Season of Change: From one place to another!

It has been quite some time since my last post and felt there was no better time to update than now! While there are many reasons for my absence...the top three would have to be:

1. My international school job search was running from September of last year until around mid-January. (stressful but exciting)
2. I accepted a new position ES School Counseling position (PK-2nd) at a school in Jeju, Korea! 
3. My partner and I have braved the transition and move here and are starting to feel more settled now that the school year has started. 

It was truly difficult to say goodbye to our home for the past three years in Vietnam; however, we are both very excited for new possibilities in Korea! We left our fast-paced life in the city and have traded it in for island life! Jeju is lovely and we feel supported by not only our new school but also our friends and family. I highly encourage you to check out Korea and specifically Jeju if you ever get the chance! Have any specific questions about my experience thus far? Comment below! 

Although it is only September, I feel that the buzzword for this upcoming year will definitely be, GROWTH. I am entering my fourth year as a School Counselor and as I look back on my experience thus far,  I am humbled by the opportunities I have been given and how much I have truly grown as a professional. I couldn't have made it this far without the support from my family, colleagues, administrators, and my partner. What is your buzzword for the year? Who is part of your support team?

In addition to our new move, I have restarted my twitter account and am back in the game! Interested? Follow me on Twitter HERE! I am trying to post weekly to stay up-to-date!
Look out for more updates and posts coming up this year!

Wins and Fails in Staff Morale Boosting!

We win some, we lose some! Here are some of my WINS and FAILS when it comes to boosting staff morale. I use the terms WIN and FAIL quite loosely as any effort is really a win. The FAILS mentioned below are examples of things that didn't have the full effect that I hoped or took a lot of time/money/energy. Let's start with some positive ones though!

WIN: Bulletin Boards in the Staff Lounge! There are two main bulletin boards that I like to do in the staff lounge that I have found to be successful. One is a stress relief board that I purchased from Teachers Pay Teachers. It was created by Traci R Brown and I have really enjoyed it. The staff liked it too and I had some positive feedback from them. The other that I do is towards the end-of-the-year and there is a quote that says "We Came as Strangers, We Leave as Friends" (my current school has a transient teacher population, however you could change up the quote). I then post a collage of pictures of the staff throughout the year, especially from major school events. I do my best to get as many of the teachers represented as I can. Afterwards, I give the teachers the copy of the picture that was posted. There were quite a few teachers that became emotional when seeing it and overwhelmingly there was a positive response. In my opinion, I feel that both displays can brighten up someone's day!

WIN: "You Have Been Mugged!" initiative. I found this morale boosting activity through Pinterest! The premise is that you take a mug, fill it with small treats and then secretively post it on someone's desk. Their job is to then refill the mug (or buy a new one) and then keep it going by giving it to someone else! This is the first year I have tried it, and it has been a big hit! **It should be noted that there were 3 separate mugs were circulating at one time**

WIN: Random Acts of Kindness Week. Random Acts of Kindness week is a big initiative at our school. We host it in the middle of February, right after our TET holiday. The kids get into it, the teachers get into it, and it is a lot fun! Search under the RAK label on my blog to find out more!

WIN: "From Your School Counselor..." note of the week. I have some stationary in my room that says "From Your School Counselor" at the top. Each week, I try to take the time to write a note to a teacher or staff member who I was thinking about or wanted to recognize. It takes 2 minutes to write a short note and then I leave it on their desk with a piece of candy. It is short, sweet, and to the point. 

WIN: "Mint to Teach" initiative. At the beginning of the year, I gave out Mint Tea satchets with a label that said, "You are Mint to Teach at AIS!". The teachers seem to like the idea and the satchets were very cheap. 

WIN: Keeping candy in your office! Simply put, I keep two jars of candy in my room. One that is fruit-flavored/mint candies and one that is chocolate.Teachers find out quickly that I keep a stash in my room and every time they drop-in I offer them some. A little sweetness can go a long way! 

WIN: Hosting Make-and-Take Mini-workshops. This is something I started new this year and it has been a big success! Once a quarter, I host a mini-workshop (about 30 minutes) and include some free resources for teachers and try to have a hands-on activity as well with it. For example, at the beginning of the year I hosted a "Creating a Cool Down Corner in Your Classroom" make-and-take. The teachers got to make stress balls and were able to take some FREE calm down posters to hang in their classroom/cool down corner. 

FAIL: "You Have Been Socked!"initiative. Last year, before doing the "You have been Mugged!" activity, a teacher approached me suggesting the "You Have Been Socked" activity. The activity is very similar, except you use a Christmas stocking instead. I was concerned about the Christmas theme at first, and didn't really trust my gut. It flopped for a few reasons...1) We only had two stockings 2) Stockings are a lot harder to fill 3) The Stockings became a little gross (things spilling, messy desks, etc) and 4) Some wished that it was not Christmas-related. 

FAIL: All Teacher Breakfasts. I have tried to do this, but I found it to be much more challenging than I thought. 1) It can be expensive, especially if you don't have the funding for it 2) It can be difficult to set up if you are doing it alone. It was pretty tricky for me and I found it to be the most expensive (as I was self-funding), However, I WOULD LOVE to try it again and see if it can work better! Have you tried this before? How did it go? 

FAIL: Wow Book! I love the idea of Wow Books. I think there are ways that it can be done very successfully...however my attempt was not successful. I used a notebook and decorated the cover with stickers and titled it "Wow Book!". It made it through about 3 people to my knowledge before it was forever lost in a sea of school supplies and notebooks. I am not sure where it ended up but it will probably be found at the end of the year when teachers are packing up their rooms! Hahah!

Teachers Pay Teacher Recommendations for Staff Morale Boosters

• Staff and Teacher Morale Activities Month-by-Month by Stephanie McConnell of Principal Principles 

Staff Morale Boosting: Myths and Realities....

