Ease Testing Worries for Students & Staff

It's everyone's "favorite" time of year...state testing!  Well not really, but it does bring us one step closer to the end of the school year and summer break.  State testing can cause stress, worries and anxiety for BOTH students and staff.  So I decided to do a little something to pump up everyone for state testing.  To see how we did staff pick me ups during testing, click here.

-I had a banner made from Vistaprint (ordered during a sale for just 99 cents) that says "Students do you best on the EOG test".  EOG stands for End Of Grade, that's what we call it here in NC.

Banner from Vistaprint

-Carol from The Middle School Counselor Blog (a fabulous blog by the way) shared this awesome idea of using sidewalk chalk to write positive testing messages at the school entrance.  I shared this idea with the fantastic art teacher at my school and he and several students will be decorating both the front and back entrances of the school.

From The Middle School Counselor Blog (thanks for sharing Carol)

-The AIG teacher gave me a ton of pencils which I tied ribbon with a nice note to give to all the students in 3rd-5th grades (these are the grades who test).

Pencils

Note I attached to the pencils

Finished product!  I used red ribbon to tie the note onto the pencils. 

-I did a lesson with 3rd graders on relaxation and relieving testing anxiety (same as last year).  To see my post on my lesson for testing worries, click here, but I read a different book The Big Test by Julie Danneberg.



This year I decided to add a testing survival kit activity.  Can you guess where I got this idea from ...you guessed right Pinterest!

-I started out by giving each student a plastic bag and testing survival kit card to complete. 

-I created a testing survival kit card for the students to complete as a part of the lesson (we go over the tips during the lesson).  It's a fill in the blank activity, since students are more likely to remember what they write down, versus me just talking.  I used an Avery postcard paper template so that I could fit 4 on one page.  I also copied on colored paper for a little flare.

Testing survival kit cards (copied on colored paper).  

Copy of slide to complete with test taking survival kit activity 

-As we completed our survival kit card, I passed out the item that went along with the saying.  I got all my survival kit items from Walmart.  Here are the pictures of the items needed and sayings to go along with it for the survival kit.

Starbursts:  You're a star so aim high

Toothpick:  Carefully pick your answers

Gum:  Stick to it and do your best!

Red Balloon:  You are totally REaDy for the test!

Student completing his test taking survival kit, with his kit nearby.  

The students LOVED this lesson and activity and it certainly didn't hurt that everyone got a parting gift.  I hope that this helped to relieve some of their testing worries.

What do you do to help calm testing worries?




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Tips for new school counselor graduates

May brings happy, celebratory times for school counseling graduates.  So now that you've passed your tests, completed your internship & written your last paper you may ask yourself "what's next?"  The next chapter in your career is just around the corner.  I know that many of you are anxiously searching the web for school counselor postings in school districts across the country (try indeed.com for listings)  The search and wait game can be exciting, disappointing and frustrating.  Here are a few tips that I want to pass along as you enter the school counselor job market.

-Accurately update your resume:  include any school experience that you may have (including teaching).  List what responsibilities that you had as an intern.  Click here to see sample counselor resume templates.  If possible try to hand deliver a copy of your resume to the school that you're interested in working in.  That way the school can place a face & name with the resume. 

-Network: I can't say this enough!  In this day & age it's all about who you know.  I'll share my story with you.  Years ago when I wanted to teach (I was a teacher then with just 1 year of experience) in the district that I'm currently in (I was working in another district at the time).   I thought I was doing the correct thing by sending out my resume to schools that had positions posted, but I never heard anything back.  I just happened to run into a college friend who was in my same teacher education program and was teaching in the school district where I wanted to work.  I told her about my interest in moving into the area and getting a teaching job.  She then spoke to someone else hiring teachers in my subject area and I had an interview and a job by the end of that week!  I've been here ever since.  If you have friends working in the district that you're interested in talk with them, meet the counselor at their school and see if they know of any openings in the area.  Counselors retire, get married, move, have children and transfer to other places all the time, they may know of these things.  Attend counselor conferences/events (conferences are great places to network, rarely will you be able to interact with such a large group of school counselors in one place at the same time) and join the ASCA scene, they have job postings listed from time to time. 

