BINDERS! ... but maybe too many?

So, I love binders. When I started in my career at the beginning of last year, there were papers and lessons and worksheets ALL OVER THE PLACE. Plus with having two buildings, I had some stuff at one school and other stuff at the other school. I made it my mission to, by the end of the year, have a binder at each building labeled for each topic (Bullying, Harmony, Excellence, etc.). Whenever I get something new, I make two copies, put one at each building, and I am set.

This bottom shelf has my binders for lessons, character education, etc.

I also have others binders that were maybe a better idea when I first started... I have several binders at each building with tabs for different committee meetings, faculty meetings, Elementary counselor meetings, all-district counselor meetings, etc. And now what I have is a stack of papers at each building because I don't feel like finding the right tab and filing all these things. 

So, in my attempt to become more paper-less, I have found this:

Now, maybe you've heard of Evernote, maybe not. I had but had never looked into what it is. In a nutshell, Evernote is a note-taking program. 
Did I just lose you? Hang in there, seriously this can help you! Here's how...

- Go to Evernote 
- Create a FREE Account (now, you can make a Premium account, but come on, we work in Public Education- who has $$ for that? Go get it free!)
- After that and after you log in, you will find this screen

I just started using it, so yours will look a lot like mine!

Now, if you're anything like me, you will have a LOT of different "hats" you wear... Luckily, Evernote can let you make as many "Notebooks" as you need to file your notes in.

These are just a few of the meetings/ committees I attend

So you have all these Notebooks, now what.
Well, on that main screen, it said "+ New Note"
Click it...

Then you just start typing. I am making the "title" as the date. I don't need to put what the meeting is since I can select what Notebook it goes in. 

So you've taken some notes, GREAT! But then tomorrow, the meeting "recorder" emails or hard-copies the actual minutes from the meeting to you. Now you have to print those off and file them. Or make a special folder in your email which is already bogged down enough...

With Evernote, all you have to do is Attach that file to the note and delete it from your email/ computer. Evernote stores it!

The good thing is also that the note automatically saves so you don't really have to worry about losing it. 

I was lucky enough before Christmas Break to get to order an iPad Air and guess what... THERE'S AN APP! So you don't have to lug your laptop into a meeting. It's just as easy from the app.

So maybe this will work for you and maybe it won't. Maybe you have a better way of keeping notes. One of my New Year SMART Goals (coming in a later post) is to do a better job of keeping track of meeting notes/ data. Either way, do what works for you but please don't be afraid to try something new!

I'd love to hear how YOU do minutes/ meeting notes.

-JW

Merry Christmas

From AFellowSchoolCounselor to all my fellow school counselors, friends, cohorts, and readers- I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I pray you all have a GLORIOUS New Year full of blessings and achievement! 

-JW

Where to put all these Board Games?!

I'm not sure if any of you have this same problem... but I am acquiring a large amount of board games and only have so much space to put them. At my Wildcat's school it's especially bad- I have one small bookshelf for student to pick off of and one large bookshelf with doors (that I keep all my counseling books, lessons, workbooks, etc.). I have asked for a bigger bookshelf to keep student activities on but have heard nothing... *chirp chirp*.

So I determined if I can't make the bookshelf bigger, I'll make the stuff smaller... Here's how:

I took a second to see where my games are.

Here are the majority of them (the ones students use most)

Here are some more tucked away in my bench seat.

Plus I have ordered four more and have some at my parents' house I was going to bring in. But I am running out of room. So here's what I did during my lunch today... I first assessed which games needed kept in boxes (Don't Break The Ice, Topple, Mancala, etc.) and set them aside. With the remaining games, I took ALL the pieces, boards, and instructions out of the boxes and cut the boxes down. I felt so wrong cutting a game's box :) But I knew it was for a good cause. I kept the top of the box (minus all the sides cut off) and one of the sides. I threw the bottoms and the scraps away.

Here are some of the edge pieces I cut and kept.

I put all the pieces in small Ziploc Bags and put a piece of the edge (from the box) in the Ziploc with it. This way I would know for definite which pieces went with which game.

Chess and Checkers

I only had Snack Sized Ziplocs so some of them had to be separated or clipped together.

The spinner was too big to go in the bag- I'm going to get some bigger Ziplocs to fix that.

Then I put all the Ziplocs in a basket I had sitting around empty in my office.

However, I may need a bigger basket at some point :)

So then I took all the boards and stood them in an empty thirty-one organizer my wife bought me. 

It's a little too narrow so I may look around a see if I can find an empty milk crate or something.

Since some of the boards were black and easily mixed up, I put the top of the original box in front of it. I have a label maker and may label the boards instead of relying on the box's top... not sure yet...

