tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21942965564461905152024-03-19T00:11:25.413-04:00Finding the Thyme"Do what you love and love what you do."
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-9634817856175331482014-08-27T22:38:00.001-04:002014-08-27T22:38:47.546-04:00Lessons from my first year<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the eve of my second first day of school I pulled out my journal from last year. It has only one entry, which I wanted to share. It is me in an extremelt vulnerable, anxious, and distraught place (I know...on the first day of school?!). I wanted to share it because I remember thinking "how will things get better?" They weren't always better, but they weren't always bad. I wanted the first years out there to know they are not alone and remind the seasoned professionals the same. I enter my second year tomorrow and I am having PTSD-lile flashbacks. I am optimistic for the best and prepared for the not so great.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 29, 2013</span></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First day of school. Excited. Confident. Long to do list to get prepared.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8:00 Starbucks--There's always time</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8:30 Greet as many teachers as I can and wish them a great first day. Positive climate and relationships.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9:00 up to your eyeballs in kindergartners.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By 10 you're working 1:1 to alleviate behavioral aggression. PE teacher was hit. Principal too.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mimicker arises. Almost worse by the end of the day. Running after a bolter. Trying to grasp what comes next.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meet parents who were "waiting for the call." Feels like meeting is happening around me. To do list grows. Social stories. Token boards. PPT in two days. SPED laws you don't know yet. You barely know your caseload.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stressed. Overwhelmed. Defeated. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do I so? Do I really know anything? In over my head. How do I ask for help without seeming incompetent? </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Schedule 15+ meetings. 2 initial evals. All by the end of September. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In over my head. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sob at home. Sob in shower.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anxiety attack.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Negative self talk.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Easily irritated.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Need space.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stressed about tomorrow. What do I do first?</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Exhausted and only mildly hopeful...</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This journal entry sums up what it felt like to be me on that first day. I didn't want to go back but I did. The tears didn't end there. The anxiety didn't subside until summer. Kids came and went. Others flared up. Its all part of our job. Tomorrow new kids will arrive and I may not be any more ready for it than last year. That's okay. I will do my best. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I never wrote any more in my journal. I decided to challenge myself this year and write one positive each (school) day to try and help me reframe the bad days and celebrate the good. My first entry is tonight. It involves a tough kiddo who I spoke to today. I called dad to share a major curveball for tomorrow. Dad put the student on to say hi, which shocked me. He said he had lots of his original comic book stories to tell me (94 to be exact) and said he had just done the ice bucket challenge! I was shocked that he even got on the phone period, but to share two things (and subconsciously indicate he was excited to see me) is major step! I hope it lasts, but recognize his current affections are fleeting. But for today it is my positive and I'm excited to see what other moments I appreciate along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span><br />
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<br />Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-78572706147251481422014-08-21T23:24:00.001-04:002014-08-21T23:24:09.987-04:00Comic Challenge<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was nominated by a fellow member of CASP to complete the Comic Challenge. The Comic Challenge aims to <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">to raise awareness and use humor to begin conversations surrounding mental health </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">and decrease stigma. I nominated CASP's President, Tom; a long-time friend and school psychologist, Anna; and SkoolPsychMo of the Burgeoning School Psychologist!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Until next thyme,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Erika</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">P.S. Is this considered a "vlog"? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">P.P.S. I haven't posted in far too long. Perhaps I'll be better at it this school year....</span></span>Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-15583050649455785632014-04-20T22:50:00.001-04:002014-04-20T22:50:08.373-04:00RIP April Vacation<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have no words knowing tomorrow is Monday and I will no longer be on vacation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No more late nights, attending happy hour on a Wednesday, or sleeping until the late hours of the morning. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Only 45 more school days until summer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...wait, that's a full initial timeline. Who shall I refer tomorrow!?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Until next thyme, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Erika</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-23973823889870294802014-03-23T15:19:00.001-04:002014-03-23T15:19:46.437-04:00Things You Learn Your First Year Teaching<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Great video Buzzfeed. Great points to remember during my lowest lows. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span>Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-9584809509850595952014-03-07T20:12:00.001-05:002014-03-07T20:12:44.804-05:00The Lighthouse Award<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My first blog post was way back in June 2010. I had just graduated from Saint Michael's and was looking for a way to chronicle post-grad life. I was going to graduate school for school psychologist, but also had a passion for food. In my early posts I tried to morph my adventures in school psychology with those in the kitchen. Posts highlighting my experiences in the profession were mixed with various recipes and restaurants I tried. I was <i>really</i> trying to use the kitchen as my self-care outlet. However, as grad school wore on, my recipe posts became far and few between. The only constant remained my work as a school psychologist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After some spring cleaning in the fall to make my blog focus strictly school psychology, I have "officially" published 60 posts (61 if you count this!). I have plenty in my drafts that remain unfinished, but I hope to publish one day (re: when I have time). Posts have focused on the ups and downs in my journey as a student learning to be a school psychologist and my feelings of "fake it 'til you make it" as I struggled through my first year as an elementary school psychologist. If for nothing else, my blog has been an outlet to vent my feelings on education and the ridiculousness that can be school psychology; the positives and negatives. It is an added bonus to know that people actually read it! I'm amazed, honored, flattered, and humbled to report that I have <span style="text-align: right;">28,279 all time page views! Are you kidding?! </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My top posts include:</span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Praxis Exam for School Psychologists (2, 458 views)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Importance of Recess (895 views)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Book Review: School Psychologists Survival Guide (745 views)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The reason for my reflection and nostalgia is because I have been nominated for the Lighthouse Award by <a href="http://skoolpsych.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-happy-light.html" target="_blank">The Burgeoning School Psychologist</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/SkoolPsychMo" target="_blank">@SkoolPsychMo</a> was one of my first blogger/Twitter friends. She has "watched" (aka read) my journey. She has been a supporter, advocate, and confidant. I LOVE when I see her posts come through in my email, so I can be sure to read about her adventures. @SkoolPsychMo always helps to build me up when I am feeling my lowest. This nomination came at the perfect time as I, once again, am feeling defeat in this first year. @SkoolPsychMo described me as: "a<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> juggernaut disguised as a burgeoning school psychologist. She's incredibly knowledgeable, capable and awesome!" Thanks for that pick-me-up!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rules of the nomination are: </span></span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 24.933334350585938px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 18px 36px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Display the Award certificate on your blog.</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Write a post and link back to the blogger that nominated you.</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Inform your nominees of their award nominations</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share three ways that you like to help other people.</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is no limit to the number of people that you can nominate.</span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> HAVE FUN!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;">Three ways that I like to help aspiring and veteran school psychologists include:</span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><b>Sharing my successes and downfalls in order to demonstrate that while we are "all-knowing" we don't know all. </b>I have to keep this in the forefront of my mind constantly in order to get through the year/month/week/day/meeting. We have a lot of knowledge in our brains to share, BUT we can also learn more and empower others to learn along with us.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><b>I like to post about things people want to know or need.</b> We all run into that time or case when we need to put our finger on something to support those in our building(s). I work to compile resources for others whenever I have run into a case that I do some research. I hope that in compiling these lists, I take <i>some</i> burden off other school psychs looking for information on the exact same topic. My lists are not always perfect, but they are a starting point. </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;">Piggybacking on reason 2, <b>I love connecting with other school psychs on the web; they are my family who actually get what I do!</b> I can process with my co-workers, fiance, and family about the major struggs I encounter on the job. Just like with TEVAL observations, we need someone who gets what we do in order to problem-solve and regain some sanity. </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;">Now for the moment you have all been waiting for! Many of my favorite school psych blogs have already been nominated by @SkoolPsychMo, so I am going to highlight those that did not make her list that I think are awesome resources. My nominations are: </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><a href="http://studentsgrow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Notes from a School Psychologist</a>: Dr. Branstetter was the first blog I read about school psychology. I loved the idea of blogging about my travels in order to connect with others in the biz. She is an incredible school psychologist and is not afraid to wave her nerd flag! (<a href="https://twitter.com/studentsgrow" target="_blank">@StudentsGrow</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><a href="http://psychedaboutschool.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Psyched About School</a>: Sarah is a colleague in CT and an amazing school psychologist! She has lots of posts about resources available for families in CT, which I love! In person, she is a funny and dedicated member of the profession, and is always looking for a way to advocate for students. A must follow for those in CT (<a href="https://twitter.com/psychdabtschool" target="_blank">@PsychdAbtSchool</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/thewrightpsych/" target="_blank">The Wright Psych</a>: Jason is an excellent resource of all things school psych and special education. His site is chock full of resources ranging from legal issues to getting help for your child to RtI. Be sure to check him out on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/TheSchoolPsych" target="_blank">@TheSchoolPsych</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><a href="http://rationalesnotrules.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rationales, not rules</a>: This blog is by Lauren, an intern and third year student at Tufts. I love reading her blog as it keeps me focused on best practices. She has some great posts about advocacy, interventions, and interesting research. Be sure to follow her on Twitter for some great articles (<a href="https://twitter.com/laurenrosenbaum" target="_blank">@LaurenRosenbaum</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24.933334350585938px;"><a href="http://www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org/" target="_blank">Elementary School Counseling</a>: I know this is not a school psych blog, but I really love following school counselor pages as they have some GREAT ideas for groups and individual counseling. Marissa shares product reviews, intervention materials, lesson plans, and videos. Be sure to check out her page and other school counselor blogs! (<a href="https://twitter.com/ESCorg" target="_blank">@ESCorg</a>)</span></div>
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Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-1850405305716276512014-03-07T18:16:00.000-05:002014-03-07T18:16:21.619-05:00TGIF!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know about you, but this week has been crazy busy! I have had meetings, testing, consults, phone calls, emails, and crises out to the wazoo! Not to mention all that other "stuff" I/we do as the building school psychologist. I also developed a cold Thursday of this week; fourth one of the year. Just that little way for the school psych gods to let me know they are still watching and scheming to make this the toughest first year on record!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, I came across two memes this morning and I couldn't help but share. They exemplify how I am feeling as of late and made me smile knowing that I am not the only feeling like a looney bird!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WBwGPOf-k8ncMhSPjWkJPmXyiOUwT32gLXhjmnaA4COP8kiIj0PN_lhTFmdp1jZGOLp4zqiRlSbPsopnFNd0fcf7pQygfWXrp3fI_k_VUUQmfkDnvraNet3XUZHKk5tlMDidBjRfSw/s1600/1796489_682364878494902_733121923_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WBwGPOf-k8ncMhSPjWkJPmXyiOUwT32gLXhjmnaA4COP8kiIj0PN_lhTFmdp1jZGOLp4zqiRlSbPsopnFNd0fcf7pQygfWXrp3fI_k_VUUQmfkDnvraNet3XUZHKk5tlMDidBjRfSw/s1600/1796489_682364878494902_733121923_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shared by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SchoolPsychologyTools" target="_blank">School Psychology Tools</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUwLIt6bnT6qBejH4ugwnou2tYdmduK3XwiWhpjVVL0_z3hOos2cZ6LyPqdJAzbV9-4oIkvmfEBG7xXH0cV0szUpXHxthy7hj-ELue4xKs4M40wGMO2kTDa5n-m8hyphenhyphen_MrOGhvSwcgKA/s1600/1898091_838672259493009_1206760161_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUwLIt6bnT6qBejH4ugwnou2tYdmduK3XwiWhpjVVL0_z3hOos2cZ6LyPqdJAzbV9-4oIkvmfEBG7xXH0cV0szUpXHxthy7hj-ELue4xKs4M40wGMO2kTDa5n-m8hyphenhyphen_MrOGhvSwcgKA/s1600/1898091_838672259493009_1206760161_n.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shared by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SincerelySchoolPsychologist" target="_blank">Sincerely, School Psychologist</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy<strike> report writing</strike> weekend!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-32048284333577624492014-02-26T22:07:00.003-05:002014-02-26T22:08:29.053-05:00Data, Data, DATA!<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The number of parent referrals for special education make me think that someone has written my email on the bathroom stall of every single establishment within the ten mile radius of my school. Better yet, there may have been a mailing or TV commercial.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As our latest cycle of SRBI interventions has begun, report cards are around the corner, and the 100th day of school came and went, I have had an influx of teacher requests for meetings to discuss testing. Often these students are behind academically and do present with some concerns. However, how do we triage to meet the needs of students in our building and on our caseload?! How do you "pick" which child gets tested first?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My team is working to ensure that we have data to back up a referral, especially when you review eligibility guidelines (!), but often what teachers say is: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>They have been in Tier 3 since October and haven't made much progress!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This raises some red flags: (1) are they being provided with intensive, individualized instruction with fidelity?, (2) October was 4 months ago and since then we have had two vacations and 7 snow days, (3) what is "much progress?" how much? what's the trendline? do you have graphs (!), (4) have we changed up the intervention if they are not making expected gains to ensure we are pinpointing the correct skills?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-FUzJtLcbIJOZ-3QagifEqYFSf-I3Xv9b-cb9p6urlycNGFuUAHxwQYr8DN9h4kIkuU1XsgLsyt9vMlbO53jKv-Rjfwh_5djaYEhXxCztGswpQRn3hwAl1k7iRlXB5wFzyUOfo7drg/s1600/EBI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-FUzJtLcbIJOZ-3QagifEqYFSf-I3Xv9b-cb9p6urlycNGFuUAHxwQYr8DN9h4kIkuU1XsgLsyt9vMlbO53jKv-Rjfwh_5djaYEhXxCztGswpQRn3hwAl1k7iRlXB5wFzyUOfo7drg/s1600/EBI.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My school leans towards two measures of progress monitoring data: DIBELS ORF and Cloze Maze. I have concerns with this. Interventions are not always targeting student needs. Not all teachers are doing Tier 1 probes beyond the Fountas and Pinnell and rely heavily on the ORF and Cloze Maze to track progress. What about the Core Phonics Survey? Developmental Spelling Assessment? <a href="http://www.interventioncentral.org/curriculum-based-measurement-reading-math-assesment-tests" target="_blank">ANY OTHER CBM MEASURE!!??</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please check out this resource from Elmbrook Schools on progress monitoring: <a href="http://www.elmbrookschools.org/data/files/gallery/ContentGallery/Progress_Monitoring_Guidelines_and_Requirements1.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After you have done your diligence to collect some data, these kids are often trumped by parent requests that come through. I am required to schedule a Planning and Placement Team meeting within a reasonable time (i.e., 5 days). This may bump kids down the list until our staff is more available to be able to meet testing demands. However, as we enter into Annual Review season, I do not forsee my schedule freeing up any time soon. #lesigh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So...what's a first year school psych to do? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This young professional has been seeking supervision and attempting to keep her supervisor apprised of all the referrals coming through and where our testing load is at. However, this is not necessarily a building-based issue; our entire department is struggling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I really feel that there is a systemic change that needs to occur, even if in our building alone. I have been probing to start the conversation about examining our tiered supports and see if we need to strengthen Tier 1, as well as our Tiers 2 and 3. We also need to educate staff and parents about the types of data we need to collect and to ensure that the interventions we provide are targeting skills. Moving between tiers should be based on DATA not on the length of time spent in an intervention, especially when jumping to special ed. Some kids might just need tiered levels of support; doesn't make them special ed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Does anyone have any advice to share about how to deal with this issue or the system you have in your schools?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
