Settling In

It is hard to believe that my first three weeks as a school counselor have come to a close.  I have spent 13 years starting the school year, but this year was like no other.  It has brought perspective and an appreciation of things that many people do to prepare for the school year.

I have learned quite a bit during the three weeks of school.  There are many parts of the counseling world that your Master's classes do not prepare.  I am so glad that I spent 13 years in the classroom, so I know how to handle contacting parents, building rapport with students, teacher and other staff members (very important), and functioning in a school environment.

Things that should be taught in college classes, both undergrad and grad, you can practice and role play your heart out,  but nothing prepares you more than jumping in and doing the job.  I believe that this is completely true.  I felt that way as a Spanish teacher, and feel that even more now.  You think you're ready, but you soon discover how much more you still need to learn.

Being the counselor, is absolutely amazing.  I have been working on developing my program and working my schedule to develop a schedule for my classroom guidance lessons.  I have already been into all my 6th-8th grade classrooms.  I can truly say that I work with the best team of teachers that are flexible and are easy to work beside.  I hope that they feel that I am there to offer support to them as well as the students.

My introductory lesson gave them some great insight as to who I am and more about me.  Making myself human, allows the student to relate to me and become more comfortable to bring me their concerns.  After giving showing some great pics about me, I did a quick refresher on tips on being successful.  Being in the classroom, was a great feeling.  The students get to see a totally different Mr. Adkins than the guy roaming the cafeteria during lunch duty.

I tried to leave the students with some important advice.  Control the things and the person you control and treat others the way you want to be treated.  This is important advice to the middle schoolers as puberty and hormones wreck havoc on their minds and impulse control.  It is a difficult time for the students, and it is important for students to learn how to handle their emotions and respond accordingly.

This is an ongoing process as I am becoming well aware.  As was my answer to a question asked of me, I became a school counselor to make an IMPACT on the lives of students.  Let them know that someone cares and will fight for them day in and day out.

This is why I get up and why I strive to become the best counselor I can.  Impacting and shaping the lives of my students is the best feeling in the world.

You Never Get a Second Chance....Oh, wait! You Do!

The old cliche says, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression!"  In the wonderful world of education, that cliche gets blown out of the water.  We get a new position, a new year, a new month, a new week, a new day and even a new period.  You just have to be willing to be honest with who you are, and how you want others to perceive you.

I have spent my first full week in my new role as School Counselor, and I can say that it is all I thought it would be and so much more.  I am in an amazing building that has one of the best staffs out there.  The passion and dedication of the teachers is motivating.  My principal is extremely supportive of my role, and the office secretary is top notch.  What more could someone ask for?

I was in 2 days this week before the teacher's official start day.  I had a great time getting my program organized, learning new systems on the computer and building a great rapport with the principal and secretary.  Thursday, was the official first day for all staff members and district wide meetings.  I worked on scheduling and developing google forms for my counseling notes, student referrals, and a daily schedule recap to capture data on the types of services and time I spend during the day.

We had open house on Thursday evening.  It was a wonderful evening.  The excitement of the new school year, optimism, butterflies in the stomach and sleepless nights have returned.  I loved meeting parents and students and helping them find their rooms and showing them around the building.  Great ways to build relationships.

I know that this year will be a great learning experience.  I cannot wait to see how my vision of the program grows and evolves as the year passes.  Our new superintendent showed a youtube video at the opening meetings where a  professor from Harvard compared how the Air Force build fighter jets to the way we set up our educational structure.  I will post the video (it is 18 minutes long, but well worth the watch).

As the year starts, we get that second chance to impact the lives of children in many different ways and get to look at our profession in other ways.  I cannot wait to get to school Monday and make those impressions.

Be Inspired!
Be the person to inspire!
Be Awesome!

Have a wonderful year!

On Your Mark, Get Set.........

For 13 years, I knew exactly how my schedule would run, how my plans would go and what my expectations were.  As I embark on this wonderful new journey, I am confident in my preparation, but unsure how things will play out.  Can I handle it?  You bet!  

My getting to know the counselor/successful students presentation is ready to roll.  I have a counseling google slideshow to email to the staff when I get in the office.  I have a counseling brochure to include in the pack of materials that go home to parents ready to print.  I am going to review my needs assessment for staff members with my principal next week.  That means I have to work on my student surveys.