I want to play... um... Chutes and Ladders!

So now I have all my "board games" sitting my my trunk (which is handy, since that is where my kids like to sit anyways)...

Plus it freed up a TON of space on my bookshelf and in my trunk!

Some games stayed but a huge space is empty now!

All the instructions to the games are in the trunk in a file-folder in case we need them!

Useless trash and space I don't need!

So now I'm thinking I may do the same at my Falcons school... and maybe at home! 

Hope this helps some of you clear out a little more space in your offices! Don't be afraid to take games out of the boxes... A lot of them had SOOO much wasted space it was ridiculous. And I need all the space I can get!

Have a great Holiday and a very Merry Christmas!!!!

-JW

How To Teach Integrity??

When I started this career, I knew certain character traits would be more difficult to teach than others. How to Respect others, taking care of our Responsibilities, and Caring for others were some I knew would be easy. 

But Harmony- yea that one was harder. 

Excellence- hard to teach how to be Excellent.

But our Character Trait this month is Integrity- and one of the more difficult concepts to teach. It's really hard for students to understand the concept of doing the right thing for no specific reason other than it's the right thing to do. Why should I "do the right thing even when no one is looking". They can spout it off verbatim but do they really live it? It took a lot of searching but I found some awesome activities to use. Plus, since our district just finished with Math and Science Nights, I made my activities focus on Integrity through a science viewpoint... And two of my favorites (so far) are these:

My First graders got to read The Empty Pot by Demi. 

An AWESOME book that teaches the importance of telling the truth and doing the right thing even when no one else is.

After discussing key concepts from the book, students wrote a sentence about Integrity on a napkin, folded it and placed it in a small Ziploc. The kids then got to place a magic seed (a Pinto Bean) in their bag and we watered it. We talked about how the Integrity washes off the napkin and onto the bean and the kids get to watch other the next few days the bean sprout roots (and how we all grow with Integrity)! The kids love doing it and they think it's cool how the seeds germinate almost overnight!

Next, our Third Graders learned that when we do the right thing (even if no one is directly impacted), it changes the atmosphere, the composition, and the makeup of the entire school. We read The Principal's New Clothes by Stephanie Calmenson.

It's a funny school-related take on The Emperor's New Clothes and it's an older book but for some reason my Third Graders really like it. We talk about how the entire school learns to do the right thing no matter who sees or what others think. But then we talk about Invisible Cloth... and Invisible Ink. :)

"But Mr. Allen, there's no such thing!"

Oh yea?! Well I love science. So here's what we do. I give them all a piece of paper, have them write their name on it, and then flip it over to the blank side. Every student then gets a new writing tool...

Wax makes an awesome writing medium... :) EWWW

Students get so defensive that it's not a writing tool. So I ask for an example of a writing tool... and I get "a pencil!"

I ask them what a pencil is made of and they respond "wood". But does it write with the wood or need something else. Well duh, it needs something else- The lead graphite! So then they all get a small cup of liquid to write with (much like our Forefathers used quills and ink, my students used Q-Tips and an acidic liquid- either lemon juice, orange juice, or vinegar... whichever I have in my house).

I then ask them to dip their Q-Tip and write on their paper HOW they show Integrity in school (a specific example). And slowly students realize they can't se what's written. Neither can I. Neither can their neighbors. Neither can their teachers.

Their papers done and dried "blank"

However, we show Integrity everyday EVEN IF NO ONE CAN SEE IT! Why? Because it's still there and it still affects other students, teachers, parents, etc. And sometimes, a little change can reveal that Integrity and can show how much we care about others.

I take the papers home that night and place them four-at-a-time in my oven set to Low Broil.

And something amazing happens...

The writing burns quicker (because of the acid) and their little acts of Integrity show through!

The next day I hang them in the hall so EVERYONE can see how Third Grade is showing Integrity (even if they THINK no one can see!)

Science meets Counseling! New twist on an old concept. Gets them thinking and engaged. I LOVE IT!

-JW

Setting Goals... and Keeping Them!

As I think about goals, I think about my goal to write a post once a week... BWAHAHAHA! Yea, that has slipped. But I have not given up and will continue to try my best for the six of you that actually read my blog :)

But in thinking about Goal Setting, I wanted to share something that my Falcons school does for goals (and that I would love to implement at our Wildcats school).

When I started last year, our Principal and Librarian had a program going for 9-week goal setting. 