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<br />Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-85898644643864470642014-02-20T18:41:00.002-05:002014-02-20T18:41:22.607-05:00Supporting Students in Grief: Elementary School<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is with a heavy heart that I compiled a list of resources for working with students dealing with loss. My school community has experienced two losses in a very short amount of time. As we prepared for the return of two students following the loss of a parent, I was asked to compile resources to share with the staff and others who needed guidance. Additionally, we have a few students who we consider <i>at-risk </i>as they have experienced a significant loss recently and would need additional support. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thankfully, I had the resources of the National Association of School Psychologists at my fingertips. It is an incredible resource and worth every penny spent on a membership. They have handouts, position statements, and information available on a wide range of topics at the click of the mouse.</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/deathgrief.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death & Grief: Supporting Children and Youth </span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/griefwar.pdf" target="_blank">Helping Children Cope with Loss, Death, and Grief: Tips for Teachers and Parents</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/publications/booksproducts/HCHS3_Samples/S9H6_Death_and_Grief_in_the_Family.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death and Grief in the Family: Providing Support at School</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/nasp_griefparents.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death and Grief in the Family: Tips for Parents</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Books_for_Children_Dealing_With_Loss_or_Trauma.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Books for Children Coping with Loss or Trauma</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New York Life has developed resources for parents and educators working with children dealing with loss. I provided these to my administrator as well. </span><br />
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<li><a href="http://www.newyorklife.com/nyl/v/index.jsp?contentId=143244&vgnextoid=322b52b2a4122310VgnVCM100000ac841cacRCRD" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death and Loss: Helping Children Manage Their Grief</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.newyorklife.com/newyorklife.com/General/FileLink/Static%20Files/NYLF%20KIDS%20Brochure%20FINAL%203.5.12.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grief Journey of a Child</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.scholastic.com/livewebcasts/nylife/index.htm" target="_blank">Students and Grief: Dealing with Loss in School (webcast)</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope that some of these resources are helpful in the case that you also have to support students during a time of loss and grief. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-57663670085309195522014-02-04T21:53:00.002-05:002014-02-04T21:53:30.475-05:00How I Feel About Snow Days.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span>Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-90513978512583226702014-02-03T14:39:00.000-05:002014-02-03T14:39:28.059-05:00#CTedchat<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year I was welcomed to the Connecticut Association of School Psychologist (CASP) Executive Board as a Co-Chair of the Social Media Ad-Hoc Committee. As part of this position I work alongside a fellow school psychologist to help manage our social media outlets, including <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Connecticut-Association-of-School-Psychologists/159386490765649" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CTSchoolPsych" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/caspmembership/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>. As part of the upcoming issue of "The Connecticut School Psychologist" I wrote a blurb about one of the newest education Twitter chats: #CTedchat.</span><div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As professionals we are always
working to expand our skill set and engage in much needed professional
development. Since beginning graduate school I have developed a large group of
educator professionals with whom I have corresponded through blogs, Twitter,
and Facebook. Their support and expertise helped to expand my understanding of
school psychology and education beyond the experiences I had in my textbooks
and classes. I was able to share thoughts, ideas, tips, and tricks with the
members of my own professional learning network (PLN) and learn from their
daily experiences as a school psychologist. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the ever-growing world of
social media there are a variety of ways to develop and get involved in your
own PLN. One specific way to expand your PLN is through Twitter chats. A
Twitter chat is when a group of individuals come together online to engage in
meaningful discussions on a specific topic or interest area. These chats are
flagged using hashtags, which is recognized on Twitter by using the pound key
(#). Moderators help to guide the discussion during the hour long chat in order
to encourage participation and learning. Questions and answers are also
identifiable by using a “Q1, A1” format. A steady stream of dialogue,
discussion, and learning happens, which are all linked together using the
specified hashtag. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Given the increasing popularity
and convenience of Twitter chats, a new education-based chat has emerged with a
focus on bringing together educators in Connecticut: #ctedchat. Conversations
take place on Thursday nights from 8:00-9:00 and are co-moderated by Tom Brant
(@TomBrant) and Charles Dumais (@CharlesDumais). Tom Brant is a school psychologist
at Newtown High School and President of CASP. Charles Dumais is the current
Newtown High School principal and incoming Region 5 Superintendent as of March
1, 2014. Members of the education community are encouraged to guest moderate a
chat in their area of expertise. Invited Twitter chat participants range from
school psychologists, principals, and teachers to students, their parents, and
others interested in discussing education. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The inaugural #ctedchat took
place on December 12, 2013 with the focus question of “what is the appropriate
amount of pressure for students?” Since the inaugural chat topics have included
student leadership, final exams, school vacations, school climate and global
education. Over the next two #ctedchat sessions, participants will cover
social-emotional learning and teacher evaluations. Both of these are hot topics
in education. We hope to see you there!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To join the conversation, check
out this <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%C2%B7%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5iaJJyGn1_nMlJVNjl5UFpMVTQ/edit" target="_blank">how-to guide</a> created by Thomas Murray (@ThomasCMurray), the co-founder
of #edtechchat and the Director of Technology and Cybereducation in the
Quakertown Schools. For more information on other
education Twitter chats, check out the following links: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiftIdjCeWSXdDRLRzNsVktUUGJpRWJhdUlWLS1Genc#gid=0" target="_blank">weekly Twitter chat</a> and <a href="http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/09/23/13-twitter-chats-for-educators.aspx" target="_blank">13 Twitter Chats Every Educator Should Check Out</a>.</span></i></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope to see you there for conversation and professional development! See you Thursdays at 8 EST!</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></o:p></div>
</div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-6857935963633613542014-01-20T15:41:00.002-05:002014-01-20T15:41:57.381-05:00Bibliotherapy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a first year school psychologist I had a lot to prep over the summer in order to be ready to go for the first day of school. (see "<a href="http://findingthethyme.blogspot.com/2013/09/first-year-office.html" target="_blank">First Year Office</a>").</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One area I found that needed "beefing up" was my library, especially because my school's focus (or student learning objective 1 aka SLO 1) for teacher evaluations was on improving reading comprehension. I needed to find a way, as a school psychologist, to improve the skill areas needed for reading comprehension, such as answering "What" questions, making predictions, and understanding character thoughts and feelings. In order to address student needs based on their IEPs <u style="font-weight: bold;">AND </u> find a way to improve reading comprehension with a small cohort of students, I decided to use bibiliotherapy as my vehicle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, I had zero funds to develop a library of books to target the varying grade levels and skills levels of this cohort of students. I spent time perusing the district elementary school's library catalogs and local libraries to find the books I needed. However, options were limited. It was also difficult to track down a book and have to complete a lesson by its due date. I found myself renewing books constantly in an attempt to squeeze lessons in. Don't get me started on finding books that are tailored for specific populations, such as "<a href="http://socialthinking.com/books-products/whole-body-listening-larry-at-school-detail" target="_blank">Whole Body Listening Larry</a>!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then, as though a message from the school psych gods, I received an email for a grant application offered in my district. I used this as an opportunity to get what I needed for my students. I applied for $350 to purchase materials in order to improve students social-emotional competencies using text. Within my proposal I outlined my spending for half of the monies I was asking for. I figured that I should ask for more than I needed for immediate use in order to support any areas that pop up during the school year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right before Christmas break, I learned I had been awarded money for my grant proposal! And, to my surprise, I was awarded my amount in full: all $350! In preparation for this moment I had begun hoarding book titles on a Pinterest board. I also found the blog <a href="http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Books that Heal Kids</a> to be extremely helpful. She has great descriptions of the books and what she likes about them. I spent some time picking and choosing the ones I was most interested in and that were most relevant to my students. I also strove to link books to our Mood Meter and other <a href="http://ei.yale.edu/ruler/the-anchors-of-emotional-intelligence/" target="_blank">RULER anchors</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Needless to say, I had such a fun time loading up my Amazon cart! Before I knew it I was close to my $350! I decided to save items for another purchase order if I didn't need them immediately, or if I knew our school library had them. I spent approximately $250 and have a few other books to buy on specialized sites, like www. socialthinking.com.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, without further ado, I present my new bibliotherapeutic library!</span><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031612656X/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Crankenstein</a> (Berger, Samantha)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1557988110/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i05?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Double Dip Feelings: Stories to Help Kids Understand Emotions</a> (Cain, Barbara)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575424347/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">This Morning Sam Went to Mars: The Book About Paying Attention </a>(Carlson, Nancy)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636850/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">My Mouth is a Volcano</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636915/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i15?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">My Mouth is a Volcano: Activity and Idea Book</a></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636877/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i13?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Personal Space Camp</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636931/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i08?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Personal Space Camp: Activity and Idea Book</a></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193163677X/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Soda Pop Head</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937870022/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i09?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Soda Pop Head: Activity and Idea Book</a></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636842/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i11?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Its Hard to Be a Verb!</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931636559/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i06?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Its Hard to Be a Verb: Activity and Idea Book</a></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193449030X/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i14?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Making Friends is an Art</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934490350/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i07?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Teamwork Isn't My Thing, and I Don't Like to Share!</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937870014/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Wilma Jean and the Worry Machine</a> (Cook, Julia)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982993803/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i16?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Your Fantastic Elastic Brain!</a> (Deak, Joann)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670013951/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Llama Llama and the Bully Goat</a> (Dewdney, Anna)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603364692/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets</a> (Esham, Barbara)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1433812916/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i17?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">How Do You Doodle</a> (Gravel, Elise)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575423901/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i10?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Zach Gets Frustrated</a> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Mulcahy, William)</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575423898/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i05?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Zach Apologizes </a>(Mulcahy, William)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449401716/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">The Rainbow Book</a> (Ohrt, Kelly)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935326457/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i06?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy </a>(Sornson, Bob)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935954148/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i12?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Happy </a>(Van Hout, Mies)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1433805537/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">The Grouchies</a> (Wagenbach, Kelly)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061921122/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Kindergators: Hands Off, Harry! </a>(Wells, Rosemary)</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-65052180406208334622014-01-09T22:33:00.004-05:002014-01-09T22:33:58.424-05:00First Year Reflection<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My poor blog has been neglected
for far too long. As has my Twitter. As has my personal life. As has my gym membership.
