did you choose Virginia Commonwealth University?

I spoke at VCU a few years ago and met the Counselor Education Department Chair, Dr. Mary Hermann. She informed me that they were in the process of creating a doctoral program and said she'd keep me updated. Fast forward a year, I began searching for schools and talked to different counselor education programs. The programs and people were great, but this was a big decision and I needed to listen to my head and my heart for this one. I was grappling with my next steps when Dr. Hermann emailed me to say VCU was moving forward with the PhD program if I was interested in applying. We spoke the next day and the rest is history. There was almost no hesitation. I just had this strange feeling that I needed to be there, so I put my application together and hoped for the best.

What has been your biggest adjustment in being back in school?
Oh, there are many. First, hovering above all of the adjustments over the past year is a healthy level of impostor syndrome. I'm not convinced it ever goes away. What else? If you would have asked me this in my first semester I would have said I missed students, my work is graded (augh), and time management. The spring semester was all about the "professional identity" stuff I read about but thought I was entirely too tough/cool/grounded for. Turns out, I'm not. I am a student who was a practicing school counselor and will hopefully be a counselor educator. The in-between is a moderately terrifying place to be. This whole PhD experience is humbling, as in every single day humbling. Lastly, the atmosphere of academia is a lot different than the atmosphere in a public school. I have a giant, quirky personality and am still adjusting to toning it down. I was always the one who would organize surprise (and wildly embarrassing) faculty skits at student talent shows, was the official Office Olympics Coordinator on teacher workdays, and I don't have a great indoor voice. There are no office olympics in academia (yet) and it's very quiet, so very quiet. However, adjustments are just that, they keep things interesting.

What's something that you've enjoyed about your doctoral program? The Counselor Education faculty at VCU is top-notch. They are driven, exemplary role models, and unbelievably supportive. I've had the opportunity to teach a technology class specifically for school counselors and co-teach a few other classes. I have always loved writing, so I have enjoyed being able to do that on another level. Another thing I really like about VCU's program is that it's under the School of Education umbrella, so I also take education leadership classes. I actually looked into education leadership doc programs at one time in my life, so this is truly the best of both worlds.

What advice would you give to a school counselor thinking of pursuing a doctoral degree in counselor education?

There are a lot of logistical things to think about: full or part-time? What type of program? What are your goals? Are you willing to move? Most importantly, are you ready? You have to make sure it's what you want to do and give yourself some time to figure out who you are. I don't believe there is a magic number of years of experience you should have - it's more about goals, confidence, and drive. In fact, some of the best counselor educators I know haven't worked in a school. For me, my experiences in the field helped me develop a strong professional identity and figure out who I was and what I wanted, but that's just me. So, if you're in the trenches and this is something you one day hope to do, I recommend you switch schools, switch levels, learn from different colleagues and administration, lead, and don't lose sight of your long term goal. There will never be a perfect time to make an enormous life change. If you're ready and able, you just have to do it. Like the John Burroughs quote, "Leap and the net will appear."

Lastly, former VSCA President and Old Dominion University Doctoral Candidate, Tracy Jackson, beautifully summed up this process in one concise quote. She said "I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's not hard, but it's not easy. I wouldn't persuade you, but I wouldn't dissuade you either. It is what it is; it's the Ph.D. experience." Well said Jackson, well said.

Julia V. Taylor

Julia is a Doctoral Student at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of The Body Image Workbook for Teens, The Bullying Workbook for Teens, Perfectly You, G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real Life Situations), and Salvaging Sisterhood. Visit her online at www.juliavtaylor.com

Thanks Julia!

New (School) Year's Resolutions

2014-09-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

January signifies a start of a new year, but August/September signifies a start of a new school year. Like others I make some (realistic) goals for the year and this year I'm going to do the same for my professional self too. Here are a few of my New (School) Year's Resolutions:

-Do a better job of keeping track of the students that I've seen

-Do a better job of keeping track of parent communication

-Choose and order 3-4 new books for my 4th & 5th grade book clubs

-Lead a service project that benefits either military/veterans or a women's shelter or both

-Maintain a consistent schedule of class visits

-Maintain doing a monthly 5th grade parent newsletter
-Post more on my JYJ Counselor Facebook Page
-Tweet more

-Make time for me, saying "no" is ok at times

If all else fails, here's a laugh as you think of your resolutions:

What are some of your new school year resolutions? I may have to add some of your suggestions to my list!