-Research the schools that you're interested in:  Almost every school has a website where you can get a feel of the school vision, staff and students.  Some websites even provide links to find data on test scores, teacher turnover rates, student demographics, etc.

-Ask questions during your interview:  Find out what committees that the counselor chairs, what responsibilities you might have (such as testing coordinator, that's a BIG one to find out).

-Sell yourself: When you have an interview, use that time to sell yourself and your vision for your counseling program.  This is the time where you have the opportunity to show the school what a great asset you will be to their school.  Play up your BEST counselor skills, if you are great at planning school wide events, by all means share that!

-Relax:  Many schools do their hiring during the summer (July-August).  I got my very 1st teaching job 3 days before school started and my 1st counseling job a week before school started so don't worry too much about late hiring.  I've always seemed to be a late hire!

If you have more questions about your school counselor job search or are interested in working as a school counselor in the Raleigh, NC area please feel free to contact me.  Congratulations and good luck to you! Pin It

May #scchat: iPads In School Counseling

I am super excited to share that I'll be moderating this month's #scchat on Twitter on Tuesday,  May 7th!  Our topic of discussion will be using iPads in school counseling K-12.  Please join us to share your favorite iPad apps, how you use your iPad at your school or even if you're on the fence about using an iPad at your school.


The #scchat will begin at 8pm EST

If you haven't participated in a Twitter #scchat, boy are you in for a treat!  This is great professional development that can be done from the comforts of your home.  These awesome chats are planned and coordinated by Danielle Schultz and Erin Mason who I have the pleasure of presenting with at this year's ASCA conference (shameless plug).

For directions on how to participate in the #scchat click here.  To see previous #scchat transcripts click here.

Don't forget to join us on Tuesday, May 7th at 8pm EST for the chat.  Looking forward to tweeting with you! Pin It

Use Your Voice To Keep Your Counselor Notes!

I'm still (actively) on my quest to keep paperless counselor notes.  Previously, I shared how I used Google Docs and my trusty iPad  to keep track of the students that I see daily.  So my wheels have be steadily spinning on what other options can be used to keep paperless counselor notes.  So here's my next "discovery" (if you want to call it that) on keeping (somewhat) paperless counselor notes.

Dragon Dictation is a free (my favorite price) app that converts speech into text, which means you simply just talk and Dragon turns what you say into written text!  Dragon is also available to use on computers (but you'll have to purchase the software).

So how did I use Dragon to keep track of my counselor notes?  Well, I decided to do a 2 week "Dragon Counselor Note Challenge" where I was to keep track of my counselor notes on Dragon for 2 weeks and share my experience with you.  Before I get started with my review, I'll share that #1, I did keep paper notes (as I've always done before going paperless) for the 2 weeks and #2 I have some prior experience with using Dragon from my high school teaching days (this was a unit that we covered in my class).   So here goes...

Each day, I keep a list of what I do each day in my personalized school counselor notebook.  I created this daily template myself where I record which students I've seen, parents called, classes visited, to do list, reminders and general daily info (nothing too detailed).  At the end of each day during my Dragon Challenge, I simply read my day to Dragon to record my notes.

Now to use Dragon, you must speak EXACTLY like you want Dragon to "type" it into text, meaning that you have to literally dictate punctation, spacing, etc.  So if I were to say today is: Monday, April 5th, 2013.  I would need to say it like this today is (colon) Monday (comma) April 5th (comma) two thousand thirteen (period).  For a list of commands for Dragon, click here.

Here's how using it on your iPad works:
Open the app and simply tap on the plus symbol, which means new note (at the top right corner) then the" tap and dictate" button.  Then talk away!

Ready to record!

Once you're finished talking you'll see what you said as text.  You can also type and correct misspelled words and/or type more info as needed (you'll see the keyboard at the bottom where you can type).

What's said is quickly & easily turned into text!  Notice the keyboard below the screenshot, this is where you can type and edit what was converted into text.  

You can email your notes to yourself or someone else or copy and paste the notes into a word document that you just add to each day.

So what's my take on the challenge?  Well I liked using Dragon, but it still doesn't quite make me want to switch from my paperless student notes through Google Docs.  But I do like the convenience for me to give myself quick voice reminders.  You could talk about your day as the day progresses, you would just have to remember to record your memo, that would be the tough part for me...remembering to record my notes.