Le sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had imagined that I would be
blogging up a storm in my first year. Passing on my words of wisdom if you
will. Well that didn’t happen the way I planned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The truth is I felt as though I
had no words of wisdom to pass onto you. I was (and still am) treading water so
I don’t drown (completely). My first year has been one obstacle after another
and I have barely been able to keep it together. I have cried (and laughed, I
promise!). I have had long days and longer nights. I dream about kids and the
mountains of paperwork and the kids I don’t get to that I should. I worry about
going to “PPT jail” for mistakes I may or may not have made. This learning
curve was far steeper than I ever imagined it would or could be. Overtime, I
have learned to be okay with that. I like learning; I really do. But…if I could
have had a little bit more time to settle into my school and role, I would have
been far happier and confident. Don’t you wish there was a pause button on
life!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of this past summer I
was interviewed by my alma mater about my experience in the program and how it
prepared me for my first job. I had forgotten about the interview until the
photographer emailed me to set up a chance to get some “action shots.” Well,
seeing as I was 2 hours away from Boston, we agreed to meet on an upcoming
visit home and take photos outside a local school. After this encounter I,
again, forgot about the article until one day a friend texted me a photo of
myself on a mailer for my program. I immediately emailed the women who had
contacted me from the start and managed to get my hands on the <a href="http://mspp.edu/about/rapport/index.php" target="_blank">article </a>and
additional mailers I was featured on <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(scroll approximately halfway down in the link)</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I read the article, I couldn’t
help but wonder who the young woman was that was describing her experience. It
sure wasn’t me. She was far too confident. Far too sure of herself. It couldn’t
have been me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, it was. Before I had any
real experience, I thought I could conquer the world. I had it all under
control and I was going to make a difference! Little did I know that my daily
life would be paperwork, meetings, and little interactions with students. I
felt sad that my “dreams” of what a school psychologist did were slipping away.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rest assured, I KNOW I am all of
those things. I KNOW I can make a difference and do every day. You forget this
until you have someone remind you of it or you have a success story to share. There
is always a challenge, always copies to make, always a crisis to handle. There
are pressures and stressors that I never imagined, including teacher evaluations,
which are an added weight to my already heavy load. (I have trouble understanding
how I can be evaluated on my work with children when I rarely get to work with
children. But that is a conversation for another day!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post is not meant to be a
sad and depressing one, but rather a vulnerable account of a reality check I
have had this year (well, I guess it is kind of sad/depressing #debbiedowner). Things are not always the way we imagine them. We are dealt
a deck of cards and we need to figure out how to best organize and triage and
service needs. I want to be in the classrooms more. I want to work with kids
far more often than I am. However, that is not <i>my</i> first year. I can only do the best that I can do. I am setting
too high of expectations for anyone to attain so early in their career (or
maybe ever!). I cannot be my version of the perfect school psychologist, but I
can be someone else’s version. Instead, I will be my “best self each and every
day” (taken directly from our school pledge!). This year is a learning year; to
figure out the moving parts. Next year I will conquer something different and
so on for years to come. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I want this post to serve as a
reminder for all of us, the newbies and the seasoned professionals, that we are
always learning and adapting. We must push ourselves every day, but understand
that we can only do so much. At times (or most times) our job feels like it is
an impossible task for one individual. In response, I challenge you to advocate
for what you need, seek supervision, and remember your best you! I have to
remind myself this daily, especially the part about asking for help J. I really love having
the backing of all my school psychs from near and far to be supportive of and
support me. I can now see that I retreated when I needed them most. I hope you
all can forgive me…pretty please! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that I've dragged you down, time to pump you up! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://positivepetunia.blogspot.com/2013/04/dont-compare-your-chapter-oneto-someone.html"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://positivepetunia.blogspot.com/2013/04/dont-compare-your-chapter-oneto-someone.html</span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/p/school-signs.html"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/p/school-signs.html</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-50203947698237523492013-09-09T23:20:00.000-04:002013-09-09T23:20:21.404-04:00First Year Office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mk3TEIdh0po-N51PF1pEp3R8LXEBoae44WHqfKthvaazKkhZUImWwaN5moWR5QyUEcuwmGcKfzdYO8Jdw2IFIGqDSwVonqZisJqBYuNTFBADt75p1aSdsNPILzKq-n-rPPgFeL47Tw/s1600/CAM00829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mk3TEIdh0po-N51PF1pEp3R8LXEBoae44WHqfKthvaazKkhZUImWwaN5moWR5QyUEcuwmGcKfzdYO8Jdw2IFIGqDSwVonqZisJqBYuNTFBADt75p1aSdsNPILzKq-n-rPPgFeL47Tw/s320/CAM00829.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">My first year as a school
psychologist is finally here. I started (officially) last week for new teacher
orientation and have been participating in professional development until the
kids arrive later this week. However, I have been in my school and in my office
for about two weeks in preparation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Knowing myself, I knew I needed
to have a physical space to match my mental space. While I can leave my
apartment in chaos (which drives the fiancé cray cray!), I cannot stand having
my office in chaos. I need it to welcoming, organized, and neat. (Can a Type A
personality be environmentally based?) After making a thorough list of
everything I thought I would need I scoured sales papers and the internet for
all the best deals. As a new school psych, money is tight! In my role as PPT
Coordinator my small stipend for supplies gets used up quickly for things like
envelopes necessary for the PPT process. In the end it works out because the
things I purchased have my name on them and come with me wherever I go.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Games/Art<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I purchased some of the standard
games, like Trouble, Candyland, Connect Four, Topple, and Uno. I scored <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-102040000-100E-Whoonu/dp/B000B6MLJG" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Whoonu</span> </a>for $1.50 at
Goodwill, which was the best find of the past five years. I mean, where can you
get a board game for less than $10 and one that is <i>sooo</i> versatile!? I also got a great deal on a <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-31654-Brain-Breaks-Game/dp/B004X0I70I/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1377653623&sr=1-1&keywords=brain+breaks+cranium" target="_blank">Cranium Brain Breaks</a></span> game
set ($6 in the Target clearance!). I’m not sure its full purpose yet, but I’ll
keep you posted. My family introduced me to a dice game called <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Patch-Products-Farkle-Dice-Cup/dp/B004W8P5A6/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1377653680&sr=1-2&keywords=farkle" target="_blank">Farkle</a></span>. It is a great one
to have in your personal collection at home, but I think it will be a bonus for
the office. It requires math skills (!) and is a game of risk. I think some of
my impulsive kiddos could benefit from the underlying principles. I also
purchased a set of<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-318-Rorys-Story-Cubes/dp/B003EIK136/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1377653726&sr=1-1&keywords=rory+story+cubes" target="_blank"> Rory’s Story Cubes</a>. I think these will make a great ice breaker for groups and
have many other uses. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjgcG_23uKj_XtTAGHgh4LMenlH_D27pbPxRIVD3s-sidRQxq1vMD7TCw6Z5DFFMqxQ6wVbg50hQAUi4xHh04tSByV3jQH6w3XTOzvP8G06LX-x05h25EQPDCZHpx6PA_A1p_EBNFWg/s1600/P1070122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjgcG_23uKj_XtTAGHgh4LMenlH_D27pbPxRIVD3s-sidRQxq1vMD7TCw6Z5DFFMqxQ6wVbg50hQAUi4xHh04tSByV3jQH6w3XTOzvP8G06LX-x05h25EQPDCZHpx6PA_A1p_EBNFWg/s200/P1070122.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also got some markers, crayons,
color pencils, and drawing paper. I had copies of coloring pages from previous
years, which can be found <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://www.doodle-art-alley.com/" target="_blank">here</a></span>.
I also have the necessary standby: Playdoh. I also have some mini jars I got at
the Target dollar bin last year in my counseling materials. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I bought a handful of dolls and
plush toys at Ikea, as well as bins to hold them. I <i>had</i> to buy the bulldog in honor of my Yale connections :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After I spent a lot of money on
the various items for my arsenal, I realized I had neglected my bibliotherapy
library. However, after collecting some ideas for books I realized that I have
a few free options at my disposal, including my school library, teachers, other
school libraries, district town library, and my town’s library. I’m hoping to
increase my library over time, but I have a few books to get started.</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Off to Kindergarten</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">: I thought could be
a book to read during my intros to the new kinder students.</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Oh, the Places You Will Go!</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">:’nuff said</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Kids-Vol-Yourself-Updated/dp/1575422832" target="_blank">Psychology for Kids</a></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">: It includes some “tests” to help kids
think about themselves, their learning style, and their outlook/perspective.</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">How to take the Grr Out of Anger! </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">& </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Stress</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Can Really Get On Your Nerves!</i></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">In addition to
these items I purchased a two books from SocialThinking.com: </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">You’re a Social Detective</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Superflex: A Superhero Social Thinking
Curriculum. </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I also got these funky rubber chickens (dog toys with the squeaker removed) to use along with the curriculum. (You must have seen Michelle Garcia Winner's rubber chicken moment video at some point!)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Also, how adorable are my book
ends?! I love giraffes and I think they are too stinkin’ cute. Thanks to the fiancé
for getting these for me for my birthday this year!)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Counseling Materials<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgadaqXyqL4mz355-_4rEKwfAoVFK49PtmrKSLlEKNjQpGrZXFh9h9kSH_vvB56RZKx2Md9aQLdKGNmIacRrAEMvte9WljjGXbrSk_F1WGEi9eNRuxEZwnc9d8Jg5jCq4FRDRUypTJQQ/s1600/P1070115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgadaqXyqL4mz355-_4rEKwfAoVFK49PtmrKSLlEKNjQpGrZXFh9h9kSH_vvB56RZKx2Md9aQLdKGNmIacRrAEMvte9WljjGXbrSk_F1WGEi9eNRuxEZwnc9d8Jg5jCq4FRDRUypTJQQ/s320/P1070115.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just as I expect my students to
develop an arsenal of skills to be successful, I had to develop an arsenal of
supplies to help them on that road. Over the past year I have been “pinning”
like crazy for this very moment. I had a solid supply of stress balls, mini
containers of play doh, and fidgets from the past few years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In order to take it to the next
level I engaged in some DIY projects. I made <a href="http://familysponge.com/parenting/artkids-calm-down-jar/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“Calming Jars”</span> </a>for my students to shake and
settle. I’ll use this in conjunction with my nifty Coping Skills Tool Belt and
Coping Skills Wall. In the kit I already have bubbles, bubble wrap, and a red
paint chip that students can use as their thermometer for anger. I grabbed both
red and blue for students to create their own gradients using their own
feelings vocabulary. I need to go back to the store and get green and yellow to
align it with the RULER Approach that my district uses. You can see the Mood
Meter in my office décor pictures below!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wLYwwVb1gb1C6UcM26XTC5D97Ucs9g97WPzwz7nwWFVBSShFUWv0qf3cGA3EeCr98A08AA7ajJ3bahr4DBopRgiZVWjN6Ne31HAFVR573_ZJ1MSSFFCLui_R8Ks0i1kPCtkwJ90DuA/s1600/P1070116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wLYwwVb1gb1C6UcM26XTC5D97Ucs9g97WPzwz7nwWFVBSShFUWv0qf3cGA3EeCr98A08AA7ajJ3bahr4DBopRgiZVWjN6Ne31HAFVR573_ZJ1MSSFFCLui_R8Ks0i1kPCtkwJ90DuA/s200/P1070116.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also create a rice box scented
with lilac. I bought two bags of rice at the dollar store as well as a long
plastic container. I added a few drops of an essential oil and some glass rocks
(for floral arrangements). As students move the rice around the scent becomes
more pronounced and is soothing. The <a href="http://schoolcounselorscrapbook.blogspot.com/2012/03/worry-box.html" target="_blank">Worry Box </a>is something I also saw around Pinterest. I'm hoping to use it with students to help them "lock away" their worries. Sometimes writing it down and putting it outside the mind helps to alleviate anxiety. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Office Décor<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFKPK7SZUmw9hBrtIPCkRiI41-VznT6eZ1AnXXl5k7M4tL7xLPkOOzvYhCJ_Ft4pAibsGOrewaIBPVRtFtP8qG9N6GokLroCRsS3Ximo1nxuk23sBnUv-xrnhZmb7bkOOB5Z-swD59A/s1600/P1070108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFKPK7SZUmw9hBrtIPCkRiI41-VznT6eZ1AnXXl5k7M4tL7xLPkOOzvYhCJ_Ft4pAibsGOrewaIBPVRtFtP8qG9N6GokLroCRsS3Ximo1nxuk23sBnUv-xrnhZmb7bkOOB5Z-swD59A/s200/P1070108.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is A LOT to show you in
this area. I’m going to try to highlight all my things I love, which is
basically everything J
I <i>really</i> wanted to make my office a
cozy space. I’ll be spending a lot of time here and I want to like where I
work. I tried to incorporate bright colors to mimic my sunny personality, but
also make it a warm and welcoming place. So far, I’ve received some compliments.
