2 movies

One movie I would recommend would be Soul Surfer.  It teaches students to persevere no matter what their circumstances.  I think counselors would like it because it's just sooo inspirational.  I used clips from this movie during guidance class one year and the kids loved it.  You can't help but be inspired when you see her try to learn and surf again with just one arm.  The little girls especially enjoyed this and the little boys were drawn in by the SHARK!



I figured this was one movie (Freedom Writers) that lots of people would have on their favorites list but I still had to put it on mine because I have always loved this movie.  I also read the Freedom Writers Diary that inspired the movie.  It covers so many issues but one of the things I loved most about the movie was the since of home and community that was developed in their classroom.  I think the atmosphere in the classroom demonstrated the core conditions that we talk about so much in counseling.  In the students' classroom they felt acceptance, respect, warmth, and caring.  Please take the time to watch it if you haven't seen it already and I'm definitely going to watch it again because I haven't seen it in a while.

Top 20

Top 20 reasons why my school needs a counselor.  Not necessarily in any order.

20.  To teach classroom guidance lessons.
19.  Help students develop better peer relationships and social skills.
18.  Help children learn to set goals and make decisions.
17.  To chair ARC meetings and 504.
16.  To help teachers analyze assessment data
15.  To console kindergarten students on the first day of school.
14.  To teach students what it means to be a "Bucket Filler"
13.  To be on bus duty in the afternoon since I don't have a homeroom!
12.  To set up testing schedules and make sure all walls are clear before accountability testing. Fun!
11.  To help students resolve conflicts.
10.  To help students learn to resolve conflicts without adult assisstance.
9.  To provide small group counseling.
8.  Provide individual counseling.
7.  To teach:  The 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey
6.  To be an extra chaperone on field trips.  This is actually one of the best times to watch children interact with each other.
5.  To provide a comfortable chair in the counselor's office for teachers and staff who just need a minute to sit.
4.  To provide early identification and intervention for children who have personal/social or academic needs.
3.  To help the child, family, and school work together.
2.  To collaborate with parents, teachers, and administrators.
1. To contribute to the academic success of all students.

Week 4

I just thought I would reflect on the past week.  I spent all of my mornings last week with McBrayer kindergarten students doing MAP testing.  The first MAP test for kindergarten students does not always give us  accurate results for reading and math because many of the students are still learning to manipulate the computer mouse.  They have headphones and the test is read to them.  It is very engaging but at this point we are still trying to get them to listen to the entire question before selecting an answer.  It's good practice for them and by the second MAP test most of them have the hang of it.

I spend the majority of my time working with kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year.  I am working with a small group on listening skills and following directions. This is above and beyond what the other students receive during regular classroom guidance lessons. I have also worked with their teacher to help develop a behavior tracking sheet for them.  They are quite a challenging little group. 

My Week

At Tilden Hogge Elementary we began our fall MAP testing this week.  MAP stands for measures of academic progress.  This is a test the students take on the computer to determine instructional levels in reading and math and it measures growth over time.  It is my responsibility to schedule all classes for testing at both Tilden Hogge and McBrayer Elementary kindergarten.  I also stay in the computer lab and help monitor during testing. 

The students always know their scores from the previous MAP test and have a goal for improvement.  We discuss goal setting during guidance class so this is a good way to reinforce those lessons.

During weeks when we are MAP testing, I do not have much extra time to see students on an individual basis but I get to interact with every student in the school.  It will be September 20th before I get all classes completed at Tilden Hogge and McBrayer Kindergarten.

I maintain a website of my own for my school but it is not very comprehensive.  I found an elementary school counselor's website that contains many of the things I would like to include on my own website.  I liked how the website gave a summary of all of the counseling services provided.  There was a Parent Resources page as well as a Student Resources page.  The Parent Resources page provided links to articles addressing commonly asked questions by parents.  A website similar to this could easily address needs of students and parents in my school.  I provided the link to the website below.

http://www.moseslakeschools.org/webpages/jneilson/counselingforms.cfm

I wanted to share a website I use as a resource all of the time for my guidances classes.  For my first guidance lessons of the year, I read books about Bucket Filling. We learn that being a "Bucket Filler" means showing kindness, love, and respect to others. After each guidance lesson during the school year, I give out 2 "Bucket Filler" awards.  Those go to 2 students that have been good listeners during guidance and have shown respect and kindness during the lesson.  There is a Bucket Filling website that I use for free resources.  I print my Bucket Filling certificates from this website.  It has other free resources.  You can also sign up to receive their monthly newsletter.  I have also done some shopping on the website so I have lots of Bucket Fillling items.  Many of you might have used this website but I wanted to share in case you had not.
The link is below:

http://www.bucketfillers101.com/index.php