Newsletters

Leading in Full Swing. That’s what the brochure said. “What a curious phrase,” my first thought, and “Tell me more,” my second. I joined other fine ladies of SEMOSCA (and many more ladies and a few gentlemen) from across our fine state, at the yearly early-November MSCA conference identified succinctly as “Leadership.” Cathy Newton spoke (dare I say, beamed?) with energy, joy, and passion for risk-taking. She designed creative interactions whereby we communicated, and actively socialized; we moved physically and emotionally from our comfort zones. Many attendees’ names would no doubt be familiar to you; yet, here I first met Dianne Logan-Parr, and Suzie Williams. These two women stand out because they touched me, connected with me, for different reasons. Dianne provided an opportunity for me to act on the 2010 MSCA programming committee and Suzie has inspired me in my role as SEMOSCA Government Relations Chair. Surely, both recognize—and slake— a thirst for professional involvement. (Suzie also plays a mean banjo….) What a blessing to room with Carol Powell and Charlotte Angotti. These two amazing women willingly share their wealth of knowledge about school counseling and life. They welcomed me into SEMOSCA with open arms. With their encouragement, I went to Leadership. They personify connection. I am eternally grateful.

Other News You Can Use

Nominations Wanted!

Submitted by Scarlett Dittlinger, Professional Recognition Chair

It’s that time of year to be thinking of nominating a fellow counselor for Counselor of the Year. We all know people in school counseling who are making a difference for students everyday, so now is the time to recognize them. Nominees are accepted for all levels of counseling: Elementary, Middle School, Secondary or Multi-level. Last year there were only nominees for the Elementary level and Counseling Advocate award. Let’s show the rest of the State that we have counselors who deserve to be recognized too.

Nominations are also needed for Counseling Advocate of the Year. This is someone, possibly an administrator, who is a valuable asset to your counseling program. We all need support to be able to accomplish all that we are asked to do. Let’s honor those administrators who are supportive of our positions. I know there are some out there and as an advocate for counseling, they can share their knowledge with other administrators who may not be as supportive or aware of what a school counseling program should look like.

So...Nominate your peers and advocates. The Advocate of the Year award is typically awarded at the January meeting and the Counselor of the Year awards are given at the spring meeting.

Nominations Form

National School Counseling Week

National School Counseling Week 2010, "Celebrate School Counseling," will be celebrated from Feb. 1-5, 2010, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
To help you promote the week, ASCA has developed a National School Counseling Week kit. The kit contains:
• 20 pencils for sharing with some of your students (additional may be ordered)
• full-color poster promoting National School Counseling Week (additional may be ordered)
• certificate of appreciation
• National School Counseling Week proclamation
• doorhanger to promote privacy when in counseling sessions (see sample)
• 120 I “heart” my school counselor stickers (additional may be ordered)
• morning announcements for the week
• sample press release
• countdown calendar, providing week-by-week advice on getting ready for National School Counseling Week
The kit also comes with a CD containing:
• electronic copies of the certificate of appreciation and proclamation, for printing out extra copies
• sample press release in Word, so you can modify it to promote what your school is doing for the
week
• morning announcements in Word in case you want to customize them
• links to resources for promoting your program, building a school counseling Web site and more
• PDF copy of “School Counselor Resource Series: Organizational Skills Boot Camp” book.

Three easy ways to order your National School Counseling Week kit: www.schoolcounselor.org
1. Order online
2. Call (703) 683-ASCA
3. Download an order form and mail or fax in your order.

Need ideas for how to celebrate National School Counseling Week? Follow the discussion on ASCA SCENE. (Note: You'll need to set up an account on the SCENE to access the discussion.)

Amy Rowland had such a wonderful idea about putting Resources on our website - how about this - Let's have a "Bring 'N Sling" of Advocacy ideas. Please email to semosca@excite.com about your plans for School Counselor Week or ideas you have tried or have seen so that we can do some sharing with others through the website and not have to "reinvent the wheel."
Charlotte Angotti, Advocacy Chairperson

November 2009 -- Volume 3, Issue 3

Headlines