Tag: #scchat #cscchat

I Want to Shout It From The Mountain Tops School Counsellors Make A Difference

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As we come up to School Counselling Week I reflect on the difference that School Counsellors make and want to thank each and every one of you for what you do no matter where in the world you are.

All too often people do not truly know what School Counsellors do. I recognize you go about your days silently helping a child, so thank you. I think about the many colleagues I have know who worked tirelessly to promote the profession , but more importantly who did small things daily that may have gone unnoticed. They each found ways to do what was in the best interest of a child hoping that life could and would be more positive for them in the long run.

I have been fortunate to surround myself with professionals who notice and know that School Counsellors matter.

There are too many School Counsellors to thank, but know that I am truly grateful for all your support, resources and ongoing help whenever I need it. I know that you are just a click away thanks to #scchat. 

Below you can find some daily announcements that you may wish to use during School Counselling week or make up your own using these as a guide.

FOR YOUR DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Monday: This is Canadian School Counsellor Week / National School Counselling Week. Today we challenge each student and staff member to express your gratitude to someone at school by telling them thank you for… You could even write a post card to them. The cards will be available all week in the Counselling area. Being grateful improves your overall happiness. Do it today! You make a difference.

Tuesday: It is Canadian School Counsellor Week / National School Counselling Week. Today we challenge students and staff to do one small good deed and when you do please post it to twitter, instagram or facebook using your school hashtag. Have a fabulous day. You make a difference.

Wednesday: This week is Canadian School Counselling Week / National School Counselling Week. We challenge you today to take 10 mins. out of your day to exercise or practice mindfulness. Have a great day! You can make a difference.

Thursday: It is Canadian School Counsellor Week / National School Counselling Week. Today we challenge students and staff to let one of your family members know how important they are. Pick up a card in Student Services and tell people what a difference they make in your life and give it to them. Remember you can make a difference today.

Friday: It is the last day of School Counselling Week / National School Counselling Week. Your School Counsellors want you to know we are here for you anytime. Come see us. Today we challenge you to show an act of kindness and try not to get caught (that’s the best kind of kind) . Recognize that you can make a difference.

This week is a time to be grateful and reflect. I am so grateful I have a principal who fully supports a Comprehensive School Counselling Program and if you do too , make sure you take time to thank them.

To you my dear School Counselling friends and colleagues without you I never would be able to do what I do. Together we are undoubtedly better. So join us whenever you can in #scchat . Post often to the hashtag and tell us what you are doing. Sharing , connecting and chatting with colleagues from across the world is the best PD ever.

I want to shout it from the mountain tops that School Counsellors are working everyday to help students in numerous ways in schools across the world even though you may not understand what it is that they truly do.

10 Education Twitter Chats Just For You

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Often when I am looking for a twitter chat I notice #scchat is left out , so if you have never heard about it look no further.

SCCHAT is held the first Wed. of every month from Sept.-June 6:30MT 8:30ET #scchat is an International School Counsellor chat for those across the world, but even if you are not a School Counsellor we welcome you in . School Counselors ,administrators and teachers collaborate all the time. We need each other . We are better with each other . So come along with us. Drop by any month for a little chat. We’d love to connect with you.  

You can learn more about our founder, chats and co-moderators here.

Education Hashtags  you may wish to follow:

#1 SCHOOL COUNSELLORS ,COUNSELLOR EDUCATORS #scchat

#2 EDUCATORS  #EdChat

#3 PARENTS #Parents

#4 PRINCIPALS #Principals

#5 EDUCATORS #MasteryChat

#6 STUDENT VOICE #StudentVoice

#7 DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP#DigitalCitizenship

#8 GLOBAL ED #GlobalEdChat

#9 EDTECH  #EdTech

#10 EDUCATORS #AchievementGap

For those of you interested in specific subject areas here are other Education hashtags  you may wish to follow:

ART #ArtsEd 

ENGLISH #engchat 
HISTORY #historyteacher
LANGUAGE foreign language #Langchat 
MATH  #Mathchat
MUSIC #MusEdchat 
PHYS. ED #PhysEd
SOCIAL STUDIES #SSchat 
SCIENCE #Scichat 
STEM #STEMchat

COMPUTER SCIENCE #CompSci

For those interested in Grade Level hashtags

EARLY CHILDHOOD #EarlyEd
ELEMENTARY #ElemSchool
HIGHER EDUCATION #HigherEd
HIGH SCHOOL #HighSchool
PRE SCHOOL #PreSchool

For a list of dates and times of weekly Education chats you can click here.

Powerful School Counselling Voices Across the World

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I have been an educator since 1980 and a School Counsellor since 1999, but never have I been so passionate about School Counsellors across the world having a collective voice for the students we serve as well as being a support for each other. As I get ready for retirement I am no less passionate about what I do and what we do in this profession.

Advocate

I am so hoping during Canadian School Counselling Week and National School Counselling Week #NSCW17 that others across the world will step up and let us hear their voice. Be an advocate for this profession. A special thank you to my American colleagues who often step up to be heard and have made transformative changes in attitudes and practice for School Counselors.

There are so many ways to do this .

  • Speak up in your district
  • Take on leadership roles at the district, local , provincial, state, and national levels
  • Get someone like Michelle Obama to be an advocate for you “School Counselors You Are Heroes”
  • Post ideas on twitter, facebook, instagram
  • Blog, vlog, and/ or podcasts
  • Share your BIG ideas on advocacy
  • Share, share, share (we are better together)

Believe 

  • You can make a difference
  • You do make a difference
  • You can make change
  • You can stand up for students and your profession

Collaborate

I am a better person because I collaborate  with other School Counsellors. Collaborate with others in your own school, others on-line and others who are and are not educators who all want the same thing a better life for our students.