One of my best attributes is connecting with my students.  With that in mind, my goal is to work through my 6th, 7th and 8th graders and personally meet with them to work on a plan of action to set them up for success.  This will take some time, but I feel that it is necessary to meet individually to connect with them.  I will also be working on counseling students who have discipline or attendance issues to find ways to improve things.  I am also planning on classroom guidance lessons and getting in the classroom for each level once per month.  A lofty goal, but one I am going to shoot for.

I have made my office my own, and have worked on bulletin boards.  It is important for students to see my personality and find that comfort to come and talk to me.  I love inspiring others and want students to always improve their self-esteem and self-talk.  That will be one of my main focuses.

A few more plans I have for this year are: keeping track of how my time is spent, and keeping my door open.  I want to be able to look back at this year and know exactly how my time was spent and that I can show others how time was utilized.  This will provide feedback to areas that need more focus and give me ideas for improvement.  My door will only be closed when I am conferencing with a student or I am not in my office.  I want students, staff, parents and anyone to feel that I am there to help and willing to listen to issues they may be having.  By having the open door, the simple barrier of walking by or not knocking is gone.  It is a much more inviting feel.

I cannot wait to share my ride as a first year school counselor with you as the school year progresses. Relax, sit back and enjoy the ride!  I know I will!

Have a great year!

The 2nd 1st Year

Now, the year has closed.  My Spanish exams are graded, my grades verified and my classroom, my home away from home for the past 10 of 13 years, emptied, and my keys now in the possession of my old boss.  I strolled down the hall of Northeastern for the final time and got in my car.  12 years of hard work, love, inspiration, pride, dedication, all wrapped up like the previous 11 years.

This year is different.  This year, I will begin my second first year in my career.  I was hired as the new middle school counselor at South Vienna Middle School, and now the mixed focus of what will be and what needs to be has come to a conclusion.  I can solely shift my attention to becoming the best school counselor I can be.  Hence, the second first year.

I enter my 14th year of teaching and will be redoing my first year.  I cannot be any more excited.  I have been looking forward to this for some time.  In my career, I have never been satisfied with the year before.  I was always looking for new ways to engage and reach my students.  This summer, I am planning and creating my views of a school counseling program.  I am lucky to follow in the amazing footsteps of a wonderful school counselor.  She was absolutely incredible.

I have moved in my things and am in the process of going through the plethora of resources that my predecessor left for me.  This process is both overwhelming and invigorating.  The fun part of creating your space and making it you is well underway.  It is an ongoing process and continues to evolve daily.  I have began working on my webpage, creating procedures for referring students to the counselor, and ways to track the services I provide.

It's a good thing I have the summer to prepare.

I am going to finish up preparing my space this week and next, go on vacation with my wonderful family, and then delve into preparing my classroom guidance lesson themes for my 3 grade levels. My plan is to at least get into the grade level classrooms once a month.  This plan will be fluid as this year goes, but this will allow me to create meaningful lessons that are engaging and fun.

Not many get the chance to have their second first year, and I plan on making the best of this first year.  Just like I did the last one.

Join me on my journey as a first year school counselor.

New Year....New Journey

As the 2014-2015 school year enters the final stretch, my professional journey an exit to a different highway.  I was offered and accepted the position of Middle School Counselor at South Vienna Middle School in South Vienna, Ohio.

This journey has given me the opportunity to fulfill another dream of mine, to teach in the middle school that I attended.  I will be finishing my 12th year as Spanish teacher in the high school I attended, so this is perfect.  I spent this year teaching 2 periods of Spanish courses to 8th graders this year, so I am not completely new to the building.

School Counseling is something I am extremely passionate about.  I cannot wait to get in there with the students and make lasting impacts on their lives, work with staff members and do all the things I possibly can to be the best school counselor I can be.

I plan to use this blog, to chart my journey during my first year as a school counselor.  Personal reflection is key for people to grow, so I intend to be honesty with myself and you all on how this journey goes.

Like I have tried to teach my students over the years, you may not know where the journey goes and how it will go, but that doesn't mean you do not jump at the chance!  You will never reach your potential if you never start!

Thanks for joining me.  The journey begins in earnest this coming school year.