Boosting staff morale, especially during stressful times of the year can be challenging. As the School Counselor, I try my best to establish strong relationships with each one of the teachers and staff members at my school. Before I share some of things I do to help boost staff morale, I wanted to address some MYTHS vs. REALITIES (as I have found them) when it comes to Staff Morale...

MYTH #1: "The School Counselor cannot do much to boost staff morale, that is up to the teachers themselves and the principal."

REALITY #1: Counselors can definitely make a positive impact on the staff morale at their school if they try their best, work with on open heart and open mind, plan effectively, and stay consistent. Nothing will change if no one takes the first step. Changing morale in difficult environments is, by-no-means, a one person job. In an ideal world, everyone would do their part to contribute to a positive work environment...this is not always the case. However, the "ripple of kindness" can be endless, can inspire others and it CAN start with you! 

MYTH #2: "Teacher appreciation gifts and gestures are expensive and time consuming! I don't have time for that!"

REALITY #2: Yes, you are busy. Very busy. As School Counselors, we are constantly pulled in many directions. I understand the hesitation in committing to something else. For me, this part has been something that can be considered nothing more than trial and error. Some things took longer and cost more than I expected, others were surprisingly easy and convenient. Start of small and see where it takes you. There are lots of ways that you can help boost morale without spending money and that will take just a few minutes of your time. Check out some of my favorites below!

MYTH #3: "Teachers (especially Elementary Teachers) LOVE cute acts of kindness or recognition. Everyone will be on board if you do something like that!"

REALITY #3: No matter where you go, there are people that enjoy challenging positive initiatives and it may seem that they actually enjoy being negative. This goes for schools too! As a Pinterest fan, I find tons of cute staff morale boosting activities online. I have tried quite a few and it never fails, there is always AT LEAST one person who thinks it is silly or dumb, doesn't want to participate, or feels like it is too much or not enough. You can't please everyone, but I have found that most people have a positive response. 

MYTH #4: "People just don't care at my school. Nothing will help until this teacher/principal/director/etc. is gone!"

REALITY #4: More often than not, the people in your building do genuinely care about what they do and how they feel. There are always some people (as mentioned before) that don't respond positively no matter what you do. Try your best not to take it personally and KEEP trying. Some day you may strike a cord with them or someone you have encouraged may strike that cord with them! You never know where things can go and each new year can be full of surprises. It can be easy to get frustrated with negativity and negative people at your school. Remember, you can be the light for others and while your efforts may go thankless, they DO make a difference. 

So get out there, see what you can do to boost some staff morale! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Have questions, comments, feedback? Share below!

Career Centers for Early Elementary!

Whenever I started as an Elementary School Counselor, I struggled with how to incorporate careers and career education into my program. This past year (my second year as a counselor), I decided to test out some ideas for career education during the scheduled guidance time. I ran a career unit that lasted about a month and wanted to make it as hands-on and interactive as possible for the students. I love doing centers with my younger classes so I thought it may be fun to do some play-based career centers for students to rotate through. 

I decided to run four different centers to start off with and included tools that the career-person may use.

Bakery Center:play-dough, cookie cutters, rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, spatula, and design-your-own-cupcake/cake laminate sheets. 

Vet Center: stuffed dog, various animal figurines, latex gloves, various kid-friendly medical tools, and laminated vet check-up page with dry erase markers.

Construction Center: Jenga blocks, various builders and connectors, laminated graph paper, laminated floor plans, dry erase markers, hard hat, and  foam geometric shapes.

Story board center: I found some laminated career storyboards online where students can create their own story with different pictures. I will post the link whenever I get the chance!

Overall, the kids LOVED it. Many of them said it was their favorite guidance class ever. It was a lot of fun for me as well as I got to see how creative the students could be and got a chance to connect with each of the different groups. 

What centers have you used in your guidance program? What other career activities do you enjoy?

Friday 5: FIVE AMAZING CHILDREN'S BOOKS I use in my Counseling program!

Hello Again and Happy FRIDAY!
Today's FRIDAY 5 is Five Children's Books that I use in my Counseling Program and how I use them! Check em' out and share your favorites below!

**These are in NO particular order**

I LOVE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK!


#5: It's Okay To Be Different, Written and Illustrated by: Todd Parr
To be honest, I love ALL of Todd Parr's books. They are all wonderful, colorful, and are great for kids. I use his books a lot and read this book with a Kindergarten class during their story time and as well used it for my "Redesign A Favorite Book Cover" Door Contest as my school during our 2014 Book Week in March. The book has fun pictures and pages about how we are all unique and that it is great to be different. This Teach Idea Factory Blog has other FUN ideas to use with the book including making a class book.


#4: Miss Rumphius, Written and Illustrated By: Barbara Cooney
I love this book and used it with my 4th grade students during a Classroom lesson during Random Acts of Kindness Week. The book is about a woman who follows her dreams and also makes the world a more beautiful place. When I first read the book, it tugged at my heart strings quite a bit. After we read the story, we discussed the plot and tied the conversation into how Random Acts of Kindness can make the world more beautiful. We also watched this video tied into RAK. Then, I had each student write their own list of ways they can make the world a more beautiful place.

#3: The Hundred Dresses, By Eleanor Estes
This is one of my most favorite children's books. I remember my fifth grade teacher reading this book to me when I was in elementary school and it truly stuck with me. I typically read this book with grades 4-5 during my Bullying Awareness Unit for Classroom Guidance. The message of the story is still very applicable to students, even though it was published in 1944. I find the students get "sucked in" to the story and many of them have checked out the book independently after hearing in guidance.