Let your voice be heard. There are so many counsellors who are focused, determined and willing to give hope to School Counsellors and their students. I would love to see more School Counsellors from across the world STAND UP,  SPEAK OUT, and  SHARE your wonderful knowledge to others across the world who care as much as you do.

You can if we collaborate with others and one of the best ways to do that is to join us each month as we chat on-line using the hashtag #SCCHAT

Celebrate:

Celebrate what you do  with students. Celebrate other School Counsellors and educators every chance you can.

Most importantly be grateful for all those who work together to make this a better profession. The unheard heroes who work tirelessly everyday to be the best School Counsellors they can be.

Those who:

  • help the most vulnerable of our populations
  • that go the extra mile in the caring department
  • assist students across the finish line of graduation
  • do small things that matter , but they never find out until years later
  • save lives, but are silent
  • spread HOPE daily

Remember you are that leader. Don’t wait to be asked , take action TODAY! Yes you,  no matter where you are a School Counsellor in the world ,YOU have a vimg_5570oice. Don’t just listen … be that voice so that together we can make not only the positive changes in our own communities that we want , but maybe we can make a change and a difference for some child somewhere in another part of the world that we never imagined we would.

TOP SCHOOL COUNSELLORS TO FOLLOW : here

Celebrate:

Worth saying again:

Celebrate what you do with students. Celebrate other School Counsellors and educators every chance you can.

Lessons For A New School Counsellor Post #2

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Every September I forget just how unbelievably busy a school can be and most school counsellors are not just counselling they have several other responsibilities. That is an important lesson for all school counsellors. Be aware of all that you may be asked to do.

Here are some new lessons. Lessons 1-6  are here.

Lesson #7

Be patient with yourself. It takes time to learn all the things you have to know as a school counsellor and often times you have several roles to play. You may be in a classroom part time teaching and attempting to do a full time job at counselling even though you are half time counselling /half time teaching. You can’t do and be everything for everybody.

Lesson #8

Lists help. Having lists will help you do and follow up on all the activities you are responsible for.

Lesson #9

Technology helps. This year we have a master calendar for all our counselling activities on Outlook. Each calendar is synched with our counselling Admin. Assistant and she makes sure it is coordinated. We discuss our monthly activities in our weekly Counselling team meetings. This keeps us all on track and aware of what is happening. We utilize technology in numerous ways in which I will discuss over the course of the school year.

This year in September we held three different seminars . One on Digital Citizenship, four on Counselling and one on scholarship information for students in grade 12 . Throughout the year we will offer several more.

The first was held at our grade 10 retreat with four hundred new grade 10’s and I will post more on that later.

The second was held in our computer room where we discussed :

  • What school counsellors do
  • What services we offer
  • Confidentiality and the limits
  • Resources we have available like our school counselling website, our counselling course that we offer on D2L, our school twitter site and our school facebook page

The third will be held in the computer lab with access to a fantastic livebinder.

Here are some links you may get some ideas from:

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/seBRTsh6wd/digital-citizenship-bchs

https://sspellmancann.jux.com

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/L1wGnD3MT0/what-high-school-students-need-to-know

Scholarships, Student Loans, Occupational Information livebinders.com/play/play/830830

 

Lesson #10

All school counsellors should be trained in suicide prevention and if they are not they should be trained in their Masters programs. School Counsellors often have to assess for the risk of suicide. Yes, even in the first few days of school when students are back in September. School Counsellors need to be prepared to ask for assistance if they are not trained. This is not something you should handle alone. It can be very scary when a student says they are thinking about suicide and you are not trained to know what to do. Even when you are trained well it can feel overwhelming and so it is important to debrief with another counsellor. In our district all school counselors have to train every two years as well as do a refresher course. This is so important for our students at risk. School counsellors can and do save lives.

As I reflect on the work we do, I think about what we do and how important our role as school counsellors are. Exhausting at times, but so worthwhile. To all new counsellors hang in there. It is and has been the most rewarding career for me. I still love what I do in year 33.

Marc’s reflection on his first weeks as a high school counsellor:

Starting a practicum placement is intimidating.  I am fighting the  presence of ‘imposter syndrome’, feeling somewhat ill-prepared and anxious, hoping that my lack of experience is not apparent to the students or staff in my words or behaviour.  I am fortunate to be in a familiar environment with a supportive supervisor and colleagues, but it will take time to feel comfortable and confident.

It’s been a steep learning curve at my practicum placement.  At first, I was frustrated because the established counsellors were busy with a full schedule of student clients, while I had a slow trickle.

While I recognized that some students may prefer a veteran counsellor, I soon realised this disparity in appointments was primarily due to the students’ unfamiliarity with me, rather than an indication of their perception of my competence or a sneak preview of my upcoming caseload.  The number of students coming for appointments has picked up, but I have come to appreciate any opportunity I have to reflect, consult, complete documentation, or catch up on additional work.  Further, after having an experience assessing an at-risk student, I’ve learned that a gradual immersion into client contact allows me to build competence and confidence at a comfortable pace.  I was not ready to assess this particular client, and missed several key aspects of the necessary process.  It was a good learning experience, helping me to remember the importance of policy and training, but also to pace myself and appreciate any lighter schedules.