Respect Quilts

Respect was one of the first Character Counts pillars that we discussed at the beginning of the school year. For my Kindergarten through 2nd grade students I asked each student to draw a picture of how they are respectful at school. Ideas ranged from simple drawings such as raising a hand to being respectful to a friend. After each class completed their drawing we strung together each drawing to make an individual classroom respect quilt. We discussed how it was important to be respectful in individual situations, but also how as a class respect also plays a large part to the group as a whole.  I then hung the quilts and added a catchy quote, "A day patched with respect, seldom unravels." My students loved referring back to the quilts throughout the year.

 

School Counseling Office

These are just a few snapshots of my school counseling office. I feel very fortunate to have a nice space to meet with individuals and groups. 

My office is easily accessible to many students in our school.

Colorful flowers for my first day as a counselor:)

In this space, I often meet with older students, parents, teachers etc. I have another table that I pair with this table to meet with larger groups. 

These are several of the social skills that I use in individual and group work with students. 

MORE TO COME!

Bulletin Boards

One of my favorite aspects of my first year as a school counselor has been bulletin boards! I don't have a bulletin board space, but I do have glass that covers my office. I used this space as my "bulletin" board space. I have always loved searching the many school counseling blogs for creative and unique bulletin board ideas. This year I got to try them out! Here are a few pictures of my first masterpieces!

 This was my first bulletin board. It sits directly behind my desk and I think it does a great job explaining to students what I do as a school counselor.

With this being my first year in my school, I wanted students to know who I was and what I do as a school counselor. This was a great tool in helping students learn what I do, but also where my office was!

I believe learning about careers in vitally important, even at the elementary level. I hope to add more to this bulletin board. 

At our school, we teach the Character Counts pillars. In the month of December, we learned about Caring and who better to teach about caring than the Grinch!

We had a door decorating contest at our school during the holidays. This is my counseling gingerbread house door! I won the door fit for a queen award (I was Miss Rodeo South Dakota back in the day).

In Wyoming, we have abundant amounts of snow each year, so what better to highlight than our beautiful and unique snowflakes, just like each one of my students.

Howdy!

Howdy, my name is Courtney and I am an elementary school counselor in Gillette, Wyoming. I graduated with my masters in school counseling from the University of Wyoming last year and I have enjoyed every minute of my first year as a school counselor. I am originally from South Dakota, where I received my bachelors degree in journalism. I am sad to say I will be leaving my elementary school that I am currently at to move to North Dakota this summer. I will be the school counselor at a K-12 public school in a rural area of North Dakota. I am excited for the many changes ahead and I hope to share much of my journey with you!