Intelligence plus character is the true goal of education. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Since the first week of school, the school counseling department has been teaching the kindergarten and first grade students respect during classroom guidance. The first week we had a general conversation about respect. Once taught, I asked students questions such as What is the golden rule? Define respect. What does respect look like at home? At school?
I am going to share three of the activities that have helped students be reminded about respect.
Objective: Students will learn the golden rule verbally and what it means to follow the golden rule.
1). Create a pot of gold - supplies needed, black construction paper, gold paper, glue stick, the golden rule typed.
I had an example of the finished product to show students. They were instructed to cut their black square into a pot and then paste their pre cut gold onto the pot. Then they were given the golden rule to be pasted onto the pot. They were encouraged to share it with family and friends. Also, I told them they could post it to the fridge.

I am preparing for the day. I will post pics later and share the other activities as well. Have a happy Friday!

Grade Distribution

January 29, 2014, my principal gave me a list that reflects students who are struggling academically. I will use the grade distribution to form ability groups. Additionally, letters have been distrubuted notifying parents of the poor grades. Parents are invited to schedule an appointment with the school counselor. Now the way I have set it up is, I confirm the date and time with the teacher and parent. The meetings are scheduled during the teacher's support time. The teachers bring test data and work samples. For every weakness, a strategy is provided. I will follow up with the parent in two weeks to see if the parent is following the action plan that was created during the meeting. The goal is to encourage students to improve academics. Our school is an izone school. We are at the bottom five percent. I must say we are striving to turn that around. The counseling department will form groups that cover study skills and work ethics. I will use The Testing Zone by Boguski Bruce. 

During the meeting the teacher will show/explain:

• Discovery test data 
• Istation data
• EDI performance
• Work samples
• Discipline tracker (if applicable)
• Strengths

During the meeting the counselor will create, with the help of the team, an action plan.
The counselor will show resources to the parents (see picture below).



The counselor will follow up with the parent in two weeks.
The students in grades 3-5 will be placed in academic ability groups with parental consent.

The administrator will take meeting minutes.

Meetings have been scheduled and they begin 2/10/14.

School Counseling: Building Magical Futures 2014

Happy National School Counseling Week!
School Counseling: Building Magical Futures
This week we celebrate the heart of the school, the counselors that pour into the lives of boys, girls, teachers, staff, parents and other stakeholders. As we build magical futures it is my pleasure to share with you a life affirmation that encourages me regularly. Live, laugh, love. As we celebrate counselors nationally, I celebrate the gift of service, as I have provided the following opportunities for teachers to have a clearer understanding of the profession.

Monday - muffins, apple cider, hot chocolate and tea
Teachers were asked to complete a feedback form communicating the strengths and weaknesses of the counseling department.

Tuesday- Stressed? Desserts!! Strawberry cake and homemade chocolate chip cookies were provided
Teachers were asked to complete a feedback form communicating the strengths and weaknesses of the counseling department.

Wednesday- Need a hug or two? Teachers were given a card that included the counseling domains including two Hershey's kisses.
Teachers were asked to complete a feedback form communicating the strengths and weaknesses of the counseling department.

Thursday-Teachers who complete the feedback form will be put into a drawing to receive a bag of goodies for their class treasure chest.

Friday-Teachers were given a card that says we are three musketeers-teachers, counselors, administrators (The photo on the right is from Pinterest.)

Character Counts

Character word for January 

Self Discipline - 

Self portrait activity

Students discussed character education during classroom guidance. Students learned that self discipline means to control your temper, practice good habits and make good choices. Students had to look in the mirror and declare they would practice self discipline. Students then returned to their seat to create a self portrait and write adjectives describing their character and they also wrote, "I will practice self discipline." Students were finally given the opportunity to present their self portrait. 

As students viewed themselves I did notice some students wiggling and squirming and even shying away from the mirror quickly, which lets me know that self concept has to be addressed. Perhaps, too students are not frequenting the mirror. The counseling department seeks to build character in boys and girls so that they will perform at grade level. Confidence has a lot to do with performance.

