National School Counseling Week - Day 5

Today was the final day of National School Counseling Week! To finish off the week, I brought in chocolate chip cookies, individual fudge brownies, and Hershey's hugs. I included a sign that said "STRESSED? DESSERTS! Stressed is just Desserts spelled backwards". I also included the stress-buster tips that I set out on Wednesday as well as my original sign and more copies of my brochure. I think the teachers and staff really enjoyed all of the little treats all week and I enjoyed bringing everything in.

One of the 1st grade classes made me an acrostic poem and presented it to me today. They came up with some really wonderful words and it was so touching as they read it to me. It really makes me love my job when the students remember what we have been discussing - they used Problem-Solving for the P in my name.

National School Counseling Week - Day 4

Day 4 of National School Counseling Week brought some more small treats for the faculty and staff. I bought packs of Now and Later candies and included an address label sticker on the back that says "If you need to talk NOW or LATER, school counselors are here to for you too!" I wanted to let the faculty and staff know that I am available for them as well as the students.

When I got into work on Thursday, my principal's son had a very nice surprise for me - blue hydrangeas! They are beautiful and look great on my desk in my pencil vase. It made me feel great and let men know how much I am valued at my school! I also got a call from my old principal wishing me a happy school counseling week. It is nice to know that they are still thinking of me at my old school. Tomorrow is the last day of National School Counseling Week and I have one more idea up my sleeve...

National School Counseling Week - Day 3

For day 3 of National School Counseling Week, I sported my new school counseling t-shirt! I ordered this for about $4 on Vista Print. It says "I Heart School Counseling". I really wanted one of those "super power" shirts that I have been seeing - the ones that say something like "I'm a counselor. What's your super power?" I couldn't find any, and this shirt was only $4 so I went for it! I got a lot of nice compliments from the teachers and I hope that it promoted my program even more.

Since I brought in edible treats the past two days, I decided to go with something a little different today. I found an adorable poem about bubble wrap stress relief online. I printed the poem on card stock and added some green scrapbook paper the coordinated with my bucket. I bought some bubble wrap at Dollar Tree and cut it into small squares to fill the bucket. I also made copies of some stress relief tips for teachers. I included my original "thank you" sign from Monday as well as some extra brochures. The bubble wrap was a big hit - many teachers took a few squares to pop throughout the day.

National School Counseling Week - Day 2

Day 2 of National School Counseling Week was a little more low-key. I bought mini 100 Grand bars and printed off address labels that say "Your support of the School Counseling Program is worth 100 Grand!". I put them in all of the teacher and staff members mailboxes. It's just a little way of saying thank you and giving my co-workers a little pick-me-up. Who doesn't like chocolate??

National School Counseling Week - Day 1

Happy National School Counseling Week! This is a great week to promote school counseling programs to administrators, teachers, students, and parents. To kick off the week, I baked muffins for the faculty and staff. I put the muffins, a note thanking the teachers for their support, and copies of my counseling program brochure in the teachers lounge. The muffins were a big hit and I was surprised at how many of my brochures were taken throughout the day! I had to replenish the supply a few times!

During my lessons throughout this week, I will be quizzing the students on the different parts of my job. I have pencils and stickers to hand out if they answer a question. I ordered return address stickers from Vista Print that say "My School Counselor thinks I am a SHINING STAR! School Counseling Week 2012: Helping Students Be Brilliant". I picked up several packs of pencils at Dollar Tree. I have a few simple questions to ask the students such as "What are the three main ways I work with students? (classroom lessons, small group/lunch bunch, and individually), "What are the virtues we have learned about so far this year? (responsibility, respect, stewardship, kindness, honesty, and citizenship), and "What are the two weeks we celebrated with a school-wide poster in the main hallway? (Red Ribbon Week and No Name-Calling Week)."