Do you use Dragon for your student notes?  I'd love to hear your take on using it for student notes.






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Counselor finds at the Target $1 Spot

As much as I try to ignore it, the Target $1 spot gets me almost every time. I had a whole basket full of stuff, but after some reality thinking "do I really need this" some things were put back.  Here are some counselor finds I just recently bought....

Squishy balls, these students love these & so do I!

Book about careers!

Cardboard book holders (not put together yet)

Cardboard book holders (great for categorizing books).  I would have gotten more, but I got the last 3 in the store. 

I've already put my items to good use already!

Have you recently found any other good counselors goodies (that are affordable).  Please share!








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Great (free) Paperless App for Groups

Running a school counselor group is a fun and interesting learning adventure for both myself and the students in the group.  In the past, I've kept a notebook with attendance, notes, reminders, etc.  Again in my attempt to head to the road to paperless school counselor tasks, I'd like to share a fantastic (free, my favorite price) app that will help you keep your groups organized WITHOUT paper!

Teacher Kit is a must have app for groups!  So here's how to set up your groups using the app:

-Add a new group (the plus symbol at the top) and give your group a name (for the purposes of this post, it'll be called "Practice Group". 

Add a new class (or group)

-Once you add the group, it'll appear on your "shelf", which lists all the groups that you've created.  Tap on the door to "open" your group.

All your groups appear on the shelf.  You can have multiple groups.

-You can now begin to add students to your group.  Tap the plus symbol at the top right corner and you will be able to add the students.  From here you can add info, parent contact info and even a picture of the student!  As you add the student info and click save the picture will appear with their name in a "school desk" icon (by the way you can move the desks around for changing seating charts around).  

Add your students in your group.

You can add images of the students in your group. 

-To keep attendance for the group click on attendance and tap on each student to mark either present or absent.  You can also add other choices for attendance.  For my book club groups, I have options such as read aloud, and brought snack (also way for me to keep track of info).

Keep track of attendance

-To keep individual notes on students in the group, click on behavior, choose the student you want to take notes on which will open a new window.  Click on the plus symbol and type what notes to you want to input (be sure to give your note a title), click notes and tap description (this is where you type your notes).  You can also use this to track positive or negative behavior.

Add your student notes

I LOVE this app and no longer have a need for my group notebook for keeping attendance or just general student notes.  I'm really feeling this counselor  going paperless plan!

For a more detailed description on using this app, check out this tutorial on YouTube:

Do you have an app to recommend to keep notes/attendance on your groups?

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Your 3 Words Lesson

I got the inspiration for this activity from awesome school counselor Julie Ford who shared this in her Lessons That Sparkle session at last years ASCA conference.  So how many of you have seen or heard of the "Your 3 Words" campaign that was featured on Good Morning America a couple of years back?  Well I hadn't until Julie was so kind to share.  Your 3 Words is exactly what it says...you share 3 words (and that's it) about family, friends, motivation, positivity, humor, pretty much anything but you can only use guess how many words...3!!!!

So I decided to try this out with my 4th grade classes.  I talked about how people can make a lasting impression and it can be both positive and negative and that they would the opportunity to leave an impression here at JYJ but with only 3 words!  Boy did I get some strange stares then when I told them about only using 3 words.  I then showed them the video (see below) of GMA's your 3 words.  I'll warn you the song is very catchy and gets stuck in your head.

After the video, I showed the classes a few examples that myself and the counselor intern did for our 3 words.

School Counselors Rock (this is totally true)

This is also so true, sign created by counselor intern Dhruti.

I gave each student a half sheet of construction paper and told them to think about their 3 words and the power that they held.  I can say that they really got into it.

Nothings Too Hard

Always Aim Higher

Students work on their 3 words

As they finished, I took group pictures using my iPad of all the students holding up their signs which I printed and posted on a bulletin board (along with some the signs that they made).   I got lots of (positive) comments from students, teachers and parents about this activity.

Holding up our signs (I took pictures of every student holding up their sign, using my iPad).

Your 3 Words for the bulletin board made using Word (I printed these on colored cardstock).

Finished product!  I didn't have enough room to post all the signs the students made, but I had everyone's picture holding their signs.

Who knew that sharing 3 words would bring out such powerful and dynamic thoughts!

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