New Lessons and a Wow Moment...

So much has been going on these past couple weeks, it has been hard to find time to sit down and blog about them! I have a couple posts started but I've been having difficulty figuring out which one to finish and share first.

Our Excellence lessons have ended for the schools and they went fantastically. The students really got into showing how they grow, how they achieve Excellence, and how setting goals can help. I was really proud of the students for getting into it. Since that has ended, we have now moved into Respect and Bullying (oh no... that "B" word that we have all been dreading talking about). We normally do Respect and Bullying in August to start the year, but with new laws coming into effect, our District had to change how we classify Bullying, how we react to Bullying, and how we elicit changes in behaviors to prevent Bullying. Unfortunately, there was a big "hullabaloo" at our Administrative level regarding how we can present school-wide lessons and information on Bullying...

Seriously??

Hello, School Counselor standing RIGHT HERE!

Once the light bulb came on, we lowly Counselors were FINALLY able to present the lessons we had planned since August (but had to pause on while Admin figured who could present them... again, seriously?).

So we have begun our lessons and they are going great! We really try to make everyone understand the difference between Bullying and just plain being mean or rude. Neither are tolerated at our schools... but when EVERYTHING is Bullying, then NOTHING is Bullying. We talk about intent, duration, and effect of behaviors. I love hearing students (even my Kindergartners)  tell me the difference between Bullying and someone being mean or rude. I think language is a powerful thing and proper terminology can go a long way! I'll be sharing some upcoming Bullying lessons here soon.

But I really wanted to share a quick "yea, I love this job" moment I had yesterday. My Wildcat Principal called me into her office first thing (yep, I am 28 years old, 6'4'' and 220 lbs and being called into the Principal's office still scares me). However, she wanted to tell me she had received a call from a woman in Newtown, Conneticut. 

See, the day after Sandy Hook happened, I really felt like our small town in Indiana needed to do something to say "hey, we're praying for you all". So after I told my Principals what I wanted to do, I gave each teacher (at both schools) a container and told the students we would be raising money to send. Not really a battle or a contest. Not a Penny War... just a simple collection. The classroom that raised the most I decided I would buy Pizza for just to say thanks. I also set up a small table with construction paper for them to make cards as they wanted. Simple. 

OH MY... The response was overwhelming. Kids were breaking open Piggy Banks, classrooms were cashing in points for coins, kids were giving us their lunch money (seriously!). I had to buy more construction paper after about two days. 

The other four Elementary schools came aboard and in only four days we raised $2,697.54. Considering the poverty rate in our city and our over 90% FNR population, this was astronomical! We also filled three paper boxes FULL of cards, letters, poems, and pictures. The love that poured out of our students was remarkable.

Jump ahead a year... and unbeknownst to us, there is now an individual in Newtown, Connecticut who has the responsibility of sorting, cataloging  and inventorying ALL post received due to the shooting. I bet no one thought about that! Because of the over one million parcels of mail received, parents and family members have stopped receiving mail and it is being stored until they are ready. And with all that, there is this ONE individual who is reading and sorting and organizing all this mail. 

But, despite all that grief and angst, she read a letter sent by one of our 6th graders (a letter discussing the student's own personal loss) and felt so moved by her story, she wanted to reach out and write back to her! Imagine that... a town that is still in grief and mourning the loss of their loved ones- but she wanted to reach out to our student in small-town Indiana to say "hey, I'm praying for you". So she wrote to her and is sending it back to our school and wanted the Principal or myself to deliver it to the now-7th-grader (and now at the Middle School). Um... Wow. I was speechless. 

Tonight when your done reading this, stop for a moment and say a prayer for this woman who is having to relive the worst day in her life by sorting all these gifts of love... but still finds the strength of compassion and love for others to connect and care. Makes you wonder what kind of School Counselor she would have been :)

With that in mind, I pray all of you have a great week. Remember, even in your own storm, you still have the love and compassion to reach out and calm someone else's.

-JW

Sharing the happiness

In Greek mythology, Atlas and his brother sided with the Titans and waged war against the Olympian gods. When the Titans were defeated, many were locked away... But Atlas was forced to stand on the edge of the Earth and hold the sky up to keep the two from touching. Imagine that- being forced to stand and bear the weight of all the Heavens above the Earth. 

Yea, definitely needed to censor that!