During Library time, every 9 weeks (at the end of the grading period) our students would come up with an academic goal and try to achieve it. If they achieved it, they got a sucker and we took their pictures and hung them on a bulletin board by the Library. They would also get an extra recess (free-time in the gym or outside) during the next week's Library time. It's a fantastic way to get them accustomed to setting goals and working towards them and some positive reward for a job well done!

However, when I started, our Principal kind of "handed" the program over to me and I am in-charge of it now. And we have made some technological changes :)

Before: 
Student would have a sheet of 8.5x11 paper that said:

Name:_____
1st 9 week goal:_____
2nd 9 week goal:_____
3rd 9 week goal:_____
4th 9 week goal:_____

We had one sheet for every student, 1st-6th. All split up by classroom in a filing cabinet in the Library. Every nine weeks, we would get out the almost 300-sheets of paper and check each student to see if they had met their goal or not. This also meant that for nine weeks, the students had NO idea what their goal was because frankly, let's admit it, they forget! And with them closed up in a filing cabinet in a closet in the Library, no one wants to ask to see it and frankly, no one wants to go rummaging around to find it.

Not an effective system.

After:
At the beginning of this year, I asked our Librarian how long she keeps the goal sheets (for data purposes). She told me that at the end of every year she pitches them... Every year almost an entire ream of paper trashed. Holy Smokes!

So we came up with a new plan. 

I created a Google Doc (yea, these things are SUPER useful!) that looks a little something like this:

I call up students one-by-one during their Library time (while they're finding a book) and we select their teacher (drop down menu), which 9-weeks it is (drop down menu with 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th), put their name, and type their goal. Older grades get to type their own and little kids are AMAZED at seeing their name and teacher on it. Then we hit submit and the information goes into a spreadsheet that looks like this:

All I have to do is print it out and I get a 1-page document with everyone's goal per class (I added a check-mark column to be able to check off if they made their goal or not). 

So I now have a 10-page document per grading period that is about 1/30th of what we had before. I give one copy of each class' to the teacher (in case their students want to know) and I keep a copy.

Next 9-weeks, we do the same process and at the end, I can sort by name to be able to see each students' progress with their goals. 

I LOVE this process and the students love seeing their progress with goals and really enjoy trying to beat each other. Going tech has really cut down on the time and, let's face it, it's pretty cool too! Plus all the paper we save!! It also gives me track-able data to show what I have done with students and I count it as a classroom lesson (since every time we meet we go over what makes a good goal, how we can achieve our goal, etc.)

Do you do any school-wide goal setting at your school?

Let me know!

And as always, have a great day!

-JW

Parent University

Last year, our Social Worker came up with a brilliant (interpreted as CRAZY) notion. 

"Guys, I got an idea..."

These 5 words rarely lead to something easy to accomplish- but they do often lead to something AMAZING. 

Tabby, our Social Worker and integral part of our Elementary Counseling Team, wanted to create an evening where parents could come and attend mini-sessions that would focus on parenting issues. On paper, it seemed easy. In reality, not so much. But what we did, was create an evening of not only mini-sessions for parents, but free dinner (yep, FREE)... free door-prizes for all attendees (yep, FREE)... and free CHILDCARE (are you hearing me?!?!). Plus we did one per semester. 

I'm not sure how we didn't have parents beating down our doors! 

So why stop at one year... why not do it again.

SO here's a basic guideline of what we did:

     1.) Pick a school, pick a day.
We have six Elementary Schools so we wanted to be able to use all six school eventually. We're focused on using the Elementary Schools because it's for parents of Elementary aged students! Our MS and HS do parent nights but we wanted to do something District wide. Also, make sure you try and avoid school functions, church activities, and Fridays :) This year, ours was on a Thursday from 5:30pm- 7:30pm.

     2.) Just because it's free to parents, does NOT mean it's free to put on!
Yea, we needed funding. Last year, our PTO's were phenomenal at donating money. Each school's PTO donated $50 (equaling $300 to use)! While this may not seem like a ton of money, you must become resourceful.

     3.) Get the word out!
Some parents get tired of their kids bringing home stuff... TOO BAD! We started by sending a Save-The-Date card home. Then a survey where parents could pick up to six different topics that they may be interested in attending. We used this information to help determine what topics to get presenters on. Also they could mark if they were planning on coming and if so, how many kids they would bring. Just because it was directed for parents of Elementary aged students, doesn't mean we didn't want the whole family to come! Moms, dads, siblings, bring em! 

     4.) If you feed them, they will come.
Seriously, provide dinner! The first time we did it, our School Lunch company catered for us. But, it was pretty costly. So this year, we reached out. Papa Johns gave us a HECK of a deal on pizzas. So pizza dinner, with salad (thanks Wal-Mart), dressings (thanks local restaurant), cookies (thanks local bakery), and lemonade (bought from Wal Mart and served in a big 5gal. orange drink cooler- thanks Delta Gamma!).