Go me!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BNvT6DGcJFT8a9l2m26YW034Teuljz0-RzIrXDKecfRi-TaRcGaNVvWaTYydPpKWvdjbbYjtvmuplY6Op5SLtis8VrJC9govyYPZagDeN1WVsYKlqr8cle0oi0gNvW3xsetBUyPebw/s1600/P1070104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BNvT6DGcJFT8a9l2m26YW034Teuljz0-RzIrXDKecfRi-TaRcGaNVvWaTYydPpKWvdjbbYjtvmuplY6Op5SLtis8VrJC9govyYPZagDeN1WVsYKlqr8cle0oi0gNvW3xsetBUyPebw/s200/P1070104.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I “borrowed” an idea <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://schoolcounselorscrapbook.blogspot.com/2013/08/office-sneak-peak-door.html" target="_blank">Scrapbook of a School Counselor</a></span>
and used bulletin board border to line my windows at my office. I also attached
my “Take What You Need” sign to the window in an effort to create more privacy.
As an aside, privacy window film is pretty expensive! I only have these small
windows, but didn’t want to spend $30. I’m hoping this will help create some
privacy as it hangs at the right level. My office is also down a small hallway,
so the window is not directly accessible to the public eye. I also chose to
decorate my door with a “Where is Ms. Johnson?” sign. I had seen this on
Pinterest and wanted to tailor it to what I <i>believe</i>
my needs will be based on my experience last year. I’ve gotten some positive feedback
from other school psychs on Twitter, so feel free to copy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I purchased some cushions at IKEA
(in fun colors) for students to get comfortable in my office. They can be used
on the floor for play therapy or on chairs when we have a group. The school
chairs are not the most forgiving when you’re sitting for a long time, so I
wanted to have a preventative solution to this. Also, sometimes students just
need something to hug, right? I’m sure it goes without saying, but that
fantastic chevron pillow is for the facilitator ;) The bin is also from IKEA
and is the same as my stuffed animal one. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5D1LQPYCnuXnQy2d6Gm8kQIZRHjL1-E47Uh5bdFK9p0SknvEKg-acwa-LCtrc_xqHsqBbZ2y54JovEebEDPssgTSgXJUemIbnCPdHg5in1S5MQ31j9vjmz7PYlDrJmminpLe7zR_mUQ/s1600/P1070100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5D1LQPYCnuXnQy2d6Gm8kQIZRHjL1-E47Uh5bdFK9p0SknvEKg-acwa-LCtrc_xqHsqBbZ2y54JovEebEDPssgTSgXJUemIbnCPdHg5in1S5MQ31j9vjmz7PYlDrJmminpLe7zR_mUQ/s320/P1070100.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My office serves as the home of
the special education files for students in our building. I have a locked filing
cabinet that the team has access to by key. It is situated near the door and table,
and is pretty plain. I purchased a chalkboard decal to use as a quote board. I’ve
pinned plenty of quotes to last me the whole year, but I am particularly fond
of my first one. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZKxC7FSEAS7A_7wp45fnCBYwyeFxiDUg71BZls0SbTuUJjIuIkaqcBQd-k4xUBO8RHWIZMwucjXL4zTbkbOH9Xqf_a9Zh6Gt4Mc8y1DXg6l_7QFWR2RCj2DmAqFckB3sy86X-XiIbw/s1600/CAM00954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZKxC7FSEAS7A_7wp45fnCBYwyeFxiDUg71BZls0SbTuUJjIuIkaqcBQd-k4xUBO8RHWIZMwucjXL4zTbkbOH9Xqf_a9Zh6Gt4Mc8y1DXg6l_7QFWR2RCj2DmAqFckB3sy86X-XiIbw/s320/CAM00954.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I feel fortunate that I also have
a bulletin board in my room. I’ve decorated the border with some awesome Dr.
Seuss flair from the Target dollar bin! I decided to put a few posters, a sign
my dad bought me (“Kids Rules”), and my confidentiality sign. It is close by my table I’ll use for groups
which is perfect for the confidentiality sign and referring to my Unthinkables
poster for social skills groups. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2kbXJDKCO0C4DB7uq_FDyjV-9Q3fdsqzBQxGJNZ5vp6kiB_YwJMRWfGW3ThkP5CiMD1JcSH8YMe42WCNPXMb0Sh2OpAo1zZbAi4tcAwZg06HQI5c34mn9RoUXX1fNAGIj2T9RN88Zg/s1600/CAM00955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2kbXJDKCO0C4DB7uq_FDyjV-9Q3fdsqzBQxGJNZ5vp6kiB_YwJMRWfGW3ThkP5CiMD1JcSH8YMe42WCNPXMb0Sh2OpAo1zZbAi4tcAwZg06HQI5c34mn9RoUXX1fNAGIj2T9RN88Zg/s320/CAM00955.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the front of my desk I managed to hang a bedside storage “thing” I found at Walmart. It’s meant to hold magazines, books, and other miscellaneous items for college kids. I thought it would be perfect for any materials I need for groups or individual counseling. I also have my Coping Skills wall from internship on one of my cabinets. I laminated the papers and attached magnets so they can be moved. It also works to stick to my white board for brainstorming and is close-by for counseling references. Kids can even grab one off the “wall” and take it with them to have a reminder during the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">I have some other odds and ends around the office to add personality, including my Wizard of Oz bookmarks, a college poster, and some frames. I’m not sure what I’ll put in the frames just yet. I’m thinking it would be great for my school’s emotional literacy charter. Something visible and accessible for reference and reminders. I also got these great magazine racks at the end of last school year (Target dollar bin) and I have dedicated those to holding evaluations that are in progress, reports to be written, and IEPs to be written/finalized. I’m hoping this will declutter my desk area and help me maintain my zen.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Phew, I am exhausted after this
tour! I didn’t realize how much stuff I had and how many uses I have for it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you see anything in my photos
that you want more info about (or know where I bought it) let me know! I’m
hoping to go into more details with a few items, including my binder system,
once things get underway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-80593341461954709342013-08-22T17:09:00.001-04:002013-08-22T17:09:35.410-04:00Mr. Bean Teaches Social Skills<div style="text-align: justify;">
*August 22, 2013: this is a post from last summer that has been sitting in my draft archives. I don't know why it was left unfinished? (....probably because I didn't upload the documents to go with the video). Anyway, thought I'd share it since it is here and ya'll are planning for your groups!</div>
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I took a risk. It was a risk I contemplated about as I walked to swimming but decided to stick with it. When planning my week I had elimated social thinking group for this group since we were supposed to be on the bus to our overnight. However, after viewing the weather report for the next 24 hours (aka thunderstorms and hail) we decided to reschedule. Unfortunately, that left me needing to plan a lesson for the normally scheduled group. For this group I wanted to plan a social thinking group that involved videos (especially after last week's positive reception). This group had been working on identifying/recognizing feelings and body language. </div>
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I had found a blog post a while back that listed some helpful video ideas and links that I wanted to use (unfortunately, the site has been set for invited readers only). At the top of the list was Mr. Bean. I grew up watching him with my grandmother and laughed hysterically every time. I did a quick YouTube search and decided I wanted a scenario as close to camper life as possible. I found one about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZyvm1lMnGY">Mr. Bean going to the beach</a>. I watched the video a few times and created a list of potential places to stop and discuss during its viewing, which can be found here. </div>
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The kids got a little silly during the viewing, especially since they thought a Speedo was underwear (despite previewing). In some cases it was over their social cognition skills but overall they enjoyed the video and were able to discuss it in an expected way. This group was composed of 9 year olds, suggesting it may be more appropriate for an older group. </div>
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One even commented that Mr. Bean was present at the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies. At least they know who he is now!</div>
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Until next thyme,</div>
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Erika</div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-42941520987756289062013-08-05T16:21:00.000-04:002013-08-22T17:00:53.975-04:00What I Wish I Knew Before Internship<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I must say, summer has gotten away from me too quickly. I began this post back in early June while things were finishing up at my internship site. It is now August and I am just now tying up the loose ends. My apologies for the delay, but it is also perfect timing. Back to school sales are in full swing, fellow school psych soldiers are reporting for duty, and I am giving myself gray hair and nightmares and I think about beginning my first year. So much of the advice I have for interns below will apply to myself as well. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Facilitate as many meetings as you can</u></b>. It will make you much more comfortable in the long run.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Depending on the role of the school psychologist, <b><u>get your hands on as many IEP's as possible too</u></b>. In CT, school psychs might be PPT Coordinator in a district (varies across the state, but in my internship/current district I did/will serve as one). I had the opportunity to run meetings and write the subsequent IEP (minutes, goals, etc) before sending them out to parents. It was overwhelming at first, but I am much more prepared heading into my first year.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Become familiar with district initiatives, such as PBIS & Tier 1 programming</u></b>. This will be helpful as you communicate with staff, implement interventions, recommend programming, and potentially interview. My district uses a program at the elementary level called The RULER Approach (check it out <a href="http://therulerapproach.org/" target="_blank">here</a>). I became very familiar with it through my own research because I was at a high school during internship. I tried to find ways to adapt some of the values within my sessions. Because I am familiar with it, I will have an easier transition into my role within an elementary setting.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Offer yourself as a sacrifice (to an extent)</u></b>. We all know how hard it is to be a school psychologist. In some ways, it is even harder to be an intern. In my district I was able to do some outside evaluations (out of district placements). After I had done my assigned, an email went out that there were 7 left for the year. I immediately offered my services to demonstrate I could be a team player. Did I want to complete an initial for a student at a local charter school due the last week of school? No, but it helped me practice what I preach: I am flexible. I am a team player. I am a go-getter. And I fully believe these qualities were the a partial reason I was hired in the district.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Build your resource data base</u></b>. In the age of social media, many are connecting on blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, Listservs, NASP Communities, etc. This is a great way to get some ideas for groups, problem-solve, and collect resources. Also use your supervisor. S/he can be extremely helpful and have probably built an arsenal of supplies. Peruse their stash during the "down times" the first few weeks. Skim over/borrow some books to decide if they are helpful and something you'd like to purchase. Get samples of reports. Everyone's writing is unique, but they may have that one phrase that clarifies exactly what you were trying to say.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Observe</u></b>. Observe others in your building and district. Watching other professionals at work is important to developing your own style. Join other IEP meetings (if there is more than one school psychologist). Participate in a session with a social worker. Facilitate a group with a guidance counselor. Go to other schools in the district. Again, it shows you are a go-getter, but also that you are really trying to make the most of this experience. Each school may function differently, so it is important to take a peek.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Start your case studies EARLY!</u> These honestly sneak up so fast! The psychoeducational evaluation was a no brainer as I had done so many in the past. The ones that tripped me up were consultation and the mental health intervention. It takes a lot of planning and time to complete these. They also made me second guess my skill set (did I really understand consultation?!). Be sure to allot enough of your precious time to get them done, and done right. Also, start small. Break problems down into manageable chunks.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If at all possible, <u style="font-weight: bold;">avoid bringing work home with you.</u> While in the first two years of grad school I was immersed entirely in my courses and practicum sites. Because there was so much overlap, I was constantly thinking about my to-do list and the kiddos I worked with on a weekly basis. While this was important for the learning process, I found myself losing some of myself. I failed to practice self-care and lost a lot of my interests because school psychology became so consuming. During internship I moved out of state and in with my (now) fiance. I strove to make my apartment a sanctuary. I rarely worked from home as I preferred to stay late and relax on my couch when I returned. Not to mention, our school day hours are much earlier than "normal" work hours. Why not stay a little longer instead of being alone until everyone else gets out? It also helped that my supervisor was really good about boundaries and encouraged me to leave things until Monday.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Read.</u> I know I mentioned blogs, Twitter, etc for professional development, but there are so many books available to make the most of your internship/first year. I read <i>The School Psychologist's Survival Guide </i>(Dr. Branstetter) last summer and flagged pages/resources to recreate and adapt. I plan to re-read it over the next few weeks in preparation for the year. I also just ordered <i>So, You're a School Psychologist</i> by Dr. Turner (literally, right before I started editing this post) and look forward to reading this one. The <a href="http://skoolpsych.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-so-you-school-psychologist.html" target="_blank">Burgeoning School Psychologist</a> wrote a great review which prompted me to "like" Dr. Turner on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/soyouarea" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. Over the course of the summer, he has teased subscribers with some highlights from the book that made me realize I needed to own it. I'm hoping that as I encounter scenarios in the field, I'll be looking for focused reads to overcome issues or further educate myself. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are just a handful of suggestions. Internship is exciting, scary, overwhelming, fast-paced, and full of emotions. You see the light of the tunnel, which can be incredibly far depending on the day. Just remember graduation day will come (before you know it) and you will be on your way to full-fledged school psychologists!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Have you survived internship and have some advice to share? </i>Post it below in the comments!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know I speak for the entire school psychology community when I say, <b>congratulations on making it to your internship and I wish you much success and learning in your experiences!</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-76999324730276362732013-06-04T12:58:00.000-04:002014-01-20T19:18:10.223-05:00Interviewing 101<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post is not a claim that I am an expert on the application and interview process. Rather, it is an overview of my short experience, advice I was given, and questions to prepare for. