My Binders

{I wrote this post months ago, but completely forgot to publish it.}

Carol Miller's post Counselor Binder Update reminded me that I needed to post what was in my binder. This year I am using 4 main binders. YES!!! 4!!! 2 of them are my transcript binders (A-L, M-Z). The 3rd is my regular yearly binder where I put meeting notes, evaluations, certifcates, etc. The last one is my senior binder. I use that more frequently than my yearly binder. The sections are:

• Weekly Calendar
• Senior Spreadsheet 
• PLATO/AAI/Credit Recovery completions 
• Parent Contact Logs 
• Student Contact Logs (don't know how often I will use this form since I have all students sign in when they are in my office)
• Misc. (everything else that should be in the binder)

Instead of tab-dividers, I created cover pages and put them in sheet protectors to serve as dividers. I like it much better than regular dividers. 
Font: KG Seven Sixteen. Free download from teachers pay teachers. I love this font!! There is a whole package of fonts!!! 
Background design: Polka dot paper from: Free download from The Hazel Owl on teachers pay teacher. Direct link: Digital Papers-Polka Dots
Binder Spines: I also used the polka dot design for my some of my binder spine covers. The other polka dots are: Lotsa Dots from Mardel 

Snow Days!!!

We've had a few snow days in the last couple of weeks. I LOVE SNOW DAYS!!! We had two in one week and one the next week...and now we're on Spring Break. We have to make-up the days (Good Friday and June 8), but high school counselors work until June 24 anyway so I'm not complaining ;) 

{I went to high school in Denver so I'm used to the snow. Texas snow, however, is different. Texas "snow" usually means ICE. I feel comfortable driving in snow, but ice??!!...that's a completely different thing. I will gladly stay at home and enjoy my unplanned day off.} 

Being out for snow days did change the plans we had for our seniors. We were planning to take them on college tours. Each group [of seniors] was going to visit one of four colleges. We might be able to reschedule for next month. 

**Being Prepared For The Unexpected** 

Usually the weather people are good at predicting serious snow/ice, but sometimes the weather is worse than anyone expects. That was the case a couple weeks ago. The snow didn't begin falling until after 8am, so the schools didn't close. As the hours passed, the snow kept falling and the roads got bad (accidents, delays, freeway closures, etc.). Smaller districts were releasing the students early, but the larger districts weren't. As a result, many parents came to the school to pick up their child. Thankfully, we had a plan in place from our experience with the blackout. We had a lot of parents show up, but we handled it extremely well. We were well organized and prepared. Everyone had a specific assignment/duty. Of course, there will always be room for improvement, but I am proud of the job we did. We even had parents tell us how organized it was. 

View from inside the school

My doormat at my apartment. I live one the 2nd floor. 

2nd floor again. The wind was blowing hard. 

Quick post: Catching Up On The Year

I'm going to attempt to cover my year so far....In no particular order.

Red Ribbon Week!!

We decided to have a little fun and support Red Ribbon Week using Mr. Mackey from South Park. Each grade had a "Mr. Mackey" board. I think we enjoyed it more than the students. 

Word Walls!!

We wanted to promote college during "Education! Go Get It!" Week. We loosely defined college as any and all post-secondary options: 2-year college/university, 4-year college/university, military, trade/technical school, workforce, etc. We had a financial aid word wall and a college word wall. 

Marching Storm!!

Prairie View A&M's band, the Marching Storm, performed for our students before the State Fair Classic. We wanted to expose our students to college life, different types of schools and different types of bands. 

Ugly Sweater Contest!!

I entered an ugly sweater contest...and WON!!!! I won Most Creative. My sweater had lights and an annoying chirping bird. My (counselor) coworker won Best Holiday Sweater.

My sweater

My co-worker's sweater--Best Holiday Sweater

My co-worker's sweater. Unfortunately, she didn't win :(

#2 won Ugliest. Yes, that is hair on the sweater. LOL!! 

Winning sweaters: #12: Most Creative; #14: Best Holiday 

NBCSL!!

We took a group of students to the National Black Caucus of State Legislators' Conference in Dallas. Rickey Smiley was the keynote speaker.

 

Lights Out!!

We had a power outage, but school must go on :) We were the welcoming committee and crowd control. We had a good time on our "porch."

I think I covered almost everything. 

Until next time...

Quick Post: Life of a Senior Counselor

I asked one of our student assistants to update my bulletin board with the graduation date.  She did an EXCELLENT job!!!!! She wrote "2015" on each tassel. #AttentionToDetail

It's Been A Long Time!!!

Wow!! It's been a long time since I posted :( I Guess I didn't make my goal of posting weekly. Maybe next year. LOL!

A lot's been going on! Our (counseling) department won the CREST Award!!!!! What is CREST??
We attended the Texas School Counselor Conference in Galveston. We had a great time! Our next goal: applying for the RAMP.

Had to make sure we took some time for Wellness

Picture with my roomie