Character Counts

Character word for January 

Self Discipline - 

Self portrait activity

Students discussed character education during classroom guidance. Students learned that self discipline means to control your temper, practice good habits and make good choices. Students had to look in the mirror and declare they would practice self discipline. Students then returned to their seat to create a self portrait and write adjectives describing their character and they also wrote, "I will practice self discipline." Students were finally given the opportunity to present their self portrait. 

As students viewed themselves I did notice some students wiggling and squirming and even shying away from the mirror quickly, which lets me know that self concept has to be addressed. Perhaps, too students are not frequenting the mirror. The counseling department seeks to build character in boys and girls so that they will perform at grade level. Confidence has a lot to do with performance.

Replacing a Bad Habit with a Good Habit

The character word for the month of January is Self discipline. Students in grades PreK through third grade discussed self discipline and right before the students drew self portraits they had to look in the mirror and declare that they would practice self discipline. As I watched boys and girls approach the mirror, some did so undoubtedly and others were pretty reluctant. One young second grade boy held his hands over his eyes until he got to his seat. The only reason he took his hands down was because I asked him to be my room helper. I spoke with his teacher and she told me his mom says mean words about his appearance as a means of discipline. I kept him after class to talk a bit and he wouldn't open up. I've tried talking to him before and he is standoffish. I have talked to his mom before as well. I'm going to continue to try and build a rapport so that I can help him to build his self esteem. Any suggedtions, please help.

The fifth graders were engaged in a powerful lesson about self discipline today. Students replaced a bad habit with a good one. Students wrote a bad habit on a strip of paper. Students wrote a paragraph sharing experiences about the bad habit. Students were escorted outside and the definitions of self discipline were recited. As students buried the bad habit willingly, not by force, they recited, "I bury..."

Students will revisit the burial during our next class as a means of follow up.



R.I.P. Bad Habits

Data driven Counseling Program

Hello all! I have been missing in action. 2013 was a year full of learning and stress, but I gained a lot of experience. This new school year has been similar to my first year because we have a new administrator and I am learning all over again. The great thing is I am familiar with the district protocol and the school's procedures, with the exception of a few changes. I have been doing a lot of things. One purpose for today's post is to encourage all school counselors to read the school improvement plan before doing anything else. I must admit I feared ALL of the pages. I feared that I would not understand the language. I got the opportunity to read the plan and I'm excited. Much of what is written in component one and four has a lot to do with why the comprehensive counseling program is necessary. Our goal should be a data driven comprehensive counseling program and in order to implement just that we must be knowledgable of the school improvement plan.

Just a couple of things that I will implement includes monthly parent coffees, classroom guidance referral forms and Resource Thursday.

The purpose of the parent coffees is to empower parents and equip parents to become better role models. The TSIP revealed that parental involvement was low at my school. We will begin by focusing on parents and building confidence. Many times parents are uninterested in volunteering at the school or helping their own children at home because they feel inadequate and are focused on bills, being accepted, and other relationships that they allow to block them from helping their children. This month we will discuss GED, college admissions, financial aid for parents. The goal is to encourage parents to enroll in a GED class, apply for FAFSA and trade school or college.

The classroom guidance referral form lists lesson titles and teachers are encouraged to check which counseljng service is needed for his/her class. This will allow me to incur another form of data, engage teachers in the counseling process, encourage partnership with teachers and the counseling department and the goal is to get RESULTS!! We are striving to decrease referrals and encourage peaceful problem solving.

The last thing the department will implement for this school year beginning this week is Resource Thursday. Teachers are invited to come in during lunch to gather resources that have been compiled to be used within the classroom environment. The school counseling department seeks to support teachers and faculty as we close the achievement together. The resources have been gathered from Pinterest, Teacherspayteachers, the local library and some innovative strategies that I have developed.