Replacing a Bad Habit with a Good Habit

The character word for the month of January is Self discipline. Students in grades PreK through third grade discussed self discipline and right before the students drew self portraits they had to look in the mirror and declare that they would practice self discipline. As I watched boys and girls approach the mirror, some did so undoubtedly and others were pretty reluctant. One young second grade boy held his hands over his eyes until he got to his seat. The only reason he took his hands down was because I asked him to be my room helper. I spoke with his teacher and she told me his mom says mean words about his appearance as a means of discipline. I kept him after class to talk a bit and he wouldn't open up. I've tried talking to him before and he is standoffish. I have talked to his mom before as well. I'm going to continue to try and build a rapport so that I can help him to build his self esteem. Any suggedtions, please help.

The fifth graders were engaged in a powerful lesson about self discipline today. Students replaced a bad habit with a good one. Students wrote a bad habit on a strip of paper. Students wrote a paragraph sharing experiences about the bad habit. Students were escorted outside and the definitions of self discipline were recited. As students buried the bad habit willingly, not by force, they recited, "I bury..."

Students will revisit the burial during our next class as a means of follow up.



R.I.P. Bad Habits

Data driven Counseling Program

Hello all! I have been missing in action. 2013 was a year full of learning and stress, but I gained a lot of experience. This new school year has been similar to my first year because we have a new administrator and I am learning all over again. The great thing is I am familiar with the district protocol and the school's procedures, with the exception of a few changes. I have been doing a lot of things. One purpose for today's post is to encourage all school counselors to read the school improvement plan before doing anything else. I must admit I feared ALL of the pages. I feared that I would not understand the language. I got the opportunity to read the plan and I'm excited. Much of what is written in component one and four has a lot to do with why the comprehensive counseling program is necessary. Our goal should be a data driven comprehensive counseling program and in order to implement just that we must be knowledgable of the school improvement plan.

Just a couple of things that I will implement includes monthly parent coffees, classroom guidance referral forms and Resource Thursday.

The purpose of the parent coffees is to empower parents and equip parents to become better role models. The TSIP revealed that parental involvement was low at my school. We will begin by focusing on parents and building confidence. Many times parents are uninterested in volunteering at the school or helping their own children at home because they feel inadequate and are focused on bills, being accepted, and other relationships that they allow to block them from helping their children. This month we will discuss GED, college admissions, financial aid for parents. The goal is to encourage parents to enroll in a GED class, apply for FAFSA and trade school or college.

The classroom guidance referral form lists lesson titles and teachers are encouraged to check which counseljng service is needed for his/her class. This will allow me to incur another form of data, engage teachers in the counseling process, encourage partnership with teachers and the counseling department and the goal is to get RESULTS!! We are striving to decrease referrals and encourage peaceful problem solving.

The last thing the department will implement for this school year beginning this week is Resource Thursday. Teachers are invited to come in during lunch to gather resources that have been compiled to be used within the classroom environment. The school counseling department seeks to support teachers and faculty as we close the achievement together. The resources have been gathered from Pinterest, Teacherspayteachers, the local library and some innovative strategies that I have developed.

First Annual Back to School Event - Rock the Lot

Hi everyone,
I am so behind with my blog. It has been so busy and tiring between work and family. I gotta tell you the back to school event was a blast. My husband and I got to the school at 8 a.m. and the staff got to the school at 9 a.m. The water slide arrived at 8:30 a.m., volunteers got there at about 9:15 and parents and students began arriving at 9:40 a.m. The day ran so smoothly. As time progressed the staff came up with great ideas that helped the day run smoother. It was such an amazing team effort. The students enjoyed the water slide, food and games. The parents were provided community resources. We danced, sweated and enjoyed the fellowship. The principal and I have agreed to sit down when time permits to discuss what worked and what did not. Overall, the event was beneficial and the goal of the entire event is to build community among our staff, community, students and parents. I am looking forward to next year.

I must not forget that we were in the Commercial Appeal. Click the link to read about us. It is brief, but hey something is better than nothing.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/05/mpd-and-mcs-host-back-to-school-celebrations/