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I began my application process this past spring I found myself becoming quite acquainted with a system known as Applitrack. This is an online portal for districts to develop their application from, what appears to be, a database of demographic domains, questions, and material requests. Each district tailors their application depending on their needs and the requirements of the position. I was fortunate that many districts asked the same questions of their student support staff and I could simply gear a template essay towards a given district. Once the application is completed, one simply submits it on the website and waits for a phone call or email. I had only a handful of districts require paper-based applications, which I sort of liked (I felt accomplished and hopeful dropping it off at the post office!).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is an opening in my present district for an elementary school psychologist. I completed my application, ensuring great care that I highlighted all my work within the district and the learning opportunities I had. I also highlighted how I was an asset to the district and my internship site. After completing my application and about a week of waiting, I received a call from Central Office to come interview. (Funny part is, I was sitting in my car in their parking lot after I picked up some testing materials. The secretary asked if I knew how to get to the building and I assured her I was familiar with the location.) </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In preparation for my interview, I did what any professional does: panic about my wardrobe choices. I happened to be wearing an outfit the day I received the interview call I had considered wearing. I was complimented on it earlier in the day and asked if I was going for an interview. Unfortunately, I had just left a meeting with the very person I would be interviewing with when I got the call. Welp, that option is out! I spent my weekend trying on clothes and ironing rather than actual preparation. This led to my panic state on Monday night (Memorial Day) as I struggled to put together some potential questions and answers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I reached out to my school psych crew on Twitter (#schoolpsych, #schoolpsychology) for advice. What I got in return was both extremely helpful as well as stress inducing! The possible questions I received were fantastic and things I would love to know the answer to, not provide in an interview! With some reflection I realized I knew more than I thought I did and I could in fact be successful in the interview. After developing a script for some standard "getting to know you" questions, and some of the more challenging concepts I needed a refresher on, I went on to rehearse. During rehearsal I fumbled over my words and got tongue-tied. I could hardly explain who I was and what my experiences were. A few days prior I had met with a woman about a summer position (extremely informal, accidental interview) and heard that she had positive impressions of me and my communication abilities. With this reminder I decided I would not psyche myself out any longer and simply provide whatever response came natural to me at the time. I reviewed questions and jotted down some notes, but never wrote up formal answers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This method worked for me. It may or may not work for you. You know yourself best. Is it a good idea to go in completely cold-turkey? Heck no! Is it better to have a scripted (aka robotic) response for answers that are supposed to provide an impression of your personality and professional work? Also, a negative. It is important to find a happy medium and remember that you survived three years of grad school; the information is in there somewhere!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Possible Interview Questions</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of my Twitter followers were able to provide me with some great questions to prepare and I am going to share some of the most common/interesting ones. I'm also including some questions I was asked during my interview. *Be sure to comment and add any additional ones I may have missed!*</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><u><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting to know you<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tell us about yourself.<br /><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Describe your
background/experience.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tell us about your
educational experience.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Why did you want to become a school psychologist?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What are your strengths and weaknesses?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What would colleagues, supervisors, or your
students say about you?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why do you want to work in
this school district?</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">8.
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What qualifications do you have that
would make you successful?/ Why should we hire you?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you see yourself
doing in five years?</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Experience (General)<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Describe your internship
experience thus far.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you see the role of
the school psychologist to be in the school?</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you have any experience
working with individuals with Autism?</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Describe your counseling
experience.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What has been your proudest
moment in terms of accomplishments?<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6.
<!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Give an example of when you had to make
an important decision. How did you make the decision?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Describe your most challenging/difficult case.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">8.
</span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What is your experience with crisis
intervention and techniques?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What is your experience with suicide risk assessments?
Threat assessments?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What professional development
activities have you participated in over the last year?</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What is your experience with bullying prevention?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Behavior<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How would you address a 6<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>grade student who is acting out
and defiant?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is your involvement in
the development of FBAs and implementation of BIPs?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A teacher has been asked to implement
a BIP. They come to a meeting and state that they stopped using it because
it didn’t work after just one week. What would you do in response?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: windowtext;">What assessment measures are you familiar with? (</span><i><span style="color: windowtext;">I provided
my “Assessment Measure” cheat sheet for interviewers)</span></i></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How many assessments have you
completed this year?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What assessment techniques would you use for
evaluating low incidence disabilities? And what is your experience with
low incidence disabilities?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What would you do if a parent, whose
child you identified as ID, questioned your chose of measures for the
evaluation because s/he felt that items did not represent what the child
was able to do?</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">How do you go about determining what
assessments to use for evaluating minority students?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">RtI/SRBI<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is your experience with SRBI/RtI?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When consulting with the RTI
team what is your ideal role at all three tiers of intervention?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is your experience with
consultation? Provide an example of a student who was identified and one
who was not?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Tell me about your intervention experiences and
how those students did.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Special Education<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How do you keep up with changes in the law and
research?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you facilitated any IEP meetings?
Explain.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How do you assess and determine eligibility for SLD?</span></span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tell me the difference
between a student with social maladjustment and student with ED? How would
you evaluate each student to determine which classification is more
appropriate?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How do you determine if a child with ADHD needs an
IEP or a 504 plan?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What is your experience with parents who are
unhappy with eligibility decisions? And how would you handle this
situation?</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How would you handle an administrator
(and/or parent) who insisted on finding a child eligible for special
education?</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><u><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Parents<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">1. </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What is your approach in working with
parents? Have you had to work with difficult parents before? Or disagreed with
parents? How did you handle that?</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Questions to Ask</u></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just as the interviewers will ask you a series of questions, you should come prepared with questions of you own. Below are some questions I had asked or thought of asking.</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-left: .25in;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is the role of the school
psychologist in SRBI?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are parents supportive of the school and involved?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is the caseload?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who are the support staff members
in the building?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What opportunities does the district provide for mentoring and supervision of early career school psychologists?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What CE/professional development
opportunities are available? Is there funding available to attend conferences?<span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Resources for Interviewing</b></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additionally, here are some resources to look at to prepare for your interview(s).</span></div>
<div class="normal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"<a href="http://firstyearschoolpsych.blogspot.com/2011/10/so-you-wanted-some-interview-questions.html" target="_blank">So You Wanted Some Interview Questions</a>" from Musings of an Urban School Psychologist (added June 10, 2013)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NASP (Conference 2009). <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/conventions/2011/handouts/unstated/Hill,%20Kubick,%20York%202011.pdf" target="_blank">Getting your first job and keeping it</a>. </span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look at pages 19-23, 26</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also includes resume tips and language</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/conventions/2013/handouts/se/SE02GettingKeepingFirstJob2013ExtendedHandout.pdf" target="_blank">2013 Conference</a> handout</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NASP <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/careers/tips.aspx" target="_blank">Career Tips</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=x8G3cijwiUM" target="_blank">Simulated School Psychology Interview</a></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12357074/school-psychology-job-interview-example" target="_blank">here </a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12356755/school-psychology-job-interview-questions-version-one" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">here</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and <a href="http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12356787/school-psychology-job-interview-questions-version-two" target="_blank">here</a></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9xEEJjlzbU" target="_blank">Interview tips</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/05/27/infographic-most-asked-interview-questions-how-to-answer-them/" target="_blank">Most asked job interview questions and how to answer them</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anything else to add to my list? Leave it in the comments below!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you so very much to Lauren (@Lmac9), Ashley (@ashleybwright1), Jason (@theschoolpsych), and Aimee (<a href="http://firstyearschoolpsych.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Musings of an Urban School Psychologist</a>) for all your help and input!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-83632146933556786912013-05-22T09:50:00.000-04:002013-05-22T09:50:58.919-04:00Coping in the Event of a Natural Disaster: Oklahoma<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is unfortunate that I have had to develop more than one post on tragedy this school year. We have sustained a great deal as a nation this year and are truly the definition of a resilient people. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the story begins to unfold in Oklahoma there will be numerous questions and strong emotions raised from children and adults alike. Below, I have complied a list of resources focusing on tragedy and natural disasters. Some of the links are repeated from my post on the <a href="http://findingthethyme.blogspot.com/2013/04/coping-with-trauma-and-resiliency.html" target="_blank">Boston Tragedy</a>, while others are new. I hope this will be helpful as we deal with this unfortunate event across the country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Natural Disasters</span></i><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/tornadoes" target="_blank">Tornadoes (Ready, FEMA)</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/tornadoes/index.asp" target="_blank">Tornadoes (CDC)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/naturaldisaster_teams_ho.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Responding to Natural Disasters: Helping Children and Families: Information for School Crisis Teams (NASP)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/naturaldisaster_ho.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helping Children After a Natural Disaster: Information for Parents and Teachers (NASP)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/katrina_relocate_families.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New Schools for Students With Disabilities: Tips for Families Who Have Been Relocated (NASP)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/katrina_specneeds.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hurricane Katrina and Relocated Students With Special Needs: Recommendations for Receiving Schools (NASP)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/ShelterPlace_final_to%20ARC_3-29-10.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coping with Shelter-in-Place Emergencies (Red Cross via NASP)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/publications/booksproducts/BPSCPI_30.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Natural Disasters (Chapter 30--Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention, 2nd ed)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://dafjmlate1fc5.cloudfront.net/uploads/assets/guide_stressandresilience_traumav2.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event (Child Mind Institute)</span></a></li>
