Theme Decided!

I am someone who enjoys having a theme to work around. I honestly feel a bit lost if I don't have a general theme or idea to plan my year around. Last year, the school's theme was #ChooseLove So it was easy for me to plan around that. Basically I tied everything back to our choices and how acceptance of ourselves and others might realistically look.

This year, I don't yet know about a school theme. Our district theme is Wonder. While the novel by R.J. Palacio provides a ton of inspiration and counseling themes, I didn't want to be so tied to it. Instead, I'll be using Alice in Wonderland as a general theme to support the growth and learning of my middle school. This should allow for some fantastic quotes and bulletin boards and the ability to tie the connection to my staff.

Side note: Alice's journey could parallel many of my middle schoolers who are discovering that the world doesn't always provide what they expect and some things are indeed nonsensical.

So here is to my 2018-2019 Theme: Welcome to Wonderland!

It has been a while

After completing my second year as a school counselor, I realized that I had let this blog fall to the wayside. My apologies; I have not made keeping this blog updated a priority. In the spirit of priorities, that is the focus of this entry

https://zestnzen.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/best-new-years-resolution/

Recently I attended a training on School Counseling leadership which used one session to emphasize our roles in career exploration by intentionally and individually encouraging passion and purpose. In that session, the "Jar of Life" story was brought up. From what I can best tell, this metaphor was presented by Stephen Covey in his book First Things First. The basic premise is that we have these big rocks that can fill a jar but the jar is not full until the pebbles, sand, and even water are added to the jar. However, if you fill the jar with water or sand first, the big rocks won't fit. In this roundabout way, the speaker pointed out that these big rocks are our passions - the consistent forces that bring us purpose and joy. As school counselors, we can support students in identifying what their "big rocks" represent. Hence, my introductory activity was envisioned. When I go into classes this September, beyond letting students know who I am, I hope to help them brainstorm a bit about who they are. While going through this metaphor, students will write down what are some of their "Big Rocks" and then some ideas for pebbles and sand that might feel more pressing but might take away from their rocks and values. Not only might this be a time-management metaphor, but it also relates to interpersonal relationships, values, and future planning.


So now its time to practice what I preach. I took a smidge of brainstorming time and came up with a couple of ideas for my "Big Rocks." These are my values that help fill my cup and increase my excitement about working with students. These values may not have led me to school counseling since there are many careers where I could live out these (let me hear some suggestions in the comments) but they are present in my work as a school counselor. I also filled in a couple of ideas for the pebbles and sand that also occupy my job. These I've applied more directly to school counseling because that is where my mind currently is and the focus of this blog. However, it could also relate more broadly in your life. For instance, I think of working out or reading as activities that might fit in any of the three categories depending on the individual.

My List

Big Rocks:

↦ Honesty

https://zenhabits.net/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/

↦ Respect

↦ Trust

↦ Joy

↦ Helping others feel important

↦ Creativity

Pebbles (smaller to dos):
↤ Working with staff/parents
↤ Seeing growth
↤ Listening

Sand (what else):
↳ Lunch/Hall Duty
↳ Scheduling
↳ Smiling

Through identifying a few of my "Big Rocks," I now have reminders of what brings me to school counseling and excited to start my third year!

Resources:
Jar of Life story: http://www.worklifecoach.com/Big_Rocks.pdf
Animated Jar of Life story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ZvL4as2y0
Photo 1 (2 jars): https://zestnzen.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/best-new-years-resolution/
Photo 2 (3 stones): https://zenhabits.net/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/

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.