#2. The Sneetches and Other Stories, By: Dr. Seuss 
As a huge fan of Dr. Seuss (who isn't?!?) I have to add The Sneetches in here. I have used this with grade 2-5 and they seem to love it. I have used this to teach about Diversity, Exclusion, Discrimination, Cliques, etc. This is a classic that I find I use again and again! Definitely worth a purchase!

















#1: The Monster Who Lost His Mean, By: Tiffany Strelitz Haber and Illustrated By: Kirstie Edmunds
I used this awesome book with my first grade students and I loved it. The book is about a Monster who loses his mean and then more or less realizes he is happier being a nice "Onster" instead of a "Monster". I tied this into a 3-lesson unit I found from The School Counselor's Chronicle Blog. The unit was focused on being assertive and not acting like a "Monster" or a "Mouse". I read the book to the students and then we did a role-play activity and the students pretended to first be "Monsters" and then to "Lose their Mean" and handle it like the "Best Me, I can be!" Needless to say, it was entertaining and a LOT of fun.


For more information about Books for School Counselors check out this link for the Books That Heal Blog!

So, now I want to know... WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5?!

Friday 5: Five USEFUL and VALUABLE TPT purchases for School Counselors! (IMO)

I had a lot of positive feedback from my last "Friday 5" post  so I thought I would post another. This week's focus is my current TOP 5 TPT School Counseling purchases that I have made so far. I have a few favorite sellers from TPT so it was difficult to choose my top 5 purchases. 

The following purchases are ones that I use frequently and have been well-worth the money. If you are like me, you pay for most (if not all) of your counseling resources out of pocket; it is very important to make sure they are worth every penny! In my opinion, the following ARE! 

1. Emotions Posters and Writing Worksheets from Artrageous Fun

• Cost: $3.00 
• Reasons Why I love it: As a new counselor, I found that I needed some low cost items to "jazz up" my room. I found the posters to be fun AND functional. They are colorful and can be used to show examples of facial expressions and body language. One set includes descriptions of the feeling and the other set just has only the name of the feeling listed. I have both sets up in my room and refer to them often. I keep the "worksheet" that was included on my wall and use it as a "talking tool" to help students verbalize their feelings.

2. Social Skills Program from Crazy Days Counseling

• Cost: $2.00 
• Reasons Why I love it: I have referenced "Crazy Days Counseling" before as one of my favorite sellers in my last "Friday 5 post" AND in my Social Skills Group post. I LOVE this packet. I found it very useful for my students and really enjoyed the "Super Skills Challenge" page. The graphics are nice as well and it is an easy format to use for small groups. 

3. Positive Affirmations for Children from The Helpful Counselor 

• Cost: $3.50 
• Reasons Why I love it: I have also referenced this seller before in my last "Friday 5 post". I really do love these positive affirmations cards and find them useful not only in individual sessions but also small groups. The cards are also well designed and colorful. I find myself going to them quite often!

4. Social Skills Conversation Game from The Helpful Counselor 

• Cost: $5.00
• Reasons Why I love it: I know, I know, another product from The Helpful Counselor. I just love the products they make and this one is no exception. $5.00 is a lot to spend on something for me but I found that the design of the cards and the questions have been really helpful. I use them individually, within small groups, and also use them in my classroom guidance lessons in opening and closing activities. Another plus is that the kids like the cards because they are colorful and cute. They always ask to use them when they come to my room.

5. I Can Be a Pal from Kristen Smith

• Cost: $4.50
• Reasons Why I love it: I find the activities in this packet to be very useful. I typically use them with my lower elementary kiddos and have enjoyed using them in classroom guidance and small groups when focusing on friendship. The games listed are fun, interactive, and easy to implement. An added bonus of this packet is that it is tied into two different children's books as well which make it a quick an easy guidance lesson option.

Are you a TPT user? What are your favorite purchases for counseling? 

R.A.K Week- Spreading the Kindness at AIS!

This week is Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 9-13th). Last year, I had a lot of fun planning R.A.K week and spreading the kindness all over my school. This year, I decided to take it a step further and try to make R.A.K week bigger and BETTER!

**DISCLAIMER** I will admit, I am a thief when it comes to good ideas. I took some ideas from School Counseling blogs and Pinterest mainly.. I will do my best to give credit where credit is due! 

Here are some of the things I did to help celebrate R.A.K week at my school! 

• Morning Announcements: Each day of R.A.K week, I tried to have a little blurb about Random Acts of Kindness. I kept it short, sweet, and direct. Here is an example of one of the morning announcements: 
• Today is DAY 1 of Random Acts of Kindness Week! This week, try to go ABOVE and BEYOND to spread kindness. A simple way to spread kindness is to say something nice. Who can you say something nice to? A teacher, a security guard, a canteen worker, a cleaner, another student, ANYONE!
• Staff Lounge display: It can be difficult to get staff buy-in sometimes, so this year I tried to do something to reach out and appeal to them. In our staff lounge, I posted up some R.A.K week ideas they could use in their classroom. I also added a gum ball machine where staff could write RAKs they received from other teachers. I found this awesome idea from Elementary School Counseling Website, 
• Student Display: Since R.A.K week is so close to Valentines day, I also created a display for our students that said "What will your next R.A.K be?" and posted different ideas on heart cut outs. I also included some pictures as well. The display didn't turn out that great, but it definitely got the idea across.
• Classroom Guidance Lessons: I see every class in grades 1-5 once within a six day cycle. I used the designated "guidance time" (40 minutes) to introduce R.A.K week and give each student a R.A.K challenge to complete!

