Monday, February 3, 2014

National School Counseling Week Link Party & Giveaway!


Fabulous school counselors our week of celebration is here (although I think we should be celebrated each and every day)!  I've been thinking  how to celebrate National School Counselor Week at my school for a quite a while (even more since today was my 1st day back after 4 snow days).  I can honestly say that at my school, we (counselor intern Kelly & I) are constantly reminded how much parents, staff and students appreciate what we do as counselors (we do A LOT!)

So here's how we'll be celebrating National School Counseling Week at JYJ:

-My school district will host a morning celebration for all the school counselors to celebrate...us and what we do!

-I made this great banner from Vistaprint to hang outside of my office to celebrate and to let everyone know that it's National School Counselor Week. On a side note I got a sweet deal on this banner last year on a Black Friday sale, for only (are you ready for this) 99 cents!

Celebration banner

Kelly & I
-I put daily announcements on our live morning television school news show on things that school counselors do and how we are here to help all students.  Both Kelly & I even plan to be interviewed during the show on Thursday (this is really a stretch for me, I'm more of a behind the scenes person).

-My principal included a little reminder on her phone message that it was School Counselor Week and also she tweeted out the picture of Kelly & I, which also got retweeted by my school district and local school board member (great school counselor PR).  

-To include staff, I made a little note to everyone (I used Avery business cards) that said "Have we told you RESSENTLY how much we enjoy being your JYJ Counselors? Celebrating National School Counselor Week from Andrea & Kelly".   I attached a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup to the note.  To get more ideas check out Pinterest and look under teacher appreciation.


Counselor treats for staff
-To include other school counselors, I sent notes to a few school counselors that I've met from this blog, conferences, professional development and even counselor friends in my district.  I used post cards & envelopes that I ordered from Vistaprint. I can't say it enough how this blog has allowed me to connect with so many amazing school counselors.  Thank you for reading and sticking with me.  Who doesn't like to receive a little note celebrating what you do?

Notes to other school counselors, you may be receiving a note from me!
-I also have another way to celebrate us by having a giveaway!!!  Raise your hand if you have a book by the fabulous Julia Cook in your counselor library?  Well here's a way to add another to your collection.  Enter in below to win a copy of The Ant Hill Disaster, which is a reactive book to read with children after a man-made or natural disaster. The Ant Hill Disaster helps assure children that through love, empathetic understanding, preparation, and effective communication, they can stand strong, even in the midst of uncontrollable events. This is a book that I think will be extremely beneficial to share with parents as well, as I've gotten several questions on how to talk about tragic events shown through the media to their school-aged children.


I'm very excited about our week to celebrate our fantastic profession!  What are your plans for school counseling week?


Happy National School Counselor Week!


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12 comments:

  1. Thanks, as always, for the great ideas! Happy NSCW to you!

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  2. Would love to add this to my bibliotherapy collection!

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  3. Right now I am still trying to come up with ways to celebrate I know its a bit late in the game but been one of those crazy years so by the end of the week hopefully something creative will come out.

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  4. Right now still working on coming up with a plan for this week, been a crazy year and feel like I am a fish swimming in a sea of sharks but by end of week something creative will appear.

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  5. Always great ideas! I may steal the Reeses candy idea to give to my staff. Thanks again for a great idea!

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  6. These are great ideas, thank you!

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  7. I am simply getting the word out by mentioning it to my classmates (I'm in grad school). Most (if not all) don't know about it!

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  8. Happy NSCW! I'm not sure how I'll be celebrating; I might borrow your idea or search pinterest for some other ideas. I love Julia Cook and would love to add this book to my collection! Thanks for having this contest and for sharing all of your ideas! Have a great week!

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  9. I put out some bowls of trail mix ( Honey Nut Cheerios, cashews, dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips ) and some little Dixie cups with a sign that said " We're all on this trail together! " That got a good response.

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  10. I sent an email of appreciation to my staff (with a morale-boosting Kid Snippets video) and a email to my counseling colleagues in the district informing them that they are awesome and it's an honor to work with them. :)

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  11. Not really doing a lot to celebrate. We have missed days of school due to snow so I am scrambling to catch up and test :-(

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  12. Not really doing much for school counseling week. I am scrambling after being off for several days due to snow. Playing catch up and testing :-(

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