M.I.A.

I feel like I have been M.I.A. (Missing In Action) from School Counselor Blog this week and wanted to check in with you!

First off... I must share that school has been crazy lately.

A former student died recently. He touched so many students' and teachers' lives.

Thankfully, my intern, co-school counselor, the school social worker, and the school social worker's intern were all available to respond to students' needs.  This was definitely an example of why it it was a good choice to move to the student services suite. We were all there to support students and utilized all of our space.  We also had the support of a school counselor from another building (who happens to be my best friend) and a school psychologist from a different building.  I was so grateful that we had so many people able to help and support students. It was a very sad and trying day; it made me feel so much less alone to have them all there.  

Last Tuesday we started our state assessments. My role this year has been different than in previous years... I have not been involved in any of the coordination but I have been testing students and doing make-up tests. Unfortunately, testing and doing make-ups takes up lots of my time that I could be meeting with students individually, in groups and facilitating classroom lessons.

My intern and I worked out a plan to try to start some more groups. This year it has been challenging to start groups and have them be consistent because of how different things in the building have been.  We are working on it though!

I have also been working this past week to recruit speakers for Career Cafe. We have hosted three so far this year and my goal was to host more than we did last year, which was eight.  So... I have a little ways to go, but I am hopeful that I will make it happen.

Last week also was my first week serving as a coach for Girls on the Run! It has been so much fun so far. I love that it combines a group counseling feel with physical activity! The girls really love it and so do the assistant coaches and volunteers. We are running two groups at my school a younger elementary group and a Girls on Track group for middle school aged girls. I can't wait to see what progress we will make by May when we run our 5K as a group! I am sure I will update you along the way!

I have also been taking random and festive pictures of my cats. They are not amused. ;)

I also have some other exciting things coming up and in the works right now...

  • Starting in April I will be blogging for Free Spirit Publishing!  The blog is not officially out yet, but as soon as it is I will give you the link so you can start following! 
  • I mentioned this previously, but I am teaching an Introduction to School Counseling Course at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in May. I am very excited to teach this course and I have been working on creating a syllabus. I already have a Google+ hangout planned for the course with a class at Arcadia.  
  • I just booked my flight to Minneapolis for the American School Counselor Association National Conference in June! I will be presenting Web 2.0 and Technology Smackdown with Julia V. Taylor, Dr. Russ Sabella, and Dr. Erin Mason.  I am so excited! An additional reason I am excited is that I am traveling and rooming with Barbara Miccuci, ASCA's 2010 School Counselor of the Year. I love Barb and I can't help feeling starstruck! :)
So I am sure there are other things going on that I am leaving out, but I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to and let you know that I didn't fall off the face of the Earth! 

I am looking forward to sharing Part 2 of my Bullying and Bar Graph lesson with you soon! I also will be posting the March #SCCHAT soon too!

What have you been up to? I would love to hear from you!


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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 emailTwitter, PinterestLinkedInGoogle+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

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