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Category: high school
School Counselling Tools Help … Lesson # 13
Lesson #13 School Counselling Tools Help
Resources help and these new videos by Dr. Erin Mason will be invalueable to those new to technology. Take a look. It will undoubtedly get you started on a journey that will be extremely helpful for you and your students. School Counsellors, these are for you :
DAY 1: TWITTER
DAY 2: LIVEBINDERS
DAY 3: GOOGLE DOCS and FORMS
Take a look here to find more from Smore .
Lessons 1-12 can be found here .
School Counsellors please join us in sharing resources. If you have and tips or lessons to share please do. We look forward to hearning from you.
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An International Chat for School Counsellors #SCCrowd
What is #SCCrowd?
SCCrowd is School Counsellors wanting to help each other and learn from those who are not school counsellors. It is also for educators from around the world who want to collaborate with other school counsellors to make a difference in the lives of students. That is what #SCCrowd is really all about. Ross Wolfson @rawolfson, a High School Counsellor created the hashtag and idea for #SCCrowd. He wanted to find a way for school counsellors to learn from and with each other.
There were already several great chats on twitter for school counsellors , but Ross wanted one that was just a little different . Hence the idea for #SCCrowd
The inaugural chat was held for #SCCrowd on November the 19th.
We held the first Q&A Day on #SCCrowd and were very pleased with the great turnout! Check out the transcript of the chat . After the first chat Ross and I were planning for the second chat so we collaborated to discuss ideas for a haiku deck and what we wanted people to know about #SCCrowd and this is the SCCrowd Haiku Deck that was created. Now on to Chat #2
Time for Q&A Day 2.0!
Here’s an explanation of how it works: Are you a school counselor from around the world ? Then we want to share with you.
School counselors, school counseling interns, and aspiring school counselors…
Do you ever ask yourself, “What resources could help me with my initiative?” or, “How would someone else have handled that situation?” or even, “Is there anyone else dealing with the same challenge that I am?”
School counseling and other educational professionals…
Do you have knowledge that can help school counselors? Do you know of great resources or have inspirational experiences to share?
Then please Join us for Q&A Day on #SCCrowd on Tuesday, December 17th!
Using the hashtag #SCCrowd, ask a question that is inspired by something from your day (or anything else that might be on your mind). When you leave work for the day, check out #SCCrowd and see if you have an answer or follow-up to someone’s question.
Then from 6:30-7:30 MST and 8:30-9:30 PM EST Tuesday night, join for a live chat on #SCCrowd to help answer questions that haven’t been addressed yet.
Get answers to your questions and help others out there in the School Counselor Crowd! Ask a question, share and answer, join the chat. Anyway you participate can help you grow your PLN!
Q&A Day on #SCCrowd – All day on Tuesday, December 17th
Sponsored by School Counselor Crowdsourcing – @SCCrowd
Live Chat on #SCCrowd 8:30-9:30 PM EST, moderated by @rawolfson & @SSpellmanCann
Again we were pleased with the turnout for the second #SCCrowd on December the 17th. Here is transcript 2 .
We really hope more school counsellors and educators from across the world will join us. This is a way we can collaborate with you and who knows what impact this will have on our professional development and most importantly the positive impact it will have on our students. Looking forward to seeing you in the CROWD #SCCrowd that is.
FYI: If you notice we interchangeably use counsellor with 2 LL ’s and counselor with one L , here is why :
Canadian spelling 2 LL’s
American spelling 1L
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Lessons for a New School Counsellor : Lesson 12 Take Time to Rejuvenate
Lesson 12 Take Time to Rejuvenate
Here is : Lessons 1-11
School Counselling can be a very demanding career. Although I dearly love what I do, I know it can be extremely exhausting as well as invigorating. We often hear difficult stories and that can be energy draining. For many students Christmas can be a tough time. It is important for us to take time to heal as well. I am so grateful that I can assist students with their concerns at this time of year, but I also need to slow down and pay attention to how I think , feel and act.
My student counsellor has worked extremely hard from September until now assisting students and their families with concerns that are not always easy. He too needs a break so he can regroup and come back to school refreshed. The following article discusses compassion fatigue and is such an important topic for any new school counsellor, but also seasoned counsellors to pay attention to as well.
