First Week Back

Back to school in full force! Last week, we hosted a Welcome Back to School Assembly. During the assembly we informed students of our school mascot and school wide expectations. Most importantly, we explained what expectations are! One of the expectations we practiced was the auditorium. Procedures, such as entering, exiting, and clapping. As a reward, the students were read a letter from a mysterious person and then to guess who it was from. Without hesitation, the students screamed GeRRRy (our SWPBIS mascot) and out he came. The money our staff raised to get the mascot costume was so worth it. The kids were amazed and so excited, as were we. The assembly was also an opportunity for the students to meet our staff members, new and old.

 The rest of the week consisted of teaching expectations of all areas within the school. This is an important first step in implementing SWPBIS with fidelity. Luckily, we have staff that really support and understand the plan, so we were able to teach 80% of the lessons to all classrooms this past week. This is a HUGE task, but worth it if done correctly. There is no guessing game for how to behave within the building, it is TAUGHT.

 In addition to teaching lessons and taking care of beginning of the year paperwork, phone calls, nervous students, I was able to host two lunch bunches for new students. I meet the new students by grade. This is one of my favorite tasks as a counselor, being that I was once a new student. I remember wondering if any staff knew that I was a new student, and being concerned with acclimating myself. I want students to feel appreciated and welcomed, as well as taken care of. The students receive an invitation to have lunch in my office. We do introductions, and then play the question game. Each person in the group has to ask a question as a way to get to know more about each other. After the question is asked, each student provides an answer. After, the students complete this worksheet that I found on pinterest. I took their picture and will put the picture and worksheet on the wall introducing our new students! I also gave them a note, mint, and bookmark in a baggy. I hope they feel a part of our school and know who they can come to if they are in need! .

New School Year...New Goals!

Today was the first inservice day at my school.  It was great!  We are in our third year of our School Wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports Plan (SWPBIS) and made some big changes.  Thanks to the collaboration with a counselor in my district, the Urban Educator, I feel it will be very successful this school year.

We got rid of our big acknowledgement system from the past two years, and are now implementing Principal's 200 Club.  However, we are calling it GeRRRy's 200 club, which is our stuffed giraffe that is the face of our SWPBIS.  We are also using an acknowledgement system for our specialists teachers. Classrooms will be in the running to receive The Golden Ticket Award aka Class of the Month for that specific special.  They will be rated with a rubric and the class that earns the most points at the end of the month will be recognized at our monthly awards assembly.  They will receive a banner that says "Class of the Month" and an item that symbolizes that particular class painted in gold! Now I just need to find items that represent computer class :)

Today, two of us presented the components of SWPBIS and our GeRRRy program to the staff.  It's so important to inform to all staff, as each member is an important part in the success of the program.  We have full support from out administration, which is such an important component.  Our Principal even got her own giraffe to put in her office.  Now we have a GeRRRY, GeRRRy's Mom and DAD....and some cousins.  Real life.  Some of my days are spent telling fictional stories about GeRRRy's weekend, parents, and current whereabouts.

We spoke to our staff about the giraffe mascot uniform we are hoping to purchase for our school.  This would be a great asset to our program, as the giraffe will be visible in all areas, and really promote our program.  And the kids would go wild for it! We would like to have him at our assemblies, especially ones that teach school wide expectations.  ..(do you like how I talk about this stuffed animal as a person?)

When we showed the staff the picture of the costume, they literally started pulling out money and collecting it all without hesitation.  Our Home and School donated money to match.  I cannot explain how amazing a feeling it is having BEYOND the needed support from our staff.  They didn't hesitate and almost looked at me like duh! we'l all give money for it.  It says so much about how dedicated they are to the success of our school and making our environment enjoyable for our kids.  I don't think I'll forget that moment.

When having to present and introduce a system to be implemented, it can be met with resistance by staff.  It's hard to implement new programs, and at times I am hesitant about how it will be received.  Their actions completely erased any unknowns that I had, and will have with this plan.  I feel that we are genuinely working towards something to make our environment great for everyone, and it was so apparent today.

So we ordered the costume today, and it should be here in time for the first day of school!

This was such a great way to start the new school year...I'm really excited.

