I've got spirit how 'bout you?!?

This week we are having a spirit week with dress up days with themes of PJs, Western, and Sports. Perhaps most exciting, we are having a Pink Day related back to a video everyone in the school watched to address cyberbullying and being kind to others.

This year, bullying has come to the forefront of concerns at school since we have a lot of mean behaviors directed at various individuals. With a slightly outside perspective, it seems like a lot of this meanness stems from insecurity with ourselves. Therefore, I chose to enter the Elective classes over the next week to discuss how middle school can be used to specifically build habits that work towards individual dreams! This presentation gave students the opportunity to think about their dreams and identify something to work on while acknowledging that not everyone finds complete success in school.

To see the Prezi (Speeding through Middle School) use this link: http://prezi.com/mrmi9ska04ei/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share 

The main message was about exploring to find your niche - I am interested to see what niche pops up during this week!

Getting ready for school to start

So I have officially started my first job at as a middle school counselor! Besides being terribly excited, I am incredibly thankful for the welcome I have received thus far. On my first official day, I was greeted by a great welcome sign from the ASB and a hot Starbucks from one of the secretaries. After learning how to schedule students in a new system, I learned I will have an iPad. Besides being able to pop around the office and build the counselor/admin relationship, I was also able to meet with the Leadership class and was completely reminded why Middle School Students are the actual best. These students reaffirmed that this will be a great year for all of us to learn and grow.

Now that the thoughts on my first day are out of the way, here are some of my new office signs (unfortunately my contact information is incorrect - I just didn't want to reload the images after I had uploaded these versions):

<- Inspired by a post I saw at another post I saw as an introduction letter. The flyer layout should work for when I am at a staff development while our returning students take care of what they need. Being new to a school where there has been some counseling transition, I wanted to lay out what I planned on offering. Now it is time to live up to it!

-> I also wanted something that I could hand out or leave at my office so that others could contact me. Both of these were made via canva.com

<- My confidentiality sign for my office. I wanted something simple but clear for not only my students but also the staff and parents who will come to see me.

I'm Back!

I apologize for the hiatus. Since I last posted, I completed my graduate program, finalized my certification with the state and got a job!

So naturally, after all of that happened, I took the summer off. But even when taking it off, I was able to meet with a trainer for the Check and Connect program. Started from the U of M, Check and Connect is an engagement intervention aimed at reducing student drop out by creating a weekly connection opportunity for students who need additional support. 

While  most of our conversation seemed like common sense, I realized that the simplicity of having someone to connect with to build protective factors seems simple because that is what counselors pride themselves on. However, this program, based in research and implementation with fidelity, provides a great way to build the knowledge that required two years of training for school counselors. Since this program needs to be voluntary, the buy in has to be there. Luckily the research is already started!

Even though I am not planning on implementing this program my first year as a professional, it will definitely be something I keep in mind as I continue to practice!

Inner Dialogue: Graduation Time!

The Inner Dialogue series may come up a few more times throughout this blog. It will reflect what is happening in my current experience as it relates to me. An odd concept for someone in field where it is all about others, but one that is necessary nonetheless. Below are my thoughts on Graduation and Change. 

Graduation is a curious time. It is a time of celebration and of honoring accomplishment and yet it also acknowledges closure. It brings about the end of an era of education. And through all the joy, there is the constant question of "What is next?"

As an intern at a middle school, I've been able to see the incredible growth of my students. Some of whom are excited to move on and some of whom cannot believe we are talking about where they will be next year. There is a lot of fear in the unknown. As I have begun the job search, I have found myself exploring more of the state in the past two weeks than I have the past two years. While I've pondered what the future will bring, I have come to the conclusion that change is inevitable.

This echoed in a counseling staff meeting I partook in while shadowing at a local high school. As a group we read a couple of articles on change and different individuals' responses. This led into a discussion of how change has played a role in our lives. As I listened to veteran counselors discuss the changes they have seen I realized that though I am excited to think in longer than 4 year chunks, we never truly know what the future brings.

I am choosing to be excited about that fact rather than to live in fear. I've tried that and I was not happy. If life truly is experienced through our reactions to it, I choose to remain positive, honor my classmates, and truly be thankful for the growth we have all experienced thus far.