Click to access Self_Care_and_the_School_CounsellorArticle.pdf
- Compassion … Be good to yourself …
So this Christmas season enjoy time with your loved ones, rest and rejuvenate , do something fun so that you can continue to make a difference in what you do.
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Lessons For A New School Counsellor … Lesson 11
Lesson 11:
Lessons 1-10 can be found here.
Engaging the students and staff is critical when it comes to school counselling. There are many ways to engage the students whether it is one to one or in groups. At the end of every session I check in with the student to see how the session went. I will often ask something like how are you feeling about what we talked about and did in session today? What is the one thing you will use as a result of our time together? This allows me to gage if I have been helpful and if there is something I said that the student connected with.
It is also very important to develop relationships with your staff. If they feel you are helpful they will most likely refer a student to you. We are all working together to enhance the success of all students so if students see us collaborating in their best interest while always maintaining confidentiality we will best be able to help them.
Engaging Staff. Get to know your staff. Take time to have lunch with them. It is good for you to take a break and get out of your office. Assisting students can be very draining at times especially if you are addressing more serious issues, so get out of your office and make time to recharge. Self- Care is important.
What are your ideas for student and staff engagement ? Please share below.
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I Will Remember … Will you?
cc Image by Bill Barber
Remembrance Day is always a day of reflection. Our Remembrance Day Celebration at school this year was exceptionally well done. I had to choke back the tears several times during our ceremony. One of those remembered was Cpl Nathan Hornburg , a Bishop Carroll alumni who was struck by shrapnel during a mortar attack in Afghanistan while trying to repair his tank at the age of twenty- four ( the age of my own daughter) . I cannot imagine the grief and loss that his and other parents have had to endure. On this day Nathan’s dad joined us at Bishop Carroll in our Remembrance Day celebration. I could hear a pin drop. Our football team wore their jerseys in remembrance. As I looked across the gym floor I noticed one of our students with special needs was holding her hand over her heart as she sang O’ Canada. Another of the many touching moments. I must say I am so proud to be in a school where students , staff and many parents come together to pay tribute and remember.
Growing up on a military base I was surrounded by men and women who had a history of serving. My grandfather served in World War 2. This Haiku Deck is in tribute to him and the men and women like him who have served their country so that we may have the freedom that we do today. I am grateful.
Click here for : In Remembrance Haiku Deck
Below is one of my all time favorite Remembrance Day videos. It makes me stop and think every year. It is only a pittance of time.
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Mental Health Literacy Training
This week I was extremely fortunate to be Certified as a Trainer for the Mental Health Literacy Program facilitated by renowned psychiatrist Dr. Stan Kutcher
I was excited to be able to participate, as I have known about Dr. Kutcher’s work for a while. I am happy to say all four days were absolutely worth it. I left feeling I had learned many things that will assist me in my professional work and as a result impact the lives of the students we serve in our school community. I also loved his dry wit which absolutely kept me engaged during the process.
The training has fabulous resources for school counsellors, educators and mental health workers to utilize. This program is one of the best I have seen in a long time. It is rich in content, research, and resources.
When it comes to mental health we want students to:
CONNECT
- With someone they trust like their teacher advisor , teacher, coach or other significant adult in the school who can then assist them in connecting …
CONNECTING
- With their school counsellor who can assist them in connecting with their doctor, health care provider and or parents to assist them with their mental health concerns
One of important things that Dr. Stan Kutcher discussed during the four days is the difference between:
- Mental Health Distress (one example lose your keys)
- Mental Health Problem (one example a parent dies)
- Mental Health Disorder/Illness (one example clinical depression)
Too often we do not normalize what young people are feeling. It is normal to feel sad after a break up, but that does not mean the student is in a clinical depression. We need to teach our young people the difference between distress, problem and disorder and the Mental Health Curriculum Guide does just that. It teaches students and educators the Mental Health Literacy that they need in today’s world based on present day research on the brain.
If you want to learn more you can take a quiz here to get you started…
Below I will share a few of the fantastic resources available. You may want to book a training in your area if you do contact @TMentalHealth
Digital storytelling:
Panic Disorder:
Coping with suicidal thoughts:
http://teenmentalhealth.org/resources/entries/coping-with-suicidal-thoughts/
Depression:
I really hope educators from around the globe will consider this fantastic program as part of any initiative that will benefit every student and family in their school and community.