</ul>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Media*<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Media%20Guidelines.pdf">Managing Media Coverage (NASP)</a><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/neat_media.aspx">Dealing with the Media (NASP )</a><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/talking.html?utm_campaign=DR.%20CLaire%20on%20Newtown%20shooting&utm_medium=12/17/2012&utm_source=thriving&utm_content=general%20peds&utm_term=12/17/2012">Talking with Children about the News (PBS)</a></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">*Though this pertains to violent acts, similar actions can and should be taken in regards to media exposure.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coping<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/coping-with-disaster">Coping with Disaster (Ready, FEMA)</a></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx">Managing Traumatic Stress (APA)</a><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/tornadoes.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Managing Traumatic Stress: After a Tornado (APA)</span></a></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/children.pdf">Helping Children Cope (FEMA)</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2127/mainpageS2127P0.html?utm_campaign=DR.%20CLaire%20on%20Newtown%20shooting&utm_medium=12/17/2012&utm_source=thriving&utm_content=general%20peds&utm_term=12/17/2012" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coping with Frightening Events (Boston's Children's Hospital)</span></a></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://childrenshospitalblog.org/talking-to-children-after-tragedy/">Talking to Children After Tragedy (Boston's Children's Hospital)</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/unsettling_students.aspx">Coping in Unsettling Times: Tips for Students (NASP)</a><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/psycht_general.aspx">Identifying Seriously Traumatized Children (NASP)</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/recovering-disaster" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recovering from Disaster (Ready, FEMA)</span></a></li>
</ul>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coping Activities</span></i></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Activities_No_Supplies.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Activities for Small Children (No Supplies)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Activities_Limited_Supplies.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Activities for Small Children (Limited Supplies)</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Emotional Well-Being</i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240142_EmotionalHealth.pdf">Taking care of your emotional health (Red Cross)</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/angermgmt_general.aspx">Managing Strong Emotional Reactions (NASP)</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.redcross.org/find-help/disaster-recovery/recovering-emotionally"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recovering Emotionally (Red Cross)</span></a></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.apapracticecentral.org/outreach/building-resilience.aspx"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Building Your Resilience (APA)</span></a></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additional resources can be found on the NASP Pinterest Board: <a href="http://pinterest.com/nasponline/school-safety-and-crisis-resources/" target="_blank">School Safety and Crisis Resources</a>. The Oklahoma School Psychology Association can be found <a href="https://www.ospaweb.org/" target="_blank">here</a>, though there are no updates regarding the recent tragedy as of this posting <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(5/22/13)</span>. The <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/neat.aspx" target="_blank">National Emergency Assistance Team</a> is also a resource to access. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
As we survive each of these traumatic events, we learn from the mistakes we have made in an effort to make ourselves and our environment safer. While we cannot put a stop to natural disasters, we surely can prepare ourselves. As the governor of Oklahoma <a href="http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/21/moore-mayor-on-school-safety-in-tornadoes/?iref=allsearch" target="_blank">stated </a>having a plan in place, practicing, and following said plan can make a difference. The teachers in the schools affected we able to either evacuate students or follow the safety plan for those unable to leave the school. There is also a need to ensure schools have adequate shelters, which is less common in older schools. In the case of natural disasters, it is about preparation, in order to save lives.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the northeast is not as susceptible to tornadoes (though they can happen), we experienced Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and the devastation that came with it. Regardless of the type of tragedy (natural disaster or violence), preparedness is key. NASP's <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/prepare/index.aspx" target="_blank">PREPaRE</a> Training is a great opportunity to prepare for and recover from those events out of our control in order to maintain, and prevent those within our control. If you have not participated in a workshop, consider doing so. I have completed the first training and will be looking for opportunities to do the second (<a href="http://www.nasponline.org/prepare/Prepare_Brochure.pdf" target="_blank">PREPaRE brochure</a>).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please keep all of those affected by this terrible tragedy in your thoughts and prayers as they attempt to recover. Consider donating money or sending items to aid this process. </span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Red Cross</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/page.aspx?pid=207#monthly" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Salvation Army</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.occf.org/tornadorecoveryfund" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oklahoma City Community Foundation</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stay strong and carry on.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></div>
<div>
<br /><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-39354521655862215822013-05-21T13:10:00.001-04:002013-05-21T13:10:22.531-04:00Summer of Erika<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">A</span>nyone
a fan of Seinfeld in the audience? I grew up watching the show every night on
re-runs with my dad and brother. I can recite most episodes and have probably
seen them all at least three times. Well, as summer approaches and the
employment hunt underway, I have been struggling to figure out what I’ll do
with my summer. I have been torn about getting a summer job as I have had for
the past seven years or to take it off in hopes that I’ll have so many
interviews I wouldn't be able to hold a job down (or the third option, and most
preferred, which is get hired by my current district by the end of the school
year and spend my summer doing what I want ‘cause I’m employed with an <b><u>actual salary</u></b>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While I am uncomfortable not
working in fear that I won’t find a job (which is false) and will have student
loan payments out my eyeballs (truth), I have really been procrastinating
finding something to occupy my summer, even part-time. In the end, it looks
like I’ll be having a Summer of Erika (insert Seinfeld reference <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPS3qLtaFtw" target="_blank">here</a>). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/d0562087252cae3245735b63447149e0/tumblr_mfq5nduWnR1rxwg97o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/d0562087252cae3245735b63447149e0/tumblr_mfq5nduWnR1rxwg97o1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yes. Yes, I do.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, what will I be doing with a Summer
of Erika? I've been dreaming of this all year as I don’t think I ever <i>really</i> intended on working (but feel
super guilty about not). I've m</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">anaged to compile a list of things I hope to
accomplish, both leisure and professional activities. These are things I’ll be
doing on my own, for me. I also make a wish list of summer adventures for me
and the boy. Can you tell that I’m Type A?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Read.</b> Read professional books and
read some leisure books. Learn to juggle the two at once. Preferably on
the beach.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><st2:place w:st="on"><st1:givenname w:st="on"><b>Get</b></st1:givenname><b> <st1:middlename w:st="on">Crafty</st1:middlename>
<st1:sn w:st="on">I<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></st1:sn></b></st2:place>
Make some of those beautiful projects I find on Pinterest. Put some of my
favorite quotes on canvas for my office.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Get Crafty II</b>. Make coasters for
the apartment. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Plan</b>. Plan for my first year as a
school psychologist. Review Dr. Branstetter’s book. Develop some lesson
plans for groups I <i>think </i>I might
be able to run given the population of students (i.e., elementary = social
skills). <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sort</b>. Sort through some of my pins
from Pinterest and pick the ones I want to try and use.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Educate</b>.<b> </b>Review some of the webinars I have found. Setting a goal of
one per week, or eight total.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I am <b>VERY</b> well aware I am going to be bored out of my mind. I mean, who
am I kidding; I had cabin fever by hour 36 on all my hurricane/snow day
stretches this year. I’m trying to think of this as a time to really psych
myself up for the next year. I’ll already be happy to go back to work, but add
boredom to the mix and I’ll be super-psyched to be there (play clip <a href="http://www.hark.com/clips/mbnhlhprdp-justin-redman-ready-and-super-psyched" target="_blank">here</a>…can
you name the movie?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LV2rnltTVfvpE85CmsZZhC_inV-2uw1nk9_NUt_M2bqZcGlmvEApQXUwsalST0uFSNqgUcKcJ2pLF67MX0t8qbTp8-7UOa-iP4Pcj24zJpU3DNPlrN-vsvuRa_cVAHAER8z2L4ETEQ/s1600/dodgeball.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LV2rnltTVfvpE85CmsZZhC_inV-2uw1nk9_NUt_M2bqZcGlmvEApQXUwsalST0uFSNqgUcKcJ2pLF67MX0t8qbTp8-7UOa-iP4Pcj24zJpU3DNPlrN-vsvuRa_cVAHAER8z2L4ETEQ/s320/dodgeball.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOga3VZ5CGY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOga3VZ5CGY</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a final attempt to justify my
Summer of Erika, I have done some calculations. My district gets out June 28
and a typical school year begins August 26 (for PD). That gives me exactly
eight weeks to do as a wish. I figure that I’ll have one week of bliss, a few
day/weekend trips to plan and go to, and I have two weddings in August. So
really I’m looking at 4.5 weeks of “nothing” to do and time to accomplish my
summer wish list. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think I’m going to be just
fineeee. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are your summer plans?
Working? Relaxing? Recent grads treating yourself to a fun vacation (if so, I’m
super jealous)? Any additions to my own list? Any ideas of places to go with AC (so I don't rack up my own electric bill?)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">P.S. Here are some funny comics I found to get us ready for summer vacation! The last one is my favorite.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.parabebes.com/fotos/8/0/3/l.la-vuelta-al-cole-no-sera-lo-mismo-con-twitter_1252936308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://media.parabebes.com/fotos/8/0/3/l.la-vuelta-al-cole-no-sera-lo-mismo-con-twitter_1252936308.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For my Tweeps!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6hpESMJ8AKW7lamv8XxTT-8QyARhsuFaGLnVQHeT3_ddL7zbk9A" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6hpESMJ8AKW7lamv8XxTT-8QyARhsuFaGLnVQHeT3_ddL7zbk9A" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cosmoquest.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/summer-mug.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://cosmoquest.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/summer-mug.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right now, I just get July and Aug...the "-ust" is under contract</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTs3d-orNDMZCrUIp0I-oswaJ943C_klFemSE7pRYw3_gB_LgNzPlTLtMmSbiHjMASQirn5b8imtO7-tJMMtkLke4bZg_OJ-wkte9uWMl123geu7K_yyJrh4r7xQdajrbUzvcODIlHsc/s1600/118430665171440936_xuzmR6Iv_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTs3d-orNDMZCrUIp0I-oswaJ943C_klFemSE7pRYw3_gB_LgNzPlTLtMmSbiHjMASQirn5b8imtO7-tJMMtkLke4bZg_OJ-wkte9uWMl123geu7K_yyJrh4r7xQdajrbUzvcODIlHsc/s400/118430665171440936_xuzmR6Iv_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-34780781393525950092013-05-15T11:47:00.005-04:002013-05-15T11:47:45.763-04:00School Psychology Portfolio Guide<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Portfolio. The dreaded word to
those in graduate school for those in school psychology, as well as many others
in the world of education.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I went for my interview at
my program there were different portfolios on display. Each had their own
creative twist as to how the student presented themselves as a graduate student
of school psychology. The contents ranged from reports to progress monitoring
data to information about their school placement. This evidence was developed
as part of the field placement experience and coursework that was being done by
students. Eh, not so scary, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrongity, wrong!</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My portfolio has been my largest
struggle (and bane of my existence) during my grad school career. (There I said it! ::gasp::)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some domains are easier than
others to find evidence for, like data-based decision-making (DBDM). This
informs each and every facet of our work as school psychologists. However, it
is important to decide whether or not something belongs in DBDM or another domain;
it is all about best fit. One domain I am always coming up short is
Interventions and Instructional Support to Develop Academic Skills. You would
think that that in the age of Response to Intervention this would be easy.
Nope, not at the secondary level, which is where I have spent the past two
years. In a mad dash to put something together I read a book (<i>RtI: Success in Secondary Schools</i> by Jim
Wright), did some observations, and wrote up a “quick” reflection paper (hours
and hours later). Even though the portfolio is finished, this is still
something I am pursuing. I know this is an area of weakness, which is one
reason why the portfolio exists (to help us identify areas that need continued
development). </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During the first two years of
training it can be difficult to put things in each domain. You end up being a
sucker for blank protocols or hypothetical case studies (i.e., if presented
with X, I would do Y). Thinking back on what my portfolio used to look like,
I’m appalled as I can’t imagine throwing in protocols for fun! However, in
those first years your portfolio won’t look like an intern’s. It is not
supposed to. The portfolio demonstrates the growth you’ve made over time. (Not
to mention the elation you feel when you can take something out you hate
because you have an actual piece of evidence to put in its place!).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of my largest criticisms was
the transition from eleven to ten domains between my first and second year of
grad school. As a result I needed to reorganize all of the domains and find new
places to put things. It was more of an organizational pain than content,
especially since I began my portfolio as a hard copy with lots and lots of
papers to print. But I digress….</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, what is the best way to
approach the portfolio? Well, some people recommend beginning it after your
first year, but other programs may require it to be developed during your first
year (mine did). I didn’t have much to show, but it was still satisfying to
have something to present my hard work in. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the age of technology, I would
highly recommend going electronic. I was annoyed with this notion at the start
of my internship, but have grown to love it. I spent some time at the end of
the summer and early year developing my website. There a bunch of places you
can make a free website. I used <a href="http://www.weebly.com/">Weebly</a>.
