I have been in education since 1980. I absolutely love what I do and wish to help and support other School Counsellors across the world. All my resources are free for you to use and change as you wish. If you do alter anything I have created , I would appreciate you acknowledging where you got the original idea. Collaboration and sharing make us better at what we do … helping students. I look forward to connecting with you. Keep making a difference. Our students need School Counsellors like you who want to help and make a difference in the world. Join me as I co- moderate #scchat tThe chat is held the first Wed.of every month Sept. to June at 6:30 MT 8:30 ET
There are a lot of people at work in schools right now doing some pretty amazing things. They are tired, overworked, feeling a multitude of emotions and often underappreciated for what they do. If you are a principal, supervisor, superintendent or someone who has a team working with you, take time to appreciate them. My challenge to you is to carve out 5 minutes to ask them how they are and tell them how much you appreciate them and what they are doing during this time. It matters. A little appreciation goes a long way.
We all need a reason to be. Maybe your reason is obvious and maybe not. It could be just around the corner and you can’t see it quite yet. Each of us will discover our own reason in our own way in our own time, So hold on tight. You have a purpose in being here.
As I enter this new chapter in my life I am making an extra effort to take care of myself physically. I have hired a personal trainer hoping to kickstart a stronger me. I have always been physically active having played sports like hockey, basketball, volleyball, baseball, ringette and more most of my life. I played lacrosse up to the age of 60. I still play pickleball which is my new love, but I have never done much in the area of weight training. As I age I know I need to ensure my body and mind are strong.
I am constantly looking at ways to improve my life and next month I begin focusing on this new area of my story, hoping a personal trainer will kickstart me off in a positive way.
I do many things that help me including my involvement in Second Chants an adult show choir.
Keeping active, volunteering and working with adolescents all keep me positive and healthy. It is never too late to start something new, so keep moving forward as we all journey through this pandemic in the best way possible.
With work, children, and daily responsibilities it’s not always easy to make time in the day just for you. For many of you, you may put yourself last, but this needs to change today if this is your life.
I know when my kids were younger this was often me, but I loved getting up early when it was just me alone that was awake. I still do. Stealing time in those precious moments is essential for well being.
Moments that matter. There are so many moments that we can choose to take or not. What we do with the time we have will be healing or not. It is up to us. So go ahead make time for you today.
Relationships are fundamental to what you do. You need to work at creating them in your school. Your principal, administrators and teachers are often the ones who refer students, so create positive relationships with them often. Find ways to connect whether through sending positive uplifting emails or sitting in the lunchroom talking about life NOT students. Connect with students in as many ways as possible. Running groups, promoting a fun positive wellness day, stopping to chat or smiling at a student for no particular reason; find what works for you in your school. Relationships with community organizations, parents, and anyone who is connected with students or needs to be connected to students is essential.
Read often. Read the most updated research on counselling issues. Read articles, blogs or journal articles on School Counselling. Read for pleasure, but just continually read.
Resources are essential. Stop reinventing the wheel. There are so many great resources out there for you. I have collated a few that might be helpful. Twitter is an amazing place to get ideas and find resources. So check out #scchat on a regular basis.
School Counsellors are trained professionals who understand child development, often with Masters degrees in Counselling or more, who partake in ongoing professional development and extensive mental health training . They know school culture and how the education system works, making them readily able to help youth in an effective manner.
Often the first place students present any concerns are in schools because that is where they spend so much time. The educators get to know students well building trusting relationships. School Counsellors have the whole child in mind with access to a comprehensive background regarding the students history in school, so are often able to make decisions collaboratively in the best interest of students.
If you are a new teacher and have never accessed your School Counsellor , please do so. They are there to help you help the student. When all work together to help our youth it is more likely to make a difference in the life of a child. Now more than ever we must do all we can together to help.
In October I will be talking on a new challenge with my friend and partner Helen MacKinnon. We will be working with a group of young people and their leaders offering workshops, counselling and much more.
We will be creating many things with a purpose and I so look forward to the opportunity.
When I am in Nova Scotia, I get to live a slower pace of life and this year it’s even slower. Because of covid we have had less visitors and tend to not go to many places. I can’t say I mind.. Life at a slower pace is good at least for the time being. Especially when I spend it here.
Most days on my walk I travel the same path. Even though I am going the same way I always look for something different and if I keep my eyes wide open I find them. This was out on my deck today and it almost doesn’t look real. It’s so cute, a little caterpillar that turns into a beautiful eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly.
It doesn’t take much these days to entertain me. It’s a slow pace of life where I am and I know I’ll be back to the city soon enough. For today I will take pleasure in the small things you might want to look for them too.
Templates are a great visual for creating back to school Comprehensive School Counselling Plans or doing amazing presentations for students. Slidesmania offers over 200 slides and powerpoints to choose from. Pick ones that work best for you. If you’d like more free templates that you can use click here.
Here are some other ways you can use the slides in your program:
Weekly planner for lessons.
Monthly planner. There are many great digital planners to choose from.
To store your best resources in files.
Want to jot down some notes for resources you’d like to create, there are some cool notebooks to choose from.
You or your school may have a YouTube channel , you can use the YouTube template.
Need some quick slides to do a presentation, there are so many great choices.
I also love the potential for using the binder slide. It is fabulous.
For an artistic presentation look no further. You can find a hopscotch and comic template.
For your classic teacher chalkboard you can find that too.
Most importantly have fun and create while using something that is useful for your program this year. In case you need more tips, click on the how to link at the top of the website. Slidesmania can make your back to school a little more creative and save you some precious time as well.
Have some creative templates that you have designed? Please feel free to share.
