The days leading up to winter break can be stressful! To help students and staff cope with the stress of the season, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) team at my school is hosting a daily self-care challenge for the 12 days leading up to winter break. Each day, students and staff can take a selfie featuring them doing the daily self-care prompt. Students and staff who submit a self-care selfie, will be entered in the daily prize drawing for that prompt.   The challenge starts on Wednesday, December 7th and continues through Thursday, December 22nd.  I am shari ..read more

I can't wait to present at the 2022 Pennsylvania School Counselors Association Conference! This year the PSCA Conference will be held December 8th and 9th in Lancaster, PA.  I'm presenting two sessions:  ? Get Funding for Your School Counseling Program - December 8th at 9:45am  ? 10 Tech Tools to Save You Time with Lezlie DelVecchio-Marks! (@schoolcounselordm) - December 8th at 1:45pm  I'm so excited to connect and share with other PA school counselors! Will you be there? Here is a link for the PSCA conference registration ?: https://bit.ly/psca22register. Follow along ..read more

This will be my fourth year attending the ASCA Virtual Conference. I absolutely love attending ASCA in person, but I haven't been able to attend in person for the last few years.  A great option to still get top notch professional development and connect with other school counselors across the country is to attend the ASCA Virtual Conference! Below I share tips that Andrea Burston (@jyjcounselor) and I compiled to help you optimize your ASCA virtual conference experience. Make a Schedule Familiarize yourself with the conference schedule and determine what sessions you want to atte ..read more

Heading to Austin, TX for the 2022 American School Counselor Association Conference?  Below Andrea Burston and I share tips to help you make the most of your ASCA Conference experience! ✨  PLAN AHEAD ✨ Do some research ahead of your arrival so that you are prepared for your trip.   Check out the following: - Health & safety guidelines - Weather forecast - Hotel location - Conference location  ✨  PACK FOR WORK AND PLAY ✨ When you're packing your bags, think about what you will wear to conference sessions and what you will wear during downtime. If you ar ..read more

This Wednesday, April 6th at 3:30 pm EST, Andrea Burston (@jyjcounselor) and I are presenting Get Funding for Your School Counseling Program as part of the 2022 ASCA Webinar Series. ASCA Members can register for FREE at this link: bit.ly/getfundingasca. We will share practical tips about how you can get funding for your school counseling program. We will provide examples of how we sought out funding and how we use our school counseling budgets.  We can't wait to connect with you! Join along the conversation on social media using #scgetfunding. Want to learn even more ..read more

I love using Canva to make digital images to share with students. Last year I created a digital state testing tip image to share with students and families.  In Pennsylvania our state standardized tests are called the PSSAs and Keystone Exams. I created the image below and sent it to students in an email and shared them on my school Twitter account. My principal also shared the image in his weekly Schoology update. The State Testing Tips Digital Image contains the following tips: Get a good night's sleep Eat a healthy breakfast Come to school on time Know your testing location Bring ..read more

Did you know you can seamlessly create QR Codes using Google Chrome?! It is so easy and literally takes seconds.  In the brief video below, I share how to create a QR Code using Google Chrome. Why Use QR Codes? QR Codes are scannable with a smart device such as a smartphone, iPad, or other tablet. No need to type in a website URL. Easily Share Responses Combine Google Forms with a QR Code and you can easily get responses for your Google Forms. When I have a survey that I want students to take, such as needs assessments or a Minute Meeting form, I create a QR Code ..read more

I can't wait for it to finally feel like Spring in Pittsburgh, PA! If you are looking to add some spring vibes and mindfulness activities your school counseling office, check out the post below. Make Time for Mindfulness Bulletin Board I created this interactive spring mindfulness bulletin board for my school counseling office last year. I randomly got the idea to make pinwheels. It gives some major spring vibes. I linked all the QR codes to mindfulness activities or information. Get everything you need to create this "Make Time for Mindfulness" bulletin board by clicking on the image bel ..read more

Mark your calendar! Next Wednesday, April 6th at 3:30 pm EST, Andrea Burston (@jyjcounselor) and I are presenting Get Funding for Your School Counseling Program as part of the 2022 ASCA Webinar Series. ASCA Members can register for FREE at this link: bit.ly/getfundingasca. We will share practical tips about how you can get funding for your school counseling program. We will provide examples of how we sought out funding and how we use our school counseling budgets.  We can't wait to connect with you! Join along the conversation on social media using #scgetfunding. Want to ..read more

Join Andrea Burston (@jyjcounselor) & me on April 6th at 3:30pm EST for the 2022 ASCA Webinar Series.  We will share practical tips & tricks to get funding for your school counseling program! ??  ? Register here: bit.ly/getfundingasca  Want to learn even more ideas to level up your school counseling program? Request a workshop for your local or state school counselor association here: http://bit.ly/drsworkshop. This post originally appeared on School Counselor Blog ..read more