             
1. With grade one, we made a craft to say thank you to our teachers. After school was out, I snuck into their rooms and taped the cards on their computers. They were quite surprised to see them the next morning and the students were excited to be a part of the surprise! Students also watched the video Color the World with Kindness. 
2. With grade two, we made origami paper hearts and wrote letters or nice encouraging words on the hearts to deliver to teachers. We also watched this video and discussed how kind acts can cause a "ripple effect". The students loved the video and even asked to watch it twice. The origami hearts will be delivered to teachers at the end of the week. 
3. Unfortunately, grade three missed their guidance lessons due to a school-wide event, however their classroom teachers still reinforced kindness in the classroom and did some seperate activities to celebrate R.A.K week. After getting back from our break, the grade three students will receive a lesson on "Keeping the Kindness going!" though. 
4. Grade four viewed a power point of kindness quotes and ideas that I purchased for Teachers Pay Teachers. They also helped create large-scale cards for some of our specialist teachers and departments. Some of the cards we made were for PE, Music, Library, and Art. The students were also able to help deliver their work to the teachers.
5. Grade five was focusing on their Middle School Survival Unit during this time and didn't receive the same focus lesson on kindness as the other students. However, to still encourage Random Acts of Kindness, I had students take a R.A.K from the "Kindness Bucket" and challenged them to complete the act before the end of the week. Next year, I will try to plan better so that they can focus on R.A.K week as well. 

• Small R.A.Ks: Separate from the student led R.A.Ks, I also wanted to spread some kindness around to people within the school. I left pieces of candy and "You have been R.A.Ked" notes on the desks of teachers, assistants, our principal, some of our other various staff members just to help spread some of the love. 

Overall, I think that this R.A.K week has been a successful one thus far! I can't wait to find more activities to celebrate R.A.K week and make it better each and every year! What did you do to R.A.K week? 

Up, Up, and AWAY! Social Skills Superheroes groups!

Last year, I ran a Secret Agent Group for students to help promote kindness around our school. It was a huge hit for our students and I still have students ask to be Secret Agents. This year, I decided to make my Social Skills building group have an exciting theme as well for students!

Introducing....

SOCIAL SKILLS SUPERHEROES!

I downloaded the Social Skills Program  from Crazy Days Counseling on Teachers Pay Teachers and I absolutely love it! 

I created the invitations for group and delivered them while wearing a super hero cape and mask (mainly to grades 1-3). The kids were really excited about being a part of group! 

I am able to use the packet with grades 1-5, with a little tweaking for each grade level. I found the Checklist and Challenge pages in the packet to be very helpful. The students enjoyed going through each one and I was impressed with how honest they were with themselves. I use their responses on the Challenge page to guide the group with activities. 

While the group has JUST started, I am really excited to see how it develops over the quarter. 

What programs have you used for your social skills groups? 

Want more awesome TPT sellers? Click here!

Origami After-school Group: Teaching Patience and Persistence

Last year, I ran an after-school Origami group and used it to teach Patience and Persistence. I found it to be a HUGE success! Here is the outline for how I ran the group just in case you want to try it out at your school! 

**DISCLAIMER**: I am BY NO MEANS an Origami expert. I found most of these activities online and focused on the process of the group more than the actual Origami skill set.

Session Outline

Group Size: 8-10                      Group duration: 40 minutes                           Grades: 3-5

Session #1: Students will be introduced to the purpose of the group and will help create set rules for the group. Each member of the group will also be given a brown paper lunch bag to keep their origami creations in as they move throughout the group. At the end of the group, they will be able to take home their bag full of their creations. The first session is also a good time to go over the different types of origami paper you may be using (recycled paper squares, large origami paper, small origami paper, floral paper, etc.). Students will also learn how to make “perfect squares” out of recycled paper (folding over on corner to the side so that it makes a square and then cutting). Have students create about 4 or 5 perfect squares for them to use throughout the group. If there is time, students can decorate their paper bag.

Session #2: Students will be introduced to basic origami techniques and will learn about the patience and persistence required to practice origami. The instructor will read the book, “Butterflies for Kiri” by Cathyn Falwell and discuss how it is common to become frustrated when you are doing something that requires patience. The instructor will then teach students the basic origami group vocabulary to students: bone folder (a stiff edge used to make strong creases in paper- usually a Popsicle stick-to be kept in their bag), valley fold (a fold that is concave-like a valley), mountain fold (a fold that is convex- like a mountain). Students will then make their first creation: a paper fortune teller. 

Session #3: Students will review the previous vocabulary terms learned in group and will learn about trial and error and how it helps us learn and grow. Students will then be given two different sheets of paper. One where they can make their own paper airplane without any instructions and another in which they can follow written out instructions. At the end, students will have a paper airplane contest to see which one worked the best. Afterwards, students will reflect on their planes and which one worked differently. Share with students the following image, and ask them discuss what it means to them.

·         Airplane Examples: http://www.origami-make.com/howto-origami-airplane.php

Session #4: Allow students to explore different types of folds and have them work independently to see how they can use persistence and patience. Use frustrations as “teaching moments” and point out situations of persistence. Some simple suggested folds include:

·         Talking Dog: http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-talking-dog.html

·         Lady Bug: http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-ladybug.html

·         Fox: http://en.origami-club.com/animal/animal(small)/fox/fox/index.html

For students who finish early or easily, have Origami books or separate print-out instructions for other various folds for them to explore.

**Usually, there will be some students who express frustration or will want the teacher or other students to complete the folds for them. This is a great time to bring up Kiri and how her persistence paid off and how rewarding it is to succeed on your own accord.**

Optional: After students have practiced some of their own folds independently, tell them that their “take-home task” is to find an origami video online and to create one creation at home independently to share with the group.

Session #5: If students completed the “take-home task”, have them share their creations with the group and share if they found it frustrating or not and how they used persistence and/or patience. Students will then take some time to review some of the things they have created thus far within the group. Students will be able to reflect on how they have improved already and which different folds have given them the most difficulty thus far. The focus of this session will be “support”. Share with students that sometimes in life, we need others to help support us and that we can be that support for others as well. Students will make an origami heart and on the flat-side write an encouraging statement. Allow them to make more than one and to share them with people who encourage them. Have students keep one for themselves in their bag.