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Plan for Making a Difference Online
Making A Difference Online
1:10-2:00 p.m.
Susan TOPIC Digital citizenship 15 minutes
- Haiku Deck ]http://www.haikudeck.com/p/seBRTsh6wd/digital-citizenship-bchs
- Be a Digital Citizen (2mins. 13 seconds)
- Digital Dossier Video:4 minutes 23 seconds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA&feature=share&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhRhUa0Zet5__9yfLX8NRvb3
Marc Global Citizenship
- Global Digital Citizenship
Tremendous Growth of Easily Accessible Information
- 1993 vs 2013
So much information, but…
- Benefits vs problems
Tremendous Growth of Ability to Connect and Communicate
- 1993 vs 2013
Ease of communication, but…
- Benefits vs problems
- In 2013, we have tremendous ability to access information and communicate with others…
- In 2013 we have tremendous power to engage, connect, and advocate.
- So what?
What is this ability for?
- Mindless entertainment?
- http://youtu.be/_OBlgSz8sSM
- Negative influences?
- Business? Marketing?
…or can we aspire to something greater?
Remember this?
Can we do better?
- Syria – Civil War
- Toronto – Street Car Shooting
- KONY 2012
Peter Making Positive Connections
- Remind 101
You can use social media to Make the World A Better Place
THINK before you post how are you going to do this?
What we want students to know:
- Being online can make a positive difference in your life. Students throughout the world are doing great things online.
- Act on and off line as if the world is watching because they are.
- Learn all you can about being a good digital citizen. Google digital citizenship
- Act with integrity on and off line
- Be aware of your digital identity google yourself
- Research creative commons and be able to explain it to a younger student.
- You can build a positive reputation on line
- You can be a positive creator
- Your reputation is created by YOU
Digital Citizenship has a place in every school and we need to focus on the positive aspects of the internet as well as the things that concern us.
We want students to ask themselves:
- What are the creative opportunities on the web?
- What are the ethical dilemmas?
- What are the rewards and the risks of being on line?
It is important to find great examples on the internet of students doing things to not only improve their own opportunities, but to improve the lives of those in their school, communities, and around the world. We would like to encourage students to look for these great examples as well.
I’d like to see schools focus on those students who Make A Difference Online by providing them with a scholarship that recognizes all the good they do online. Anyone interested in providing one?
Here is a great example of students doing amazing things:
As educators we need to create our own digital footprint and model good Digital Citizenship for our students. Taking Care Of Your Digital Self highlights the importance of a positive digital presence.
When teaching Digital Citizenship we need students to recognize that they need to be the same person ON and OFF line.
We need to ask students:
- If I were to look you up online what would I find?
- What would you want others to find?
- If your grandmother googled you would she be proud of what she found?
- What is your digital tattoo? Find out more information at http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/
We want students at Bishop Carroll to show great citizenship skills:
- Positive attitude
- Proactive
- Connected
- Engaged Thinkers
- Ethical Citizens
- Entrepreneurial Spirited
- Sharing, and creation of new knowledge and learning to help others.
Here is an activity students can do.: Choose what happens next … a you tube video that is interactive
Digital citizenship is so important and what we do with students matters.
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Lessons For A New School Counsellor Post #2
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
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.
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World Suicide Prevention Day
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. As School Counsellors we need to talk about this very important topic. We need to break down the stigma, one conversation or one assembly at a time. Our students could be at risk. Sadly, sometimes we can miss the warning signs.
In our opening school retreat we address this issue directly and let all students know we are there to assist them to provide HOPE and support.
We let students know that even if they are not at risk he/she may need to help a friend. Evidence suggests that youth are more likely to talk to their peers about their thoughts of suicide so we need to reinforce in students that they cannot keep suicidal thoughts a secret. We would much rather they had an angry friend than a dead friend.
Later this month we have every grade ten student take a manditory suicide prevention workshop through Canada Mental Health.
Our HOPE is that all students will reach out and get the help and supports they need. Our young people are precious and we want to keep them to understand they have a purpose and are meant to be here.
Counsellor Talk : Connecting with those who want to make a difference. 