Character Ed Night

Now that I am attempting to become more diligent in my blog keeping and beginning a journey to capture my experiences at Joyner, I will digress to January. Back in January, the students at Joyner were given the opportunity to participate in a night dedicated to character development.  Character Ed Night, a tradition at Joyner, enables students to participate in various services projects at the school for various community agencies.  I had the honor of helping to plan, organize and carryout this monuments event.  This year students...


Crafted musical instruments for the Tammy Lynn Center:

Compile care packages for the Ronald McDonald House:

Assembled bag lunches for the Raleigh Rescue Mission:

Created dog toys for the SPCA:

Put together backpacks for Backpack Buddies:

This event is a fantastic means of encouraging students to reach beyond themselves, to recognize the misfortunes that surround them and the power they have to make an impact on their community.  Young children are not often enabled to understand their own power to make a difference, this event plants that seed.

Not your Mom's Book Club

A “Book Club” as part of a counseling program? Absolutely!  Since the beginning of the year Andrea and I have been running two book clubs, one for 4^th grade and the other for 5^th grade.  The purpose of the groups is to introduce the students to topics which they may be unfamiliar with or topics that may challenge their perspectives.  For instance, this year the 5^th graders have read: Shiloh, So Be It and A Long Walk to Water.  This year the 4^th graders have read Journey to JoBerg, How to Steal a Dog and 11 Birthdays. 

I am currently running the 4^th grade book club and we are just finishing 11 Birthdays.  This book has relevant undertones of friendship conflict depicted through the eyes of 10 and 11 year old children.  The students have been able to relate to the children in the book and the social problems that they are experiencing . It has been my experience that students often readily assume that their problems occur in isolation and that their peers are not experiencing issues akin to theirs. This book, in particular, seems to have given the students reassurance and comfort in the fact that other students experience friendship difficulties and sheds light on the means through which they choose to resolve or address them.

In general, it is our hope that these books have given the students an opportunity to step outside of their world and empathize with other children their age that grow up in circumstances vastly different from what they know.  

 

First Grade Lunchtime Wisdom

For Andrea and myself, each day at Joyner lunchtime looks, feels, smells and sounds vastly different.   This variety is due, in part, to Lunch Bunch.  Most days during the week Andrea and I have lunch scheduled with a student who is then able to bring two friends along.  First grade lunches are often full of laughter and giggles.  Fifth grade lunches are typically calmer, but I use the word “typically” with caution.  Whichever grade the students are in, the lunches are always entertaining and enjoyable.  Students tend to feel comfortable enough to let their hair down in the counseling office, as they should, and thus there personalities thrive.  I have many fond memories and stories related to these lunches.  This is something, among many others, that I intend to keep as part of my future counseling program.

To sum it up, as one 1^st grader said last fall, “It’s so loud in here, I can’t even taste my smarties!”