     5.) Get volunteers!
Parent volunteers- check! Teacher volunteers- check! Community volunteers- check! Our six presenters... ALL local community members from Mental Health professionals, pastors, Behavior Consultants, parents, etc. Our food: served by teacher volunteers from all six buildings. Registration: done by teacher and parent volunteers. Childcare: Media Specialist, Art Teacher, and Gym Teacher. 

     6.) Reward Them!
We had two half-hour sessions where parents could pick from three sessions to attend (six in all and parents got to attend two). Some parents were smart and split up, giving them 4/6 sessions attended. In the folders they received during registration, they had an Evaluation to fill out (ALWAYS GET DATA!). When they turned in their Evaluation, they received a door prize.
What kind of door prize? DONATIONS!!! Local restaurants, fast food, barbers, nail salons, chiropractors, insurance groups, hair salons, Library, Wal Mart, Marsh, pizza places, -You name it, we went there asking for donations. And many said YES!
We also did have to buy some (candles, books, family movies, games, crafts- all focused on building a stronger family!).

So, was it hard? You betcha! 

Was it worth it? 100% YES!

I would encourage you to look into creating a night of family-focused learning for your parents. It'll be worth it too!

-JW

Whew!

Wow, what a whirlwind of a month! I realized it had been almost a month since my last post and almost as long since I've been through my Feedly posts. Obviously the past month has been crazy for everyone but here's a quick recap before I go into what's coming up:

Donuts With Dad- HUGE SUCCESS! Plus I got to have a Donut with my daughter ;)

Red Ribbon Week- My favorite!

I had over 450 signatures at BOTH schools ... All pledging to live their lives Drug Free (and yea, I made the banners~ they matched our Ribbons and the theme "Text Me... Drug Free")

We also had theme days such as "Put a LID on Drugs" (Hat Day), "Turn Your BACK On Drugs" (Backward Shirt Day), and "SHADE Out Drugs" (Sunglasses Day). We don't get too crazy with our theme days :( - something I may be changing soon LOL

Falcon's Fall Literacy Day- This is where we take one whole day and create a 40 minute rotation with stations focused on learning in different Fall-themed ways. From estimating seeds in a pumpkin to learning music and sounds to Vivaldi's Four Seasons to running an obstacle course outside. I was in charge of the K-2 Obstacle Course... and since it was the day after Halloween, I wanted to dress up. SO my Obstacle Course was The Justice League and each obstacle paired with a super hero. We also talked about how reading stories gives us a glimpse into how we can be super everyday... guess what superhero I was?...

I "borrowed" this Clark Kent idea from a fellow School Counselor "cedric324" on Instagram :)

Fall Break- for a whole week... need I say more?

Bulletin Board- So last year I BEGGED for a Bulletin Board at my Wildcat's school... well, over summer break they gave me one... in my office. Where as I had meant in the hallway, I took what I could get. And in my excitement at the beginning of the year, I put green paper on it and border and waited for that one GREAT idea... that three months later FINALLY came. I got the idea from Barbara over at The Corner On Character. Her school does an AMAZING job on character and one of her school bulletin boards was a word search highlighting their school's Pillars. Well, we have our RICHER Principles (Respect, Integrity, Caring, Harmony, Excellence  and Responsibility). So, with a little online help, I created a giant word search featuring all the Principles and lessons we teach and created this:

Every month, I'll change the "search word" and put red yarn over the word that has already been found

Office Rearranged- My Wildcat office has never been my favorite. So I have been changing it around. We had a large trunk in our garage (you know, the kind that goes at the foot of a bed) and it wasn't being used. So I took it in, am using it for seating, and slid my table back. Gave me a lot more space and storage! And man, we all love storage. I have also started using my laptop and am thinking about getting rid of my GIANT junky desk and getting a small table to keep supplies on and clearing up more space. Maybe I'll get a couch? :)

Parent University- This is what's coming up. Every year, the Elementary Counselors and Social Worker (the four of us) host an evening of Free Family Pizza Dinner, Free Childcare, a movie, and Free little class sessions for parents where we have different topics they can go a learn about (Anger Management, Discipline, Grandparents in a parenting role, etc.). The event is this Thursday so I will be posting about it later. Pray for us!

Well, that's all for now. I promise not to hiatus for a month at a time... that is if anyone is actually reading this :) Later I'll write about some AWESOME lessons regarding Harmony and how our school does 9 Week Goal setting! Super fun!

Later gaters!

JW