Congratulations Graduates!

Finishing Strong

Recently I have been struggling. Not with grades or my students or with my decision to complete the program. Rather, I have been struggling with self-care. This past week there were two major tests (the National Counselor Exam and our program's comprehensive exam) and in the next weeks prior to graduation I have visits/interviews, mock interviews with my peers, and all of the paperwork for the program due. Let's just say I got so overwhelmed today I had to take a nap.

In the past week I realized that the complete disarray of my room is a clear sign of stress but even more indicative is my lack of patience. While I usually have a high tolerance for statements I disagree with, this past week has resulted in me snapping at more of my peers than I care to admit.

So what is the point of all the above? Perhaps it's a little bit to get it off my chest but more likely it is to serve as transition for understanding what I am doing about it. As I've developed through this program, I realized that my passion lies in creating new things. I'll have to take a break from creating new events for at least a month (because April burnt me out on that), but that creation needs to be present in my life. Most recently I have been pondering what thank you and graduation gifts I could create. This means I get to test out varying techniques to personalize items through art. So far, the front-runner is mugs decorated with nail polish or sharpie art.

The main point is, in whatever you are doing, I hope you find passion. And when the passion is not there, I hope you find an outlet where you can come alive. This experience has taught me that the only way to finish strong is to take care of yourself.

It Happened! I've been Published!

The article I was working on (with lots of support from my academic adviser) was accepted! Then it was reviewed and edited (multiple times), resubmitted, and finally published!

Here is the final article:  Solution-Focused Dreams: The Disney Approach to School Counseling - VISTAS Online

As someone who grew up with Disney films, I learned that you have to follow your dreams. And while your dreams may take work (and sometimes lots of it), that is part of what makes them worthwhile. This experience goes into the category "Things I'll remember because I did something for them." In fact, that's where a lot of my accomplishments go. I don't think its a personal accomplishment to get dressed in the morning, but that's because I am blessed and privileged to have clothes, be able-bodied, and not live with a daily battle for my mental health. However, if I had one fewer privilege, getting dressed may well be a personal accomplishment.

I have been blessed and honored to have the life I have lived so far. I am excited to continue to inform you of the journey!

Celebrating your Spark #NSCW

Where is your Spark? To celebrate National School Counseling Week (Feb. 2-6th), I wanted to share some of my passions. For the most part, my passion comes from creation and connection. 

This week, I sought to honor those who have made our positions possible. For Tuesday, I created a poster describing what counselors do and why our counseling staff loves this position. I also brought brownies to thank our secretaries and administration. The previous week, we had multiple events and were unable to be as present within the school as we truly needed to be. Our jobs would be impossible without the support staff who love their jobs. I then devoted Thursday to our teaching staff. The picture above on the left is the sign I made to go on top of a basket full of Gummy and Mint Life Savers. By the end of the day, most of the sweets were gone but I'm hoping that the message sticks with them.

Thank you for sharing your spark!

Going Beyond Internship: Publishing

For this final post in my Going Beyond Internship series, I wanted to talk a little bit about getting published. This is more than writing this blog and different than writing a novel. I'm talking about submitting an article for a peer-reviewed journal.

Now having a publication on my CV is something that has appealed to me for a while now. Not because it is something that would set me apart from other applicants, but because when I was younger I dreamed of becoming an author. Writing an article for a peer-reviewed journal is one step that melds my authorship desires and my current dream of becoming a school counselor.

However, knowing that this was something I wanted I have been unsure of how to get there. Perhaps my greatest barrier was the lack of confidence I have had in my writing. The "peer-reviewed" piece of submitting something is slightly terrifying. It was not until my professor encouraged me to submit a theory-based paper I had written for class that I considered publishing as a possibility.

After multiple revisions and discussion of what to add or take away, the process of finding places to submit emerged. While my professor and I were looking at where we could submit, there were a couple of key considerations. First, was the journal appropriate for the topic being submitted. Second, was there a peer-review component. Third, what memberships were required to submit. Finally, what was the deadline and what other components were needed.

So after finding the opportunities and editing to ensure that I was happy with what was written, I submitted the paper to the American Counseling Association's VISTAS Publication.

And now we wait.