Positively Overwhelmed

This is my #scday1 pic! 
Since I started at my new position I have felt overwhelmed, but in a positive way. I have been overwhelmed by how welcoming the other staff members have been to me, not just at my school, but district wide. I have overwhelmed by faculty and staff member's level of caring about students, not just academically, but about students' personal and social well-being inside and outside of the classroom. I have been overwhelmed by how welcoming and accepting students have been to new students coming in to the school. I feel honored to be part of such a caring and welcoming school community!

I started my new position on August 8th. This past week was the first week of school for students. I am beginning to feel like I am in the swing of things. I can't wait to get started planning events, classroom lessons, and groups for the year.

I can't wait to finish up decorating my office... that will be whole post in and of itself!

In addition to my new position, I just started my 2nd year of my PhD program. This semester I will be providing group supervision to a group of school counseling master's students during their internships.

I also have some other exciting (and positively overwhelming!) speaking engagements coming up in the near future! Next weekend I will be Skyping with Indiana School Counselors at their Elementary level retreat! I will be sharing where to find creative ideas related to elementary school counseling with them. This will be my first Skype call with a group of school counselors and I am excited to "meet" them! In October, I will be presenting a keynote and breakout sessions at the Montana Education Association and Montana Federation of Teacher's Educator's Conference in Bozeman, Montana! I was so excited to be invited by the Montana School Counselor's Association! In November, I will be presenting at the Tennessee School Counselor Association Pre-Conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee! I have never been to Montana or Tennessee and I am looking forward to spending time with Montana and Tennessee school counselors! In December, I will be presenting at the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association Conference in Lancaster, PA. For a full list of my upcoming speaking engagements click here.

On a personal note, I have been getting back into running. I am doing a 10K, which happens to be on my birthday (9/29), a half marathon in September, and a half marathon in November. Having races to train for is a lot of fun!

I hope all of your school years are off to a great start! I want to thank you all for continuing to read School Counselor Blog and follow me on various social media sites. (Follow me on Instagram if you haven't already!) I can't wait to share new ideas, resources, and lessons with you! I continue to be positively overwhelmed by your kindness and messages about how School Counselor Blog has inspired you! I am beaming with excitement of all of the positive things to come in new school year!

I would love to hear how your school year is going so far! Have you started a new position? Are you now at a different level? Are you starting you 2nd or 20th year at your position? Please share below!

Comment below, tweet, contact Danielle, or share on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page!

Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

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