You can also try <a href="http://www.sites.google.com/">Google Sites</a>. I
found Weebly user friendly, easy to navigate, and with enough features to make
my portfolio look professional, including file upload and photos. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYn0rla8dJbC6H6XVlMFWzDMrSI1v9PhGdI65C3YLyo5jS3LOyWoWEKrwVC_q3W6sbCsaqua2FIjOpx4Ry_JZlKVLoM_F3Kduo6iW_1Zaj3iUUMfdqKH4uZpeU6GaujFeL62bhfV-JA/s1600/main+screen+portfolio.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYn0rla8dJbC6H6XVlMFWzDMrSI1v9PhGdI65C3YLyo5jS3LOyWoWEKrwVC_q3W6sbCsaqua2FIjOpx4Ry_JZlKVLoM_F3Kduo6iW_1Zaj3iUUMfdqKH4uZpeU6GaujFeL62bhfV-JA/s400/main+screen+portfolio.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you can see above, I have a
number of pages along the side bar for visitors to navigate. I included an
about me page, a separate page for each domain, and a place for my field log. I
also included a professional development list, assessment measure list, and a
contact option. You can truly customize this site however you want to best suit
your needs. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My program required us to write a
reflection of our experiences and goals on each domain. When you approach a page
you will find NASP’s description, my reflection, and my evidence of competency.
I chose at least one solid piece of evidence from my internship year and a
second if it was relevant and exquisite. The only exception was the Research
and Program Evaluation where I used my first year research project. Each piece
of evidence is able to be downloaded as a PDF, which I have also watermarked
for my own protection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vOCQR2c76I1-BKoYioNtHDIgyZ18fNBmwu413oNmH2JhipeeS5Fuq20lErqEQczaxn7dqR1hIXe4uqzuVDAS7EwCzFiP7miW9N81N-TTNAcVvy4EAGEHNzrLnpi9FXXGRqUUFULMyg/s1600/reflection.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vOCQR2c76I1-BKoYioNtHDIgyZ18fNBmwu413oNmH2JhipeeS5Fuq20lErqEQczaxn7dqR1hIXe4uqzuVDAS7EwCzFiP7miW9N81N-TTNAcVvy4EAGEHNzrLnpi9FXXGRqUUFULMyg/s400/reflection.bmp" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By developing an online portfolio
you can easily upload all of your documents and it goes live in real time (as
soon as you hit publish). I have included my website address on my resume to go
with my applications. I know that if someone took the time to look at the
portfolio they would get a true sense my skill set rather than how I appear on
paper in my resume. For this very reason, I chose to include my photo. Seeing
my face as a potential candidate, and placing it with my experience, will
(hopefully) make me stand out and be memorable. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also plan to use it in my
interviews (when they start rolling in). I own a tablet, so I will be able to
refer to my work found on the portfolio. Electronic access to writing samples
doesn’t hurt either. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you want to take a look, my
portfolio can be found <a href="http://www.erikajohnsonportfolio.weebly.com/">here</a>.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My few pieces of advice for those
just starting out or looking to revamp their portfolio:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Go digital</b>.
It won’t take very long to develop the online site. Figure a few hours on
a weekend, with plenty of opportunities to tweak as you go. Also, no one
wants to see you lug in your gigantor binder into your interview.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Start Early. Start
Small</b>. Begin this summer if you can. Take what you already have
developed, or plan to develop, and start designing. You don’t have to go
live immediately and can instead save it until you’re ready for the big
reveal. Don’t go too big either. Start basic and add along the way. It
doesn’t need to be so sophisticated, especially when you are just starting
out in your program or career.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Update.
Update. Update!</b> You have the ability to constantly update your
portfolio and add things as you go. Being online things are much simpler
and more eco-friendly. Be sure to update post-graduation, especially if it
is online. People will have the ability to find you through search engines.
If you are switching positions after a few years it would also be helpful
to include more current work samples. Uploading as you go is much easier
than saving it for later. (Let’s see if I can follow that advice!).</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Personalize
it. </b>Make it personal. The point of the portfolio is to give a sense of
who you are as a person, as well as a school psychologist. On my “About
Me” page I included some hobbies and photos to add a personal touch.
Giving a glimpse into my life outside of school psychology makes me more
approachable and real (in my own opinion).</span></li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx-lb45MWqp09J7q09R8TF7Gfkoa54rk97sV8hnCh82wBUybmKXe5KWhEnIdzd71GTB0C7n8b_KkbGKUU0CaisccDSOUdyj2d9_KZiJ4Fzz-QZMDDGOF_6gxLqqiWATFT6DASu17VRA/s1600/conference.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx-lb45MWqp09J7q09R8TF7Gfkoa54rk97sV8hnCh82wBUybmKXe5KWhEnIdzd71GTB0C7n8b_KkbGKUU0CaisccDSOUdyj2d9_KZiJ4Fzz-QZMDDGOF_6gxLqqiWATFT6DASu17VRA/s400/conference.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope this is helpful as you are
developing your portfolio or thinking about your portfolio. Digitalizing it is
a great way to set yourself apart, as well as demonstrate that you are able to
be tech savvy as our position involves more and more computer use. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have any comments or
questions feel free to leave them here or through my contact page on my
portfolio. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Erika</span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-6373308631699791702013-04-16T08:47:00.000-04:002013-04-16T10:19:22.408-04:00Coping with Trauma and Resiliency<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yesterday
was a tragic day across this nation and for the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>, my hometown. I have attended the
marathon and been out in the city during this celebratory occasion. There is a
feeling of happiness and comradely that is indescribable. Though it was a
tragic event, we must look for the positives. As you watch the news, if you
must, remember the words of Fred Rogers’ (Mr. Rogers) mother: <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“Look
for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”</span> The first
responders yesterday included trained personnel, such as police, doctors, and military,
but also untrained civilians responding to those in need. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbPAQR1kNJUroXNi0tt_oMwRxwaFMmhnSQIsAMyYnhh4B0gdo_uP6aYztgIx4htSuTjTypbD6EtYRcz_280KD0bmW7Zo97S-uUPFyDn_BtSrLSEFCDITtC_Ztyuf_-75gApx0QjaMZQ/s1600/o-MISTER-ROGERS-HELPERS-QUOTE-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbPAQR1kNJUroXNi0tt_oMwRxwaFMmhnSQIsAMyYnhh4B0gdo_uP6aYztgIx4htSuTjTypbD6EtYRcz_280KD0bmW7Zo97S-uUPFyDn_BtSrLSEFCDITtC_Ztyuf_-75gApx0QjaMZQ/s400/o-MISTER-ROGERS-HELPERS-QUOTE-570.jpg" width="368" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/mister-rogers-helpers-quote_n_2318793.html"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">original image</span></i></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I, like many of my readers, am a
responder too. I am in the schools as a school psychologist. I interact with
students, staff, and families who will all be affected by this unfortunate
event. I am thankful for the support network I have built through my education
and colleagues. I have been flooded with incredible resources that I will share
with you here. Please take these and read. Find a way to help other cope, practice
self-care, and prepare for the next tragedy that will inevitably, but
unfortunately, strike our nation. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://disasterdistress.samhsa.gov/about.aspx"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Disaster Distress
Helpline (SAMHSA)</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBw9QkLyRJeZ8mTGj4sjM7ZYHvH6zyagsCuFPWnicmlI0pTrMLxqvjBrHRrs9-AS3mfuTsvd1V9-4eo8OqGpX3Ga2re6H8oFfwlVmiQ_rQzmJ0kLJ_cW24AvpbVL5XnlY-3Wi7ylZ53w/s1600/ddh_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBw9QkLyRJeZ8mTGj4sjM7ZYHvH6zyagsCuFPWnicmlI0pTrMLxqvjBrHRrs9-AS3mfuTsvd1V9-4eo8OqGpX3Ga2re6H8oFfwlVmiQ_rQzmJ0kLJ_cW24AvpbVL5XnlY-3Wi7ylZ53w/s400/ddh_large.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Media<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Media%20Guidelines.pdf">Managing
Media Coverage (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/neat_media.aspx">Dealing
with the Media (NASP )</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/talking.html?utm_campaign=DR.%20CLaire%20on%20Newtown%20shooting&utm_medium=12/17/2012&utm_source=thriving&utm_content=general%20peds&utm_term=12/17/2012"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Talking with Children about the News (PBS)</span></a></li>
</ul>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Coping<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/coping-with-disaster"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coping
with Disaster (Ready, FEMA)</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.ready.gov/explosions">Dealing with Explosions (Ready,
FEMA)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/Helping_Children_Cope_With_Terrorism_2013.pdf">Helping
Children Cope with Terrorism (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/helpingchildrencope.aspx">Children
in Fear of War and Terrorism (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx">Managing
Traumatic Stress (APA)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/children.pdf">Helping Children Cope
(FEMA)</a><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/helpingchildrencope.aspx">Helping Children Cope (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/ongoingthreat.aspx">Helping
Children Cope with Trauma and Ongoing Threat (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://childrenshospitalblog.org/talking-to-children-after-tragedy/">Talking to Children After Tragedy (Boston's Children's Hospital)</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/unsettling_students.aspx">Coping
in Unsettling Times: Tips for Students (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/psycht_general.aspx">Identifying
Seriously Traumatized Children (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Emotional
Well-Being</i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240142_EmotionalHealth.pdf"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Taking
care of your emotional health (Red Cross)</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/angermgmt_general.aspx">Managing
Strong Emotional Reactions (NASP)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.redcross.org/find-help/disaster-recovery/recovering-emotionally">Recovering Emotionally (Red Cross)</a> <span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.apapracticecentral.org/outreach/building-resilience.aspx">Building
Your Resilience (APA)</a></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additional resources and resources
in other languages can be found <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/index.aspx#natural">here</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we move forward from this
event, focus on the victims, those in need, the first responders. These
individuals are the people that need our support and attention. We always
believe that justice will make the pain go away, but we will never completely
forget or heal. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>
will always have a scar on its heart, as will mine. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYenzRz2acfJL50yvcTGEOgRE0ijpYmpRIAlNmJIGoZl07jNE2pVhbIclkK9c1roW4kHBi_pbPUIIm7pJGmReJa1stodFuXO5yakZ3e5lRYMafRQfweCCJwTfLHyA1dkZlJWZItgvkg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYenzRz2acfJL50yvcTGEOgRE0ijpYmpRIAlNmJIGoZl07jNE2pVhbIclkK9c1roW4kHBi_pbPUIIm7pJGmReJa1stodFuXO5yakZ3e5lRYMafRQfweCCJwTfLHyA1dkZlJWZItgvkg/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mrgrosky.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/boston-skyline-from-the-charles/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>original image</i></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Harlow Solid Italic"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“</span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 16pt;">Boston</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Harlow Solid Italic'; font-size: 16pt;"> is a tough and resilient town, so are its people. I'm
supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each
other, and move forward as one proud city, and as they do, the American people
will be with them every single step of the way.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>“<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> - President
Barack Obama </span></b></span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Harlow Solid Italic"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKHr0Tu5PTpqyP7TrZwfG1U5vUqSo0F4MG2p-Yk9IJ93egSEobcc0iNXecxQWzgsiVtrQswujYyvwKengwoWI0yhc8nRhetJ1MugPzIQkae8vYL_41GSvjWd0r-RHALAwzB0fKC9XIQ/s1600/tetris-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKHr0Tu5PTpqyP7TrZwfG1U5vUqSo0F4MG2p-Yk9IJ93egSEobcc0iNXecxQWzgsiVtrQswujYyvwKengwoWI0yhc8nRhetJ1MugPzIQkae8vYL_41GSvjWd0r-RHALAwzB0fKC9XIQ/s1600/tetris-8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N22/graphics/tetris-8.html"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>original image</i></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stay strong and carry on.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span><br />
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<br />Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-51262987680141959612013-03-21T19:42:00.001-04:002013-03-21T19:44:51.999-04:00Wanted: School Psychologist <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEEXNQFLO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player">Wanted: School Psychologist </a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEEXNQFLO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player">in</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEEXNQFLO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player"> </a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEEXNQFLO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player">Bethel</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEEXNQFLO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player">, CT</a></p>
<p>So excited that Bethel 's Superintendent, Dr. Kevin Smith, is advocating for the addition of a school psychologist. What felt good is that while watching this video I was waiting for my photo to pop-up in the corner as the new school psych since he was basically reading my cover letter/resume/application essays! Unfortunately, I have realized this district is about an hour from me, much of which are back roads. Sadly, I won't be applying, but I hope that other districts (near me) follow suit and add positions for us school psychs!</p>
<p>Until next thyme, <br>
Erika</p>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-56352275078269144222013-03-20T17:57:00.002-04:002013-03-20T17:57:33.990-04:00Digital Assessments and Q-Interactive<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">When I checked my school email this morning I
had one from Pearson. I started receiving these after the NASP Convention last
year (2012) when I signed up to win a test kit (Spoiler alert: I didn’t win).
