Guidance Counselor- Mrs. Smith
Mrs. Smith talked to us about what you used to have to do to be a counselor. She told us that for many years people had to be counselors before they needed to be classroom teachers. They made this change three or four years ago. You no longer have to be a classroom teacher to be a counselor; you could actually come from any profession. Although, Mrs. Smith told us that teachers who have worked in schools before have much more empathy and insight for the teachers. The main role of the counselors is to simply support the teachers. You have to have a masters to become a counselor as well as state certification and you do have to have completed an internship as well. When you are a counselor you are certified in kindergarten through twelth grade. To be a counselor you also have to take the praxis. One of the major benefits of being a counselor is you can be contracted for more than nine months. You can have a ten, eleven or twelve month counselor. There are certain state guidelines and counseling plans that must be followed and as far as Hoover’s program it aligns closely to the state departments. These plans have to think about the social, emotional, academic and career needs of the child. Mrs. Smith spends her time between different levels. There are so many positive things at each level of her students. She loved working with the high schoolers because she was able tos tick with them for four years. She laughed when talking about middle school saying it was a calling. Middle schoolers face the most critical issues but it is in elementary school that she felt she could make the biggest impact on their lives. This is when eating disorders and sucidal issues can be prevented. Also supporting parents at the elementary level is a huge need today. This year was actually the first year of the parent advisory council and Mrs. Smith talked to us about how wonderful the PTO was. The parent are in the school constantly; the only problem is how time consuming the PTO can be. Mrs. Smith shared with us that 80% of of the families want to be involved in the schools but just don’t have the time to. Trace Crossings also has food programs in place to help serve the kids. After being there a year Mrs. Smith saw how hungry kids were and she started the program. A group of parents agreed to get involved as well, and the program is not constantly improving. Overall listening to Mrs. Smith talk was incredibly enjoyable and encouraging. It is always nice to hear from someone who really loves their job! Her ending quote was, “every teacher is a counselor and every counselor is a teacher.”
Mrs. Smith talked to us about what you used to have to do to be a counselor. She told us that for many years people had to be counselors before they needed to be classroom teachers. They made this change three or four years ago. You no longer have to be a classroom teacher to be a counselor; you could actually come from any profession. Although, Mrs. Smith told us that teachers who have worked in schools before have much more empathy and insight for the teachers. The main role of the counselors is to simply support the teachers. You have to have a masters to become a counselor as well as state certification and you do have to have completed an internship as well. When you are a counselor you are certified in kindergarten through twelth grade. To be a counselor you also have to take the praxis. One of the major benefits of being a counselor is you can be contracted for more than nine months. You can have a ten, eleven or twelve month counselor. There are certain state guidelines and counseling plans that must be followed and as far as Hoover’s program it aligns closely to the state departments. These plans have to think about the social, emotional, academic and career needs of the child. Mrs. Smith spends her time between different levels. There are so many positive things at each level of her students. She loved working with the high schoolers because she was able tos tick with them for four years. She laughed when talking about middle school saying it was a calling. Middle schoolers face the most critical issues but it is in elementary school that she felt she could make the biggest impact on their lives. This is when eating disorders and sucidal issues can be prevented. Also supporting parents at the elementary level is a huge need today. This year was actually the first year of the parent advisory council and Mrs. Smith talked to us about how wonderful the PTO was. The parent are in the school constantly; the only problem is how time consuming the PTO can be. Mrs. Smith shared with us that 80% of of the families want to be involved in the schools but just don’t have the time to. Trace Crossings also has food programs in place to help serve the kids. After being there a year Mrs. Smith saw how hungry kids were and she started the program. A group of parents agreed to get involved as well, and the program is not constantly improving. Overall listening to Mrs. Smith talk was incredibly enjoyable and encouraging. It is always nice to hear from someone who really loves their job! Her ending quote was, “every teacher is a counselor and every counselor is a teacher.”