Well, as School Counselors, sometimes we are charged with carrying the weight of the Heavens on our shoulders. Every day we have staff, students, parents, and administrators come to us to confide in us. They come to tell us their sadness, their grief, their anger, and their mourning. They lay upon us their frustration, their anxiety, their embarrassment. They expect us to fix the broken, heal the sick, revive the lost. We counsel the individuals, meet with the groups, read to the classrooms, call the parents, and collaborate with staff and administration. And every day these individuals come to us, lay their burden down, and then leave with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. We have given them a fresh start to go and conquer the world!!!...

But where does that leave us?

When the door closes and we're left with that weight, where does it go? Some days we can take the weight and file it away and go on. Some days might be particularly hard. And on those days, what do we do?

Well, we keep calm and counsel on! 

"Where there is no counsel, people fail. 

But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety" 

-Proverbs 11:14

That is why we have each other! To share the successes and the hope we have every day. Because tomorrow is a new day. A new day of GOOD things. And sometimes (like today) we have to focus on the good things to help get through the bad. So to start, I am going to share some silver linings to my cloudy day.

1) I was contacted by Bouncy Bands out of North Carolina- they upcycle used bicycle tire tubes and create the bands that can go across the front of desks for students to help them focus on work while their feet are bouncin' along. They saw my blog via Susan's Entirely Elementary blogroll (thanks Susan) and wanted to send me two sample kits to try out and write a review for. I was SO excited! 

2) I have had nine Indiana Universities respond to my emails for donations for College Go! Week and have sent a plethora of pens, posters, pennants, stickers, lanyards, tee shirts, bags, etc. to give out! I LOVE College Go! Week (and will be posting about that next week :)

3) Our Literacy Coach had her first monthly "Chips and Chat" (an opportunity for staff members to come together in a relaxed atmosphere, munch, and discuss some positives/ ideas with one another). She has also asked me to help facilitate the events and share some tech/ data tips and tricks with the teachers. 

4) My blog is getting a face lift  Some of you might be thinking "really? you've only been blogging for two months". Wel, I have decided the black and gray is NOT ME! It was good when I first found it but I need some color. SO, when you check back next week prepare to be wow'd! 

5) There will also be a new addition to the blog on the sidebar where YOU can share your happiness! I am looking for a widget that will post general comments. What I want you to do, is when you stop by my blog, type in some happiness. Maybe it's something that went right for you or something you're excited about or some positive words of encouragement. Whatever is on your heart! It will be a stream on the side of my blog so when you come by, you can instantly read some good news and share some of your own! It'll be a virtual "Take a Penny, Leave a Penny".

So be on the lookout for some happiness. Because sometimes all you have is that bit of silver lining. Just remember, all clouds pass and the sun shining behind it is BEAUTIFUL!

-JW

An EXCELLENT lesson on EXCELLENCE

Two buildings. Seven grades per building, K-6. Two classrooms per grade (except my Wildcats school has three 1st grade classrooms). One new Classroom Counseling topic per month plus extras (Red Ribbon Week, College Go! Week, weekly LifeSkills lessons for 6th grade, impromptu lessons as teacher request, etc.). Last year I completed a total of 424 Classroom Counseling lessons. Maybe that's why I am still so tired :)

However, it keeps me busy and I have a great relative- direction for my lessons. Our District utilizes the RICHER Principles:

The RICHER Principles explained... The pawprints are for my Wildcat's school!

These Principles are what every school adheres to (though some schools might condense them). So every month we discuss a new RICHER Principle school-wide and district-wide for Elementary schools. We normally start with RESPECT and tie in Bullying since it's the beginning of the year and we want all students to know what is and what is not tolerated at our schools. But since our State is implementing new legislature, so are we and we're waiting for all the kinks to be ironed out (Lord help us). So instead, we skipped on ahead to EXCELLENCE (yea, we don't go in R-I-C-H-E-R order, oh well!).

A lot of our Principles are relatively easy to teach (working together, doing the right thing, caring...) but how in the world do you teach someone to be Excellent?! Last year I stressed over this to the max... but what I thought would be the hardest thing to teach became some of my favorite lessons!

For my 2nd graders, we read Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae. 

   

This has become one of my favorite books ever! It's about a Giraffe named Gerald who is told he can't dance. So when the Jungle Dance comes around, he has a hard time trying and believing in himself. All the animals are so good at their own dances but he isn't. But he finds out that "sometimes when you're different, you just need a different song". So we talk about how we are ALL Excellent at something and we all have something to contribute to our classroom. There are a lot of small elements in this book that tie in with everyone having their own "song" to "dance" to. 