·         Heart: http://en.origami-club.com/valentine/heart/heart/index.html

Session #6: If possible, reserve the computer lab to allow students to explore different kinds of folds independently. Have them aim for creations that challenge them but are still “good fits” (not too difficult, not too easy). Have them explore independently and create 3-5 different creations. At the end, have them share what they created with the group. Some good websites for kids to explore include:

·         Origami for Kids: http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-for-kids.html

·         Origami Fun: http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-for-kids.html

·         Origami Make: http://www.origami-make.com/howto-origami-kids.php

Session #7: Share with students that they are going to be given a more difficult task to complete today. The chance of frustration with this more advanced fold is high and can serve as valuable teaching moments for students.

·

  Harry Potter “Golden Snitch”: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/origami-golden-snitch

This time should also be used by students to encourage one another and work together some if possible. End the group by reflecting on the process of making the “Golden Snitch”.

Session #8: End of group celebration! Students will be able to review their creations in group and will have a mini celebration. Each student will receive a Certificate of Achievement, a list of the websites to use, and a few sheets of origami paper for them to take home to continue to practicing.

Have you run an Origami group before? How was it? Did you find it successful? What challenges did you face? 

Back to School-Round 2!

A long time has passed since my last post as I was off enjoying my summer back home with friends and family! However, I am already back in the swing of things as my school enters week 3 of the new school year. 

There have been some new updates and some changes with my position at my school this year and I am continuously reminding myself that flexibility is key! Some of the new changes that have gone on include: 

- New administrators at all four of our campuses 

- A High School Counselor was not hired for our HS campus, therefore I am now sharing the role of Personal/Social School Counselor at the High School with the current Middle School Counselor. I am there once every six days and also am first response in the case of a crisis and the Middle School Counselor is there every Tuesday and Thursday. (Are you confused? Yes, me too) 

- New Counselor at our 1-9 Campus 

- 50% newly hired staff at ES campus 

- New Office at the ES campus and shared office at the HS

Even with all of the new changes, I am excited to have some familiarity this year and to begin my second year as a School Counselor. Let's hope I can find balance with the new changes and can make this year a success.  

A day in the life...

Before I became a School Counselor, I wondered what an average day would look like for one. I kept hearing things like, "No day looks the same" and "You never know what the day will hold". To be honest, this is one of the reasons that I became a School Counselor in the first place. The idea that each day is unique and that your job is truly unpredictable excites me. I have found that my days tend to take on two different extremes, therefore I decided to outline the TWO Most Common Types of Days I have as a School Counselor.

*DISCLAIMER: The following is a look at MY own schedule as a first-year counselor. I understand that every School Counselor has a different school dynamic, case load, and schedule.*

Smooth Sailing Days
7:30: Arrive at school, grab a cup of coffee and check-email.
8:00: Head downstairs, greet students and check-in.
8:15: Bell rings (I usually spend this time wishing students a good day and assisting as needed)
8:30-8:50: Individual Counseling (various presenting concerns)
8:50-9:30: Committee Meetings/Admin Meetings/Teacher Meetings
9:30-10:00: Prepare for Small groups/Classroom lessons
10:00-10:40: Classroom Lesson or data entry
10:40-11:05: Have lunch with individual student (this is when I may eat lunch too)
11:05-11:30: Girls Lunch Bunch
11:35-12:30: Individual Counseling (various presenting concerns)
12:30-1:00: Check-in with teachers/admin
1:00-1:50: Small Group
1:50-2:15: Check-in with other Counselors at MS and HS
2:20-3:15: Classroom Lesson
3:15: Bid farewell to students
3:30: Respond to emails
4:00: Leave school!

Crazy Hectic Days 
7:30: Arrive at school, immediately see a child crying in the corner. Check-in with student and try to assist as needed.
7:45: Get to my room, see I have at least 15 unread emails ranging in topics from classroom bullying issues to HR notices to IEPs.
8:00: Go to grab a cup of coffee, get stopped by at least 3 different students saying things like:

• "Ms. Sara, Timmy says I am cheating but I am not cheating! Make him stop!" 
• "Ms. Sara, can I meet with you today? I am having the worst luck ever."
• "Ms. Sara, Jenny is being so bossy. I told her I don't want to play with her anymore but she keeps bugging me!"

and also at least 3 different teachers saying things like: 

• "I meant to email you, I really need you to meet with one of my students, they are driving me CRAZY!" 
• "I notice that my girls in class keep getting into conflicts, I don't know what to do anymore. Do you have any suggestions?" 
• "Did you meet with this student? What kinds of things do you guys talk about?" 

I respond to the best of my ability to all of the above...

8:15: Bell rings, greet students (still no coffee) 

8:18: See a student who is refusing to go to class...respond as needed. 

8:30: Finally get student to class, realize I am supposed to go to a 5th grade class and do a lesson on empathy. 

8:32-9:00: Lesson on Empathy with 5th grade 

9:05: Principal finds me, "I was looking for you, we need to meet about this student..now." 

9:05-9:35: Meet with Principal

9:35-9:55: Individual student who has anger management difficulties 

10:00-10:35: Individual student who discloses she witnessed a domestic violence situation at home, respond as needed. 

10:35-10:45: Grab coffee, finally...See a TA who is in tears over an altercation between her and her teacher. Try to assist as needed. 

10:45: Lunch Bunch with 2nd grade

11:05: Lunch with 4th grade student (eat lunch as well)

11:35: Individual student with social anxiety

11:55: Individual student who is a bullying victim  

12:20: Lesson on Self-Control with First Grade 

1:00-1:50: Small Group

1:50-2:15: Teacher brings in crying student, assist as needed.  

2:15-2:30: Different teacher comes in asking for advice about a student. 