Math coach
Mrs. Puchta, the math coach, came and spent some time with us one morning. She was one of those people who truly loved her job and you could tell that. It was neat for me also to spend some time with her on math night. He office is fun and inviting; which is how I feel each teacher’s office should be. I liked that she made the room feel warm and inviting because typically when I think of math I get afraid. Her talk was incredibly informative because she gave us real life scenarios of what math class will be like. She would ask us a question or show us a problem and she would give us “think” time or time to figure out how we would work the problem. After we talked about different ways to solve the problem or the different strategies we used, we were asked if that problem want challenging enough to hold our attention. If the problem was not challenging enough she would ask us why or what it made us feel? It was interesting because she told us that in every class, every lesson taught we would not be able to hold every student’s attention but the key is to work to hold it. Teachers have to find unique ways to teach the same old facts, otherwise students will check in and out of the lesson. I liked playing the games she provided for us as well. I felt they were a great way to break up the lesson while also keeping us engaged and thinking about math.
Mrs. Puchta, the math coach, came and spent some time with us one morning. She was one of those people who truly loved her job and you could tell that. It was neat for me also to spend some time with her on math night. He office is fun and inviting; which is how I feel each teacher’s office should be. I liked that she made the room feel warm and inviting because typically when I think of math I get afraid. Her talk was incredibly informative because she gave us real life scenarios of what math class will be like. She would ask us a question or show us a problem and she would give us “think” time or time to figure out how we would work the problem. After we talked about different ways to solve the problem or the different strategies we used, we were asked if that problem want challenging enough to hold our attention. If the problem was not challenging enough she would ask us why or what it made us feel? It was interesting because she told us that in every class, every lesson taught we would not be able to hold every student’s attention but the key is to work to hold it. Teachers have to find unique ways to teach the same old facts, otherwise students will check in and out of the lesson. I liked playing the games she provided for us as well. I felt they were a great way to break up the lesson while also keeping us engaged and thinking about math.
Mrs. Stone
Mrs. Stone’s presentation was interrupted by the fire alarm going off. Apparently we were practicing a fire drill and a lock down drill but none of us were aware of it. It was neat to see the entire school snap into action. Police men filed in and told us to get against the wall. We had to lock the doors and cover the windows with paper. This was a good wake up call for me because I had never thought about what it would be like from a teacher’s perspective to have to run these drills. We learned later that we had experienced a code red or a school lock down. The drill cut Mrs. Stone’s talk in half but I would say it was worth it to have a chance to experience a drill. Mrs. Stone came and talked to us about the different technology that is used throughout the school. She said that the third and fourth graders are given Nooks but the first and second graders are allowed to bring whatever they have at home. I like the idea of the students being allowed to bring in their technology in the younger grades, but I really like that the school provides the students with nooks. I think in this day and age students are really needing to learn how to work the technology otherwise they will not be able to keep up. Mrs. Smith said there were several different ways technology is used. She said the fourth grade is working on the augmented reality as well as the aurasma app. This allows them to record them talking or reading a book which is practice for reading but also incorporates technology. Google apps are also incredibly helpful and are frequently used. Teachers also allow their students to watch educational movies, which obviously require technology. Presentations are also made by the students and they use technology in the older grades. Overall the talk was incredibly informative.
Mrs. Stone’s presentation was interrupted by the fire alarm going off. Apparently we were practicing a fire drill and a lock down drill but none of us were aware of it. It was neat to see the entire school snap into action. Police men filed in and told us to get against the wall. We had to lock the doors and cover the windows with paper. This was a good wake up call for me because I had never thought about what it would be like from a teacher’s perspective to have to run these drills. We learned later that we had experienced a code red or a school lock down. The drill cut Mrs. Stone’s talk in half but I would say it was worth it to have a chance to experience a drill. Mrs. Stone came and talked to us about the different technology that is used throughout the school. She said that the third and fourth graders are given Nooks but the first and second graders are allowed to bring whatever they have at home. I like the idea of the students being allowed to bring in their technology in the younger grades, but I really like that the school provides the students with nooks. I think in this day and age students are really needing to learn how to work the technology otherwise they will not be able to keep up. Mrs. Smith said there were several different ways technology is used. She said the fourth grade is working on the augmented reality as well as the aurasma app. This allows them to record them talking or reading a book which is practice for reading but also incorporates technology. Google apps are also incredibly helpful and are frequently used. Teachers also allow their students to watch educational movies, which obviously require technology. Presentations are also made by the students and they use technology in the older grades. Overall the talk was incredibly informative.