Have you read it? No?!?! Seriously, go to your school's Library right now and get this book... Don't worry, I'll wait for you to come back before I go on. Ready go...
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Okay, welcome back. Great book, right?!

So, after we read and discuss it, we play "EXCELLENCE Find-A-Friend" a game I created which is a cross between Guess Who and Bingo. I make a grid about 4x4 or 5x5 (depending on the class size) and write one positive thing in each grid box (Can Dance, Can Sing, Likes Softball, Is Good At Math, etc.). Each student gets a copy and then they have to go around and find one new "friend" for each square. They write that person's name in their grid and then go find someone else and someone else and so on and so forth. The goal is to get their entire grid filled in... and most of them get almost all the way done before we end it (I always end it early so that they stay curious and want to finish it at lunch or recess :). We then discuss how we can make new friends through common interests and through showing EXCELLENCE. 

Isn't it funny how becoming a School Counselor makes us believe in so many things- like the goodness in others and how every student really can be Excellent?

So, I have finished K-2 EXCELLENCE and will be doing 3-5 and starting 6th Grade LifeSkills (an entire post all to itself). Next week I'll share another EXCELLENCE lesson that I love involving Post-It Notes and maps!

As always, have a great day!

-JW

Meet The Teacher Night and Occam's Razor

Last night was my Falcon school's "Meet The Teacher Night". My Wildcats' "Back To School Night" was on the evening of the second day of school- not too much to report since school had only been in session for about 48 hours :) But as always, it was nice mingling with parents, discussing what the school counselor does, and getting tons of hugs!

But tonight's Falcon night was extra special for a me for a couple reasons. First, it was my daughter's first big event as a Kindergartner. We got to "meet" her teacher (whose classroom is 100 yards from my office), "meet" her friends (who I do lessons with quite often and my wife already knew most of from church, soccer, or teeball) and "meet" her Principal (who signs my paycheck). But Kendal was as excited as can be and it was an amazing experience to see her want to share EVERYTHING about her daily routine with us.

Sadly though, after wearing "daddy" hat for a little bit, I had to take it off and put on "School Counselor" hat to meet/ greet all the other parents. And one experience tonight made me think of Occam's Razor.

According to this principle, when introduced with a scenario, the simplest and most expected answer or outcome is the correct one. The old adage states "when you hear hoof-beats behind you, you think horses and not zebras". Yea, both make hoof-beat sounds when running, but it's not very often you see zebras... most people are more familiar with horses. Despite it being most likely, this razor is not truth. Maybe a zebra really is running up on you!

And tonight I had a zebra run up on me! A parent came up to me who seemed very determined to talk. I LOVE having opportunities to meet with parents so this was not unusual. However, usually I get horses (my student is being bad, fix my student, why won't my student sit still, you need to see my student daily, etc.). So, I straighten my school counselor "hat" and prepared for her discussion. 

What I got was a mother determined to thank me for what I do. She was grateful for the grief group I ran last year for my 4th graders. Her son as in that group after his grandfather (the mom's father) passed away. Her and I proceeded to talk for almost 20 minutes about her son, her father's death, and the impact it had on the family. As we know, it is almost impossible to console someone else when we ourselves are grieving. What could she say to her sons while her heart was also breaking? How could she help him through the stages of grief when she didn't know what stage she herself was in? 

I prepared myself for a horse and what I got was a zebra, coming up to me with her heart in her hands thanking me for getting her son through his first family loss. Because of that group, he no longer blamed his mom for the death, his grades improved, he had a closer group of friends that were going through the same stages. That group helped heal him.

TALK ABOUT HAVING YOUR OWN BUCKET FILLED! 

I went into Counseling because my Granny passed away when I was in 3rd grade about all I remember of that loss was the Counselor at my Elementary School. She helped me and I am now able to pay that forward and help him and more just like him.

You will have people tell you that it "must be nice to sit around and play with kids all day". Or that what you do doesn't matter like teaching math or reading matters. Or you'll have people wonder why you are constantly pulling kids out of their reading block. Or get upset when you won't share what kids tell you. 

I am here to say that what you do DOES matter. It matters to your students. To their families. It mattered to that mother and her sons. You matter. So Keep Calm because you are a School Counselor and you do help!

-JW

And the nominees are...

I can't believe it! After a week-long hiatus from the Feedly world (and Twitter, and Facebook, and everything it seems since the start of school) I just realized I was nominated for an award!

