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
What Are YOU going to be next year? That is the way I am starting my middle school transition lessons this week as I furiously try to see all of my fifth grade students before we end school on Friday. I will admit, being in charge of testing this year has truly cut into the meaningful "transition to middle school" groups, lessons, and individual conferencing that I used to be able to do with my fifth graders. However, that is my reality, and I am not going to let my fifth graders graduate without having some discussion about middle school next year.
I am going into each fifth grade classroom for an hour lesson this week. When I ask them what they are going to be next year, there are lots of things I am referencing. For fun, we are going to match the different mascots to the feeder middle schools my students attend on a Smartboard lesson I have prepared. Most of them are going to be RAMS next year, as they make their way to the middle school next door. Some will be Eagles or Mustangs. However, I also want to focus on what they are going to be in terms of their reputations and the types of students and friends they want to be in middle school. I also want to impart some practical information like how to open combination locks and how they can make sure they get to class on time so they will be prepared.
I plan on showing the following YouTube video "How to Open A Combination Lock" to the whole class. It is a short visual that will help all the students before we practice locks later in the lesson.
Next, students will divide up among three different Middle School Stations, spending 10-15 minutes at each one as we rotate through all the stations.
Station #1
Combination Locks: Students will have a chance to practice opening combination locks with adult assistance (ME!) in a small group. I bought 9 of these basic combination locks from Walmart that were sold in packs of three.
Station #2
School Map/Survey: I am doing a couple activities at this center because I need to use computers and there are not 9 computers in my fifth grade classrooms. Students will alternate between going to a computer and answering survey questions on a Google Form that I made and doing a school map activity. The Google Form is pretty straightforward (see the live form to the right). My purpose is to get them thinking about some of their feelings about middle school so we can have discussion about steps they can take over summer to minimize nervous feelings and maximize excitement. As students complete their surveys, they will return to the station and complete a school map activity with my co-counselor.
One of my lovely feeder middle schools gave me an electronic copy of their school map, as well as all the schedule information I would need to take my fifth graders through a typical day in sixth grade. Each of my fifth graders will get a paper copy of the school map, and we will let them draw their route through the school as they change classes, go to lunch, attend specials, and dismiss. Experience has taught me that two of the top fears fifth graders have are getting lost in school or being late when they switch classes. It seems to really help them relax when they see that three minutes really is enough time to go to the classroom next door when they have to move to second period.
Station #3
My final station focuses on what students want to be in terms of their reputation and friendships. I modified a Friendship Rating Scale that comes from the book Salvaging Sistehood, a wonderful resource I have used for years written by a fantastic Wake County counselor, Julia V. Taylor. The students rank the traits #1 to #15 that are most and least important to them in choosing friends. Then, they reflect on if they want to change anything about the way they choose friends in middle school. It is a great conversation starter in terms of what is really important in a friend and the material things that don't matter.
After all three of my rotations are complete, we will come back together as a whole class and give the highlights of each station. I plan to show the electronic copy of the school map on the Smartboard to discuss any difficulties or suggestions students have for getting around. We will also look at the Google survey results to see what students are most excited about and nervous about for next year, as well as the top traits students want in their friends.
I can't wait to see how the kids like the lessons and am excited to try my kiddos these last few days. Happy Counseling!
It is that time of year again…middle school
registration for our fifth grade students! It is such an exciting time
for these students. I love hearing them discuss the electives they want
and how they can’t wait to have lockers. It’s also a busy time for
school counselors as we get all the paperwork and necessary information
to our families. I thought I’d share two fun ideas that I use to
communicate with the fifth grade families at my school. A couple of
years ago I adapated a fabulous idea from another school counselor and
created a “Moving to Middle School” brochure. It is a cute way to let
parents know important deadlines, websites, and “transition tips” that
will be helpful to them over the summer and at the beginning of next
year. You can open the example of my middle school brochure here: Middle School Brochure[1]. Before giving the information to parents, I make a two-sided copy and fold it into a brochure.
Another idea that I came up with this year is an instructional video
or “videocast” for parents on how to fill out the middle
school registration form. I referenced the videocast in the middle
school brochure so that parents would know about the resource. I
created the videocast in Photo Story,
which is a free program that I have used for a TON of different
projects (I’ll share more on Photo Story projects in another post).
The videocast is linked to my school’s main website at www.dillardes.net
. Scroll down to the bottom left side of the page and check it out!!
Although it isn’t the most visually stimulating video, it provides
necessary information so that parents can fill out their child’s form
CORRECTLY, saving everyone time, which makes me happy!
~Angela
