Overwhelmed, Excited, Mentally Drained, but YEP I am STILL EXCITED!

Hey guys, I am so tired, but so blessed and so thankful. I got to tell you I began training this past Monday and I was so busy that I did not get to post anything until TODAY. I have been doing professional development for the past four days and it has been so helpful. Today was so beneficial because I got the opportunity to meet with my mentor and she shared so much valuable information. I am on brain over load, but I feel so comfortable about S Team meetings and the information that I have to present. I am excited about presenting, but of course I was thinking about having to create everything from scratch. Thank God my mentor was able to help me out a bit. We discussed things such as new student orientation, professional development for staff, the three domains that counselors must cover, parental involvement, how to decrease disruptive behavior, how to increase attendance and a whole lot of other pertinent things. We talked for four hours and I learned so much. I am thankful for her because without her I know that my transition would not be as smooth as it will be. She is so encouraging and she continues to reassure me that I am in good hands. I know that with God, my mentor, my elementary school counseling supervisor and my principal's support - which is amazing - I will be just fine getting adjusted this school year. Oh I forgot to mention, the team that I have the privilege of working with is fantastic. Of course, we all have different personalities and we learned that during an icebreaker (I'm a melon, LOL), we will work together pretty well to reach our common goal - STUDENT SUCCESS.

The back to school event is going forward. I sent out the flyer to confirm with everyone and so far so good with a few issues that I am working on and certain that it will work out well. I can't wait. I am so thrilled. Let me tell you I have decided to do more physical games such as hula hoop contest, dance contest, relay race, jacks (I am a pro!), hop scotch, to name a few. I will post pics to share with you really soon.

Another thing that has me going is simply balancing my new career, my family and ME. I gotta keep it together and I will do just that. I know that after this first year all will be a breeze. Much of my stress is due to the fact that I am building a new program from the ground up. My goal is a RAMP. Hoping that I can begin this year. I know I CAN DO IT. I can do anything that I put my mind to.

A few things that I would like to encourage new counselors to do are as follows:

1. Get a mentor
2. Start out with what you can handle. Don 't volunteer for everything. I know you are anxious and excited.
3. Network with other grade level counselors.
4. Create a schedule and stick to it. You may deviate from a few things some days, but do what you say you are going to do.
5. Follow up.
6. Give assessments.
7. Look at the school's data.
8. Share your goals with the principal.
9. Get to know the staff well.
10. Build community partnerships.

I have listed these tidbits in no particular order, but each one is vitally necessary. We all have one common goal and that is STUDENT SUCCESS. Let's make a difference.

Our flyer for the Back to School Event

I must have a desk calendar to keep it all TOGETHER!

More like NEWS YOU CAN USE!!! I had to be creative since I did not have any border. I used hands that I cut from the die cut for the border. Of course, those hands in the pic are my hands. 

My first trip to Knowledge Tree. Accompanied by the love of my life, Chance Imani, my baby girl. We had fun. She was putting things in the basket that I certainly did not need. Gotta love that little kiddo.