This is the first edition of the Virtual School Counseling Newsletter. Inside you will find tips for how to reach your students, ways to be productive while working from home, student safety, and more!
A peek inside. Read a few of the articles below, or download the PDF to see the full newsletter!
Real Talk
Some virtual school counselors choose this life, and for others, the virtual school counseling life chose them. One thing is for certain. all school counselors are out there doing our best for students in the best ways we know how. With the stressors of current events and trying to make sure that we are still serving students and families however we can, I offer this bit of advice: Take a deep breath, No one is expecting you to have all of the answers. This is still fairly new territory even for those who have experience with virtual work. Your hearts and passions were made to help students and you will find a way!
Finding balance- working from home
Finding balance is such a tricky thing to do whether you work from home or not. During these unsure times with everyone in self isolation- maintaining balance with job duties, family, and home responsibilities.. can be more than overwhelming.It's tough, but not impossible. We just have to take time to breathe, and to remember that we can do it all, just not all at once.
Schedule
If you are like so many out there who are navigating home schooling your own children and working as a virtual school counselor, you know that it feels as if your productivity is at an all-time low, and stress is at an all-time high. Have a family meeting to discuss expectations and a game plan for how to work through this together as a team. Discuss expectations and responsibilities of all family members. Create a schedule to follow and realize, that you won't be able to follow these to a T everyday, and that's okay, Be patient with this process and be patient with yourself.
Self-care
Do not forget to add self-care to that schedule. Plan it, pencil it in. Model it for your family. by showing its importance and encouraging them to participate in their own self-care activities. Here are some examples:
Take a bubble bath
Read a book
Bake
Put a puzzle together
Write in a journal
Listen to music
Exercise
Meditate
Watch a movie
Make a vision board
Just say oops and move on
Embrace the mistakes
In these times of virtual everything, and social distancing, we honestly are bound to screw something up. Not realizing the webcam is on in a meeting when I didn't brush my hair. Setting up a meeting with all students and families and none of the links end up working. There are so many things to learn and so many things that can go wrong especially when working online. We need to be kind to ourselves and each other, accept that things will not always work the way you planned. Roll with the punches, be flexible, and don't be afraid or ashamed to ask for help!
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