2:30-3:00: Individual student who has self-regulation difficulties 

3:00-3:15: Read-aloud to Kindergarten 

3:15: Realize I have nothing prepared for After-school club 

3:15-3:30: Quickly prepare for club

3:30-4:30: After-school activities 

4:30: Same TA from earlier wants to discuss situation with teacher, support as needed.  

5:00: Check my email one more time before leaving school, realize I have yet to respond to all of the emails from the morning and now have at least 10 more emails added to my list. Including some emails saying: "Please respond before the end of the day" 

5:00-5:30: Respond to emails 

5:30: Go to leave school, see a student sitting by himself waiting for his parents, looking quite down. Join him until parents come. 

5:45: Finally leave school, feeling exhausted, somewhat defeated, yet somewhat excited to have finished the day. 

So these are just two examples of SOME of the many days I have as a School Counselor. I want to know, what kind of days do YOU have? 

Featured on Masters In Counseling Website! DAY-MAKER!

Thank you SO much to Rebecca at MastersInCounseling.org  for hosting my blog on the Best In School Counseling:Our Favorite Websites  post! I am so grateful to be featured on your site along with some of the best bloggers in the field!

Check out the link above to find more blogs and helpful sites for school counselors!

Spirit Week at AIS!

This past week was spirit week at our school and I can confidently say it was one of the funnest weeks we have had this year!

Backwards day! Day #1

Crazy Day! Day #2

The AWESOME AIS staff.

PJ Day (with awesomely comfortable Vietnamese PJs)-Day #4 

Twin Day with Ms. Michelle, Ms. Ahn, and Ms. Mihn! Day #5 

I LOVED spirit week and it was awesome to see our staff get into it so much. We did have quite a few fifth graders who were a bit "too cool" for spirit week though. What does YOUR school do for spirit week?

Where is the MOTIVATION!?!

• "I can't seem to get them to do anything." 
• "I just wish they were excited about learning." 
• "They seem so lifeless..." 
• "It feels like they don't care anymore!" 
• "My students just aren't motivated!" 

As we enter into our final quarter for the year, I have been hearing more and more of the statements above. I had one fourth grade teacher in particular ask me if I would lead a lesson in his class on motivation. I (over-confidently) said, "Yes! Of course!" However, when I began looking for ideas...I couldn't seem to find anything that hooked me. I always strive to have creative, inspiring and worthwhile lessons and so I was beginning to feel discouraged when I wasn't finding much when it came to motivation. 

I took some time to reflect on my OWN motivation and how it impacts my work. I will admit, the start of the fourth quarter has been a little more difficult for me and I even find myself dragging my feet in the mornings. So I found myself wondering, "How am I going to inspire motivation in students if I struggle with inspiring it within myself?" I was even beginning to think that I may need this lesson just as much as the students! 

I looked around my room for inspiration...art supplies, clay, puppets, toys, balloons...BALLOONS! I remembered a lesson I did with my first graders in which we used balloons to talk about emotions and they absolutely loved it! I thought about how I use balloons to teach about Anger and how if we don't release our anger it can make us POP! I decided I was going to use my trusty balloons again to help me teach about MOTIVATION!

HERE IS HOW THE LESSON WENT: 

• I started off by writing the word "Motivation" on the board. I then had students brainstorm about the meaning of motivation and we had a small discussion. 
• Then, I presented two deflated balloons. I said to the class, "I brought some balloons for us to play with today." I then blew up one balloon and tied it. The other balloon, I left deflated and tied it. I then let the kids play with the two balloons for a minute. It was obvious that the inflated balloon was the most popular choice and the students became bored with the deflated balloon within a matter of seconds. 
• I then shared that the inflated balloon was like someone FULL of MOTIVATION (fun, eye-catching, inspiring) and the deflated balloon was like someone who had NO MOTIVATION (lifeless, no energy, a bit boring) . I attached them to the board and had students create a list of what motivates (fills) them around the balloon and what does not motivate (deflates) them around the other.
• Afterwards, I had them fill out their own sheet about what fills-them-up and what brings them down. We discussed how the key to motivation is remembering to fill yourself up and avoid the things that bring you down. 
• We concluded by showing a video by Kid President. 

After the lesson, I found that I felt more motivated as well! Since I work with a 99% ELL population, I found that the concept was a bit abstract for them but I think it was a good way to get them to begin thinking about motivation.

What tips do YOU have to encourage motivation with your students? 

Friday 5: FIVE AWESOME Teachers Pay Teachers accounts for COUNSELORS to check out!

FRIDAY 5: FIVE AWESOME TpT accounts for COUNSELORS to check out!

So I recently have been utilizing the Teachers Pay Teachers website to help me with my Elementary School Counseling Program. Let me just say...I have been pretty impressed! While I have only been using TPT for about two weeks, I have found some AWESOME accounts on there with great products. Here are my CURRENT TOP 5 (in no particular order) accounts to follow!


The Helpful Counselor : I LOVE LOVE LOVE THC's products. I have already purchased quite a few including: Social Skills Conversation Game, Bullying Bingo Game, Friendship Definition Card set, and the Anger Management Card set. I have definitely been impressed with the quality of work put into these products and already have some more of the THC products on my WISH LIST!



School Counseling Is Magical This is a NEW TpT creator and after checking out her products I am very impressed. She has created a "Scooping Up I-Messages" activity pack that is already on my wish list! She also has some freebies on there including "A Bug and A Wish" cards and more! Have an idea for something? Let her know through TpT!




One stop Counseling Shop This counselor has over 87 different products for sale on TpT. The "Coping Skills Card Pack" really caught my eye and it now has a spot on my Wish List as well! There are a lot of different games and activities on the OsCS account. Check it out!