Here is a picture of our GeRRRy's 200 board...still in the works.

Do you have a SWPBIS? Are you a lead facilitator? What do you find to be successful for your program?

Character Trait: Integrity

In March, we celebrated Integrity.  For K-2, the focus was anger management.  3-6 was honesty.  I created a packet for anger management.  The packet addressed the following:

1. Anger rules
2.  What your anger looks like
3. Identifying triggers
4. Coping skills

I then used a science activity to symbolize what our anger looks like when we don't use our coping skills.  I poured vinegar in a water bottle and baking soda in a balloon.  I then wrapped the balloon over the top of the water bottle, tipped the baking soda in, and voila! The balloon "blew up."

The kids enjoyed this activity.  The anger packet is available here.

In grades 3-6, the focus was honesty.  I began the lesson discussing, integrity, doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.  We spoke about what their behavior should look like if I were to walk out of the room.  I did just that and moved myself away from the window for 10 seconds, listening for any noises.  The students took this task seriously, and were quiet and exhibiting positive behavior.  I also gave my purse to a student, and asked "if this student has integrity, what will he/she do with my purse?"  Answers were "nothing, watched it, held onto it, it should look like it did before you left it." Then we spoke about honesty and telling the truth.  I created a pros and cons list to lying.  I asked the first question, "how can lying help you?" and "how can lying hurt you?" Answers were, getting out of trouble, getting someone else into trouble" and the cons were "getting into more trouble, getting someone into trouble that shouldn't, causing an emergency"  The trick, there are no PROS to lying.  I asked students the first thing you might think of doing when you get caught in a lie, and they stated "lie again!"  So I used an activity that I found on pinterest called Water you covering up.  I filled the pan with water, and held up a quarter which represents a lie.  I dropped the quarter in and had a student observe the movement of the water.  The water moved throughout the pan and splashed up.  This represents that a lie effects everyone!

Next, I told the students they would have a chance to drop a penny into the pan with the goal to cover the quarter.  The penny represents a lie to cover up another lie.  The first time I did this, the first student came up and actually told a story of a time when he lied.  This became an addition to the lesson throughout the classrooms, and it appeared to be a therapeutic moment for them.  The stories were pretty interesting too!

As the lesson completes, it is apparent that the pennies are unable to cover the quarter, thus coming to the conclusion that you can NEVER cover a lie with another lie.

We shouted "honesty is the best policy" and about having the courage to tell the truth.  I asked students how they feel when they have to be honest about something that could get them into trouble, and common answers are "scared, nervous." I left reminding them that the consequences are less harsh then if caught in a lie!

Character Trait: Kindness...Bucket Fillers

This is probably my favorite lesson to teacher.  I love bucket fillers because the concept explains how to be kind in a concrete way.  Every student loves the bucket filler lesson.  Even when I think that the 5th or 6th will be bored with it, or "I've heard it before" I always get at least 5-6 yesss!!'s or smiles when doing it.  I have attached my lessons for all grades with the ASCA standards.  I am also attaching the worksheets I used with the different grades.

In each classroom, I brought a bucket with different colored beads.  I told the students these were their power beads, which gave them the power to fill someone's bucket.  We went around the classroom and allowed each student to fill someone's bucket.  It's a great self esteem booster and who doesn't love to be called out in a positive way?!

This is the worksheet I used with the k-2 students
This is the worksheet for 3-4
This is the worksheet for 5-6

And here are the lesson plans with ASCA standards!

K-2
3-6

Acts of Kindness Week

I have been so busy, but now I have so much to write about!  We celebrated Acts of Kindness Week a couple of weeks ago.  It was a cute week, and we did little things throughout the week to encourage, educate, and promote acts of kindness, as they are so easy and make such an impact!

I have attached the week's agenda, which I blew up and spread throughout the school.

On Monday, we had an assembly to review the activities, and kick off the Pennies for Patients fundraiser.  I showed a video about Pennies for patients to the students so they have a better understanding of the importance of the foundation.

I used bingo cards as a way for students to have a friendly contest to do a kind act.  The adults were also given this.