What award you ask? Oscar? Tony? CMA Award? Best Nope... even better!

Allison at Counseling Corner nominated me for the Liebster Award! *duhn-duh-duh-DUUHHNNNN*!!

For anyone who doesn't know what the esteemed Liebster Award is (like I didn't until I Googled it) ... it is an award given to new Bloggers who have less than 200 followers. While I would LOVE to have over 200 followers, I am SO honored and excited for my blog to have been acknowledged!  My German speaking friends will be impressed with my bilingual skills Google Translating skills when I say that Liebster is German for sweetest, dearest, most beloved,, kindest, cutest (yep :) and most welcoming. And isn't that what Blogging is all about? Connecting and welcoming new people and new ideas?

Rules:
Link back to who nominated me. √
Answer the questions chosen by who nominated you...

     1:What advice would you give new bloggers?
Find your niche. EVERYBODY has something to offer. Don't feel bad if your blog doesn't look like someone else's  sound like someone else's or have as many followers. Odds are, if you are searching for a perfect blog to follow that tailors to your needs, someone else is too! WHY WAIT FOR THEIR BLOG?? 

     2: How do you use technology in your counseling program?
Well... that is up and coming. Since I have two schools and two offices, I have two desktop computers. Last year when I started, they offered me a laptop... but since it looked like Bill Gates' prototype and was about 74 lbs., I decided I didn't want another thing to carry around. I got Dropbox and have been fine ever since. 
However, this year we have made STRIDES! I am IN LOVE with Google Drive. I don't use it for storage but for ALL my forms. I transferred the district Referral for Counseling into a Google Form, my student notes, collaboration notes, parent contact notes... ALL Google Forms! See the post here for more!

     3: What is your Number 1 go-to resource at school?
Pinterest ... YouTube ... Tagboard ... Instagram ... Our District internet has most things blocked :( So I like to rock it old school! I like grabbing four or five old activity books, sitting on the floor and putting new twists to old ideas!

     4: If you could only have 5 books in your office, which ones would you choose?
a) The Baker's Dozen Dr. Seuss book
b) a David compilation book
c) Something Else
d) My Grief Workbook
e) The ASCA National Model

     5: What are your favorite school counseling blogs?
I currently have 28 school counselor blogs in my Feedly (which I LOVE by the way!)... seriously how do I choose? 

     6: What are your favorite blogs that are not work related?
I actually don't have any other blogs that I read.

     7: What small group resource do you find most helpful?
GAMES! Jenga is my favorite! I love my Grief Workbook and anything that elicits discussion. 

     8: What book are you currently reading?
I actually have three. I always have my original copy of Alice in Wonderland in my car to read if I am waiting for something. I am reading The Second Messiah which I got for my birthday and carry with me in my messenger bag. And I am reading Love In The Time Of Cholera because I am ALWAYS reading that book! It is one of my favorites and I recommend it to everyone!

     9: What is the best part of your job?
Seeing students grow. I worked in Community Mental Health for 6 years before becoming a school counselor. There, I saw so many clients become stagnant and never grow, never progress. These students are developing, changing, growing, and learning and I LOVE IT!

     10: What apps do you recommend?
Feedly (for blogs), CloudOn (to edit Word/ Excel on the iPad), Dropbox (storage), ClassDojo (depending on how many classrooms you are in), Bubble Wrap (because come on, duh!), The Electric Company Feel Electric! (best emotion app ever!), Mr.PotatoHead (oh yea), and Kid In Story (lets you write stories with student pics in it).

     11: What do you do to "sharpen your saw" (for fun).
I have two kiddos (5 and 3), a black lab, we foster labs, we have a guines pig and two outside cats. We LOVE music and dancing and having fun outside. We participate in Awana at our church, Vacation Bible School, Trunk or Treat, and JAM Sessions. Plus watching Downton Abby, Dr. Who, Sherlock, Big Brother, Rizzoli & Isles, Warehouse 13, Switched At Birth, etc.

I must now nominate blogs who have fewer than 200 people... however I apparently have no idea how to determine how many followers a blog has. So I am choosing:
* Hanselor The Counselor
* School Counselor Companion
* OK Counselor's Crossing
* From The Counselor's Office

Questions to answer are:
1) Where did you attend for your Masters? Why?
2) How many students do you service?
3) Favorite part of your office?
4) One time you failed and how you learned from it.
5) Describe a typical day (I know... typical day... school counselor... NO SUCH THING!)- do your best!
6) Favorite lesson you do with your students?
7) How do you keep track of student records (ie: paper, electronically, Post-It's)
8) Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter? Why?
9) Something you have stolen found inspiration from off Pinterest?
10) What are you currently reading?