Crazy Days Counseling: While this counselor only has 11 products so far, they are AWESOME products for Elementary School Counselors! Plus about half of them are free! I really like the "Using Kind Words" packet that has four different lessons to choose from (another FREEBIE!). I look forward to seeing more products from Crazy Days Counseling!






Super Power Speech: This creator has some awesome products and bundles especially focused on Social Skill building and conversation skills. Although her focus is on Speech and Language, I still find a LOT of her products to be applicable for classroom guidance lessons and small groups.




So I want to know, what other COUNSELING related products and creators have YOU found on Teachers Pay Teachers? Let me know and comment below!

Happy Friday!

How I got into the World of International School Counseling...

Usually, I get some strange reactions from people when I say I am a School Counselor in Vietnam, especially as a first-year counselor. Understandably so, many people have a lot of questions. So I decided to help answer some of these! I can already tell this is going to be a long post, so take it as you would like.

• "How did that happen!?" Well, I have always loved traveling and never had the chance to study abroad in college. I heard about teachers being International Educators but had never heard of International School Counselors. I decided to do some research by asking some of my professors in grad school. Thankfully, one of my professors had a previous student who was at that time a School Counselor in Venezuela. I emailed her and got some awesome feedback from her perspective. After hearing her story, I decided to do some more research and see if it was something I could do myself. 

• "Where did you start?" I started by researching International School Counseling as much as possible. I found out countries all over the world have School Counselors, mainly in international schools. I emailed some of the leaders in International School Counseling that I could find and just asked them some general questions. I was a bit worried at first, but was very impressed with the feedback I received from them. It really helped shape my understanding of the field and some of the things I could expect. The more research I did, the more I started to realize this was something I wanted to do. 

• "How did you find that job?" From talking to the contact I had in Venezuela, I found out about the University of Northern Iowa's (UNI) International Education Job Fair. To find out more about the job fair CLICK HERE! I signed up for the fair during my last year of grad school. I was still in my internship and was nervous that I wouldn't even get looked at, but I decided to take a leap of faith. After booking my flight to Cedar Falls, Iowa, finishing my portfolio, practicing interview questions, printing off resumes, and more, I felt anxious that I wouldn't even get an interview. I got to the fair and was surprised by the amount of "mail" I had of schools that wanted to meet with me. The fair itself was overwhelming but I am so grateful I attended. After a few interviews for School Counseling and teaching positions, I decided to accept the offer at the American International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

• "Why Vietnam?" I will be honest with you, Vietnam was not my first choice when I attended the fair. I had dreamed about going to Frankfurt or Barcelona or Turkey. However, I was also passionate about working at the elementary level and after meeting with the principal from AIS, I just knew. His idea of what the role of School Counselor was aligned with my own views and that of ASCA. He was familiar with the ASCA model and was willing to give me the trust and support to mold the counseling program at the school. I was offered jobs at two other schools, one for a K-8 Counselor in Myanmar and one as a Kindergarten teacher in Shanghai (I have a teaching license in NC). Vietnam stood out to me because of my conversation with the principal and because of the package they offered me. I am definitely confident I made the right choice. 

• "How can I do that?" Trust me when I say, you are stronger than you even realize. If being an international School Counselor is something you really want to do then I can confidently say the odds are in your favor. You may not get a job at your first or second or tenth choice but if you are open-minded and are willing to take the chance then there are opportunities out there for you. I am not saying it is easy, but I will say that for me it was worth it. 

• "Where do I start?" First, do your research, ask questions, email other international School Counselors, and decide if this is something you want to make a commitment to. Discuss it with people you trust and consider their feedback. I had A LOT of people tell me it was an awful idea and that I was crazy and equally as many that told me it was a wonderful opportunity. Your next step is to get a passport. Yes, just go ahead and do it as soon as possible if you do not have one. Make sure your credentials, licenses, and certifications are in check before you go into the process. Research different job fairs and opportunities around you. UNI is NOT the only job fair for international School Counselors. While I had success there, maybe you decide to try some other fairs. Some of the leading search agents for international education jobs aside from UNI are TIE Online and Search Associates. These are some of the top tier search agents for international education.

• "I don't think I have enough money to do that..." Job fairs can be expensive and yes, there are some upfront costs that you will have to pay. This was challenging for me as I was in still in school and was interning full-time and working as a nanny part-time. However, wherever you decide to go, the MAJORITY of schools will reimburse your flight or book it for you, will give you settling in allowance, and will help set you up with housing and/or accommodations. All of the money I paid after I got the job, I was reimbursed. This includes my flight, my notarization fees, visa applications, etc. If you plan ahead, you will be able to afford it and the pay off can be huge.  

• "But, I have a wife/husband/child/family/cat/dog/etc! What will they do?!" While it can be more challenging if you have dependents, it is still possible. Many schools will support you and your dependents and give you an extra allowance to help support them. If you have a spouse or partner who teaches then you can sign-up for fairs as a teaching couple. There are a lot of couples at my school that signed contracts together. They may teach at different campuses, but they are here together and quite a few of them have children here as well. If you have a non-teaching spouse, you can also negotiate that sometimes. It really depends on the contract with the school and many schools will state their policy on teaching couples, non-teaching spouses, and dependents up front. For pets, many times you can pay to have them transported over but this can be challenging, still doable...but challenging. 

• "What are some of the perks?" Again, this is only from MY perspective and my experience. The package here in itself is a great perk for me. My contract allows me to save about half of my earnings (which go towards my student loans) and still allow me to have a very comfortable lifestyle here. My housing is covered as well. I get ample vacations, can travel to many places in South East Asia for cheap, get to experience the awesome Vietnamese culture, meet some wonderful people, make lifelong friends and absolutely love my job. I am very lucky and try to be grateful for every day (even the not-so-good ones). Another perk of the job here is that I can travel to nearby countries and within Vietnam for Professional Development opportunities and meet leaders in the field. 