We also watched a bucket filler video to further explain bucket fillers as I hadn't gotten to all the classrooms for my monthly guidance lesson, which was Kindness; Bucket Fillers.  This video was really cute, and showed the "magic" of bucket filling.  I showed a different video to the 5th and 6th grade students.

We finished up with a video of the school staff telling an Act of Kindness story.  The staff had so many great examples, and I think it was good for the students to see us as human beings just like them!  I had about 15 staff members provide stories.

Starting on Wednesday until the end of the week, students and staff had the opportunity to purchase Kindness grams to send to someone at school or home.  We sold a decent amount, and I had so much fun delivering the grams and seeing the smiles on so many faces.  There were some great kindness grams, and one in particular stuck with me.  A student wrote "Thanks for keeping me out of trouble" and "thanks for helping me when I'm angry." That's what we as educators need to hear to keep us motivated and feel the impact of our work.

A big thank you to a special lady in my life who printed all of the kindness grams for our school :)

On Friday, I had teachers send two students that exhibit acts of kindness to me.  They wrote a kind act on a heart and then pinned it on the Grinch, which is hanging in our hallway.  Of course, a pinterest idea! Here is a picture.





 Here are the links to the videos.


bucket filler postcard

Pennies for Patients

5th and 6th bucket filler video

k-4 bucket filler video

National School Counseling Week

In typical fashion, I was a week late celebrating National School Counseling Week.  Better late than never, right? I decided to have a little display each day to be available for staff.  So here is what I did.

Day 1:  I made banana bread with a sign that said Let What you Love Be What you Do.  I then wrote a thank you card for the staff supporting the School Counseling Program.

Day 2:  Stress relief tips.  I found so many great resources from pinterest.  I have also read great things about lavender and how it can help with stress and relaxation.  I bought some lavender lotion from Bath and Body works and had it displayed at the front desk with information about lavender.  I also found a stress management model and made hand outs for staff to take.

Day 3:  I bought green and calm tea and put in a basket to take.  I also had a Keep Calm and Drink Team sign in a frame.

Day 4:  I brought in fresh strawberries and another cute sign I found on pinterest.

Day 5:  I tried to make a healthy oatmeal bake but it was gross.  I finished with a message on the morning announcements thanking staff for their support.

Here are some pictures of my displays.  Hope all of you counselors out there had a great week!

On a Scale of.....

One of my favorite counseling techniques is scaling feelings.  In an elementary school, I am constantly educating my students on feelings.  What is a feeling? Is it normal? What does it do to your body? What causes certain feelings?  When a student visits with me, I always ask how they are feeling as my initial conversation.  The students typically use my bear of feelings poster to help identify.  I then ask students on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the angriest, 10 being the happiest, what number they are.  The student visualizes in their head and provides me with a number.

I have been looking for a feelings scale all over pinterest and driving myself crazy to find one that I felt was simple and easy to understand.  When I couldn't find one I liked, I decided it was time to create my own!  So here it is...it was so simple to make.  Here is what it took:

10 pieces of red construction paper

Number cut outs from the $ store

Feelings Faces.  I used Teacherspayteachers

It took me about 15 minutes to make and put on my wall.  I'm really excited for my students to see it and use it!

Crisis Counseling...how do you prepare?

This week, there was a school wide crisis situation at a nearby school.  I, along with other counselors were asked to be on hand for the students at the school.  When I first heard, of course I was ready to help and support the students and school.  But.....what did I need?  I thought about what I needed to help these students, but I realized that it was just me!  However, I decided to bring a couple of tools with me.  This was my crisis carry on:

Colored paper
Crayons/markers
Calm Jar
Squeeze Ball
Tissues
Water

Overall, the most beneficial tool was my ear and shoulder.  I also used solution-focused techniques to focus on what the students to could do in the here and now.  They spoke about memories and a project that they wanted to start in remembrance of the person they lost.  We spoke about music and developed a list of songs to listen to that would comfort them in their time of grief.  