Again, I want to thank Allison for the nomination! As always, happy reading!

-JW

I won! and now a Student Wins!!

Backstory: Living in the Midwest, we have festivals like you wouldn't believe! We have the Popcorn Festival, Apple Festival, Art and Music Festival (aka Dirt Fest), BBQ Festival... and the list goes on! But most importantly, we are home to the Covered Bridge Festival. Now, if you have never visited Indiana and been part of the Covered Bridge Festival, you are seriously missing out. You can get crafts, rugs, ukuleles, egg-stractors, and deep fried ANYTHING- all around a historic Covered Bridge. Check it out here. 

Last year, my wife visited a booth run by an AMAZING woman named Sarah Stogsdill who hand-stamps metal and creates some pretty cool things. Her business is SeizeTheNight Designs and she has a LOT of neat necklaces, key-chains, rings, cuff links, etc. ALL HAND MADE! At the festival last year, my wife got a necklace with our kids' names on it:

and earlier this year I was able to order a key-chain from her with our two kids' name on it and a charm with our Heavenly daughter's name (lost in April) on a separate disk with angel wings:

Fast Forward to today: Sarah had a contest on her Facebook page with this as the prize:

and guess who has two thumbs and won??? Yep, ME! Now, the other half of my heart is not deployed... she's laying on the couch watching Big Brother. But, I know we have a student who has a parent who is currently deployed and is having a hard time with it. So guess what... they're getting the necklace! I can't wait to get it and pass it on to my student. I want them to know they're not alone.

Have you done anything for that one student having a hard time? I hope so!

-JW

(Second) First Day Back :)

This past week has been CCRRAAZZYY!! And it's a true sign that I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life because, despite being CCRRAAZZYY I have LLLOOOVVVEEEDDD every minute of it!

Our schools started last week and, since I split two schools, I was only able to be at one on the first day. So, the next day, I had my SECOND first day back (at my Wildcat School).

I got to pop into classrooms, do some meetings, meet some parents who just quite couldn't let go of their babies, talk with teachers, and unveil some NEW alien technology (well, more like Google Docs) that the counselor is going to use. And, I am STILL finding awesome things I want to unveil thanks to you great folks!

I will have another post coming soon, but first I wanted to show you all the results of my Wildcats Office.

This was looking in my door before.

This is looking in my door now! Notice I have a lot of the same things at one office that I have at the other office (Chill Out Corner, pictures, posters, etc.)

This is where my desk was. I probably moved it around 4 times last year because I could NEVER get it how I wanted it.

Well now, my desk isn't even on that wall! I wanted people to see a little more friendliness than the back of my head!

My giant cabinet (that I love) but it took up a lot of room right there.

So I moved my desk there. Now I can see out the door at who is coming, confidential info isn't available for someone to see over my shoulder, and I have a whole wall for a command center. This is not done (obviously) since IT had to come and give me a longer cable, and the wall is kinda blank... but that will change!

I actually kinda hate these built-ins because they take up SO much room and our Media Specialist uses most of the space.

However, she let me take one of the cabinets down and I moved the giant cabinet over there. And luckily because once I got it over there I only had about 4 inches of space to wiggle it in! Plus the Media Specialist cleaned out some cabinets and let me use them for crafty things, games, and supplies!

This is my bookshelf where I have my themed books, some games, fidget toys, etc. My board games used to be on the bottom shelf but I ran out of room so they are now in the bottom built-in cabinet.

So this is home away from home half the time. On piece of advice that has saved me a TON of time. I have a lot of books that I need available NOW. And when they were all just chillin' on my shelf, I never could find the one I needed. Our Title I department gave me about 20 cardboard banker boxes. All I did was wrap them in colored paper, make a label on the computer, and sorted the books. There's also a picture on the labels so kids know what's in them.

So, those are my offices. We don't have a lot of extra resources in our district... we have a very high poverty rate, VERY high F&R Lunch rate, etc... but our offices don't have to look like that! It's not an excuse to make your office a dungeon lol- I want my offices to be a safe, warm, inviting place for students to come and lay their burdens down. I hope you do too!

Well, have a great day!

-JW