Time Flies When You're Having Fun!
Last week was a blur. Monday and Tuesday were full days, Wednesday was a snow day, Thursday was a half-day for students with a two-hour-delay, and Friday was a half-day for teachers. I got a surprising amount of work done. I set classroom guidance lessons for the coming week, contacted parents, went to a PSSA training, attended student assistance meetings, and started to work on a few projects.
One project that I started to work on is creating a school-wide anti-bullying initiative. I want to create more of a community at the school. I have a third grade teacher and her student teacher working with me. We spent some time Friday making a sign that says "No Dissing!" that we hung in the main lobby of the school. The sign is black, orange, and white, which are the school colors. I will post a picture of it soon. I got the idea for the sign from www.nonamecallingweek.org, which is a great website. The website has information, ideas, lesson plans, and lots of free materials.
I like the idea of creating a school-wide initiative because I believe it will create a sense of community, belonging, and school spirit. I want the students to be invested in the campaign. I was thinking of making paw prints (the school mascot is a lion) to give to students who show good character. I might make a saying like "Lion Cubs have Character." I want to create a bulletin board explaining what being a cub of character is. I also want to do classroom lessons on character education, diversity, bullying, and friendship.
Lastly, I had the idea of doing a play involving the third graders. I found a play on the Teaching Tolerance website called "Why Frogs and Snakes Never Play Together." I think it would be neat for third graders to present the play to younger students, school staff, and invite their families. The principal really liked my idea. I need to solidify the plans for it and see if the third grade teachers would willing to participate.
This coming week is packed with classroom lessons, individual sessions with students, a district meeting, a bullying seminar, and a career education seminar. I am really excited for everything that I am working on and the opportunities of the weeks ahead!
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. Contact Danielle via email, follow her on twitter, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
One project that I started to work on is creating a school-wide anti-bullying initiative. I want to create more of a community at the school. I have a third grade teacher and her student teacher working with me. We spent some time Friday making a sign that says "No Dissing!" that we hung in the main lobby of the school. The sign is black, orange, and white, which are the school colors. I will post a picture of it soon. I got the idea for the sign from www.nonamecallingweek.org, which is a great website. The website has information, ideas, lesson plans, and lots of free materials.
I like the idea of creating a school-wide initiative because I believe it will create a sense of community, belonging, and school spirit. I want the students to be invested in the campaign. I was thinking of making paw prints (the school mascot is a lion) to give to students who show good character. I might make a saying like "Lion Cubs have Character." I want to create a bulletin board explaining what being a cub of character is. I also want to do classroom lessons on character education, diversity, bullying, and friendship.
Lastly, I had the idea of doing a play involving the third graders. I found a play on the Teaching Tolerance website called "Why Frogs and Snakes Never Play Together." I think it would be neat for third graders to present the play to younger students, school staff, and invite their families. The principal really liked my idea. I need to solidify the plans for it and see if the third grade teachers would willing to participate.
This coming week is packed with classroom lessons, individual sessions with students, a district meeting, a bullying seminar, and a career education seminar. I am really excited for everything that I am working on and the opportunities of the weeks ahead!
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. Contact Danielle via email, follow her on twitter, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
