October is bullying awareness month and there are lots of opportunities to support students and bring awareness to this issue that impacts so many students. 10-5-15 Blue Shirt Day Start the month of October by encouraging students to wear blue to stomp out bullying.
10-13-15 Encourage leadership at your school by promoting the "Let's Make a New Friend" campaign. Give your students ideas about how to make a friend with a peer at their school who they do not know. Some ideas include inviting that student to an after school activity or club meeting; asking him/her to sit with them at lunch; or starting a conversation with someone who sits alone on the bus. 10-21-15 Unity Day Encourage students to wear orange to take a stand against bullying. Take photos and post them to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook using #UnityDay2015. Also, get the staff involved in the campaign byasking them to wear an orange ribbons during the day.
You can order additional shirts designed by celebrities at this link! Here is one that I like for myself created by actress Allison Stoner!!
Some additional activities from PACERS includes:
You are Not Alone Kit - toolkit that can assist you in creating schools where students feel empowered.
Digital Petition - Have your students go to this link to sign the petition to stand against bullying at their school.
Project Connect - Create an orange unity chain and put up your cafeteria or another high visibility area.
Create a school wide unity banner and have students to sign it. Here is one that you can order from PACERS.
10-27-15 Make kindness go viral by participating in acts of kindness in your school like posting positive messages in the bathroom, lockers, and in the hallways.
Need more ideas? Check out this Educator Informational page from STOMP Out Bullying. From the For High School Counselors Blog: Check out my post from 2013 for additional ideas, links and resources. Also, check out my blog on the importance of helping those who are bullied. Hope you got some good ideas, but please feel free to share your ideas with me as well!!
I would like to take the focus off school counselors for moment and shine the spotlight on our principals. Over the years, I have some really remarkable principals who valued my job as a school counselor while others barely recognized my existence. However, I have always determined that I would be supportive of that principal whether he or she was my biggest cheerleader or critic.
According to the ASCA, the three major components of developing an effective principal-counselor relationship include:
mutual trust
effective communication
a shared vision
While these are definitely important, there are additional characteristics. These characteristics include:
opportunities to share ideas
school counselor participation on leadership teams
joint responsibility in the development of goals
mutual respect
shared decision making on student success initiatives
So, regardless if your principal is Ron Clark or Principal Trunchbull (Matilda), National Principals' Month (every October) is a great way to show your principal that you appreciate his/her leadership and commitment. Check out the following list of ideas and I am sure you will find something in this list to help you establish a better relationship with your principal!
Principal Trunchball
Ron Clark
List of Ideas
Set up a banner where students, staff, and parents can write notes of appreciation.
Create a giant "thank you" card from staff members.
Provide a weekly treat for your principal.
Write letters of support to your superintendent showing support for the principal.
Decorate your principal's door showing appreciation.
Arrange for different staff members and students to show their appreciation each day on the intercom.
Although I missed the chat in real time, I was super excited to read the transcript from #HSCCHAT regarding scholarships for students. This year my youngest child graduates from high school and I am actually in the parent role this time. Finding scholarships was never a interest for my other two kids, but this kid is different! She is very motivated to write essays, comb numerous websites, collect community service hours, and hold leadership positions. So, since she is actively working the plan, I don't mind helping her search for scholarships. Even though I have extensive knowledge about scholarships, I learned some great tips from Ashley Hill (@prepforcollege) that I think you will find helpful!!
In addition, you can check out #HSCCHAT every 2nd Monday of the month. Next month's chat topic will focus on the SAT and hosted by Lauren Gaggioli.
This year I have a senior with a learning disability who is in the preparation stage for taking one of the exams for college admissions. Even though I talk to parents and students about taking college entrance exams, I feel like a novice when it comes to assisting my own flesh and blood. As I was sitting down tonight to help her gather free study resources, I ran across a Reddit post from students who were talking about how to prepare for the SAT or ACT. At first I was skeptical about their preparation tips, but after researching advice from the "professionals", I found the kids were spot on! So, what do students say about preparing for these exams?
student advice can be useful
Take numerous practice tests.
Practice with official ACT/SAT questions.
"Understand how they make easy questions look more difficult than they
are and make sure you answer the question that they ask you".
"Start early (junior year) and take the tests multiple times if you can.
Almost every student will see their scores improve on their 2nd and even
3rd attempts...after the
3rd attempt, most students' scores tend to hit a plateau".
Practice with time constraints.
Don't take it...thought I would throw that one in for fun!
Although my daughter is rather nonchalant about preparing for her test, expecting to take the SAT or the ACT without a study plan is like an
athlete running a race without ever training for it! So, how much time
do you need to study for the SAT or ACT? According to FastWeb, students need at least three months to really prepare for either exam. In addition to having a good preparation plan, students need to be educated about which test they should take.
In this post, I have included several SAT and ACT resources for you to share with your parents and students.
Myths About the SAT & ACT
Which Test Should I Take?
SAT/ACT Fact Sheet - Give your students & parents a sheet giving an overview of the two tests.
The new SAT rolls out for students on March 5, 2016; therefore, our seniors have to be aware of what to study as they prepare for this exam. So, what are these new changes:
The essay is optional.
No penalty for guessing.
No vocabulary you will never see again.
400-1600 score range.
3 hours without the essay and 3 hours 50 minutes with the essay.
If you have ever had a student to complete suicide, you never forget it. You always think about what you could have said or done differently to change his or her mind. The thought that bothers me most is that suicide is a preventable death. The problem is that the topic is often considered taboo in the majority of schools. Wanting to know more, I decided to join our local suicide coalition to find training and resources to break down the stigma that exists in my community around suicide. Since joining our coalition, I have learned a lot about the signs of suicide, how to speak to parents about an attempt, and what resources to offer our parents and teachers. Thankfully, my confidence has increased and I even train other educators about suicide prevention! School counselors are often expected to be the school expert in suicide awareness and prevention; however, many of my colleagues, including myself, are often petrified when we hear the word. In my humble opinion, I believe that our fear comes from our lack of training, ignorance about protocols, and unfamiliarity with helpful resources. Since September is Suicide Prevention Month, I wanted to share some resources, training, and helpful information.
