I can't believe that a week from today I will be in Orlando at my first ASCA conference having just finished my breakout session presentation. I am so psyched in anticipation of the keynote speakers, breakout presenters, receptions, and general overall atmosphere I will encounter as we live the conference theme and plan to "Build Magical Futures." Even more exciting is the news I got last week that Michelle Obama has been added to the agenda for Tuesday...wow, what a special first conference experience to hear a keynote address from the First Lady! As a school counselor, I especially love her quote to the side because it speaks volumes about priorities and the calling I serve each day with my students.
I truly hope that if any of you are in Florida next week or have friends attending the ASCA conference that you (or they) will stop by during or after my session on Monday afternoon at 3:45 to say hi. I can't wait to meet new colleagues and learn from everyone!
Another last piece of news that I am pumped about is that I FINALLY opened a TPT store for Life on the Fly School Counselor. It was one of my goals for the summer so I'm glad to cross it off my list while it's still June. I will continue to put items on my Life on the Fly Store page, but the majority of my new material will be introduced at my TPT store here. I hope you will visit me soon!
AAAHHHHHH.....the first day of summer vacation! That time when all your summer days are lined up in front of you waiting for adventures, relaxation, fun, and checklists filled with all the things you wanted to do during the school year but didn't have time to do! It's fun to daydream about all the things you can pack in before the days start whizzing by. I have a couple of "must do's" that I will share later in the summer, but I wanted to reflect on a couple of fun events from the last days of school.
I was able to get into the fifth grade classrooms following our EOGs to deliver my middle school transition lessons. You may remember reading about those last year here. They went really well again, and I added a memory mural activity at one of the centers. I later posted it during the fifth grade dance so kids could see what their classmates had written. Check it out....
I also wanted to end the year with some positive recognition for our staff who worked SO hard this year amid changes in administration and new district initiatives. One of our kindergarten teachers had done end of year awards at another school so we used that as a starting point for our first annual Cleveland ES staff awards. There were eleven categories: Leadership, MVP, Olympian, Fashion Plate, Mystery, Wild and Wacky, Unforgettable, Jester, Extra Special, Great Ideas, and Star Quality. I created a PowerPoint and made award "props" that will be passed on each year to the next recipient as we continue this tradition. Luckily, there were lots of ties for first place and honorable mentions were given to all so everyone was included! Here are a few pics of our happy award winners with their certificates and prizes (mine is the Wild and Wacky award with the blue wig :)--go figure!).
Our last bonding experience of the year was creating our very own "kick off to summer" video inspired by other teachers' summer videos on YouTube (see our creation below). It was an awesome way to de-stress and get some fun back after the slammed schedule of EOGs, awards days, graduation, and the end of the year pack-up. I certainly hope all of you are HAPPY about summer break and hope to hear from you! Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela
You probably aren't surprised to see the picture above. If nothing else, this blog documents my passion for kids, my love for having fun in my job, and my lack of concern about embarrassing myself on a regular basis. So, when conversations started about our EOG pep rally this year, I decided to go big or go home! The video below on YouTube was my inspiration to use "What Does the Fox Say?" as our performance song for the third, fourth, and fifth grade EOG pep rally.
I ordered my fox costume on Ebay, and it was sent straight from China to my doorstep in a matter of weeks. My co-counselor, the fabulous Amanda Collins, got her shirt for $5 from Walmart (our kind of price!) to fit in with the theme. We changed the words up a bit, and I choreographed my own pop and lock dance routine at the end to give the performance a little extra pop! I also decided to include the students in the performance and created an iMovie that I played before the song began. I asked a variety of third, fourth, and fifth grade students what their parents or teachers said they should do to pass the EOGs. Then, we segued into "what the fox says...." Needless to say, the staff and students loved it! Check it out below.
Also, I finally got to use a great idea I saw awhile ago on Pinterest for the days of the EOGS. I headed to my school this past weekend and decorated the sidewalks leading from the carpool line and the bus loop. As students arrived this morning to test, there were words of inspiration and encouragement greeting them as they walked in the school. Hope your last days of school go well!
