The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
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I am a certified school counselor at Lansing Middle School in Lansing, NY. I have worked as a school counselor for the past 20 years. My first 5 years of counseling were spent as an elementary and middle school counselor. A blog about the ideas and practices of a Middle School Counselor.
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
1w ago
Middle school is a time for young adolescents to learn to navigate from child to young adult. Many boundaries are tested, and independence is acquired. 8th graders are the big guys on campus, but they are still those sweet, young, innocent, scared kids who began their middle school career just a few short years earlier. ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
2w ago
During day 2 with the 8th graders, I wanted to expand on the values lesson from yesterday (click here for the values lesson). We discussed the quote, “Values are like fingerprints. Nobodies are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.” First, we talked about goals. This class already talked about SMART ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
1M ago
Last week I had the opportunity to spend 3 class days with our 8th graders. I wanted to combine career planning, goal setting, mindsets, and values with starting to think about high school. In a few short months, I will be calling each 8th grader and his/her parents to talk about future planning and high ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
1M ago
My lunch bunch groups were talking about what makes us special and unique. I recently did a lesson with them that teaches about seeing beyond our first glance and looking deeper. To begin, I had students take a piece of paper and their favorite color marker. I asked them to hold their marker just above ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
2M ago
When I was in grad school a million years ago, we often used timelines when talking with clients. When I began working as a school counselor, primarily with juniors and seniors and concentrating on the college admission process, I rarely pulled out the timeline. Working at a middle school, however, I find myself using timelines ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
2M ago
Have you ever heard of Mix It Up Day? We joined thousands of other schools across the country to say “No” to bullying in our school and personal lives. I had my Lunch Bunch kids help pick the theme, make the bulletin board and photo booth props we used, and hang posters around the school. ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
2M ago
This year I have several students that I need to see for counseling that is on their IEP or 504 plan. Because these students have goals, I needed to be able to track the progress they make while in counseling. As a result I created these forms. This form is to help me keep track ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
3M ago
When I first started at the middle school, I noticed that some students had their lockers decorated by friends for their birthdays while many others did not. Sometimes, students would come to me saying they were disappointed that their friends didn’t decorate their locker for their birthday. I wanted to make sure that all students ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
3M ago
I found these giant puzzle pieces at Oriental Trading Post and knew I had to use them because we have been talking about our uniqueness. I also wanted everyone to see how everyone’s special talents and abilities allow us to work together and become something great. The girls worked on these for several sessions, making ... Read more ..read more
The Middle School Counselor | Helping Students Reach For The Stars
3M ago
Recently, the 8th grade team asked me if I wanted to come talk to the entire class of 71 students. I jumped at the chance to get into the classroom with them. I was so grateful to have the students for 77 minutes. 77 minutes is essentially 2 class periods. I could get a lot ... Read more ..read more