Recipe for a Great National School Counselor Week!


Here is my first post of the new year!  I am super excited to be able to share ideas with all my fellow high school counselors.  Although this next event does not occur until February, I intentionally decided to write about this subject early because it takes some planning to do it right.  So, let's dig in!!

It's that special time of year again...National School Counseling Week!  Our time to show the world who we are and what we contribute to our schools.  This year's theme is School Counseling: The Recipe For Success!  You have one month to prepare because this celebration occurs during the week of February 1-5, 2016.
Whether this is your first or your tenth time celebrating our  awesome profession, I want to share some ideas with you!  Now, what about those of you who have never considered or had the time to celebrate (probably because you are too busy with testing, RTI, or substituting...sigh)?  Please take a minute to read this article from Patrick O'Connor called Why You Should Celebrate School Counseling Week. I think it will help show you the importance of this celebration for our longevity!!
 Celebrating National School Counselor's Week

Now, let's get started!!

First, we should show off our street cred.  ASCA offers this awesome school counselor t-shirt that counselors can order to wear during the week. 

Notice the word guidance is omitted...love it!

Also, if you want to make an additional statement, you can find other t-shirt designs from the Middle School Counselor and Tee Spring for NSCW!!

Next, go to the ASCA site to find free printable forms, ideas, posters, and resources to use during the week. Here are some of the resources:

  1. Proclamation -have your superintendent or principal sign the school counseling week proclamation.
  2. Certificate of Appreciation-give out certificates to staff members who support your work as a school counselor.
  3. Sample Morning Announcements - educate staff and students about the work of the school counselor. Remember, we have to toot our horns from time to time.

In addition, think about buying some materials to advertise that National School Counselor Week is coming.  Some materials include posters, pencils, stickers, and door hangers. Remember, you can always make your own by using Vistaprint.

NSCW Posters from ASCA $5.00


Door Hangers-$5.00

I Love My School Counselor Stickers-$3.00

Download and order your materials here:

Now, if you are like me, you may need a little help coming up with creative ideas of how to celebrate this awesome week.  Here are some additional ideas for National School Counselor Week:
  • Create a flyer to share with your staff about school counseling.  Often, staff members ask "so what do you do all day?"  Put that mystery to rest! 
Here is an example of a flyer created from The School Counselor Kind blog.
What does a school counselor do?

  • Create a daily message about school counseling. Here are some examples by my friend, Carol Miller from the Middle School Counselor Blog.
  • Share and print out funny school counselor memes. Check out this post by Rebecca Atkins of funny memes.

Funny memes!!

  • Create thank you gifts for your staff.  This takes imagination and believe me, I need help with creativity. Therefore, I have included these cool water bottle templates for created by the awesome Danielle Schultz of the School Counselor Blog.
  • Say thank you with candy.  Some additional templates of how to create a cute candy thank you for staff members are available in this post from Confessions of a School Counselor !
Need more ideas?  See this list of ideas from Missouri School Counselor Association.

Oh, not enough ideas?  Here is another list from Texas School Counselor Association.

Finally, feel free to check out an older post from 2014 and my  Pinterest page on National School Counselor Week!



Now its your turn...please share your ideas for celebrating NSCW at your school!

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