Every now and then (aka when I am avoiding something I should be doing, but
don’t want to) I take the time to peruse the contents of the email. Today, it
was about a new digital system titled “<a href="http://www.helloq.com/home.html.html">Q Interactive</a>” from PearsonEd.
The subject of the email read: <i>Increase
Efficiency and Savings with Q-Interactive™</i>. This peaked my interest so I
continued reading.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ65r-ONPlDYbch_KVn9ASoyqySGgUWNCd3i51xS6t2E9HpfSbNrva6JN0od9w5OoHiR_Wu_mydVOtW94W6B3Q9uv7PW20mvr_QY1JsRtqdL-VI1p7uKwo9Y26IuFBIxQHbUUU0kOZQ/s1600/Q-Interactive.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ65r-ONPlDYbch_KVn9ASoyqySGgUWNCd3i51xS6t2E9HpfSbNrva6JN0od9w5OoHiR_Wu_mydVOtW94W6B3Q9uv7PW20mvr_QY1JsRtqdL-VI1p7uKwo9Y26IuFBIxQHbUUU0kOZQ/s320/Q-Interactive.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Well, if this isn’t a tagline for school
psychologists everywhere I don’t know what is! Now, I try my hardest to avoid
paper, but I still love it. In grad school I loved printing the day’s
PowerPoint and taking notes. Something about having the hard copy made me feel
accomplished. It also was conducive to my commuting lifestyle and made studying
on the T (MBTA) that much easier, but I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFrAiEw4WFS0zRjcBX9gRLc4jk4ptwXHEbgLoy_HHVT2u9OXak2Pgsp6PMU0idUjCh_A9tQAYNlW6jCyLkJ5PhWXEGdNGA1yIrdAO_egKC5fhQn54Pc_wl0T-vwKb3wB-84aEWjOKXg/s1600/Dell-E1505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFrAiEw4WFS0zRjcBX9gRLc4jk4ptwXHEbgLoy_HHVT2u9OXak2Pgsp6PMU0idUjCh_A9tQAYNlW6jCyLkJ5PhWXEGdNGA1yIrdAO_egKC5fhQn54Pc_wl0T-vwKb3wB-84aEWjOKXg/s320/Dell-E1505.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, this is my computer. I call her "Big Momma."</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">With today’s technological advancements there
are various applications and programs that are extremely helpful in our role as
a school psychologist, such as the <a href="http://toolkit.parinc.com/web/index.php">PAR Toolkit</a> or <a href="http://www.schoolpsychologytools.com/">School Psychology Tools</a>. While
I have downloaded the former, I typically only use the age calculator on the
go. I also know there are apps for collecting behavioral data, including <a href="http://www.superpsyched.com/">Behavior Lens</a>, but I have not tried
these out. However, the switch to a digital protocol format is
unreal! Imagine, tapping the blocks to accurately record a student’s
design, rather than fumbling with drawings. For someone like me who is weak in
this area, it would make things a lot easier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As it is stated in the <a href="http://vimeo.com/44242479" target="_blank">video </a>there is a “cloud”
where all of the assessment data is stored, which means you can test on the go
or at the last second (provided you have any additional materials you may
need). It also means you have access to your protocols readily in a meeting or
for consultation purposes. The idea of using this system is mindboggling, but in a
good way. I have been so trained to rely on my paper and pencil method, I
can’t fathom having everything on my tablet. Guess that show’s how tech savy I
am, right? (Sidenote: I tried to use an app to make my grocery list, but after
a few weeks I’m back to the paper method again. I just love physically crossing
off items rather than tapping a button!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In order to truly buy into this approach I think
I would need to see it done in front of me and have the ability to play around
with the program. It is definitely a system that will take some practice
getting used to, especially recording procedures. According to the website, not
everything will be directly on the program. Standard issue Wechsler blocks will
still need to be purchased (at $54.00 a set!) as well as other materials. I
will say that having the California Verbal Learning Test for Children (CVLT-C)
available peaks my interest. I love this tool and love it more when I can use
computer scoring. I used it a lot last year at my site, but don’t have access
to it this year (rather avoid using it because I need to hand score). The program also charges an annual licensing fee ($300/year) and then $1.50 per subtest. It is available for the iPad only. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">What is great about this is the ability to use subtests from a variety of measures. Currently Q-Interactive offers the Wechsler scales (WISC-IV, WAIS-IV), California (CVLT-C, CVLT-II), and select subtests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). They also have select subtests of the NEPSY-II, Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV), and Children's Memory Scale (CMS) are listed as "coming soon."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">So, what are your thoughts as assessments move
into the age of technology? Are you tech savy enough to handle these changes?
Are you old school (like me) and attached to your paper and stopwatch? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I think I need to make smaller, incremental
changes before I jump into tablet based assessment. Any recommendations on how
I could add technology into my practice as a school psychologist? What works
for you? What is the one tech program/app that you couldn’t do your job
without?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Until next thyme, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Erika<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-32840875387272170992013-03-08T15:23:00.001-05:002013-03-15T13:47:49.328-04:00NASP Featured BlogToday I am honored to be featured on the National Association of School Psychologist's Facebook page! I wanted to say a quick thanks to NASP and welcome any new followers to my blog. <br />
I hope to have some new posts soon, so please be sure to come back and check them out. You can also follow me on Twitter (@erikajohnson4) and on Pinterest. I have boards on Pinterest for counseling, child development, psychopathology, behavior management, and many more! <br />
Again, think you for taking the time to check out my blog!<br />
Until next thyme,<br />
<u>Erika</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8QPUGqA_8VAoqbEUj7lL-enCQTPIbl0oPSR85txnslNnYlQ6ndcXSEG8CRL8VAOBOA5wBGGoWRHygS2nSk1z0whuLybX07A6wi6iEYm1BVOtCT4g2ehWEccmi6h8pfjcczQDWwzc8Q/s1600/IMG_20130308_095643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8QPUGqA_8VAoqbEUj7lL-enCQTPIbl0oPSR85txnslNnYlQ6ndcXSEG8CRL8VAOBOA5wBGGoWRHygS2nSk1z0whuLybX07A6wi6iEYm1BVOtCT4g2ehWEccmi6h8pfjcczQDWwzc8Q/s400/IMG_20130308_095643.jpg" width="400" /> </a> </div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-13262548065624654182013-03-05T15:47:00.001-05:002013-03-15T13:48:17.893-04:00Day Five: Under<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month I'm trying my hand at the <a href="http://fatmumslim.com.au/">Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day</a> challenge. Today's word was "<i>under</i>." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyone else feel like this during Annual Review season?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HaNDCKFNylAPXW-dPdkjTNyZ57cUhUG_YnVGXUD5TtepRKr9jT8qg3qWEs-KZgKtw84X8EJbPOmbUn4TNExQlkMQulax6Lewxvx0IsrV7BnLiuWx6sMFwwfrOl-_gpokaQJ59OEqbA/s1600/IMG_20130305_131337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HaNDCKFNylAPXW-dPdkjTNyZ57cUhUG_YnVGXUD5TtepRKr9jT8qg3qWEs-KZgKtw84X8EJbPOmbUn4TNExQlkMQulax6Lewxvx0IsrV7BnLiuWx6sMFwwfrOl-_gpokaQJ59OEqbA/s400/IMG_20130305_131337.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next time,<br />
Erika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HaNDCKFNylAPXW-dPdkjTNyZ57cUhUG_YnVGXUD5TtepRKr9jT8qg3qWEs-KZgKtw84X8EJbPOmbUn4TNExQlkMQulax6Lewxvx0IsrV7BnLiuWx6sMFwwfrOl-_gpokaQJ59OEqbA/s1600/IMG_20130305_131337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span> </a> </div>
Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194296556446190515.post-6794674373377127372013-03-05T14:16:00.001-05:002013-03-05T14:18:08.479-05:00Working with Students Who Have Been Retained<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you work in schools, you know
what the research states about retention. In short, retention doesn’t work.
Students are not necessarily provided with remedial instruction to address
their academic weakness and often suffer social stigmatization as a result. For
more information be sure to check out the <a href="http://www.nasponline.org/">NASP</a>
website or this <a href="http://sis-hamdenct.tylertech.com/tsi_live/Login.aspx?STO=1">statement</a>.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, when students get
to high school there is a particular distribution of credits students need to
meet in order to graduate. If students fail a required class they have to
retake it in order to earn that credit. Schools also have requirements for each
grade and the number of credits required to be a sophomore, junior, and senior.
At my internship site students need a total of five (5) credits to be
considered sophomores, ten (10) to be a junior, sixteen (16) to be a senior,
and twenty-three (23) to graduate. If students do not meet these credit
requirements that will remain at their present grade level until they do. Students
fail to earn credit (part or whole) due to failure of a course or loss of
credit for absences/tardies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over the past twelve weeks and
eight sessions I have worked with a group of female students as a co-facilitator
of a group. These students were retained this academic year for failure to earn
enough credits during the 2011-2012 year. The main purpose of the group was to
help them earn enough credits by the end of Semester 1 in order to be
considered sophomores in terms of credits. Secondary to that goal was to
increase their skills in terms of study habits, goal setting, relationships with
teachers, and overall attitude towards school. Students were also provided with
weekly progress reports in an effort to hold them accountable for their
academic performance, as many reported they had no support systems.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In an effort to be my best
data-based decision-maker self, I distributed a pre-/post-group <a href="http://www.missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/RSSmallGroupUnitStudySkills3-5.pdf" target="_blank">behavior survey</a> (I adapted p. 4 of this document) for teachers to complete. Self-reports of behavior and weekly progress
monitoring based on areas of concern/goals were also important for data collection purposes. I am still
tabulating this data and waiting for teachers to return the post-group surveys.
Once I have this data I will post about how effective the group was found to
be.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a more qualitative sense, each
participant that completed the group (yes, we lost a few along the way) was
promoted to sophomore status in terms of credit. These students are still
considered freshman in the eyes of administration, but they have accomplished a
huge obstacle to be proud of! These students have the potential to move on with
the rest of their class for the 2013-2014 school year if they can keep the
momentum going. I’ll be checking on them sporadically and assessing their
grades at the end of the third marking period to see how they are holding up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of the students identified
the group as a positive experience and saw a positive change in themselves.
While the group could have been more structured in its planning and weekly
implementation, it provided a school connection with an adult, which few of the
girls already had. Based on the success of this group, and a similar group last
year, it is my hope the school will continue to facilitate a group supporting these
students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now…time to design a group
focusing on the male students who have been, and are facing retention!</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next thyme, </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Erika</span></o:p></div>
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Erikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15153612196408733520noreply@blogger.com0