• "What do you find the most challenging?" It is by no means easy to be a school counselor, let alone an international school counselor. Your support systems can be compromised, you miss your friends and family, your lifestyle, your comforts, etc. The job may look different then what you are used to (although this is the case when changing jobs in general). It may take longer than you expect to adjust to the new culture, this is completely okay. There are good days and bad days. There may be days when you love your new home and job and feel like you could do this for the rest of your life. There also may be days that you end up in tears or feel like you want to hop on the next flight home. You miss major events that go on back home like weddings, births, birthdays, deaths, changes, and more. They still affect you but you can't always be there in person to support the ones you love, this is very hard. There are people who will judge your lifestyle and your choices and sometimes its from people that you never expect would. You lose some relationships, feel disconnected from people back home, and also realize the ones who will continue to make an effort no matter where you are in the world. You are put in uncomfortable situations on a regular basis and your limits can pushed to the extremes. It is not for the faint of heart, but trust me when I say YOU have it in you if this is something you want to do. 

• "Don't you miss your family?" Every. Single. Day. I miss them more than I ever thought I would, but I also feel closer to them then I have ever have. I am reminded of them here and even though we don't talk very much, not a day goes by that I don't think about them. I am so grateful for their love and support throughout this. At the end of the day, I knew this was something I had to do for myself. I had to write my own story and live my own life; this is where it has taken me thus far. No matter where I am in the world, my family will ALWAYS be with me in my thoughts, my actions, and my words. Distance doesn't change that for me. 

• "When will you go back to the states? I have no idea. There is a chance I could finish my contract here and then head back to states, there is also a chance that I end up doing this for the rest of my life and continue being an international school counselor at various schools around the world. I have no clue what is in the cards for me, and I am perfectly okay with that. 

I want to conclude this lengthy post by saying that if you have ANY questions or comments please do not hesitate! I am, by no means, an expert on this... this is just a look into my own experience and I consider myself an open book when it comes to this topic. Please feel free to comment below or email me with questions at sara.roberts@ais.edu.vn

Thank you!

Self-care in times of need...

Hello Counseling friends!

Last semester, I went to a conference called the South East Asian Counsellors Network Conference. It was held in Ho Chi Minh City at the British International School in District 2. Counselors from all over SEA were here to discuss and learn more about counseling and counseling interventions. One of the workshops was focused on professional self-care. We discussed some things we do to make sure we have self-care; some of the things that came up were:

1. Reading a good book 
2. Listening to music
3. Yoga and other exercise 
4. Traveling 
5. Talking with other counselors 
6. Going for a walk 
7. Favorite hobbies 
8. Baking or cooking 
9. Pampering yourself (massage, manicure/pedicure, etc) 
10. Making time for friends and family 

and more! 

However, even though I know some ways to practice self-care, I have had some difficulty doing it lately. I don't know if anyone else experiences this but I can imagine it would be quite common. Sometimes I come home from work and feel like I am not my best self. I try to be my "best self" at work and when I am with students, but for some reason have difficulty doing it outside of work. Does anyone else ever feel like this? If so, what do you do to combat it? What self-care do you practice? Any advice or input would be highly helpful. 

This is me at the end of the day... 

Until next time!

RAK Week- Thursday/Friday and WRAP UP!

So I have been a little late with posting but I thought I would go ahead and include what my school did for Thursday and Friday for Random Acts of Kindness Week 2014!


Thursday Morning Daily News:

Good morning! This is Agent Jayden and Agent Kristoff from the AIS Secret Service. Today is the fourth day of Random Acts of Kindness week. Today’s message is about making and keeping friends. When you are kind to others, more people want to be around you and be your friend!  Being kind to others is one of the best ways to make and keep friends! How will you show kindness to kids in your class today?

Secret Service Random Act of Kindness: 

On Thursday, my agents delivered some bookmarks that we have been making for our First Graders! Our first and second graders do a unit on Bucket Fillers using the book, "How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids" By Tom Rath.  Our Student Council members helped color some of the bookmarks as well! I had them laminated and then we tied in red string to the ends to jazz them up! The Secret Agents delivered them during our D.E.A.R (Drop Everything And Read time) and I think the first graders really enjoyed them! 

Friday Morning Daily News:

Good morning! This is Agent Wendy and Agent Stacy from the AIS Secret Service. Today is the final day of Random Acts of Kindness week. Today’s message is about passing kindness on.  When we do kind things for people, they feel so good about what we did that they often do kind acts for others. Thanks to all the students and staff for helping to make this a great week. Now let’s all work together to pass the kindness on throughout our school and into our community throughout the rest of the year!

-AIS Secret Service

Secret Service Random Acts of Kindness

Since it was Valentines Day, our secret service agents made valentines for our librarians and our ICT teacher (Ms. Jen WHO IS AWESOME!). They delivered the valentines wearing their Secret Agent Glasses and badges. 

School-wide RAKS
For Thursday and Friday, I let the classroom teachers choose how they wanted to conclude RAK week within their classrooms. A lot of teachers had activities to wrap-up the week and help build their classroom community. Some of the teachers had buckets in their room in which they had students write down every time they witnessed a RAK and then they shared them on Friday. Some teachers had some really creative ideas with kindness quotes in which the students reflected on what they meant to them during the week and then had to give away their quote on Friday. Overall, the end of the week was a little less structured but I feel it was a great way to encourage focused teacher involvement. 

WRAP-UP

We wrapped up our RAK week on Monday during a morning assembly. I showed a video of the RAK Week in Review and had some student and teacher volunteers to help me out! Here is the video we showed. 

RAK Week Review

** DISCLAIMER: Although video consent has been received from these students and their parents, this video is to be shared for educational purposes ONLY. Please consider before sharing**