Rudolph and Bullying

I have had a lot of bullying incidents occur in the 3rd and 4th grade.  I decided to do a lesson created by Danielle at School Counselor Blog, which by the way was my counselor bible my first year! I made this into a two part lesson.  To start, I scheduled a time with the teachers for all of the students to watch the video.  I had a showing for all 3rd grade, and one for all 4th grade.  I created a powerpoint of focus questions for each scene that I showed.  I had to watch Rudolph all the way through and determine the scenes of most importance.  I have included the scenes and times incase you want to show it.  There is a lot of bullying that takes place in the movie!

Here is the lesson plan with ASCA standards included:

School Counseling Lesson Plan 

Character Traits: Responsibility and Courage 

Two Lesson Unit 

Lesson 1

Title: Bullying                           Grades: 3-4

Summary:  Students will identify forms of bullying, and have group discussions about empathy, strategies for helping a victim, ramifications of bullying, and celebrating differences.

Objectives

A:A3.5 Share knowledge

PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior

PS:A2.3 Recognize, accept, respect, and appreciate individual differences

PS:C1.6 Identify resource people in the school and community, and how to seek their help

PS:A2.8 Learn how to make and keep friends

Materials Needed

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Projector

Procedure

Students will watch specified clips of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  Students will be prompted to answer questions regarding these clips.  The clips will identify bullying, empathy, ways to help in a bully situation, and ramifications of bullying.

Closure/Evaluation

-       Students will complete a worksheet in their classrooms

dAnd here is the Rudolph scene list:

1   1st Scene 4:00- 6:52 Rudolph, Santa, and his parents

S  2nd Scene 7:34-9:38 4:00 Hermey and Rudolph

3    3^rd Scene 15:03-19:30 Reindeer games

4   4^th Scene: 21:23-23:30 Seems we don't fit in song

5  5 ^th  Scene: 30:26- Land of Misfit toys  34:08 (finish song) or 35:15 (promise from Santa) land misfit toys

6    6th  Scene 40:00-ending

f

   I have attached the worksheet that the students had to complete.

    Rudolph Worksheet

I   I will post about the second part of the lesson soon!

   

We're Better Without Bullying

In November, our school celebrated Anti Bullying Week.  We made it extra special by having our School Wide Positive Behavior Plan mascot, GeRRRy the Giraffe's birthday.  His birthday happened to fall during the same week, and we thought the students would get a kick out of celebrating.  It was incorporated so well, and after all he is the face of our 3R's (Respect, Responsibility, and Ready to).  He is the ultimate friend and so against anti bullying!  To prepare for the week, the SWPBIS team decorated the auditorium for Monday's assembly.  We posted anti bullying posters, and birthday cards for GeRRRy.  The art teacher created the cards and had the students complete during class.  Inside the card, they wrote an anti bullying message!  When I came in on Monday, two of the teachers had outdone themselves completely with decorations.  There were streamers, posters, and balloons hanging everywhere! It made the vibe so much fun.

The art teacher made t-shirts for us to wear too.

The assembly was a success, probably the best assembly that I have had to date.  My peacemakers group, which promotes positive behavior and interactions, and works on developing anti bullying activities, performed a skit.  I read the book One, by Kathryn Otoshi, and the students acted it out.  I got the idea from a youtube video that I watched the author perform with children.  The students only practiced three times, and it was perfect.  Not only did they do a great job, but EVERYONE was engaged.  It was so effective....in the moment :)

Along with the skit, I had a powerpoint that focused on important points in relation to bullying.  And to finish the assembly off, I created a slideshow of GeRRRy the Giraffe.  I put pictures of him with students, and doing random things, like drinking out of the water fountain and walking quietly in the hall.  We played an anti bully song, Who Says, by Selena Gomez.  All of the students were singing and laughing.

We also wore yellow to school, to show that we are too bright to bully!  And we bought soft pretzels for all the students as a present to celebrate his birthday.

On Tuesday, I had the Sorry Box available in the cafeteria.  Students had the opportunity to anonymously apologize for a bullying behavior.  There were tons of letters in there.

I have pictures of the auditorium, the SWPBIS team, props for our One skit, and the Sorry Box.  I don't know how to post the powerpoint, or else I would!

To make the props, we simply painted dots and numbers on a poster board.  I hole punched two holes and tied yard inside to allow it to hang on the students while they performed.  

For the sorry box, I used spray glue and scrapbook paper.