13 Favorite Posts of 2013


Does anyone else feel like 2013 just FLEW by?! I honestly can't believe it is going to be 2014! I am so thankful for all of the wonderful things that have happened in 2013. It was fun to go through previous posts I wrote and re-live 2013 a little! 

 Some of highlights of 2013 included:
This year has been a whirlwind! I have enjoyed connecting with you here and on various social media sites including the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+! I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store!

Below I share 13 of my favorite posts of 2013 and why they made the list!

 10 Outstanding School Counselor Blogs


Early in 2013 I complied a list of 10 Outstanding School Counselor Blogs. These blogs are great examples of how you can share ideas and connect with other school counselors! I had the pleasure of meeting most of the bloggers on this list at the 2013 ASCA Conference in Philadelphia, PA.

 So many amazing school counselor blogs have popped up in the last year or so that I think it is safe to proclaim 2014 as the year of the the School Counseling Blogger! If you are thinking of starting a school counselor blog there is no time like the present! Check out the google doc I filled with all things blogging: http://bit.ly/blogin5.

 School Counseling On Air

During National School Counseling Week 2013, a group of school counselors participated in the first ever School Counseling On Air Google+ Hangout chats. It was such a cool experience to talk about school counseling LIVE on air. The best part is that the live chats were then archived as YouTube videos so they could be viewed later. Stay tuned for information about SCOA 2014!

Visit the School Counseling On Air YouTube page to view all of the archived videos!


National School Counseling Week Link Party


For National School Counseling Week 2013 I hosted the National School Counseling Week Link Party for School Counselor Bloggers to share how they were celebrating National School Counseling Week at their school. 16 Bloggers participated in the link party.

My contribution to the National School Counseling Week Link Party was creating a M&M treat for my internship group!

 National School Counseling Week 2014 is February 3-7. ASCA's theme for National School Counseling Week is "School Counseling: Building Magical Futures." ASCA has a resource page for NSCW here. 

 Check out the National School Counseling Week Link Party post for ideas of how you could celebrate this year! I plan to do another link up this year too!
Fun and Functional Gift for a Future School Counselor

In my spring semester of 2013 I co-facilitated a supervision group for school counseling internship students. I wanted to make them a small, meaningful gift for our last session together. The majority of the students were graduating in the near future so I wanted to give them something they could actually use in their career. (Tall order much?!) I was wracking my brain for a few weeks, when I finally found some Pin-spiration! I made "You will have a BALL as a school counselor" printables to attach to beach balls for a fun and functional gift!  In one of my previous posts I share 3 Ways to Have a BALL with a Beach Ball Year Round.

School Counselor Spotlight

 I started the School Counselor Spotlight last year as a way to highlight the amazing things YOU are doing! I had two great contributors this year and I am hoping to have MANY, MANY more this year!



If you have a great idea to share, submit it to the School Counselor Spotlight! If your post is chosen, it will be featured on School Counselor Blog!


Who's On Your Boat?

As a school counselor, you want to have people in the school "on your boat" to build partnerships and collaborate. I started writing some posts about this concept and outlining how to get people on your boat and collaborate with them. The wrote about collaborating with a school librarian and an art teacher.  




There are lots of ways to collaborate and have people on your boat! I plan to add to the "Who's on Your Boat?" series in 2014! 


 Highlights of the 2013 ASCA National Conference 

 I wrote four posts with Highlights of the 2013 ASCA National Conference, but I am going to count this as one for the sake of the list! The ASCA National Conference is something I look forward to all year long! The 2013 Conference was my most favorite conference yet. I got to meet so many school counselors that I connect with online in person through the #SCCHAT Tweet Up, the School Counselor Blogger Meet Up, attending sessions, and presenting! It was so much fun!

If you have never been to an ASCA conference I highly recommend saving up and going! It is worth every penny and then some!!!!! The 2014 ASCA Conference is June 29 - July 2 in Orlando, FL! Online registration begins on January 2nd! Register early for the best deals!
School Counseling On Air Back to School Chat


Andrea Burston and I hosted events for school counselors to Get Connected for Back to School. One of the events was a live School Counseling On Air Back to School Chat on Google Hangout! We teamed up with Rebecca Lallier (School Counseling by Heart), Tabitha Panariso (Scrapbook of a School Counselor), Jeremy Goldman (Pikesville High School Counseling Department), Darrell Sampson (From the Counselor's Office), and Jeff Reams (The Counseling Geek) to have a question and answer session about Back to School. It was a lot of fun to have everyone on a hangout together! We plan to do this again for the start of the 2014-2015 school year!


Feeling Puzzled Revisited and Revamped

 At my school we have a large glass windows for our school counseling suite. I was itching to decorate them. I listed to the wise words of my blogger BFF Andrea Burston and did not "reinvent the wheel." Instead I reimagined one of my favorite bulletin boards and thought big... really BIG... to fill the window!


I love that the windows are now bright and colorful. Better yet, the window helps to easily identify where the school counseling office is located! In my post, Feeling Puzzled Revisited and Revamped, I share FREE printables so you can create a similar bulletin board!


Empathy Quote Bulletin Board

Each month my school highlights a different character trait for a character education program teachers at the middle school created called "Apps for Life." This bulletin board highlights October's app, empathy! 


This bulletin board was easy and fun to make! In my Empathy Quote Bulletin Board post I share FREE printables for you to make your own version of the bulletin board! Lots of school counselors shared pictures of their version of the bulletin board with me, which was super cool! 


Technology Round-Up with Tennessee School Counselor Association

I had such a blast presenting at the TCA Pre-Conference for the Tennessee School Counselor Association. I had such a great audience that actively participated and share ideas. During my Technology Round-Up presentation I shared a document with tons of technology resources for school counselors. I share the document in Technology Round Up with Tennessee School Counselor Association Re-Cap post. 


It was so much fun to hang out with Tennessee School Counselors. I especially enjoyed spending time with the members of the leadership team! They showed me great southern hospitality and I had such a great time! I have been craving sweet tea and biscuits ever since I left!

Recap of the 13 Favorite Posts of 2013:


It has been so much fun connecting and collaborating with you in 2013! I look forward to continuing to connect and collaborate with all of you amazing school counselors out there in 2014! I wish all of you much luck in the New Year! 

What were your professional highlights of 2013? What are you looking forward to in 2014?


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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